This Week in Microbiology
310 episodes - English - Latest episode: 21 days ago - ★★★★★ - 492 ratingsThis Week in Microbiology is a podcast about unseen life on Earth hosted by Vincent Racaniello and friends. Following in the path of his successful shows 'This Week in Virology' (TWiV) and 'This Week in Parasitism' (TWiP), Racaniello and guests produce an informal yet informative conversation about microbes which is accessible to everyone, no matter what their science background.
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Episodes
307: Attaching and Effacing on a Pedestal
March 30, 2024 05:30 - 50 minutes - 34.5 MBTWiM reviews a case of E. faecium bacteremia treated with combination bacteriophage and antibiotic therapy, and how dopamine receptor D2 confers colonization resistance via microbial metabolites. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin and Michele Swanson. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Android, RSS, or by email. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Vincent’s interviews at SXSW Bacteriophage and antibiotic therapy for E. faecium ba...
306: Spirulina Smoothies
March 15, 2024 23:26 - 52 minutes - 36.7 MBTWiM discusses the identification of natural products from reconstructed ancient bacterial genomes, and how plant mRNAs move into a fungal pathogen via extracellular vesicles to reduce infection. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Petra Levin. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Natural products from ancient bacterial genomes (Science) Plant mRNAs move into fungal pathogens (Cell Host Microb) Take the TWiM Listener survey! Send your microbiology questions...
305: The Marvel of MAC
March 02, 2024 05:33 - 49 minutes - 34.3 MBTWiM reviews the ongoing cholera outbreak in Africa, and research showing that gut complement induced by the microbiota blocks pathogens and spares commensal bacteria. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin and Michele Swanson. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Cholera in Southern Africa (Africa CDC) Deadly cholera outbreak in Africa (NY Times) Pediatric cholera in sub-Saharan Africa (Curr Op Ped) Gut complement spares commensals (Cell) Take the ...
304: A New blue cheese-making fungus
February 17, 2024 05:22 - 57 minutes - 40 MBTWiM reveals a new population in the blue cheese-making fungus Penicillium roqueforti and identification of a quorum-sensing autoinducer and siderophore in uropathogenic Escherichia coli. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Android, RSS, or by email. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode New blue cheese-making fungus (Evol Appl) Threat to Camenbert cheese (Guardian) French Cheese Under Threat (CNRS News) Fungadapt project (YouTube) M...
303: Can Our Microbiome Break Our Hearts?
February 03, 2024 00:44 - 56 minutes - 39.3 MBTWiM reveals a database of genome sequences of thousands of Mycobaterium tuberculosis, allowing association with resistance phenotypes to 13 antibiotics, and microbe-derived uremic solutes that enhance thrombosis potential in the host. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Michele Swanson. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode M. tuberculosis genomes and antimicrobial resistance (PLoS Biol) The CRyPTIC consortium BashTheBug Zooniverse Microbial solutes enha...
302: Itching and Scratching and New Antibiotics
January 20, 2024 08:20 - 54 minutes - 37.9 MBTWiM describes the mechanism for the S. aureus itch and scratch induced skin damage, and discovery of a novel class of antibiotics that targets the lipopolysaccharide transporter. Become a patron of TWiM. Links: S. aureus drives itch and scratch behavior (Cell) Staph scratches its itch (Cell) A new class of antibiotics (Nature) A new type of antibiotic (Nature) Novel antibiotic targets LPS transporter (Nature) New antibiotic traps LPS (Natur...
301: Another Year is Microbial
January 03, 2024 05:21 - 47 minutes - 32.9 MBA highly reduced TWiM team presents a study of the use of phage diversity in cell-free DNA to identify bacterial pathogens in human sepsis cases, and the evolution, persistence, and host adaptation of a gonococcal antimicrobial resistance plasmid that emerged in the pre-antibiotic era. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Petra Levin Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Phages identify sepsis pathogens (Nat Micro) Gonococcal AMR plasmid from pre-antibiotic era (PLoS Genetics) ...
300: Marvels of Microbiology
December 16, 2023 23:18 - 39 minutes - 27.6 MBOn the occasion of TWiM’s 300th episode, we discuss how two college students found a new antibiotic in soil, Barbara Iglewski’s passing, and Elio returns for an appearance. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin and Michele Swanson. Guest: Elio Schaechter Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Barbara Iglewski dies Antimicrobial activity of P. nicotinovorans (MicroPubl Biol) 2 NWTC students found a new antibiotic in soil (Green Bay Press Gazette) ESK...
299: Teaching with TWiM
December 02, 2023 04:25 - 51 minutes - 35.7 MBFrom ASM’s Conference for Undergraduate Educators 2023 in Phoenix, TWiM speaks with Amaya Garcia Costas and Gwendolyn Knapp about their approaches to undergraduate microbiology education, and how they use TWiM as part of their curricula. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin and Michele Swanson. Guest: Amaya Garcia Costas and Gwendolyn Knapp. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode ASMCUE 2023 Teaching in the time of COVID-19 (J Microbiol Biol Edu) Tak...
298: Impact of Lung Microbiome and Racial Disparities on Asthma
November 16, 2023 21:52 - 59 minutes - 41.5 MBTWiM provides thoughts on providing better training for a non-academic career, and help celebrate Black in Microbiology Week with a 2023 paper by Ari Kozik, a co-founder of Black Microbiologists Association and Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson, Petra Levin, Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Better training for a non-academic career (Nat Micro) Nature career site ASM career site Prosper - U...
297: Bacterial-electronic Sensor Pill
November 04, 2023 03:04 - 59 minutes - 41.3 MBTWiM reviews how a coating of lipoproteins provides a stabilizing environment on the inner membrane of Bacillus subtilis spores, and a miniaturized device that integrates genetically engineered probiotic biosensors with a custom-designed photodetector and readout chip to track mediators of inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Petra Levin, Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Android, RSS, or by email....
296: Bacterial Channels in Plant Cells
October 07, 2023 19:32 - 47 minutes - 32.7 MBTWiM discusses a dispute about whether the mycobiome plays a role in the development of cancer, and the structure and function of channels that are delivered to plant cells by pathogenic bacteria. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, and Michael Schmidt. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Cancer microbes disputed (Carl Zimmer) Fungal mycobiome and cancer (Nature) Revisiting fungal mycobiome and cancer (Nature) Bacteria deliver channels to plant cells (Nature) Ice nucleation...
295: Uncultured and Unmutable
September 22, 2023 21:44 - 1 hour - 46.3 MBTWiM explains how phages avoid tRNA-targeting host defenses, and discovery of a new antibiotic from an uncultured bacterium that binds to an immutable target. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Petra Levin, Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Phages avoid tRNA-targeting host defenses (eLife) Sea phages Actinobacteriophage database New antibiotic from uncultured bacterium (bioRxiv) The age of infection (For Policy) Killing bacteria by teixobactin (Nat...
294: You’ll Scream After Ice Cream
September 08, 2023 21:46 - 52 minutes - 36.6 MBTWiM reveals that the ice cream manufacturing environment harbors psychrotrophic bacteria, and identification of a deadly bacterial strain causing widespread deaths of newborns in Uganda. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, & Michele Swanson. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Pyschrotrophic bacteria in ice cream plants (Appl Environ Micro) Creamery pays fine for contaminated ice cream (US DOJ) Paenibacillus infection of infants in Uganda (The Lancet) Deadly...
293: Aerosol phage therapy, alpha-gal aptamers for MRSA
August 23, 2023 06:01 - 1 hour - 48.4 MBTWiM explains personalized aerosilized phage therapy for a chronic lung infection, and using the combination of antibiotic and a DNA molecule that binds alpha-gal to reduce S. aureus infection in vivo. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Michael Schmidt Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Android, RSS, or by email. Become a Patron of TWiM! Links for this episode: Aerosolized phage therapy (Nat Comm) Alpha-gal aptamer and vancomycin for MRSA (Microorg)...
292: Breast Milk Bioactives
August 11, 2023 22:09 - 58 minutes - 40.8 MBTWiM reveals that breast milk bioactives are essential for development of the infant microbiome and immunity, and how capsule mutants of Klebsiella pneumoniae can affect bacterial pathogenesis. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson, Petra Levin, Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Diet-microbe-host interaction in early life (Science) Human Milk: An Ideal Food (Front Ped) Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (Ann NY Acad Sci) Gut microbiome in e...
291: Biogeography of Tectonics and Teeth
July 29, 2023 01:14 - 1 hour - 42.4 MBTWiM explains how photoferrotrophic bacteria initiated plate tectonics over 2500 million years ago, and how two bacteria work together to cause childhood tooth decay. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson, Petra Levin, Guest: Mark O. Martin Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Android, RSS, or by email. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Bacteria initiated plate tectonics (Geophys Res Lett) Medea hypothesis (S...
290: Houston, We Have Mimi Goldschmidt
July 14, 2023 21:02 - 47 minutes - 32.7 MBFrom ASM Microbe 2023 in Houston, TWiM speaks with Mimi Goldschmidt about her remarkable career in microbiology which included training astronauts to safely bring moon rocks back to Earth. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin. Guest: Mimi Goldschmidt Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Mimi Goldschmidt (Wikipedia) Dr. Millicent “Mimi” Goldschmidt - Women in Microbiology (YouTube) Take the TWiM Listener survey! Music used on TWiM is by Ronald Jenk...
289: Viral Defense and Counter-Defense
June 30, 2023 19:33 - 57 minutes - 40 MBTWiM highlights viral defense and counter-defense: cGAS mediated ubiquitination to counter infection, and viral sponges that sequester nucleotide signals to inactivate immunity. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson, Petra Levin. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Ubiquitin-like conjugation by bacterial cGAS (Nature) Jumpin’ Jack Flash (TWiV 222) Viral sponges inactivate anti-phage immunity (Trends Micro) cGAS and CD-NTase enzymes (Curr Opin St...
288: Cancer and E. coli
June 09, 2023 22:55 - 1 hour - 46.3 MBTWiM describes a potential connection between a bacterial protein that damages DNA, and human cancers, and how to synthesize antimicrobial natural products from reconstructed bacterial genomes of the Middle and Upper Paleolithic. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson, and Petra Levin Become a patron of TWiM Links for this episode Colorectal cancer and E. coli (Nature) Natural products from ancient bacterial genomes (Science) Underexplored bacteria reservoirs ...
287: When Replicas Do Not Replicate
May 20, 2023 07:35 - 51 minutes - 35.8 MBTWiM investigates the high variability in the rate and amount of current production from microbial fuel cells, and how bacteria link their growth rate to external nutrient conditions via a protein that functions as a cellular rheostat. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Petra Levin Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Android, RSS, or by email. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Variability in microbial fuel cells (Appl Env...
286: Integrons and Invasion
May 05, 2023 23:47 - 52 minutes - 36.7 MBTWiM reveals environmental integrons, bacterial genetic elements notorious for their role in spreading antibiotic resistance, and how Salmonella invasion is controlled by competition among intestinal chemical signals. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Michele Swanson. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Environmental integrons (Trends Micro) Integrons: agents of bacterial evolution (Nat Rev Micro) Rethinking microbial infallibility in the metagenomics era...
285: How Plague Got Deadly
April 23, 2023 07:05 - 1 hour - 49.4 MBTWiM reveals a new type of satellite virus that requires only phage tails for producing infectious virus particles, and that highly virulent plague bacteria differs from its innocuous enteric predecessor by its resistance to lysis by human complement. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Michael Schmidt. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Android, RSS, or by email. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Viruses that steal bacteriophage tails (Ce...
284: Flies, Pigs, and Squid
April 08, 2023 02:29 - 55 minutes - 38.3 MBTWiM reveals housefly dispersal of antimicrobial resistant bacteria, and a reproductive organ in squid linked to symbiotic bacteria. Become a patron of TWiM Links for this episode Housefly dispersal of antimicrobial resistant E. coli (Appl Micro Int) Antibiotic use in farming (Nature) Antimicrobial use in food producing animals (PLoS Glob Pub Health) Reproductive organ linked to symbiotic bacteria (mBio) Skype a Scientist Take the TWiM Listener survey! Music used on ...
283: Quorum Sensing In The Gut
March 24, 2023 18:44 - 58 minutes - 40.3 MBTWiM reveals quorum-sensing systems that regulate intestinal inflammation and permeability caused by P. aeruginosa, and how plasmids manipulate bacterial behavior through translational regulatory crosstalk. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson, Petra Levin. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Quorum-sensing in the intestine (mBio) Block quorum sensing, block biofilm (Antimicrob Agents Chemother) Plasmids manipulate bacterial behavior (PLoS Biol) ...
282: At-home evolution with yeast
March 10, 2023 21:37 - 54 minutes - 37.5 MBTWiM presents a protocol for evolving caffeine-tolerant yeast by high school students in the home, and how predator-prey dynamics change when multiple bacteria grow together in biofilms. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson, Petra Levin. Guest: Mark O. Martin Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Android, RSS, or by email. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Caffeine-tolerant yeast selected at home (microPub Biol...
281: Microbes Making Jet Fuel
February 17, 2023 20:21 - 59 minutes - 41.6 MBTWiM explains the synthesis in bacteria of new energy-dense biofuels that can replace rocket and jet fuels, and the use of nanopore sequencing to improve diagnosis and treatment of patients with serious infections. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode: Biosynthesis of high energy biofuels (Joule) Polyketide synthases in bacteria (PNAS) Sequencing for diagnosis of serious infections (mBio) Nanopore sequencing video (YouTube) Emerging human pathogen Kodam...
280: They Forget To Divide
January 28, 2023 03:52 - 58 minutes - 40.8 MBTWiM explains how magnesium modulates cell division frequency of a soil bacillus, and killing of fungi by Acinetobacter baumannii via a Type VI DNase Effector. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson, and Petra Levin Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Android, RSS, or by email. Become a Patron of TWiM! Links for this episode: •Magnesium modulates cell division frequency (J Bacteriol) •A. baumannii kills fungi (mBio) Music...
279: A Road Map For Successful Phage Therapy
January 13, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 42.9 MBTWiM describes successful phage therapy against a mycobacterial lung infection, and how encapsulation of the cell wall protects S. pneumoniae from its major peptidoglycan hydrolase and host defenses. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode: Phage therapy against M. abscessus lung infection (Cell) Encapsulation of the septal cell wall protects S. pneumoniae from host defenses (PLoS Path) Letters read on TWiM 279 Music used on TWiM is by Ronald Jenkees. Send your microbi...
278: Bacteria Sing The Blues
December 29, 2022 05:00 - 59 minutes - 34.5 MBTWiM explores the relationship between the gut microbiome and depressive symptoms, and how purine nucleotides act as adjuvants to antibiotics. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Michele Swanson Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Android, RSS, or by email. Become a Patron of TWiM! Links for this episode: Gut microbiota and depressive symptoms one and two (Nat Commun ) Microbiome influences depression (Phys.org) Gut bacteria and de...
277: To Stop or Not To Stop
December 08, 2022 12:00 - 58 minutes - 40.7 MBOn this episode of TWiM, we reveal widespread stop-codon recoding in bacteriophages that may regulate translation of lytic genes, and how Staphylococcus aureus inhibits Pseudomonas aeruginosa growth. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Michele Swanson. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Stop codon recoding in bacteriophages (Nat Micro) How S. aureus inhibits P. aeruginosa growth (J Bact) S. aureus small colony variants (Front Cell Infect Micro) Ken Timmi...
276: Bacterial Multicellularity Near An Underground Stream
November 24, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 46.1 MBTWiM presents evidence that over half of human pathogenic diseases are impacted by climate change, and considers how a novel prokaryote discovered next to an underground stream illuminates the pathway to multicellularity. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin and Mark Martin. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Climate change and pathogenic diseases (Nat Climate Change) Impacts of climate change on human diseases (MoraLAB) Cave bacteria illuminate pat...
275: The Myth of Clonality
November 11, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 45.5 MBTWiM reveals high rates of co-transformation of plasmids in E. coli overturns the clonality myth, and bacterial membrane vesicles as a novel strategy for extrusion of the antimicrobial bismuth in H. pylori. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Petra Levin Links for this episode The myth of clonality (Sci Rep) Bacterial membrane vesicles extrude bismuth (mBio) Gastric acid levels must decrease (World J Gastroenterol) Take the TWiM Listener survey! Become a patron of TWi...
274: Bacterial Endosymbionts Block Giant Viruses
October 20, 2022 22:01 - 57 minutes - 40.2 MBMark Martin returns to TWiM to join the discussion of how to design a complex gut microbiome, and protection of protists from virus infection by intracellular bacterial symbionts. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson, and Petra Levin Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Design of a complex gut microbiome (Cell) Defensive symbiosis against giant viruses (PNAS) Take the TWiM Listener survey! Music by Ronald Jenkees. Send your microbiology questio...
273: The Value of Wiping
September 30, 2022 06:24 - 1 hour - 41.6 MBTWiM reveals how to inactivate norovirus on formica surfaces, and how to achieve antibiotic resistance by suppression of a frameshift mutation in an essential gene. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson, and Petra Levin Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Android, RSS, or by email. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Effect of wiping on norovirus inactivation (Appl Env Micro) Chlorine dilution calculator (Ontario...
272: Metabolism’s Got Rhythm
September 16, 2022 22:48 - 51 minutes - 36 MBTWiM explores the activation of natural product synthesis using CRISPR interference in Streptomyces, and how light/dark and temperature cycling modulate Electron Flow in Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michele Swanson, and Petra Levin Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Activating natural product synthesis (Nucleic Acids Res) Light and temperature modulate biofilm electron flow (mBio) Take the TWiM Listener survey! Music used on TWiM is com...
271: Microbe vs Microbe
August 25, 2022 23:43 - 1 hour - 44.6 MBTWiM presents a novel mucosal COVID-19 vaccine based on a bacteriophage capsid, and potentiation of C. difficile infection severity by the gut bacterial community. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode: Bacteriophage based COVID-19 vaccine (mBio) Gut microbiome potentiates C. difficile disease (mBio) Letters read on TWiM 271 Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission. Send your microbiology questions and comments to twim@micr...
270: Magnets and Salt Improve Plastics Production by Archaea
August 09, 2022 22:48 - 52 minutes - 36.5 MBTWiM explores the use of Archaea to produce plastics from molasses wastewater, and a bacterial defense against bacteriophage infection that involves depletion of deoxynucleotides. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Improving plastics production by Archaea (Appl Environ Micro) Biodegradability of PHA (Green Chem) What does tesla mean for an MRI and its magnet? (GE) Bacteria deplete nucleotides to block phages (Nat Micro) Antiphage hotspots in bacteria (TWiM 265) Ta...
269: Bacterial But Not Microbial
July 22, 2022 18:26 - 1 hour - 48.3 MBTWiM reviews discovery of a bacterium that is visible to the naked eye, and reversible resistance to bacteriophage by shedding of the bacterial cell wall. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode A bacterium that is not a microbe (Science) Overwhelming microbial greatness (TWiM 261) Medical illustrator Kellie Holoski Bacteriophage resistance by shedding cell wall (Open Biol) Who came first, monderms or diderms? (Nat Ecol Evol) Letters read on TWiM 269 Take the TWiM Li...
268: Aspergillus and Aspergillum
July 08, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 45.5 MBTWiM discusses citizen science surveillance of drug-resistant Aspergillus in garden soil, and the mechanism of action of a copper dependent antibiotic. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Fanny Hesse (Microbial Menagerie) Citizen science surveillance of Aspergillus (App Envir Micro) Aspergillum (Wikipedia) DMDC, copper dependent antibiotic (Infect Immun) National Summer Undergraduate Research Project Letters read on TWiM 268 Take the TWiM Listener survey! Music ...
267: The Honey Badger of Pathogens With Heran Darwin
June 24, 2022 11:00 - 47 minutes - 33 MBFrom ASM Microbe 2022 in Washington, DC, Heran joins TWiM to discuss her career and her work on the agent of tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Michele Swanson Guest: Heran Darwin Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Honey badger of pathogens (EMBO Rep) Pup-proteasome system (PNAS) Cytokinin signaling in M. tuberculosis (mBio) Bandwagoning (EMBO Rep) Take the TWiM Listener survey! Music used on TWiM is com...
The Honey Badger of Pathogens With Heran Darwin
June 24, 2022 11:00 - 47 minutes - 33 MBFrom ASM Microbe 2022 in Washington, DC, Heran joins TWiM to discuss her career and her work on the agent of tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Michele Swanson Guest: Heran Darwin Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Honey badger of pathogens (EMBO Rep) Pup-proteasome system (PNAS) Cytokinin signaling in M. tuberculosis (mBio) Bandwagoning (EMBO Rep) Take the TWiM Listener survey! Music used on TWiM is comp...
266: Bacteria That Can Record
June 03, 2022 21:26 - 51 minutes - 35.8 MBTWiM explains how spindle-shaped Archaeal viruses evolved from rod-shaped ancestors to package a larger genome, and transcriptional recording by CRISPR acquisition from RNA. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode From rods to spindles (Cell) Spindle-shaped virus movie (Cell) Bacteria that record (Science) Transcriptional recording with CRISPR (Nature) Letters read on TWiM 266 TWiM Listener survey Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used...
256: Antiviral Hotspots and Desiccation Tolerance
May 20, 2022 23:22 - 56 minutes - 39.4 MBTWiM explains the discovery of hotspots of genetic variation containing reservoirs of anti-phage systems in E. coli phages and their parasitic satellites, and pathogen desiccation tolerance promoted by hydrophilins. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Phage and satellite antiviral systems (Cell Host Micro) Hydropilins promote desiccation tolerance (Cell Host Micro) Letters read on TWiM 265 TWiM Listener survey Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jen...
264: Antimicrobial Antipsychotics
May 06, 2022 11:00 - 1 hour - 45.6 MBTWiM reveals that the atypical antipsychotic quetiapine promotes multiple antibiotic resistance in E. coli, and treatment with Bifidobacterium lactis probiotic benefits patients with coronary artery disease. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode: Antipsychotic promotes antimicrobial resistance (J Bact) Probiotic benefits patients with coronary artery disease (mSystems) B. lactis and Alzheimer’s in mice (Eur J Nutr) Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald J...
263: Lavender and Catheters
April 15, 2022 23:28 - 1 hour - 43.8 MBTWiM explains the use of lavender oil to disrupt Listeria biofilms, and how treatment of catheters with liquid silicone reduces associated urinary tract infections. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Lavender oil prevents biofilms (Lett Appl Micro) Silicone-infused catheters reduce infection (eLife) Viable but not culturable (TWiM 179) Letters read on TWiM 263 TWiM Listener survey Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permissi...
262: Spot on With T4SS Modulators
April 01, 2022 18:36 - 57 minutes - 40.2 MBTWiM welcomes new host Petra, and explains how a small protein helps ensure that E. coli utilizes a preferred carbon source, and a screening strategy to identify inhibitors of the type IV secretion system that is essential for virulence of a variety of bacterial pathogens. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson, and Petra Levin Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Android, RSS, or by email. Become a Patron of TWiM! Links for th...
261: Overwhelming Microbial Greatness
March 18, 2022 07:48 - 1 hour - 55.1 MBMark returns to TWiM to join in a discussion of soil microbiota as game-changers in restoration of degraded lands, and discovery of a centimeter-long bacterium, the biggest yet discovered. Guest: Mark O. Martin Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode: Game-changing soil microbiota (Science) A World Without Soil by Jo Handlesman A World Without Soil video (YouTube) Centimeter-long bacteria (bioRxiv) How large can a bacteria get? (YouTube) Giant bacteria (YouTube) ...
260: Carnivorous Vulture Bees
February 25, 2022 21:36 - 44 minutes - 30.5 MBIn this food-centric TWiM, we reveal the microbiomes of carnivorous vulture bees and of Gala apples from all over the world. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Microbiome of vulture bees (mBio) Bees previously in TWiM 245 Microbiome of Gala apples (Envir Micro) Apple flower microbiome (mBio) TWiM Listener survey Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission. Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded...
259: Sea Sawdust
February 14, 2022 04:43 - 1 hour - 42.9 MBMark Martin returns to TWiM for a discussion of the frightening global burden of bacterial antibiotic resistance, and a solution to the problem of daylight nitrogen fixation in a cyanobacterium, despite the incompatibility of nitrogenase with oxygen produced during photosynthesis. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode: Global bacterial antimicrobial resistance (Nat Micro) Cancer moon shot (NCI) When antibiotics don’t work (TED) Cyanobacterium buoyancy (Nat Micro) Mus...