TWiM reveals a Vibrio as the causative agent of sea star wasting disease, and using microcolony-seq to uncover phenotypic inheritance from single cells.

Hosts: Michael Schmidt and Michele Swanson

Guest: Mark O. Martin

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Links for this episode:

• Agent of sea star wasting disease (Nat Ecol Evol)

• Sea star wasting mystery solved (Nat Ecol Evol)

• Phenotypic inheritance from single cells (Cell)

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

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TWiM explores the varied and distinct microbiome of trees, and an array of biopesticidal metabolites against mosquito larvae isolated from a Mediterranean island.

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Links for this episode:

• Microbiome of trees (Nature)

• Biopesticides from a Mediterranean island (Appl Environ Micro)

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

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TWiM pays tribute to Elio Schaechter, former TWiM host, blogger, and microbiologist extraordinaire, then reviews the finding that Archaea produce peptidoglycan hydrolases that kill bacteria - a form of competition.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson and Petra Levin.

Guest Mark O. Martin.

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

• Elio Schaechter (Wikipedia)
• Elio Schaechter Funeral Service (video)
• Archaea produce peptidoglycan hydrolases that kill bacteria (PLoS Biol)
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TWiM discusses outbreak of Legionnaires disease in Harlem NY, an automated whole genome sequencing platform for bacterial strain typing in clinical microbiology laboratories, building E. coli with a 57-codon genetic code.

Links for this episode

• Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in NY (NY Health)
• Automated whole genome sequencing for clinical labs (J Clin Micro)
• Sequencing workflow for outbreaks (J Clin Micro)
• Rewriting code of life (NYTimes)
• E. coli with a 57-codon genetic code (Science)
• E. coli with one stop codon (TWiM 330)

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

TWiM explains a study that examines pathogen presence in ancient humans and concludes that zoonoses emerged 6500 years ago with the domestication of livestock, and determination of universal rules that govern plasmid copy number.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson, and Petra Levin

Guests: Mark O. Martin

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Links for this episode:

• Human pathogens in ancient Eurasia (Nature)

• What once ailed us (NY Times)

• Rules of plasmid copy number (Nature Comm)

• Scaling laws of plasmids (Nature Comm)
  

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 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

TWiM explains two strategies for bacterial competition for resources: by laying down a slippery lipid and pushing away competitors, or by breaking open cells with a spike, liberating essential nutrients.

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Links for this episode:

• Secreting a slippery lipid (mBio)

• Lysing neighboring cells for nutrients (Science)

• Underwater hockey (YouTube

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 describes how microbiological analysis of the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn has revealed an antimicrobial resistance reservoir and bioremediation potential, and fungicide resistance in Fusarium graminearum, the fungus recently smuggled into the US.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Petra Levin.

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Become a patron of TWiM.

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

• Microbiology of the Gowanus Canal (J. Appl. Micro)
• Microbes clean up Gowanus (BrooklynPaper)
• Fungicide resistance in Fusarium (Pathogens)
• Couple smuggles fungal pathogen into US (NBC)
• Fusarium and wheat-management strategies (Pathogens)
• Laboratory Biosafety (pdf)
• NIH Biosafety (NIH)
• Take the TWiM Listener survey!

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