Matters Microbial – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Today Dr. Hannah Ledvina, Assistant Professor in the Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Department at the University of Michigan joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss how bacteria can protect themselves against predators in unusual ways . . . including a type of armor!

Host: Mark O. Martin

Guest: Hannah Ledvina

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• The "Giant Microbes" website.
• A prompt for my course:  an article on "Animals in a Microbial World," with so many interesting examples.  Here is a summary for novice #Micronauts.
• A prompt for my course:  an article by the late, great Lynn Margulis on the nature of kefir grains and the definition of multicellularity and the organism.
• A prompt for my course:  an article on hyperpolyploidy in bacteria.
• An explanation of "genomic islands."
• A link to a previous guest of #MattersMicrobial, Dr. Laura Williams, discussing Bdellovibrio and undergraduate based research.
• An overview of predatory bacteria. Here is a more recent overview.  
• An overview of the predator Myxococcus.
• A wonderful video showing the predatory process of Myxococcus. 
• A fine review of the predator Bdellovibrio. 
• A video of the life cycle of Bdellovibrio. 
• Some work by Dr. Koval and colleagues suggesting that aspects of the outer cell wall is not involved with resistance to Bdellovibrio.
• Recent VERY exciting work suggesting that there is indeed a receptor on bacteria that Bdellovibrio can recognize. Here is a short summary of that work.  
• Could Bdellovibrio become a "living antibiotic"?
• A reminder from Drs. Kolter and Losick that bacteria in the laboratory can be quite different from their relatives in nature.  
• The article under discussion on this podcast by Dr. Ledvina and colleagues. Here is an editorial summary on the article.  
• An article on curli proteins in bacteria.
• An article on amyloid like proteins in bacteria.
• A video by Dr. Ledvina on the research interests of her group.
• Thoughts on an "immune system" for bacteria.
• Dr. Ledvina's faculty website.
• Dr. Ledvina's research group website.

Intro music is by Reber Clark

Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

Today Dr. Jessica Mark Welch, Professor at the ADA Forsyth Institute joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss the complex and interactive microbial communities living unseen within our mouths . . . and what those communities can tell us.

Host: Mark O. Martin

Guest: Jessica Mark Welch

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• Here is a link to the very funny Carisa Hendrix's character "Lucy Darling."  I think I made a #Micronaut out of her!
• A link to the wonderful microbiological art of Dr. Lizah van der Aart.
• An overview of FISH technology for visualizing DNA and microbes.
• A reference to R2A medium which helps grow water associated microbes.
• The anatomy of the human tongue.
• The infamous and very interesting article describing how microbes are transmitted between partners via kissing.
• An overview of the oral microbiome.
• The relationship between oral microbiota and blood pressure.
• An article by Dr. Mark Welch and colleagues describing a method for visualizing oral microbial communities.
• An article by Dr. Mark Welch and colleagues about how her techniques can study the kelp microbiome microbiogeography.
• An article by Dr. Mark Welch and colleagues about the oral microbiome.
• An article by Dr. Mark Welch and colleagues about the unusual "corncob" microbes to be found on the human tongue.
• An article by Dr. Jo Handelsman and colleagues describing the THOR soil community, in which even a few members create very diverse responses to the environment.
• An article by Dr. Mark Welch and colleagues about the role of mucus in the oral microbiome.
• An overview of the Forsyth Institute and its mission.
• The Human Oral Microbiome Database website.
• The website for Dr. Mark Welch.
• A fun video snippet with Dr. Mark Welch.

Intro music is by Reber Clark

Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

Let's take a deep dive into chemoautotrophy!  Today, Dr. Roxanne Beinart, Associate Professor of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island, joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss how some marine creatures use bacterial symbioses to provide organic compounds for growth and reproduction. 

Host: Mark O. Martin

Guest: Roxanne Beinart

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• An appreciation of the late Dr. Moselio (Elio) Schaechter from his friends at the blog "Small Things Considered."
• A video from This Week in Microbiology appreciating Elio Schaechter.
• A video describing deep sea symbioses.
• A video by the great Dr. Colleen Cavanaugh about chemoautotrophy/chemosynthesis.
• An overview of chemoautotrophic strategies in the ocean.
• An overview of hydrothermal vents.
• A video review of  thiotrophic (sulfur based) symbiotic associations.
• A video about hydrothermal vent exploration.
• A review of hydrothermal vent communities.
• Alvinella, the extremophilic bristleworm discussed in this episode (includes videos).
• An article by Dr. Beinart and colleagues, describing how a hydrothermal vent community is disrupted by a volcanic eruption.
• A report on the 2020 submarine volcano eruption discussed in this episode.
• An interesting article about studying deep sea symbioses, coauthored by Dr. Beinart. 
• A great video by Dr. Beinart about her research. 
• Dr. Beinart's research team website.
• Dr. Beinart's faculty webpage.

Intro music is by Reber Clark

Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

Today Dr. Sean Gibbons, Associate Professor at the Institute for Systems Biology, will chat with us about how the study of host-associated microbial communities can give us insights into evolution, ecology, and even human health.

Host: Mark O. Martin

Guest: Dr. Sean Gibbons

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• A wonderful overview of ammonites, extinct so long ago.
• A short biography of the late great Abigail Salyers, and another biography.
• My blogpost remembering Abigail and her fine mentorship of yours truly.
• A surprisingly solid overview of the microbiome.
• A fine video introducing the human microbiome.
• An article describing myths and misconceptions about the microbiome.
• The wood rat - creosote - microbiome study discussed in today's session.
• An introduction to the question, "What is systems biology?"
• The Institute for Systems Biology website.
• Sean Gibbons' faculty page at the Institute for Systems Biology.
• Sean Gibbons' laboratory webpage.

Intro music is by Reber Clark

Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

Today Dr. Jack Gilbert, Professor of Pediatrics and of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, chats with us about his MANY interests in microbiology, from human health to marine environments.

Host: Mark O. Martin

Guest: Jack Gilbert

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• Marley and Murtle's Etsy shop, which created my glow in the dark needle felted tardigrade.
• My wife Dr. Jennifer Quinn's Wikipedia page and blog.
• Ethan Kocak's fine artwork is found at his website. 
• An overview of the BLAST program used for sequence analysis.
• An overview of RDP Classifier, no longer online, but can be downloaded to your own computer.  
• A brief biography of JBS Haldane, and the story of his wonderful quote about beetles.  
• A nice overview of microbiology and social equity, from the ASM website.
• Dr. Susan Ishaq's working group of microbiology and social equity.  
• A great short video about Dr. Jack Gilbert's interests and philosophy.
• Dr. Jack Gilbert's profile at UC San Diego, and his faculty website at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
• Dr. Jack Gilbert's laboratory website.

Intro music is by Reber Clark

Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

Today Dr. Arash Komeili, professor of plant and microbial biology at UC Berkeley, joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss compartmentalization in bacteria, and the amazing world of living magnets—the magnetotactic bacteria!

Host: Mark O. Martin

Guest: Arash Komeili

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• "Hooked by Bex"'s Etsy page.
• An introduction to Paenibacillus.
• More wonderful information on this fascinating bacterium.
• Another remarkable article on colony pattern formation by this microbe.
• An interesting essay about how Paenibacillus can move other organisms around, from the wonderful Small Things Considered blog.
• Muriwai Beach in New Zealand.
• Magnetic sand in New Zealand article.
• A lovely introductory video about magnetotactic bacteria.
• A video "dance" of the magnetotactic bacteria.
• An introduction to magnetotactic bacteria.
• Techniques to isolate/enrich for magnetotactic bacteria of your own.
• A wonderful article on analyzing magnetotactic microbes from the Komeili lab.
• Dr. Komeili's faculty website.
• Dr. Komeili's laboratory website.

Intro music is by Reber Clark

Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

Today Dr. Ruth Isenberg, postdoctoral scholar (and former #DocMartian!) in the Willett Lab at the University of Minnesota, will tell us about her first generation path in science, the squid-Vibrio symbiosis work she did for her PhD, and her current career path.

Host: Mark O. Martin

Guest: Ruth Isenberg

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• The Sikhote-Alin meteorite fall.
• An article on Kenyan Sand Boas.
• An article on African Fire Skinks.
• A video reminder about ice nucleation bacteria.  
• An article relating snowflakes to ice nucleation bacteria
• A reminder of the nature of bacterial colonies.
• The laboratory website of Dr. Kat Milligan-McClellan.
• The laboratory website of Dr. Mark Mandel.
• The laboratory website of Dr. Julia Willett. 
• A great place to begin thinking about the squid-Vibrio symbiosis, as well as the microbiome in general.  
• An excellent review article on the squid-Vibrio symbiosis.
• A fun and accessible video from the famed science journalist Ed Yong about the squid-Vibrio symbiosis.
• An article written by Ruth about her work on this symbiosis
• Ruth's excellent claymation video made for my microbiology class about quorum sensing and the squid-Vibrio symbiosis.  Student creativity matters!
• Another #Micronaut's claymation video about Type VI secretory systems.  Student creativity matters!

Intro music is by Reber Clark

Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

Today Dr. Ken Stedman, Professor of Biology at Portland State University, tells us about the strange and wonderful viruses of heat loving extremophilic archaea—truly viruses from Hell!

Host: Mark O. Martin

Guest: Ken Stedman

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• A popular article about Markus Martin's work as a fossil expert extraordinaire.
• Markus Martin's website.  
• One of Markus Martin's academic articles on trilobites.
• An interesting article on the complexity of colony morphology by Bacillus subtilis.
• An article about Serratia, prodigiosin, and temperature.  
• An article I wrote about educational aspects of the work of the late great Carl Woese.
• An introduction to the diverse and fascinating archaea.  
• An introduction to the viruses of archaea.
• Ken Stedman's fascinating laboratory website.
• Ken Stedman's faculty website.

Intro music is by Reber Clark

Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

Today Dr. David Baltrus, Associate Professor of Plant Sciences at the University of Arizona, talks with us about how his laboratory studies bacteria that battle one another; the first rule of this fight club is that EVERYONE talks about Microbial Fight Club.

Host: Mark O. Martin

Guest: David Baltrus

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• Here is a wonderful and easy to read essay about bacterial predators, including Bdellovibrio, from Scientific American.
• "2001:  A Space Odyssey" remains an important motion picture.
• The animated movie "The Iron Giant" is entertaining and has important messages. 
• Kaitlin Kariko, Drew Weissman, and the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine.
• Jo Handelsman's wonderful "Tiny Earth" program, helping students to search for new antibiotic producing bacteria.  
• Elio Schaechter's absolutely essential guide/view of the changing microbial landscape in terms of organizing our knowledge.
• A nice introductory review of tailocins.
• A more exhaustive review of talocins.
• A really interesting article on this topic—and how tailocins might be used in agriculture— from Dr. Baltrus' laboratory.
• Dr. Baltrus' laboratory website can be found here.

Intro music is by Reber Clark

Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

Today Sebastian Cocioba, a citizen scientist with myriad interests, talks with us about his path in science, some of the tools he has made for others, and how he views science and scientists. 

Host: Mark O. Martin

Guest: Sebastian Cocioba

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• The article on Carl Woese that I wrote can be found here.
• An article on the felt sculpture of Carl Woese is here.
• The artist who created that sculpture, Amy Wright, has a website here.
• The American Society for Microbiology's moving and informative video about Carl Woese is here.
• A heartwarming snippet from "Ted Lasso" regarding the Walt Whitman quote is here.
• Here is a great interview with Sebastian Cocioba.  
• Sebastian Cocioba's website is here.  
• Sebastian Cocioba's online research notebook is here. 

Intro music is by Reber Clark

Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com