This Week In Microbiology

Vincent, Elio, Michael, and Michelle discuss a symbiosis between a bacterium and fungus that increases the virulence of oral biofilms, and the assembly of amyloid fibers, which are needed for biofilm formation.  

Vincent, Elio, and Michael discuss a huge 30,000 year old virus recovered from Siberia, and nested symbiosis facilitated by horizontal gene transfer from bacteria to insect.

Vincent, Michael, and Michele discuss how soil-dwelling bacteria induce the formation of root nodules on legumes via a protein called CYCLOPS. 

Vincent, Elio, Michael, and Michele review how microbial virulence can be increased as a consequence of community surveillance and adaptation to macrophages.  

Vincent, Michael, and Michele explain how the gut microbiome modulates colon tumorigenesis, and regulation of intestinal macrophage function by the microbial metabolite butyrate.

Vincent, Elio, Michael, and Michele discuss evidence that the acellular pertussis vaccine fails to prevent infection and transmission in nonhuman primates, and the use of bacterial cytological profiling to identify pathways targeted by antibiotics.

Vincent, Elio, Jo, and Michele review evidence for bacterial DNA integrated into the human genome, and control of the symbiont population in an insect midgut.

Vincent, Elio, Michael, and Michele discuss the amazingly high level of intergenera gene exchange among haloarchaea in an Antarctic lake, and the diversity of fungi on residential surfaces and the human forehead. 

Vincent, Elio, and Michael discuss how temperature triggers Neisseria menigitidis immune evasion, and protection of mice from ionizing radiation by feeding them black mushrooms.

Vincent, Elio, Michael, and Michele discuss the curious outer membrane vesicles of Neisseria meningitides, and sources of Clostridium difficile infection revealed by genome sequencing.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Michelle Swanson. Vincent and Michelle reveal how the human gut microbiota can modulate obesity in mice. Links for this episode:  Gut microbiota modulate metabolism (Science)  Fighting obesity with bacteria (Science) Letters read on TWiM 065 Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twim@twiv.tv, or call them in to 908-312-0760. You can also post articles that you would like us to discuss at microbeworld.org and tag them with twim.

Vincent and Michael recorded this episode at the 53rd ICAAC in Denver, where they spoke with James Gern and James Johnson about rhinoviruses and extra-intestinal pathogenic E. coli.

Vincent, Michael, and Michelle discuss how a Staphylococcus aureus superantigen is critical for pathogenesis in a rabbit model, and the relationship of body odor to the axilla microbiome.

Vincent and Michael discuss how infection with influenza A virus disperses Streptococcus pneumoniae biofilms leading to disease, and an amazing protein chainmail in a viral capsid 

Vincent, Elio, and Michele review how horizontal gene transfer from bacteria to an insect genome enables a tripartite nested mealybug symbiosis, and how probiotic bacteria work by competing for iron in the intestine.

Vincent, Elio, and Michael discuss how an error-prone reverse transcriptase produces enormous diversity in a Legionella protein, and using microbes to convert waste into bioelectricity and chemicals.

Vincent and Michael discuss the finding that bacteriophage might be part of the mucosal antimicrobial defense system.

Vincent, Elio and Michael review how underground mycelial networks carry signals that warn neighboring plants of aphid attack, and the presence of bacteria in the human brain.

Vincent, Elio and Michael discuss fungi that use pheromones to trap nematodes, and how genes obtained from marine bacteria help gut bacteria degrade algal carbohydrates. 

Vincent, Elio and Michael recorded this episode before an audience at the 2013 General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Denver, Colorado, where they spoke with Andrew, Ferric, Suzanne, and Michelle about their research on a phage system for evading innate immunity, retractions of research papers, bacterial infections of the eye, and cytoplasmic defenses against intracellular bacteria. This episode was filmed live at ASM GM 2013 in Denver, CO. Visit www.microbeworld.org/asmlive to watch the full video archive of this episode as well as all the videos recorded during GM.