This Week in Microbiology – Details, episodes & analysis

TWiM explains how competition for nutrients anticipates and potentially mitigate drug side effects on the gut microbiota, and metabolic control of porin permeability influences antibiotic resistance.

Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt and Petra Levin

Guest: Mark O. Martin

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Links for this episode:

• Nutrient competition predicts drug effects on microbiota (Cell)

• Metabolic control of porin permeability influences antibiotic resistance in E coli (Nat Micro)

• Santiago Cano-Muniz

Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.

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TWiM explains a biological mechanism that links sulfur and iron cycling in anoxic environments, and "swashing," a form of surface movement in which bacteria migrate without active propulsion.

Hosts:  Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson, and Petra Levin

Guest: Mark O. Martin

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• Sulfur and iron cycling in anoxic environments (Nature)
• Bacterial surface migration by swashing (J Bacteriol)

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Music used on TWiM is by Ronald Jenkees.

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TWiM explores the use of gas sensors and machine learning to identify microbes and antimicrobial resistance in clinical specimens, and how a harmful algal bloom species releases thiamin antivitamins to suppress competitors.

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Links for this episode:

• Microbial and antimicrobial resistance diagnostics (Cell Biomaterials)

• Thiamin antivitamins suppress algal competitors (mBio)

Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.

Send your microbiology questions and comments to twim@microbe.tv

The TWiM folk explore disruption of a Burkholderia intracellular niche by a cell death program, and an increase in Brucella infectiousness after intracellular passage.

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Links for this episode:

• Disrupting intracellular niche (mBio)
• Intracellular passage increases infectiousness (Infect Immun)
• Type IV secretion systems (Front Micro)

Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.

Send your microbiology questions and comments to twim@microbe.tv

In this episode, how polysaccharides keep cyanobacteria afloat in the oceans so that they can carry out photosynthesis, and a symbiotic bacterium that protects honey bees from fungal infections.

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Links for this episode:

• Bacterial blooms and polysaccharides (eLife)
• Social life of cyanobacteria (eLife)
• Bacteria that protect bees from fungi (mBio)
• First 21 days of a bee's life (YouTube)
• antiSMASH (Nucl Acids Res)
• Delaney Miller's website

Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.

Send your microbiology questions and comments to twim@microbe.tv

Foodie TWiM reveals that bacteria in human saliva are major components of Ecuadorian indigenous beers, and an unusual E. coli that produces atypical light cream-colored colonies in chromogenic agar.

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Links for this episode:

• Saliva bacteria in indigenous beers (Peer J)
• Unusual behavior of E. coli ST59 (Appl Envir Micro)
• One Health (CDC)

Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.

Send your microbiology questions and comments to twim@microbe.tv

TWiM continues its food arc with an examination of the effect of peroxyacetic acid spray on the microbiome and sensory properties of beef, and explores asymmetry of the cell division machinery during sporulation.

Links for this episode:

• Effect of peroxyacetic acid on beef (Appl Envir Micro)
• Peracetic acid sterilization (CDC)
• Different cuts of beef (S. Clyde Weaver)
• Profiling the Poglianos (TWiM 115)
• Cell division machinery asymmetry in sporulation (eLife)
• Kamala Sohonie by Kanika Khanna
• India COVID SOS

Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.

Send your microbiology questions and comments to twim@microbe.tv

TWiM reveals the microbiome of sourdough starter cultures, and discovery of a novel family of prokaryotic nanocompartments involved in the metabolism of sulfur.

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• Sourdough starter microbiomes (eLife)
• Prokaryotic nanocompartments (eLife)
• TWiM Listener survey

Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.

Send your microbiology questions and comments to twim@microbe.tv

TWiM explains how Vibrio biofilms are dispersed by polyamine signals, and the induction of inappetence by respiratory virus infection which causes alteration of the gut microbiome.

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• Regulation of Vibrio biofilms by polyamines (eLife)
• Cyclic di-GMP (pdf)
• Respiratory virus infection induces inappetance (mBio)
• Letters read on TWiM 241
• TWiM Listener survey

Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to twim@microbe.tv

TWiM reviews aspirin modulation of Fusobacterium nucleatum, a microbe that has been associated with colorectal cancer, and Elio tells us 'What are vaccines', a talk he recently gave to members of his community.

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Links for this episode:

• Elio's What are Vaccines? (pdf)
• Jenner Museum
• Aspirin modulation of Fusobacterium (mBio)
• Fecal transplant for C. difficile (NEJM)
• Fecal microbiota transplantation (NEJM)
• Fecal microbiota transplant for dysbiosis (NEJM)

Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.

Send your microbiology questions and comments to twim@microbe.tv