Matters Microbial #113: Microbes That Swim, Swarm, Stand Up—and 'Walk' October 24, 2025

Today Dr. Joshua Shrout, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences at the University of Notre Dame joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss the work of his research team on sociomicrobiology. This includes how bacteria sense a surface, move together in groups, and communicate with one another.

Host: Mark O. Martin

Guest: Joshua Shrout

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Links for this episode

• Here is a wonderful video about the late great Dr. Esther Lederberg. Here is another article on that same subject.
• Here is an article about prodigiosin synthesis and Serratia marcescens.
• An introduction to the concept of sociomicrobiology.
• An overview of bacterial swarming. Here is a wonderful swarming video.
• An overview of bacterial swimming in liquid.
• An article about group/social motility in Myxococcus.
• A fine video explaining the amazing bacterial flagellar motor.
• An article about Vibrio parahaemolyticus and swarming.
• An overview of quorum sensing.
• Bacteria cultivated in the laboratory undergo mutational changes during "domestication."
• Pigments produced by Pseudomonas, including pyoverdin and pyocyanin.
• An article from Dr. Shrout's laboratory group describing interactions between Pseudomonas and Enterococcus described in this episode.
• The Type IV pili-based motility system.
• An article from Dr. Shrout's laboratory describing how Pseudomonas can "walk" on one pole during swarming.
• Here is a video from Dr. Shrout's laboratory showing Pseudomonas "walking" on their poles.
• An overview video of the Shrout laboratory's research interests.
• Dr. Shrout's faculty website.
• Dr. Shrout's truly beautiful research website. There are wonderful microbial videos there. Very much worth your time.

Intro music is by Reber Clark

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