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

305: The Marvel of MAC

TWiM 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) Microbes Make the Cheese (ASM) Yersiniabactin in uropathogenic Escherichia coli (mBio) Public goods and cheating in microbes (Curr Biol) Take the TWiM Listener survey!  Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to twim@microbe.tv

304: A New blue cheese-making fungus

TWiM 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 enhance thrombosis (mBio) Can our microbiome break our heart? (mBio) Pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease (EJIFCC) How Kidneys Work Video (Mayo Clinic) What is a metaorganism? (Zoology) Take the TWiM Listener survey!  Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to twim@microbe.tv

303: Can Our Microbiome Break Our Hearts?

TWiM 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  (Nature)      Macrocyclic   peptide drugs  (Science)     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  

302: Itching and Scratching and New Antibiotics

A 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) Take the TWiM Listener survey!   Music used on TWiM is by Ronald Jenkees.   Send your microbiology questions and comments to twim@microbe.tv

301: Another Year is Microbial

On 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) ESKAPE bacteria group (Clover) Take the TWiM Listener survey!  Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to twim@microbe.tv

300: Marvels of Microbiology

From 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) Take the TWiM Listener survey!  Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to twim@microbe.tv

299: Teaching with TWiM

TWiM 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 - Unlocking postdoc career potential Airway microbiota in obesity and asthma (J Allerg Clin Immunol) A vision for human microbiome research (mSphere) Microbes in Models (ASM) Climate change and microbes (ASM) Take the TWiM Listener survey!  Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to twim@microbe.tv

298: Impact of Lung Microbiome and Racial Disparities on Asthma

TWiM 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. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode  Lipoproteins stabilize germination apparatus (J Bacteriol) A coating of liposomes (J Bacteriol) Biosensor to detect inflammatory molecules in the gut (Nature) Take the TWiM Listener survey!  Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to twim@microbe.tv

297: Bacterial-electronic Sensor Pill

TWiM 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 by bacteria (YouTube) Gram-negative bacterial porins (Curr Protein Pept Sci) Xenopus oocyte toolbox (Cold Spring Harb Protocols) Take the TWiM Listener survey!  Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to twim@microbe.tv

296: Bacterial Channels in Plant Cells

TWiM 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 (Nature) Take the TWiM Listener survey!  Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to twim@microbe.tv

295: Uncultured and Unmutable

TWiM 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 bacterial strain identified (Yale SOM) Take the TWiM Listener survey!  Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to twim@microbe.tv

294: You’ll Scream After Ice Cream

TWiM 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)  Alpha-gal syndrome (Front Allergy)  Natural antibody protects against viral infection (virology blog) Oil pulling for improving oral health (Healthcare)  Music used on TWiM is by Ronald Jenkees. Send your microbiology questions and comments to twim@microbe.tv

293: Aerosol phage therapy, alpha-gal aptamers for MRSA

TWiM 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 early childhood (Nature) Probiotics Infloran and Labinic Cell envelope defects of Klebsiella pneumoniae (Mol Micro) A cautionary tale (Mol Micro) Global mortality associated with bacterial pathogens (Lancet) Take the TWiM Listener survey!  Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to twim@microbe.tv

292: Breast Milk Bioactives

TWiM 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 (Sci Am) Earth’s ferrous wheel (Nature) The Great Dying (Nova) The Great Oxidation Event (ASM) Banded iron formations (EarthSphere) S. sputigena and tooth decay (Nat Comm) Acid tolerance mechanisms of S. mutans (Fut. Micro.) Halitosis patients' tongue biofilm (Microbiol. Open) Take the TWiM Listener survey!  Music used on TWiM is by Ronald Jenkees Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to twim@microbe.tv

291: Biogeography of Tectonics and Teeth

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

290: Houston, We Have Mimi Goldschmidt

TWiM 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 Struct Biol) Take the TWiM Listener survey!  Music used on TWiM is by Ronald Jenkees Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to twim@microbe.tv

289: Viral Defense and Counter-Defense

TWiM 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 of antimicrobial lipopeptides (Front Chem) Fries With That Mammoth Burger? (Mother Jones) 25-40 million year old spores (Science) 250 million year old bacterium from salt crystal (Nature) 1918 influenza with Jeffery Taubenberger (TWiV 966) Take the TWiM Listener survey!  Music used on TWiM is by Ronald Jenkees Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to twim@microbe.tv

288: Cancer and E. coli

TWiM 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 Environ Micro) Electrodes for microbial fuel cells (Chemosphere) Microbial | electrochemical CO2 reduction (Joule) Growth rate and cell wall precursors (Nat Micro) Bacterial growth physiology (Front Micro) Take the TWiM Listener survey!  Music used on TWiM is by Ronald Jenkees. Send your microbiology questions and comments to twim@microbe.tv

287: When Replicas Do Not Replicate

TWiM 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 (Fems Micro  Music used on TWiM is by Ronald Jenkees. Send your microbiology questions and comments to twim@microbe.tv

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