454 - Hitchhiking Horticultural Helpers

Bacteria carrying spores
By Muok et al. 2021
ISME J, CC BY 4.0

This episode: Spores of some bacteria latch onto the tails of other bacteria and ride along as they move around in the soil!

Download Episode (5.5 MB, 8.0 minutes)

Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Bohle iridovirus

News item

Takeaways

The soil is a complex environment, and microbes that live in soil need complex lifestyles to thrive. There are many examples of cooperation, competition, and other adaptations to highly varied situations.

In this study, bacteria that grow like filamentous fungi don't have the mechanisms to move autonomously, but their spores can hitch rides on other kinds of bacteria that swarm through the soil using their propeller-like tails called flagella to push themselves toward the plant roots they prefer to grow near.

Journal Paper:
Muok AR, Claessen D, Briegel A. 2021. Microbial hitchhiking: how Streptomyces spores are transported by motile soil bacteria. ISME J.

Other interesting stories:

• "How microbes in permafrost could trigger a massive carbon bomb"

Post questions or comments here or email to bacteriofiles@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Android, or RSS. Support the show at Patreon, or check out the show at Twitter or Facebook.

453 - Phenazine Faciliates Phosphorus Feeding

Pseudomonas aeruginosa
By Y_tambe, CC BY-SA 3.0

This episode: Some bacteria produce antibiotics that can also help them gather more nutrients!

Download Episode (5.0 MB, 7.3 minutes)

Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Diadromus pulchellus toursvirus

News item 1

Takeaways

Antibiotics have saved a lot of lives since they were discovered and used to treat many previously untreatable bacterial infections. But bacteria themselves have been making antibiotics much longer than we have, to help compete in their environment. However, sometimes these compounds are not produced in large enough concentrations to act as antibiotics, killing or inhibiting rival bacteria. Why waste energy on this sublethal production? Are there other functions these molecules can perform?

In this study, bacteria produce an antibiotic called phenazine that can damage cell components by redox reactions, transferring electrons. But it can also help liberate the essential nutrient phosphorus from being bound to insoluble particles, allowing the bacteria to grow better even in the absence of competitors.

Journal Paper:
McRose DL, Newman DK. 2021. Redox-active antibiotics enhance phosphorus bioavailability. Science 371:1033–1037.
Other interesting stories:

• Bacterial proteins stuck to tumor cells could be targeted

Post questions or comments here or email to bacteriofiles@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Android, or RSS. Support the show at Patreon, or check out the show at Twitter or Facebook.

452 - Prokaryotic Partner Powers Protist

Anaerobic ciliate
By Graf et al. 2021
Nature, CC BY 4.0

This episode: Single-celled eukaryotes can thrive without oxygen with the help of bacterial endosymbionts that respire nitrate the way our mitochondria respire oxygen!

Thanks to Jon Graf for his contribution!

Download Episode (12.4 MB, 18.1 minutes)

Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Brenneria salicis

News item 1 / News item 2

Takeaways

The combination of a bacterium and other microbe into the first eukaryote was a big advance in evolutionary history; it made possible the huge variety of different body shapes and sizes we see today. This is thanks to the bacterial endosymbiont, the mitochondrion, taking on specialized metabolic tasks for the cell.

We already knew about endosymbionts that help with oxygen respiration, with photosynthesis (chloroplasts), and with amino acid synthesis (certain endosymbionts in insects). But bacteria have other metabolic abilities that are very useful in certain conditions; do these bacteria ever team up with other organisms? The answer is yes! In this study, ciliates were discovered at the bottom of a lake in oxygen-free waters. These protists have an bacterial endosymbiont that helps them respire, not oxygen, but nitrate instead, generating more energy than most anaerobic ciliates.

Journal Paper:
Graf JS, Schorn S, Kitzinger K, Ahmerkamp S, Woehle C, Huettel B, Schubert CJ, Kuypers MMM, Milucka J. 2021. Anaerobic endosymbiont generates energy for ciliate host by denitrification. Nature.

Other interesting stories:

• Bacterial cellulose film is very good at separating oil and water

Post questions or comments here or email to bacteriofiles@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Android, or RSS. Support the show at Patreon, or check out the show at Twitter or Facebook.

451 - Phototrophs Fancy Floating Feasts

Prasinophyte algae
By Bock et al. 2021, ISME J
CC BY 4.0

This episode: Despite being photosynthetic, some kinds of algae engage in predatory behavior, hunting and consuming live bacteria!

Thanks to Nicholas Bock for his contribution!

Download Episode (4.9 MB, 7.1 minutes)

Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Paramecium bursaria Chlorella virus 1

News item

Takeaways

Although most of them are microscopic, algae perform a significant portion of the photosynthesis on the planet, because there are so many of them. But even though photosynthesis seems like a reliable way of acquiring energy, there are conditions under which even algae benefit from gathering energy and nutrients from other organisms. This is called phagomixotrophy, when algae hunt and consume bacteria.

In this study, scientists developed fluorescence methods for detecting and studying this predation in a group of algal phytoplankton that's not well-studied, prasinophytes. They found that all five species they looked at engaged in bacterivory under nutrient-depleted conditions, and that they preferred live bacteria to killed ones.

Journal Paper:
Bock NA, Charvet S, Burns J, Gyaltshen Y, Rozenberg A, Duhamel S, Kim E. 2021. Experimental identification and in silico prediction of bacterivory in green algae. ISME J.

Other interesting stories:

• Fecal microbe transplant seems to help mice recover from spinal cord injury (paper)

Post questions or comments here or email to bacteriofiles@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Android, or RSS. Support the show at Patreon, or check out the show at Twitter or Facebook.

450 - Subterranean Spotlights Support Cyanobacteria

Carlsbad Caverns
By Eric Guinther, Marshman
CC BY-SA 3.0

This episode: Lighting in caves open to tourists supports the growth of unwanted photosynthetic bacteria!

Thanks to Zoë Havlena for her contribution!

Download Episode (6.6 MB, 9.5 minutes)

Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Dill cryptic virus 2

Takeaways

Caves can contain amazing beauty, intricate geological formations formed by minerals, water, and time. Some, such as Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, have been fitted with instruments to allow tourists to pass through and see the wonders within; definitely a worthwhile experience.

Caves also have their own natural microbiota that can live within them, in the dark, somewhat cold, and nutrient-poor conditions. But with the lighting installed to allow tourism, photosynthetic microbes have been able to take hold in the communities of these show caves. These microbes can outcompete the natural microbes, and can cause discoloration and unwanted growths on cave formations. They are difficult to remove without much effort and the risk of damaging the cave formations themselves. 

This study looked at the effects of the color of lighting in the caves, as well as other factors, on the growth of these so-called "lampenflora." It supports new efforts and methods to control the issue.

Journal Paper:
Havlena Z, Kieft TL, Veni G, Horrocks RD, Jones DS. 2021. Lighting Effects on the Development and Diversity of Photosynthetic Biofilm Communities in Carlsbad Cavern, New Mexico. Appl Environ Microbiol 87.

Post questions or comments here or email to bacteriofiles@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Android, or RSS. Support the show at Patreon, or check out the show at Twitter or Facebook.

449 - Paralyzed Poisons Push Power

Hydrothermal vent

This episode: Deep-sea bacteria can detoxify cadmium and convert it to light-capturing particles!

Download Episode (5.8 MB, 8.4 minutes)

Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Arthrobacter virus Sonny

Takeaways

Hydrothermal vents can have thriving communities, despite being too deep for much light to penetrate. Microbes can derive energy from chemicals coming out of the vent, and form the foundation of the food chain. But toxic heavy metals also come out of the vent, including lead, mercury, and cadmium.

The microbes in this study were found to be resistant to cadmium, which they can detoxify by combining it with the sulfur found in the amino acid cysteine. This forms cadmium-sulfur nanoparticles, which can function as light-absorbing semiconductors, allowing the bacteria to harvest light energy.

Journal Paper:
Ma N, Sha Z, Sun C. 2021. Formation of cadmium sulfide nanoparticles mediates cadmium resistance and light utilization of the deep-sea bacterium Idiomarina sp. OT37-5b. Environ Microbiol 23:934–948.

Other interesting stories:

• Different fungi behave differently in growing through a tiny maze
• Bacteriophages could be used as disinfectants in some situations (paper)

Post questions or comments here or email to bacteriofiles@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Android, or RSS. Support the show at Patreon, or check out the show at Twitter or Facebook.

448 - Myxomycete Makes Mycelial Memories

Slime mold on a log
By frankenstoen, CC BY 2.5

Finally found some good stories, so we're back! This episode: How slime molds encode and use memories built into their own bodies!

Download Episode (4.6 MB, 6.7 minutes)

Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Aeromonas salmoncida

News item

Takeaways

Despite being single-celled organisms, slime molds have fairly complex behavior, including a basic form of memory. They often grow as a network of tubes of cytoplasm branching out from one place to find and exploit new sources of food in their environment. When these tubes connect to new food, other less productive branches of its body shrink away.

As it turns out, this body form serves a role in memory also. This study determined that the slime mold's tubes undergo constant squeezing, which moves cell contents around and also shrinks them. When tubes are connecting to a food source though, they secrete a softening agent that allows the pressure to expand the tubes instead of shrinking them. These larger tubes consequently are capable of transporting more softening agent farther away to newer food sources, so the history of food discoveries is recorded in the slime mold's own body, which also influences its responses to new discoveries.

Journal Paper:
Kramar M, Alim K. 2021. Encoding memory in tube diameter hierarchy of living flow network. Proc Natl Acad Sci 118.
Other interesting stories:

• Bacteria-derived gene editing tool TALEN better than CRISPR in some cases
• Live microbes in oceans produce more hydrocarbons than oil seeps introduce, priming microbes to break down oil (paper)

Post questions or comments here or email to bacteriofiles@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Android, or RSS. Support the show at Patreon, or check out the show at Twitter or Facebook.