Matters Microbial #73: Seeing the Microbiome January 8, 2025

Today, Dr. Travis Wiles, Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at the University of California, Irvine, joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss the work he and his research group have done to visualize the changing dynamics of the gut microbiome—including bacteriophages residing there. 

Host: Mark O. Martin

Guest: Travis Wiles

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Links for this episode

• Dr Anne Estes’ academic website is found here, along with her blog, and her social media link on Bluesky.  So many interesting ideas!
• Transgenic zebrafish as pets are called GLOfish.
• Use of zebrafish as a model system for developmental biology.
• An article exploring the effects of the microbiome on gnotobiotic (“germ free”) zebrafish.
• An essay on both lytic and lysogenic bacteriophages.
• An essay describing how bacteriophage interact with the gut microbiota.  One of my former undergraduate research students, Dr. Danielle Campbell, works in this area!
• An article suggesting that bacteriophage do in fact interact with eukaryotic cells.
• The concept of phage conversion:  how some bacteriophages carry bacterial genes, including toxin genes.
• An article about bacteriophages and bacterial evolution.
• An article about the study of the zebrafish gut microbiome.
• An article about research with zebrafish and Mycobacterium. 
• The article discussed in this episode by Dr. Wiles’ group: “Phollow: Visualizing Gut Bacteriophage Transmission within Microbial Communities and Living Animals .”   
• Dr. Wiles’ academic website.
• Dr. Wiles’ very colorful and interesting laboratory group website.

Intro music is by Reber Clark

Send your questions and comments to [email protected]