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This Week in MicrobiologyWhen Mutualists MurderTWiM explains how a mutualistic model bacterium can become lethal in a non-symbiotic host, and engineering a kill switch into a tuberculosis vaccine for improved safety. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin and Michele Swanson. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Android, RSS, or by email. Become a patron of TWiM. Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission. Links for this episode When a mutualist becomes lethal (mBio) A lasting symbiosis (Nat Rev Micro) A kill switch...2025-06-0758 minThis Week in MicrobiologyMore mouth MicrobiologyTWiM explains how to recode E. coli so it uses only one stop codon, and an exploration of the mechanisms of bacterial adhesion within dental plaque. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin and Michele Swanson. Become a patron of TWiM. Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission. Links for this episode Engineering E. coli with one stop codon (Nature) Bacterial adhesion in dental plaque (mBio) Microbial complexes in subgingival plaque (J Clin Periodontol) Bacterial clusters in periodontal and peri-implant diseases (Microorg...2025-04-1153 minThis Week in MicrobiologyBacteria Hunt With Grappling HooksTWiM explains Pasteur’s relentless hunt for microbes in the air, and how bacteria hunt for prey by ixotrophy - using grappling hooks! Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin and Michele Swanson. Become a patron of TWiM. Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission. Links for this episode Pasteur’s hunt for microbes in the air (NYTimes) Bacterial predation by ixotrophy (Science) Enter the pirates (STC) Take the TWiM Listener survey! Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio...2025-03-1754 minThis Week in MicrobiologyCapturing Shigella With FilopodiaTWiM describes Shigella infection is facilitated by interaction of human enteric α-defensin 5 with a colonic epithelial receptor, and an amino acid change in RNA polymerase that leads to resistance to β-lactams by preventing dysregulation of amino acid and nucleotide metabolism Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin and Michele Swanson. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Android, RSS, or by email. Become a patron of TWiM. Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission. Links for this episode National Bl...2025-02-2846 minThis Week in MicrobiologyFreezing and Anti-Freezing With BacteriaTWiM explains the remarkable abilities of bacterial ice nucleating proteins to promote freezing of water, and cryoprotective proteins produced by worm microbiomes that prevent freezing. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin and Michele Swanson. Become a patron of TWiM. Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission. Links for this episode Worm microbiomes produce crytoprotective proteins (Sci Adv) Biological antifreeze in Antarctic fishes (Sciece) Enhancement of bacterial ice nucleators (PNAS) Take the TWiM Listener survey! Send your microbiology questions and comments (e...2025-02-0652 minThis Week in MicrobiologyMicrobes Making MethaneTWiM reveals that record high atmospheric methane growth has been driven by microbes, and the cecum as an adaptive niche for Salmonella typhi. Hosts: Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin and Michele Swanson. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Android, RSS, or by email. Become a patron of TWiM. Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission. Links for this episode Why a potent greenhouse gas is rising (WaPo) Microbial emissions drove record high atmospheric methane growth (PNAS) Salmonella biofilm formation...2025-01-1141 minThis Week in MicrobiologyThe Microbes in Your FoodTWiM focuses on recent foodborne outbreaks of bacterial infections, and how nanopore sequencing technology can be used to identify pathogenic microbes and antimicrobial resistance genes in food products. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin and Michele Swanson. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Foodborne outbreaks (CDC) Race to nourish a warming world (Gates Foundation) Nanopore sequencing of foods (Food Microbiol) How is Oxford Nanopore used? (YouTube) Introduction to Nanopore sequencing (YouTube) Methods for detecting foodborne pathogens (Appl Micro Biotech) Take the TWiM Listener survey! Send your microbiology...2024-11-081h 00This Week in MicrobiologyRockstars of USAMRIIDTWiM travels to the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases to learn how research conducted at USAMRIID leads to vaccines, drugs, diagnostics, and training programs that protect both warfighters and civilians. Hosts: Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin and Michele Swanson. Guests: Norman Kreiselmeir, Christopher K Coat, Keersten Ricks, and Eric Nguyen Links for this episode: U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases Threading the NEIDL (TWiV 200) Unintentional importation of B. pseudomallei into US (Emerg Inf Dis) Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode2024-10-251h 15This Week in MicrobiologyThe Dark Side of the RumenTWiM explains a project to engineer the cow microbiome to reduce emissions of methane, and the finding of antibiotic resistance genes in the genomes of giant viruses. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin and Michele Swanson. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Android, RSS, or by email. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Engineering the cow for less methane emissions (WaPo) Precision microbiome editing (Audacious Project) Giant viruses carry antibiotic resistance genes (Nat Commun) Take the TWiM Listener survey! Send your microbiology questions...2024-10-1152 minThis Week in MicrobiologyBat White-nose SyndromeTWiM explains unique modifications in the energy conservation pathways linked to methanogenesis in an Archaeon, and mechanisms of white nose fungal invasion of cells from the Little Brown Bat. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin and Michele Swanson. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Methyl-reducing methanogenesis (Nature) Pathogenic strategies of Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Science) Adaptive fungal invasion of bat cells (Science) Little brown bat (Critter Catalog) Nature Notes: Little Brown Bat (Harpswell) Take the TWiM Listener survey! Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to t...2024-09-1554 minThis Week in MicrobiologyFood Addiction and the Gut MicrobiomeTWiM describes experiments to explore gut microbiota signatures of vulnerability to food addiction in mice and humans, and how a phage tail-like protein suppresses competitors in populations of bacteria of plants. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin and Michele Swanson. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Gut microbiota and food addiction (Probiotics) Blautia may have probiotic properties (Gut Microbes) Blautia wexlerae ameliorates obesity and type 2 diabetes (Nat Commun) Phage tail–like bacteriocin suppresses competitors (Science) What is a bacteriocin? (Front Micro) Take the TWiM Listener survey! Send yo...2024-08-2356 minThis Week in MicrobiologyMicrobes Sculpt Our Planet and Manage InflammationTWiM explores the deep-dwelling microbes that sculpt our planet, and the use of microbes in bioelectronics to manage inflammation. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin and Michele Swanson. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Deep-dwelling microbes that sculpt our planet (NY Times) Living bioelectronics resolve inflammation (Science) Active biointegrated living electronics for managing inflammation (Science) Take the TWiM Listener survey! Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to twim@microbe.tv2024-07-2752 minThis Week in MicrobiologyCry Havoc!, and Let Slip the Phages of HealingTWiM explains a new mechanism for preventing lysogeny through temperate phage-antibiotic synergy, and Salmonella expansion in the murine gut dependency on aspartate derived from reactive oxygen species-mediated microbiota lysis. Hosts: Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin and Michele Swanson. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Temperate phage-antibiotic synergy (mBio) Salmonella expansion dependent on aspartate (Cell Host Micr) Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis (Wiki) A Genetic Switch by Mark Ptashne Lysis timing and bacteriophage fitness (Genetics) HK97 capsid assembly (Ad Exp Med Biol) Mode of action of fluoroquinolones (Drugs) Salmonella a foodborne pathogen...2024-06-2853 minThis Week in MicrobiologyStarvation vs Dehydration: Who Loses, Who Wins?TWiM explores the plasticity of the adult human small intestinal stoma microbiota, and survival and rapid resuscitation that permit limited productivity in desert microbial communities. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin and Michele Swanson. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Android, RSS, or by email. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Plasticity of small intestinal stoma microbiome (Cell Host Micr) Desert microbial communities (Nat Comm) How soil microbes survive in the desert (Science Daily) Negev Desert (WikiCommons) Take the TWiM Listener survey! Send...2024-05-1258 minThis Week in MicrobiologyStomach Acid Can Be Your FriendToday on TWiM, a charcuterie invasion, and how that acid in your stomach may protect from the invading hordes of microbes. Hosts: Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin and Michele Swanson. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode 2024 Salmonella outbreak linked to charcuterie meats Multitier regulation of the E. coli extreme acid stress response by CsrA Commentary: Peeling the onion: additional layers of regulation in the acid stress response Take the TWiM Listener survey! Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to twim@microbe.tv2024-04-2745 minThis Week in MicrobiologyLiving in a Community WorldTWiM reviews a case of E. faecium bacteremia treated with combination bacteriophage and antibiotic therapy, and how dopamine receptor D2 confers colonization resistance via microbial metabolites. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin and Michele Swanson. Guest: Mark O. Martin Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Matters Microbial Distinct Fusobacterium dominates colorectal cancer (Nature) Bacterial subspecies that might drive colon cancer (Nature) A bacterial strain linked to colon cancer (Nature) Spatial perspective on bacteria in tumors (Nature) Colorectal cancer in the young (Yale Med) Surface colonization by...2024-04-131h 07This Week in MicrobiologyAttaching and Effacing on a PedestalTWiM reviews a case of E. faecium bacteremia treated with combination bacteriophage and antibiotic therapy, and how dopamine receptor D2 confers colonization resistance via microbial metabolites. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin and Michele Swanson. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Android, RSS, or by email. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Vincent’s interviews at SXSW Bacteriophage and antibiotic therapy for E. faecium bacteremia (mBio) Dopamine receptor D2 confers colonization resistance (Nature) CDC’s Reports of Selected E. coli Outbreak Investigations Brett Finlay’s narr...2024-03-3050 minThis Week in MicrobiologyThe Marvel of MACTWiM 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.tv2024-03-0249 minThis Week in MicrobiologyMarvels of MicrobiologyOn 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...2023-12-1739 minThis Week in MicrobiologyTeaching with TWiMFrom 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@mic...2023-12-0251 minThis Week in MicrobiologyImpact of Lung Microbiome and Racial Disparities on AsthmaTWiM 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...2023-11-1659 minThis Week in MicrobiologyBreast Milk BioactivesTWiM 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...2023-08-1258 minThis Week in MicrobiologyBiogeography of Tectonics and TeethTWiM 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 (Ea...2023-07-291h 01This Week in MicrobiologyViral Defense and Counter-DefenseTWiM 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 tw...2023-06-3057 minThis Week in MicrobiologyCancer and E. coliTWiM 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...2023-06-101h 06This Week in MicrobiologyQuorum Sensing In The GutTWiM reveals quorum-sensing systems that regulate intestinal inflammation and permeability caused by P. aeruginosa, and how plasmids manipulate bacterial behavior through translational regulatory crosstalk. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson, Petra Levin. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Quorum-sensing in the intestine (mBio) Block quorum sensing, block biofilm (Antimicrob Agents Chemother) Plasmids manipulate bacterial behavior (PLoS Biol) Regulatory genes associated with integrative conjugative elements (J Bact) Take the TWiM Listener survey! Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to twim@microbe.tv M...2023-03-2458 minThis Week in MicrobiologyAt-home evolution with yeastTWiM presents a protocol for evolving caffeine-tolerant yeast by high school students in the home, and how predator-prey dynamics change when multiple bacteria grow together in biofilms. 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 Caffeine-tolerant yeast selected at home (microPub Biology) yEvo Lab Vision and change in undergraduate biology (NAS) CURE in a box (JMBE) EvolvingStem EvolvingStem: Evolution-in-action...2023-03-1054 minThis Week in MicrobiologyThey Forget To DivideTWiM explains how magnesium modulates cell division frequency of a soil bacillus, and killing of fungi by Acinetobacter baumannii via a Type VI DNase Effector. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson, and Petra Levin Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Android, RSS, or by email. Become a Patron of TWiM! Links for this episode: •Magnesium modulates cell division frequency (J Bacteriol) •A. baumannii kills fungi (mBio) Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission. Send...2023-01-2858 minThis Week in MicrobiologyBacterial Endosymbionts Block Giant VirusesMark Martin returns to TWiM to join the discussion of how to design a complex gut microbiome, and protection of protists from virus infection by intracellular bacterial symbionts. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson, and Petra Levin Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Design of a complex gut microbiome (Cell) Defensive symbiosis against giant viruses (PNAS) Take the TWiM Listener survey! Music by Ronald Jenkees. Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to twim@microbe.tv2022-10-2157 minThis Week in MicrobiologyThe Value of WipingTWiM reveals how to inactivate norovirus on formica surfaces, and how to achieve antibiotic resistance by suppression of a frameshift mutation in an essential gene. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson, 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 Effect of wiping on norovirus inactivation (Appl Env Micro) Chlorine dilution calculator (Ontario Pub Health) Antibiotic resistance by frameshift suppression (PNAS) Resistance to rifampicin (Nature) Take the TWiM Listener survey! M...2022-09-301h 00This Week in MicrobiologyMetabolism’s Got RhythmTWiM explores the activation of natural product synthesis using CRISPR interference in Streptomyces, and how light/dark and temperature cycling modulate Electron Flow in Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michele Swanson, and Petra Levin Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Activating natural product synthesis (Nucleic Acids Res) Light and temperature modulate biofilm electron flow (mBio) Take the TWiM Listener survey! Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission. Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio...2022-09-1751 minThis Week in MicrobiologySpot on With T4SS ModulatorsTWiM welcomes new host Petra, and explains how a small protein helps ensure that E. coli utilizes a preferred carbon source, and a screening strategy to identify inhibitors of the type IV secretion system that is essential for virulence of a variety of bacterial pathogens. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson, and Petra Levin Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Android, RSS, or by email. Become a Patron of TWiM! Links for this episode: A small protein regulates carbon utilization (PNAS) Inhibitors of type IV secreti...2022-04-0157 minThis Week in MicrobiologyCell growth and cell size with Petra LevinPetra Levin joins TWiM to tell three stories from her laboratory: how starvation induces shrinkage of the bacterial cytoplasm; plasticity of E. coli cell wall and how it influences antibiotic resistance across different environments; and induction of antibiotic resistance by Triclosan. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, Michele Swanson, and Michael Schmidt Guest: Petra Levin Become a Patron of TWiM! Links for this episode Starvation induces E. coli shrinkage (PNAS) Plasticity of cell wall metabolism and antibiotic resistance (eLife) Triclosan induces antibiotic resistance (Antimicro Agents Chemother) TWiM Listener survey Music u...2021-10-281h 03