BacterioFiles 347 - Adenovirus Adapter Allows Assignment

Virus and shielded virus
Schmid et al, 2018, Nat Commun

This episode: Adding adapters to anti-cancer virus helps it avoid destruction by the body so it can target the tumors!

Thanks to Dr. Andreas Plückthun for his contribution!

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Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Tomato leaf curl Vietnam virus

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Journal Paper:
Schmid M, Ernst P, Honegger A, Suomalainen M, Zimmermann M, Braun L, Stauffer S, Thom C, Dreier B, Eibauer M, Kipar A, Vogel V, Greber UF, Medalia O, Plückthun A. 2018. Adenoviral vector with shield and adapter increases tumor specificity and escapes liver and immune control. Nat Commun 9:450.

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BacterioFiles 346 - Prokaryote Prey Plug Picoalgae

Alga (C) with bacterial prey (P)
By: Kamennaya et al,
PLOS Biol 2018

This episode: Very small ocean algae consume bacterial prey of a similar size to themselves by engulfing them only partially!

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Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Bradyrhizobium japonicum

Journal Paper:
Kamennaya NA, Kennaway G, Fuchs BM, Zubkov MV. 2018. “Pomacytosis”—Semi-extracellular phagocytosis of cyanobacteria by the smallest marine algae. PLOS Biol 16:e2003502.

Other interesting stories:

Using nanomagnets to control quorum sensing by pulling bacteria together (paper)

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

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BacterioFiles 345 - Super Sonic Cell Sacs

Anabaena flos-aquae,
a source for gas vesicle genes

This episode: Protein bags of gas in bacteria could help make ultrasound imaging more versatile!

Download Episode (7.6 MB, 8.25 minutes)

Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Cronobacter virus Esp2949-1

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Journal Paper:
Bourdeau RW, Lee-Gosselin A, Lakshmanan A, Farhadi A, Kumar SR, Nety SP, Shapiro MG. 2018. Acoustic reporter genes for noninvasive imaging of microorganisms in mammalian hosts. Nature 553:86–90.

Other interesting stories:

Laxatives shown very disruptive to gut microbes in mice

Evidence not good that probiotics can reduce anxiety in people

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

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Episode outline:

BacterioFiles 344 - Bacteriophages Bypass Body Barriers

Cell culture setup
Nguyen et al, 2017,
mBio 8:e01874-17

This episode: Phages may be passing through the barriers in our body all the time!

Thanks to Dr. Jeremy Barr for his contribution!
Download Episode (13.2 MB, 14.5 minutes)

Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Rhodobacter virus RcCronus

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Journal Paper:
Nguyen S, Baker K, Padman BS, Patwa R, Dunstan RA, Weston TA, Schlosser K, Bailey B, Lithgow T, Lazarou M, Luque A, Rohwer F, Blumberg RS, Barr JJ. 2017. Bacteriophage Transcytosis Provides a Mechanism To Cross Epithelial Cell Layers. mBio 8:e01874-17.

Other interesting stories:

Yeast species uses same codon for two different amino acids (paper)

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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!

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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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BacterioFiles 342 - Cyanide Stops Cell Suckers

Chromobacterium growing on agar

This episode: Some bacteria can defend themselves from bacterial predators by producing cyanide!

Thanks to Dr. Robert Mitchell for his contribution!

Download Episode (7.7 MB, 8.4 minutes)

Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Dyoepsilonpapillomavirus 1

News item

Journal Paper:
Mun W, Kwon H, Im H, Choi SY, Monnappa AK, Mitchell RJ. 2017. Cyanide Production by Chromobacterium piscinae Shields It from Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus HD100 Predation. mBio 8:e01370-17.

Other interesting stories:

Using bacterial DNA to estimate movement of river water

Making bacteria produce biologic drugs that last longer in the body

Fungal pigment could be a useful semiconductor

Parasitic microbe uses chemical defense against defenses of fungus-growing ants

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

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BacterioFiles 341 - Cancer Killer Could Cure Cryptic Contagion

HIV particles on infected cell
By Liza Gross,
PLOS Biology 2006, e445
CC BY 2.5

This episode: A virus designed to target cancer could also help eliminate hidden HIV infections!

Thanks to Nischal Ranganath for his contribution!

Download Episode (8.7 MB, 9.5 minutes)

Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Streptomyces pluricolorescens

News item

Journal Paper:
Ranganath N, Sandstrom TS, Schinkel B, C S, Côté SC, Angel JB. 2018. The Oncolytic Virus MG1 Targets and Eliminates Cells Latently Infected With HIV-1: Implications for an HIV Cure. J Infect Dis 217:721–730.

Other interesting stories:

Gut microbes could affect immune defense against liver cancer

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

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Episode outline: