456 - Invader Induces Increased Immensity

Sulfolobus infected
with STSV1
By Xiangyux
From Wikipedia

This episode: A virus of archaea stops cells from dividing, so they just keep getting bigger and releasing more viruses!

Download Episode (6.9 MB, 10.1 minutes)

Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Streptomyces caelestis

Takeaways

Viruses affect their hosts many different ways: instant hostile takeover of cellular machinery, lurking unseen in the genome for generations, inducing reduced cell division or excessive cell division, and more. Archaeal viruses are relatively unknown in their genetic abilities and lifestyles, but we do know that they tend not to destroy their hosts through explosive viral reproduction, and that some archaea have eukaryote-like cell cycle phases.

In this study, some viruses infecting a thermophilic archaeon interrupt its cycle in the growth phase, so hosts expand in size up to around 17 times normal, continuously releasing new viruses over time. Eventually some archaea in the population gain resistance to the viruses via their CRISPR/Cas systems, and normal-sized cells dominate the population again.

Journal Paper:
Liu J, Cvirkaite-Krupovic V, Baquero DP, Yang Y, Zhang Q, Shen Y, Krupovic M. 2021. Virus-induced cell gigantism and asymmetric cell division in archaea. Proc Natl Acad Sci 118:e2022578118.

Other interesting stories:

• Chocolate is a fermented food

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

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455 - Marine Microbes Make Megapascal Management Molecule

Myroides profundi
By Qin et al. 2021,
Sci Adv 7:eabf9941
CC BY-NC 4.0

This episode, in honor of World Ocean Day: Bacteria that may move between high and low pressure areas in the ocean use a particular molecule to protect their cells from being crushed!

Download Episode (6.6 MB, 9.5 minutes)

Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Rickettsia rickettsii

News item

Takeaways

Life in the ocean can have many challenges, depending on the organism and where it lives. Microbes can be found in almost every region, from the warmest to coldest, brightest to darkest, and shallowest to deepest. Sometimes microbes are carried from shallow to deep regions, where the weight of so much water causes immense pressure, which can inhibit cellular structural integrity and function. So life in the deep sea must have ways to deal with this pressure to survive. In this study, bacteria transform a fairly common chemical into a molecule that cushions and protects their cellular structures from the effects of high pressure, allowing them to survive lower down than they would otherwise.

Journal Paper:
Qin Q-L, Wang Z-B, Su H-N, Chen X-L, Miao J, Wang X-J, Li C-Y, Zhang X-Y, Li P-Y, Wang M, Fang J, Lidbury I, Zhang W, Zhang X-H, Yang G-P, Chen Y, Zhang Y-Z. 2021. Oxidation of trimethylamine to trimethylamine N -oxide facilitates high hydrostatic pressure tolerance in a generalist bacterial lineage. Sci Adv 7:eabf9941.

Other interesting stories:

• Engineering microbes to produce petroleum product precursor isoprene

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

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449 - Paralyzed Poisons Push Power

Hydrothermal vent

This episode: Deep-sea bacteria can detoxify cadmium and convert it to light-capturing particles!

Download Episode (5.8 MB, 8.4 minutes)

Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Arthrobacter virus Sonny

Takeaways

Hydrothermal vents can have thriving communities, despite being too deep for much light to penetrate. Microbes can derive energy from chemicals coming out of the vent, and form the foundation of the food chain. But toxic heavy metals also come out of the vent, including lead, mercury, and cadmium.

The microbes in this study were found to be resistant to cadmium, which they can detoxify by combining it with the sulfur found in the amino acid cysteine. This forms cadmium-sulfur nanoparticles, which can function as light-absorbing semiconductors, allowing the bacteria to harvest light energy.

Journal Paper:
Ma N, Sha Z, Sun C. 2021. Formation of cadmium sulfide nanoparticles mediates cadmium resistance and light utilization of the deep-sea bacterium Idiomarina sp. OT37-5b. Environ Microbiol 23:934–948.

Other interesting stories:

• Different fungi behave differently in growing through a tiny maze
• Bacteriophages could be used as disinfectants in some situations (paper)

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432 - Moses Microbes Maintain Moisture

Gypsum

This episode: Bacteria living in the driest place on earth have ways to extract water from the mineral structures of rocks!

Download Episode (3.7 MB, 5.4 minutes)

Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Irkut lyssavirus

News item

Takeaways

Microbes living in extremely dry conditions have it tough. Water is important both for the chemistry and structure of all cells. Desert microbes are very good at acquiring and holding on to the water they can find, but in places such as the Atacama Desert in Chile, there's almost none available.

However, microbes can be very resourceful. In this study, phototrophs were discovered that can actually extract water molecules bound up in the crystalline structure of the mineral gypsum, and this allows them to survive in hyperarid regions. They do this by secreting organic acid molecules to etch the rock and release the water, converting gypsum to anhydrite, which is a mineral with the same chemical structure except without the water.

Journal Paper:
Huang W, Ertekin E, Wang T, Cruz L, Dailey M, DiRuggiero J, Kisailus D. 2020. Mechanism of water extraction from gypsum rock by desert colonizing microorganisms. Proc Natl Acad Sci 117:10681–10687.

Other interesting stories:

• Cholesterol-lowering drugs associated with fewer gut microbiota problems
• Using bacterial hormones to get bacteria to produce more interesting molecules

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

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BacterioFiles 376 - Pressurized Pollutant Pulls Products

Bacillus megaterium
By Osmoregulator, CCBY-SA 3.0

This episode: Supercritical carbon dioxide and bacteria that can grow in it make a great combination for biofuel production!

Download Episode (9.4 MB, 10.2 minutes)

Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Flexibacter aggregans

Takeaways
Biofuels are an important part of humanity's move away from non-renewable resources. They have a higher energy density than batteries are yet able to achieve, giving them significant advantages for transportation purposes in which tapping into an electric grid isn't possible. Depending on the biofuel, they also have the advantage of existing infrastructure: we don't need to build a whole new system of charging or refueling stations, but can use the systems already in place.

However, biofuels as a collection of technologies still need some refinements. Yields for the more potentially sustainable approaches are low, and the lower the concentration of a soluble fuel, the more difficult it is to separate it from the non-fuel components of a fermentation. Microbial products also face the risk of contamination of a fermentation by unwanted organisms that use up the substrate without producing desirable products.

In this study, supercritical carbon dioxide is considered as a fix for both of these problems. The gas is pressurized to a point at which it is indistinguishable from liquid. A strain of Bacillus megaterium is specially selected as capable of growing and fermenting in this environment, while contaminants are inhibited. The solvent potential of supercritical carbon dioxide also serves as a way to extract the biofuel product—in this case, isobutanol—from the aqueous part of the culture medium. While it needs some development, this approach yields promising results.

Journal Paper:
Boock JT, Freedman AJE, Tompsett GA, Muse SK, Allen AJ, Jackson LA, Castro-Dominguez B, Timko MT, Prather KLJ, Thompson JR. 2019. Engineered microbial biofuel production and recovery under supercritical carbon dioxide. Nat Commun 10:587.

Other interesting stories:

• Yeast adopted useful iron-capturing bacterial protein

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BacterioFiles 363 - Tiny Treasure Tunnels

Tunnels in garnet
By: Ivarsson et al. 2018,
PLoS ONE 13(8):e0200351
CC BY 4.0

This episode: Intricate networks of tunnels in garnet gemstones seem to have come from tunneling microorganisms!

Thanks to Magnus Ivarsson for his contribution!

Download Episode (5.4 MB, 5.9 minutes)

Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Streptomyces griseosporeus

News item

Journal Papers:
Ivarsson M, Skogby H, Phichaikamjornwut B, Bengtson S, Siljeström S, Ounchanum P, Boonsoong A, Kruachanta M, Marone F, Belivanova V, Holmström S. 2018. Intricate tunnels in garnets from soils and river sediments in Thailand – Possible endolithic microborings. PLOS ONE 13:e0200351.

Other interesting stories:

• Swimming algae can move through bloodstream to deliver drugs
• Mosquito microbes engineered to inhibit spread of malaria (paper)
• A probiotic inhibits a pathogen by interfering with its signaling between cells
• Healthy microbiota seems important for mice recovering from heart attack

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

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Episode outline:

BacterioFiles 351 - Tupanvirus Transports Translation Tools

Tupanvirus pictures
From: Abrahão et al,
2018, Nat Commun 9:749

This episode: A new giant virus has genes for a surprisingly complete system of protein synthesis!

Download Episode (10.1 MB, 11.1 minutes)

Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Phocid alphaherpesvirus 1

Video of tupanvirus intracellular factory

Journal Paper:
Abrahão J, Silva L, Silva LS, Khalil JYB, Rodrigues R, Arantes T, Assis F, Boratto P, Andrade M, Kroon EG, Ribeiro B, Bergier I, Seligmann H, Ghigo E, Colson P, Levasseur A, Kroemer G, Raoult D, La Scola B. 2018. Tailed giant Tupanvirus possesses the most complete translational apparatus of the known virosphere. Nat Commun 9:749.

Other interesting stories:

• Gut microbes can help with the healthy effects of berries (paper)
• Leaf microbes can protect plants from pathogens, at least when plants aren't fertilized
• Exploring the microbes living on an 18th century mummy (paper)

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

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Episode outline:

BacterioFiles 343 - Super Cells Save Susceptible Species

Deinococcus radiodurans

This episode: Very radiation-resistant bacteria can protect other, less-resistant microbes from some of the effects of chronic radiation!

Download Episode (9.7 MB, 10.6 minutes)

Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Paramecium bursaria Chlorella virus CA4A

News item

Journal Paper:
Shuryak I, Matrosova VY, Gaidamakova EK, Tkavc R, Grichenko O, Klimenkova P, Volpe RP, Daly MJ. 2017. Microbial cells can cooperate to resist high-level chronic ionizing radiation. PLOS ONE 12:e0189261.

Other interesting stories:

Panda gut microbes help them detoxify cyanide in their diet (paper)

Modified probiotics can detect and inhibit cholera in baby mice

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

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Episode outline:

BacterioFiles 305 - Defensive Disordered Desiccation

Tardigrade
Credit: Bob Goldstein
and Vicky Madden,
CC BY-SA 3.0

This episode: Tardigrades have an interesting way of surviving complete drying out: by producing proteins lacking a stable structure!

Download Episode (11.8 MB, 13 minutes)

Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Chandipura vesiculovirus

News item

Journal Paper:
Boothby TC, Tapia H, Brozena AH, Piszkiewicz S, Smith AE, Giovannini I, Rebecchi L, Pielak GJ, Koshland D, Goldstein B. 2017. Tardigrades Use Intrinsically Disordered Proteins to Survive Desiccation. Mol Cell 65:975–984.e5.

Other interesting stories:

Gut microbes are important for many bee bodily functions (paper)

Bacterium helps defend insects but makes plants sick

Bacteria can mutate faster or slower to adapt to their environment

Cyanobacteria respond to different colors of light in different ways (paper)(commentary)

Intense prolonged exercise could negatively impact the gut community

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

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BacterioFiles 292 - Testing Tardigrade Tolerance Tricks

Tardigrade
By Bob Goldstein and Vicky Madden
CC BY-SA 3.0

This episode: Tiny super-resistant animals, tardigrades, make proteins that can directly shield DNA from radiation!

Download Episode (7.3 MB, 8 minutes)

Show notes:
News item 1/News item 2

Journal Paper:
Hashimoto T, Horikawa DD, Saito Y, Kuwahara H, Kozuka-Hata H, Shin-I T, Minakuchi Y, Ohishi K, Motoyama A, Aizu T, Enomoto A, Kondo K, Tanaka S, Hara Y, Koshikawa S, Sagara H, Miura T, Yokobori S, Miyagawa K, Suzuki Y, Kubo T, Oyama M, Kohara Y, Fujiyama A, Arakawa K, Katayama T, Toyoda A, Kunieda T. 2016. Extremotolerant tardigrade genome and improved radiotolerance of human cultured cells by tardigrade-unique protein. Nat Commun 7:12808.

Other interesting stories:

New sunscreen compounds could come from bacteria

Bacterial fingerprints don't last forever (paper)

Virus infecting bacteria makes structure like a nucleus (paper)

Microbes could produce useful, biological nanowires

Finding viruses to control fungal pathogens of plants

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

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BacterioFiles 285 - Sultry Snow Cell Sun Screen

Red snow
By Will Beback, CC BY-SA 3.0

This episode: Algae growing in Arctic snow make red pigments that heat up their surroundings!

Download Episode (6.8 MB, 7.5 minutes)

Show notes:
News item

Journal Paper:
Lutz S, Anesio AM, Raiswell R, Edwards A, Newton RJ, Gill F, Benning LG. 2016. The biogeography of red snow microbiomes and their role in melting arctic glaciers. Nat Commun 7:11968.

Other interesting stories:

Bacterial species benefit from losing genes they don't need

Soil fungi help plants grow better in salty conditions (paper)

Bacterial predators actually help treat infection in rats

Some bacteria produce methane while harvesting phosphorus (paper)

Probiotics could help treat skin problems (paper)

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

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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!

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BacterioFiles 249 - Spores Survive Spaceship Scorching

Basalt disc in heat shield after re-entry
Slobodkin et al. 2016, Fig 4

This episode: Bacterial spores can survive atmospheric entry on an artificial meteorite!

Download Episode (10.7 MB, 11.25 minutes)

Show notes:
Journal Paper

Other interesting stories:

Fermenting chocolate with domesticated yeasts could make it better than natural fermentation

Bacteria could control robot body in fairly complex behaviors (podcast)

Plants' hormones affect the microbial communities around their roots

Ocean microbes make clouds that reflect extra sunlight

Emphasizing the importance of microbes in the soil

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 240 - Water Worms Make (carbon) Monoxide Meals

This episode: Marine worms and their microbial symbionts can live on the toxic gas carbon monoxide!

Reminder: this is the last episode for at least a few weeks while I am wrapping up my PhD. See you again when I'm done!


Download Episode (11.1 MB, 12.1 minutes)

Show notes:
Journal Paper

Other interesting stories:

Salt-loving extremophiles eat carbon monoxide at Mars-level concentrations (paper)

Better biotech processes by microbial cooperation (paper)

Different ways to engineer microbes to produce propane

Not all organisms share exactly the same genetic code

Queen bees have different microbes than other bees (paper)

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

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This show features music from Mevio's podsafe Music Alley.

BacterioFiles 232 - Exploring Enzymes' Element Effects

This episode: Bacteria can convert soluble uranium to an insoluble form, and distinguish between different isotopes!

Download Episode (8.2 MB, 8.9 minutes)

Show notes:
News item/Journal Paper

Other interesting stories:

Bacteria could help degrade environmental chemical contaminant (paper)

Phage could treat dental infections

Bacteria and grass together clean up soil

Mutant E. coli keeps getting longer without dividing

Algae could produce malaria vaccine

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

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This show features music from Mevio's podsafe Music Alley.

BacterioFiles 226 - Deep Dwellers Diversify

This episode: Archaea living in the deep ocean (and their viruses) have clever ways to maintain diversity and adaptability!

Download Episode (10.3 MB, 11.25 minutes)

Show notes:
News item/Journal Paper

Other interesting stories:

Super-slow-growing bacteria may evolve without reproducing

Human gut bacterium is especially able to digest yeast cell walls

Soil fungi can convert uranium to more recoverable insoluble form (paper)

Viruses may have helped human brain develop through history

Accessory genes make each bacterial strain unique

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

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BacterioFiles 224 - Super Small Cells

Ultramicrobacterium.
Fig 3 Luef et al 2015

This episode: Scientists discover what seem to be ultra-small bacteria, possibly smaller than the theoretical minimum size!

Download Episode (12.3 MB, 13.4 minutes)

Show notes:
News item 1/News items 2/Journal Paper

Other interesting stories:

Bacteria could produce good biofuels from renewable resources (paper)

Studying quorum sensing by 3D-printing bacterial biofilms (paper)

Marine algae could be good source of nutrients alternative to fish oil

Caterpillar mind-control virus seems to manipulate response to light

9 cool things about microbes

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

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This show features music from Mevio's podsafe Music Alley.

BacterioFiles 215 - Plasmid Pirates Piezophile Particles

Thermotoga
Credit: AJC ajcann.wordpress.com

This episode: Deep-sea thermophile bacteriophage is pirated by another scurvy genetic element!

Download Episode (10.2 MB, 11.2 minutes)

Show notes:
Journal Paper

Other interesting stories:

Viral remnants are important for human stem cells and development

One Clostridium (scindens) defies overgrowth of another (difficile)

Mosquito bacteria hurt dengue and malaria and mosquitoes

Mitochondria (and thus eukaryotes) might've come from a parasite

Studying phages that kill bee-killing bacteria

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

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This show features music from Mevio's podsafe Music Alley.

BacterioFiles 170 - Good Copper, Bad Copper

This episode: With guest host Susan Gardner! We discuss nitrogen-fixing plant-friendly bacteria that help plants grow in copper-contaminated soil, helping to clean it up!

Download Episode (19.1 MB, 20.9 minutes)

Show notes:
Journal Paper

Other interesting stories:

Liquid crystals could be even more useful with bacteria in them

Adding bacteria can affect plants' microbiome and metabolism (paper)

New FDA-approved bank for fecal transplant material

New way of testing and improving potential Salmonella-based vaccines

Cacao microbe helps protect plant from pathogens (paper)

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

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BacterioFiles Micro Edition 149 - Psychrobacter Survives Siberian Schisms

This episode: Cold-loving bacteria can repair surprising amounts of DNA damage even sub-zero temperatures!

Download Episode (9.1 MB, 9.9 minutes)

Show notes:
News item 1/News item 2/Journal Paper

Other interesting stories:

**Bacteria can be made to do cool things
**Figuring out how fecal transplants help restore gut microbiome balance
**Amazing and important microscopic images
**Single-celled algae help researchers understand the brain
**Some bacteria help crops grow better in salty soil

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

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This show features music from Mevio's podsafe Music Alley.