BacterioFiles 260 - Endoriftia Evacuate Expired Employers

This episode: Bacteria in hydrothermal vents that feed their host tubeworms evacuate when their hosts perish!
Download Episode (9 MB, 9.8 minutes)

Show notes:
Journal Paper:
Klose J, Polz MF, Wagner M, Schimak MP, Gollner S, Bright M. 2015. Endosymbionts escape dead hydrothermal vent tubeworms to enrich the free-living population. Proc Natl Acad Sci 112:11300–11305.

Other interesting stories:

Making bacteria sensors from phages oriented along electric fields

Insecticide-producing bacteria could treat parasite infections

Probiotics can help by improving overall gut community (paper)

Plant virus could induce immune response against cancer

Exercise early in life could develop better microbiome

Post questions or comments here or email to bacteriofiles@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!

Subscribe at iTunes, check out the show at Twitter, MicrobeWorld, or Facebook

BacterioFiles 259 - Fluke Froth Fosters Fester Fixing

This episode: I converse with Dr. Michael Smout about a liver fluke parasite could help heal chronic wounds faster!
Download Episode (13.4 MB, 14.6 minutes)

Show notes:
News item

Journal Paper:
Smout MJ, Sotillo J, Laha T, Papatpremsiri A, Rinaldi G, Pimenta RN, Chan LY, Johnson MS, Turnbull L, Whitchurch CB, Giacomin PR, Moran CS, Golledge J, Daly N, Sripa B, Mulvenna JP, Brindley PJ, Loukas A. 2015. Carcinogenic Parasite Secretes Growth Factor That Accelerates Wound Healing and Potentially Promotes Neoplasia. PLOS Pathog 11:e1005209.

Michael Smout's research portfolio
Winning presentation about this research on FameLab
The Australian Institute of Tropical Health & Medicine

Other interesting stories:

Good bacteria help protect fish from pathogens (paper)

New microbes from glacial ice could be useful (paper)

Making hybrid yeast could create potentially useful strains

Cooperating bacteria exclude non-cooperators from their colonies

Engineered bacteria can have built-in kill switches to control them in environment (paper)

Post questions or comments here or email to bacteriofiles@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!

Subscribe at iTunes, check out the show at Twitter, MicrobeWorld, or Facebook

BacterioFiles 258 - Transformed Toxin Translocates Treatments

This episode: Bacterial toxins could be modified to deliver life-saving proteins into neurons!
Download Episode (11.1 MB, 12.1 minutes)

Show notes:
Journal Paper:
Chen C, Przedpelski A, Tepp WH, Pellett S, Johnson EA, Barbieri JT. 2015. Heat-Labile Enterotoxin IIa, a Platform To Deliver Heterologous Proteins into Neurons. mBio 6:e00734-15.

Other interesting stories:

Treating infant formula with bacteriophages could prevent deadly infection

Fungus makes silver nanoparticles that fight other, pathogenic fungus (paper)

Fungal symbionts affects how plants interact with soil microbes (paper)

Bacteria can help control plant-damaging worms (paper)

Microbes help fight toxin-producing fungi on coffee (paper)

Post questions or comments here or email to bacteriofiles@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!

Subscribe at iTunes, check out the show at Twitter, MicrobeWorld, or Facebook