BacterioFiles

491: Less Liquid Lands Losing Lichens

27 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Trends of declining lichen populations and biocrust cover overall match trends of increasing temperatures in Colorado dryland! Download ...

490: Parasitoid Pox Partners

11 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: A virus partners with a parasitoid wasp to help exploit fruit fly victims! Download Episode (7.7 MB, 11.2 minutes) Show notes: Microbe...

489: Soil Smell Synthesis Significance

29 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Many organisms produce the smell of earth, geosmin, and many others can sense it–but why? Download Episode (6.0 MB, 8.7 minutes) Sho...

488: Social Slimes Synchronize Sorties

11 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Slime mold amoebas Fonticula alba have interesting and unique foraging and reproductive behaviors! Download Episode (7.3 MB, 10.6 minut...

487: Probiotic Pulverizes Pathogen Persisters

20 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: A probiotic strain of E. coli can target and destroy pathogens that survive a treatment of antibiotics! Download Episode (8.2 MB, 12 mi...

486: Biohybrid Bacteria Build Biomass

30 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Incorporating light-absorbing molecules into bacterial membranes can allow bacteria to use solar energy to transform nitrogen gas into f...

485: Small Cell Sculpts Sticky Snot Sphere

16 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: A marine protist predator traps prey microbes in an attractive bubble of mucus, eats what it wants, and lets the rest sink, possibly seq...

484: Bacteriophages Boost Brains

02 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Certain phages in the gut are linked with increases in performance on some cognitive tests! Download Episode (7.5 MB, 10.9 minutes) Sh...

483: Recycling Resources Raises Robustness

18 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Adding tags to proteins to increase their degradation can help engineered bacteria grow and survive better under various conditions! Dow...

482: Colony Concentric Clock Construction

04 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Single-celled bacteria can act independently to create patterns and structure in their biofilm communities! Download Episode (9.6 MB, 1...

481: Hijacker-Host Sequence Swap

21 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Gene transfers between viruses and eukaryotes have happened many times throughout evolutionary history! Download Episode (7.5 MB, 10.9 ...

480: Bait Bottlenecks Bear Bacteria

03 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Human-based food used as bait by hunters can reduce bears' gut microbe diversity! Download Episode (5.9 MB, 8.6 minutes) Show notes: M...

479: Uncomplicated Critters Conquer Cancer

22 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Simple microscopic animals can survive extreme radiation by ejecting damaged cells that might otherwise become cancer! Download Episode ...

478: Babies Bear Bacterial Birthright

24 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: How family members share gut microbes across multiple generations! Download Episode (7.3 MB, 10.7 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the ...

477: Hijackers Hitchhike on Hyphal Highways

27 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Bacteriophages can hitch a ride on bacteria they don't infect to travel through soil on fungal filaments, potentially helping their carr...

476: Bamboo Breakdown Benefits Beetle Babies

13 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Beetles inoculate bamboo with a fungus that consumes the bamboo sugars to feed the beetle larvae! Download Episode (7.7 MB, 11.2 minute...

475: Modifying Mixed Microbiota

27 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: New techniques allow specific modifications in certain members of a complex community of microbes, without isolating them in pure cultur...

474: Stalker Cells Stop Seafood Sickness

23 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Predatory bacteria could protect lobster farms from disease-causing bacteria! Download Episode (4.8 MB, 7 minutes) Show notes: Microbe...

473: Bacteriophage Bunks in Bacterial Barriers

26 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: A bacteriophage that overcomes the bacterial CRISPR/Cas immune system by interrupting the CRISPR DNA with its own genome! Download Episo...

472: Caulobacter Condensates Compartmentalize Kinase

21 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Bacteria can use blobs of disordered proteins to quickly adapt to new conditions!   Thanks to Dr. Saumya Saurabh for his contribution! ...

471: Phage Fight Foils Fitness

29 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: A phage both kills bacterial pathogens and selects for reduced virulence! Download Episode (6.3 MB, 9.9 minutes) Show notes: Microbe o...

470: Super Small Symbionts Soothe Symptoms

11 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Tiny bacteria that live on larger bacteria reduce the inflammation and gum disease the bigger microbes cause in the mouths of mice! Down...

469: Prophage Provides Partial Protection

04 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: A virus lurking in a bacterial genome protects its host population from infection with other phages, by killing off infected cells! Down...

468 - Commensal Can Kill Cholera

28 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Harmless gut microbes resist cholera with good defense or better offense! Download Episode (5.8 MB, 8.4 minutes) Show notes: Microbe o...

467: Prion Pivots Productive Pathways

27 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Prions in yeast can allow better adaptation to changing conditions! Download Episode (9.5 MB, 13.9 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the...

466: Microbes Mining Mars Minerals

06 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Bacteria are able to extract metals from rocks for industrial use, even in microgravity! Download Episode (6.2 MB, 9.0 minutes) Show n...

465: Partners Produce Predator Prevention

22 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Bacteria living inside soil fungus produce toxins that can protect their host from tiny predators! Download Episode (7.7 MB, 11.2 minut...

464: Prodding Pollen's Popping Process

09 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Certain nectar-dwelling bacteria can induce pollen to germinate to access their tasty proteins! Download Episode (6.0 MB, 8.8 minutes) ...

463: Selectively Stimulating Cell Squatters

20 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Bacteria produce a compound that causes a phage lurking in the genome of a competing species to wake up and start killing that competito...

462: Super Ciliate Symbiont Set

13 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: A eukaryote has symbionts living in it: green algae and also purple bacteria, a combo never seen before! Download Episode (6.1 MB, 8.8 ...

461: Ingrained Invader Inhibits Infectors

06 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Training a phage strain on bacteria can increase its ability to control those bacteria for much longer than an untrained phage! Download...

460: Prokaryote Publicity Prevents Protist Processes

16 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: A bacterial communication signal makes algae stop growing, which helps them survive virus attacks! Download Episode (5.3 MB, 7.7 minute...

459: Prokaryotes Provide Polyp Perserverance

02 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Transplanting microbes from some corals to others could help the corals survive high temperatures! Download Episode (5.7 MB, 8.3 minute...

458: Slimy Cells Stop Sinking

19 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Bacteria can resist the force of gravity in liquid culture by covering themselves with goopy sugar polymers like parachutes! Download Ep...

457: Small Cell Studies: Superior Scoops

28 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Newspapers report on scientific studies about microbiomes a fair amount, but certain kinds of studies are more likely than others to sho...

456: Invader Induces Increased Immensity

21 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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...

455: Marine Microbes Make Megapascal Management Molecule

07 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 protec...

454: Hitchhiking Horticultural Helpers

31 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Spores of some bacteria latch onto the tails of other bacteria and ride along as they move around in the soil! Download Episode (5.5 MB...

453: Phenazine Faciliates Phosphorus Feeding

24 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Some bacteria produce antibiotics that can also help them gather more nutrients! Download Episode (5.0 MB, 7.3 minutes) Show notes: Mi...

452: Prokaryotic Partner Powers Protist

03 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Single-celled eukaryotes can thrive without oxygen with the help of bacterial endosymbionts that respire nitrate the way our mitochondri...

451: Phototrophs Fancy Floating Feasts

19 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Despite being photosynthetic, some kinds of algae engage in predatory behavior, hunting and consuming live bacteria! Download Episode (...

450: Subterranean Spotlights Support Cyanobacteria

05 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Lighting in caves open to tourists supports the growth of unwanted photosynthetic bacteria! Download Episode (6.6 MB, 9.5 minutes) Sho...

449: Paralyzed Poisons Push Power

29 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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:...

448: Myxomycete Makes Mycelial Memories

22 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Finally found some good stories, so we're back! This episode: How slime molds encode and use memories built into their own bodies! Download Episode (...

447: Big Bacteria Bank Behaviors

08 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Giant bacteria with many chromosomes in each cell carry extra genes to help them live in many different environments! Download Episode ...

446: Biofilm Benefits Bone Braces

01 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: The biofilm that probiotic bacteria can leave behind on a titanium implant seems to help it integrate better with the existing skeleton,...

445: Living Lurking Landmine Locators

25 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Engineered bacteria encapsulated in little beads sense chemicals from landmines and give off light! Download Episode (6.4 MB, 9.3 minut...

444: Strange Sequence Stops Cell Subjugation

18 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: An interesting bacterial genetic element protects against viruses in a unique way! Download Episode (7.1 MB, 10.3 minutes) Show notes:...

443: Gut Group Gives Gamma Guard

11 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Certain gut microbes protect mice from harmful effects of high-energy radiation! Download Episode (7.3 MB, 10.6 minutes) Show notes: M...

442: Fossil Phototroph Phagocytosis

28 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Algae surviving impact that killed the dinosaurs seem to have consumed other organisms to make it through the dark times! Download Episo...

441: Hyphal Hijacker Helps Harvests

21 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: A fungus-infecting virus transforms the fungal foe into a friend of its host plant! Download Episode (6.1 MB, 8.9 minutes) Show notes:...

440: Prokaryotes Pay for Passage

14 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Bacteria pay for the privilege of cruising around soil on fungus filaments! Download Episode (7.7 MB, 11.2 minutes) Show notes: Microb...

439: Microbes Mitigate Mushroom Morbidity

30 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Bacteria protect farmed mushrooms from damage by other bacteria by breaking down their toxins! Download Episode (4.9 MB, 7.1 minutes) ...

438: Bacteria Bait Bug Babies

16 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Actinomycete bacteria are often helpful to insects, but some can be deadly yet still attractive! Download Episode (5.7 MB, 8.3 minutes)...

437: Balmy Bacteria Build Bone

09 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Warmth helps mice build stronger bones, mediated by bacteria producing certain compounds! Download Episode (6.8 MB, 9.9 minutes) Show ...

436: Copper Concentrates Culture Current

26 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Copper electrodes, rather than killing bacteria in microbial fuel cells, allow them to generate higher densities of electric current! Do...

435: Invader Introducing Infrared Invokes Immunity

19 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Combining Salmonella with something called photoimmunotherapy to attack tumors in multiple ways! Download Episode (8.2 MB, 11.9 minutes...

434: Killer Carries Compact Cas

28 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Large phage discovered that contains a compact version of the CRISPR/Cas defense/gene editing system! Download Episode (5.9 MB, 8.6 min...

433: Probiotic Promotes Pathogen Peacefulness

21 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: A probiotic can protect intestine-like cell growths from destruction by pathogens, but it can also be infected by a virus that makes it ...

432: Moses Microbes Maintain Moisture

07 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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,...

431: Conductive Cables Control Carbon

31 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Cable bacteria around rice roots transport electrons and help prevent formation of methane!   Thanks to Vincent Scholz for his contribu...

430: Dextrose Deposits Delay Dormancy

24 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Bacteria that can store sugar as glycogen have multiple advantages when food is only available sporadically! Download Episode (7.2 MB, ...

429: Springtails Smell, Spread Streptomyces

17 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Bacteria in soil produce smells to attract arthropods that eat them but also spread their spores! Download Episode (6.2 MB, 9.0 minutes...

428: Microbes May Manage Mysteries

10 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: The skin microbes that people leave behind may be used to identify them, even after other people have touched the same surface! Download...

427: Simple Cells Stay Strong

03 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Bacterial cells with their genomes removed can still be active and useful! Download Episode (10.2 MB, 14.9 minutes) Show notes: Microb...

426: Sensory Cilia Supply Susceptibility

27 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: A fungus paralyzes its tiny worm prey by acting on the worm's own sensory hairs! Download Episode (6.0 MB, 8.7 minutes) Show notes: Mi...

425: Paired Predators Prevent Pathogen Persistence

22 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: This episode: A bacteriophage and bacterial predator can wipe out a population of bacteria that could develop resistance to each individ...

424: Stranger Cells Switch Stable States

15 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Certain bacteria can greatly affect the makeup of a microbial community, even if they quickly disappear!   Thanks to Dr. Daniel Amor fo...

423: Roundworm Riders Route Rootworm Resistance

08 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Helping insect-killing bacterial symbionts of nematodes evolve resistance to chemicals that major corn pests use to defend themselves! D...

422: Frigid Phototrophs Fuel Fords

01 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Producing both biodiesel and bioethanol fuels from cold-loving Arctic algae! Download Episode (8.7 MB, 12.6 minutes) Show notes: Micro...

421: Nucleocapsids Navigate Nano Nuggets

25 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Using phages to target gold nanoparticles to infecting bacteria, then using light to heat the nanoparticles just enough to kill the bact...

420: Cell Societies Stay Stable

18 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Simplified gut communities growing in bioreactors grow and metabolize reproducibly, with only moderate variations, even when individual ...

419: Marine Methane Microbe Multiplication

11 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

BacterioFiles is back! This episode: Measuring how quickly marine methane-consuming microbes become active when new methane enters an area! Download E...

418: Special Sea Species Swallows Cells

16 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: A newly discovered species of bacteria consumes other bacteria as prey by engulfing them! Download Episode (8.7 MB, 12.6 minutes) Show...

417: Bacteriophage Blocks Bacterial Bouncers

09 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: A phage defends its genome against bacterial host defenses by building a wall to keep them out! Download Episode (7.0 MB, 10.2 minutes)...

416: Oxygen Or Other Oxidizes Iron?

02 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Earth's iron deposits could have been created by anaerobic light-harvesting microbes instead of those that make oxygen! Download Episode...

415: Global Glomus Growth Guesses

24 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: A global estimate of plants and their root fungi shows how agriculture may have greatly affected soil carbon storage over time! Download...

414: Producing Proton Power Perpetually

17 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Microalgae can produce hydrogen, but other metabolic pathways take priority, except when special engineered hydrogenase enzymes can over...

413: Finding Fire Fungi Footholds

10 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Some fungi only form fruiting bodies after forest fires; where do they hide the rest of the time? At least for some of them, the answer ...

412: Carbon Concentration Complicates Crop Cooperation

03 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Looking at the effects of almost doubling CO2 concentrations on the interaction between wheat varieties and beneficial fungi! Download E...

411: Parasite Produces Partial Plant-like Predator

27 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Giant virus in newly discovered microscopic marine predator encodes several light-harvesting proteins! Download Episode (7.8 MB, 11.4 m...

410: Microbes Modify Muscle Measurement

20 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Mice that got a microbe transplant from humans with higher physical function performed better in certain ways than mice receiving microb...

409: Marine Methane Mostly Munched

13 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Microbes in low-oxygen zones in the ocean consume significant amounts of methane anaerobically! Download Episode (5.2 MB, 7.6 minutes) ...

408: Currents Carry Cloud Creators

06 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Ocean bacteria brought up from the sea floor into the air can help create clouds! Download Episode (6.1 MB, 8.9 minutes) Show notes: M...

407: Fungus Facilitates Phototroph Feeding

23 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Probably the last episode of the year. See you in the next! This episode: Fungus living inside plants helps them form partnerships with nitrogen-fixi...

406: Different DNA Destroys Disease Drivers

16 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: DNA from related species can kill certain pathogens when they incorporate it into their genome! Download Episode (7.9 MB, 11.5 minutes)...

405: Coated Colonizers Counteract Corrosion

09 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Coating metal surfaces with artificial biofilms could help keep the surfaces corrosion-free even in the ocean! Download Episode (6.3 MB...

404: Phages Force Food Finding

25 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Another climate-related story: Cyanobacteria infected by viruses continue taking up nutrients from their environment, using it to make m...

403: Mercury Modifies Microbe Metabolism

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: First episode of a climate-related arc! Considering microorganisms is important when predicting the amount of carbon coming from soil as...

402: Microbe Membranes Mobilize Microglia

11 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Gut microbes can stimulate immune cells in mouse brains to fight off viral infections! Download Episode (9.0 MB, 13.0 minutes) Show no...

401: Phototrophs Fill Fungal Filaments

04 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: In this partnership between fungus and algae, the algae eventually take up residence inside their partner! Download Episode (8.4 MB, 12...

400: Considering Consumables' Community Correlations

21 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Figuring out how gut communities change with changes in diet! Download Episode (6.1 MB, 8.8 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episod...

399: Conductor Creating Carbon Canvases

14 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Bacteria can aide the production of the useful material graphene, using their ability to add electrons to external surfaces! Download Ep...

398: Marathon Microbes Maximize Mileage

07 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Bacteria found in the guts of serious athletes help mice exercise longer by transforming their metabolic waste! Download Episode (7.3 M...

397: Plant Promotes Pathogen-Prohibiting Partner

30 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Plants stimulate their root bacteria to compete better, and these bacteria help the plants resist disease! Download Episode (7.3 MB, 10...

396: Bacteria Boost Blood Bank Budgets

23 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Bacterial enzymes could convert donated blood to be compatible with more people in need! Download Episode (8.0 MB, 11.7 minutes) Show ...

395: Many Microbiome Mindsets

16 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Five different ways of thinking about our relationship with our microbes! Download Episode (20.4 MB, 29.8 minutes) Show notes: Microbe...

394: Skinny Cell Structure Supports

26 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Not as simple as it sounds—how rod-shaped bacteria maintain their shape! Thanks to Dr. Ethan Garner for his contribution! Download Ep...

393: Prokaryote Partner Prevents Pathogen Potency

12 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: Bacterial symbionts of amoebas help them survive bacterial infection, and prevent pathogens from spreading to others as much! Download E...

392: Magnetic Microbes Maneuver Marine Manager

05 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This episode: A marine protist can orient itself along magnetic fields thanks to bacterial symbionts on its surface that make magnetic nanoparticles! ...