microTalk

Dr. John Coates, a professor at the University of California Berkeley specializes in environmental microbiology and how microbes can be utilized to resolve problems in industry. microTalk caught up with Dr. Coates at the ASMicrobe conference in Houston and discussed his research in applied and environmental microbiology. Dr. Coates discusses an unexpected discovery of how microbes drive the iodine cycle on earth, how sequencing microbes in the oceans has been beneficial for identifying novel biochemical activities, how climate change has stimulated his research into the "bioeconomy", why he's optimistic that science can mitigate the effects of climate change, and how Berkeley is a remarkable place to do science. This episode was supported by miniScope, the portable keychain microscope.

• Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA)
• John Coates, Ph.D. (UCSD)
• Janakiram Seshu, Ph.D. (UTSA)
• Jesus Romo, Ph.D. (UTSA)

The study of evolution has experienced a tremendous revolution with the advances in current sequencing technologies enabling e.g. rapid whole genome sequencing. Dr. Vaughn Cooper, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh who studies evolution in microbes, has taken advantage of these technologies to delve into how microorganisms adapt and evolve in different environments. microTalk caught up with Dr. Cooper at the ASM Microbe conference in Houston and discussed microbial evolution with him. Dr. Cooper discusses the power of next generation sequencing for the study of evolution, how mutation rates affect evolution, how providing hands-on evolution experiments to high school students can stimulate the next generation of scientists, how scientists need to work to combat public distrust of science, how antibiotic resistance evolves in the presence of immunodeficiency, and how his initial experience with baculoviruses hooked him into a lifelong study of evolution.

This episode was supported by Darbie's pinworm detection kit, to combat nematodes in your bikini bottom.

• Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA)
• Vaughn Cooper, Ph.D. (University of Pittsburgh)
• Janakiram Seshu, Ph.D. (UTSA)
• Jesus Romo, Ph.D. (UTSA)

Malaria continues to have a significant impact on humans. The Plasmodium parasites are transmitted through mosquito bites, and the disease has a tremendous impact on global health. Dr. Debopam Chakrabarti, a professor at the University of Central Florida who specializes in malaria. Dr. Chakrabarti discusses the history of the search for antimalarials, the problem of parasite drug resistance, how undergraduates can help to discover the next antimalarials, whether eradication of mosquitoes will eliminate malaria, and his challenging passion in growing roses in Florida. This episode was supported by ArchaeaMingle.com, for single-celled organisms looking for a steamy time.

• Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA)
• Debopam Chakrabarti, Ph.D. (University of Central Florida)
• Janakiram Seshu, Ph.D. (UTSA)
• Jim McLellan (UTSA)

Exosomes are small vesicles that that facilitate communication between eukaryotic cells. They resemble mini-cells, and act like carrier pigeons, trafficking various "payloads" among cells. Dr. Ramin Hakami is a Professor of Microbiology at George Mason University. Dr. Hakami studies how infectious diseases are modulated by exosome signaling. Dr. Hakami talks about how exosomes can deliver messages to cells, how Rift Valley Fever and Plague affect exosome signaling within infected hosts, how exosomes provide specificity and a "reply all" function to signaling, how being in a Nobel lab affected his approach to science, and his alternate career as a salsa dancer. This episode was supported by IV Rehydration Therapy, the treatment that prevents explosive diarrhea from inhibiting your social life.

• Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA)
• Ramin Hakami, Ph.D. (George Mason University)
• Janakiram Seshu, Ph.D. (UTSA)
• Mylea Echazarreta (UTSA)

Coxiella burnettii causes Q Fever, a zoonotic disease that is rarely acquired by humans. But Q Fever has a history of being developed as a bioweapon because of its ability to be spread by aerosols and cause debilitating but not lethal disease. Dr. Stacey Gilk is an Associate Professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center who studies Coxiella. Dr. Gilk talks about what makes Q Fever a potential biothreat agent, how figuring out how to grow Coxiella outside of cells revolutionized the study of this bacterium that was thought to only grow intracellularly, how a large outbreak in the Netherlands led to the deaths of thousands of dairy goats, how cholesterol affects the ability of Coxiella to grow, how falling in love with Toxoplasma led her to pursue infectious disease research, and what a wonderful place Nebraska is to do science. This episode was supported by Gordo Sheepsay's My Dope Microscope, the kitchen appliance that may literally save your life.

• Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA)
• Stacey Gilk, Ph.D. (Univ. Nebraska Medical Center)
• Janakiram Seshu, Ph.D. (UTSA)
• Jesus Romo, Ph.D. (UTSA)

There have been dramatic declines in amphibian populations around the world, and one of the culprits is the disease Chytridiomycosis. This is a skin disease of amphibians caused by two different species of Batrachochytrium fungi, and it has decimated frog and salamander populations and even driven some to extinction. Dr. Anat Belasen is a post-doctoral scientist at the University of Texas Austin who studies Chytridiomycosis. Dr. Belasen discusses how some amphibians are highly susceptible to this disease whereas others are resistant, why amphibian skin is so important for their well-being, how frogs can be considered a biological indicator of the health of an ecosystem, how farmed bullfrogs may be spreading the disease around the world, how genetic susceptibility screening and microbiomes may be used to try and stop the population decline, and how she's been a frog lover for her entire life. This episode was supported by Gordo Sheepsay's My Brave Little Autoclave, the kitchen appliance that may literally save your life.

• Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA)
• Anat Belasen, Ph.D. (U.T. Austin)
• Mylea Echazarreta (UTSA)

Microbiology textbooks teach that bacteria are so small that they cannot be seen without a microscope, and that they do not contain organelles or a nucleus. Then along comes Thiomargarita magnifica and smashes this dogma. T. magnifica is a giant bacterium that reaches 2 cm in length and can be easily seen with the naked eye. These bacteria, about the size of an eyelash, grow in mangrove swamps. Dr. Jean-Marie Volland is a scientist at the Laboratory for Research in Complex Systems in the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories. Dr. Volland has characterized the surprising properties of T. magnifica, and he discusses why T. magnifica is found in mangrove swamps, how it overcomes the limitations of nutrient diffusion that keeps most bacteria small, how sulfur oxidation expands the ability of organisms to live in extreme environments, how symbiotic relationships between bacteria and other cells are ubiquitous despite going against survival of the fittest, how studying in Guadeloupe and Austria influenced his interest in symbiosis, and how looking for things in atypical environments leads to novel discoveries. The microCase for listeners to solve is about Gordo Sheepsay, the temperamental chef of a cooking competition show who eats something more life-threatening than haute cuisine.

• Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA)
• Jean-Marie Volland, Ph.D. (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories)
• Mylea Echazarreta (UTSA)

Vibrios are marine bacteria that live in aquatic environments with a lot of other microbes, and occasionally a particular strain will arise that can cause serious disease in humans and can spread through the population in pandemics. V. cholerae causes large pandemics of cholera, and V. vulnificus causes sporadic cases of necrotizing fasciitis. Genomic sequencing has allowed scientists to follow the evolution of pathogens as they pass through the human population, and highlighted specific genomic changes that are associated with disease. Dr. Salvador Almagro-Moreno is an assistant professor in the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Central Florida. Dr. Almagro-Moreno is studying how pathogens emerge from a background of relatively harmless environmental organisms. Dr. Almagro-Moreno discusses how Vibrios can arise that cause disease, how the environment can influence pathogenic traits that are advantageous inside of a host, how oysters may be a training ground for Vibrio vulnificus pathogenesis in humans, how growing up on an island in Spain sparked his interest in marine pathogens, how climate change has impacted Vibrio-related disease, and how playing flamenco guitar keeps him sane. The microCase for listeners to solve is about France Holiday, an anti-vax social media influencer who gets more than she bargained for while promoting an antibacterial drinking straw.

• Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA)
• Salvador Almagro-Moreno, Ph.D. (University of Central Florida)
• Mylea Echazarreta (UTSA)
• Cameron Lloyd (UTSA)

One of the consequences of the "Antibiotic Era" has been the increased occurrence of infections caused by Clostridioides difficile, also known as "Cdiff", which in some cases can be life-threatening. Antibiotics alter the microbes that live in the gastrointestinal tract (the "microbiome") allowing Cdiff to thrive and cause disease. Dr. Vincent Young is professor in the departments of Internal Medicine and Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Michigan Medical School. Dr. Young is an expert on Cdiff and its interactions with the microbiome. Dr. Young discusses how Cdiff infections have increased over the past several decades, how fecal transplants have been wildly successful at treating recurrent Cdiff infections, how banking fecal samples can be beneficial, how the gastrointestinal microbiome can influence Cdiff infection, and how playing keyboard in a band has been an important side job. The MicroCase for listeners to solve is about Speedy Marathon, a cross-country runner who gets more than just a shrimp on the barbie when he runs Down Under.

• Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA)
• Vincent Young, M.D., Ph.D. (Univ. of Michigan)
• Janakiram Seshu, Ph.D. (UTSA)
• Mylea Echazarreta (UTSA)

Dr. John Mekalanos (Harvard Medical School) has devoted his career to the study of bacterial pathogens, with a special emphasis to understanding Vibrio cholerae, the bacterium that causes the deadly disease cholera. And what an amazingly productive research path he has followed, from the discovery and characterization of the regulon that controls V. cholerae virulence, to the identification of the pilus that allows the bacteria to colonize the intestine, to the discovery of the bacteriophage that encodes the cholera toxin. His (relatively) recent discovery of the Type VI Secretion System and characterization of its role in inter-bacterial competition and host modulation has had broad impact on all aspects of microbiology. Dr. Mekalanos received the 2022 ASM Lifetime Achievement Award for all of his tremendous contributions to our understanding of bacterial-host interactions. Dr. Mekalanos talks about the background of some of the seminal discoveries from his laboratory, how important his laboratory personnel (graduate students, postdoctoral fellows) have been to his success, his thoughts on the eradication of cholera through vaccination, and how his love of poker has contributed to his success as a scientist.

• Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA)
• John Mekalanos, Ph.D. (Harvard Medical School)
• Karla Satchell, Ph.D. (Northwestern University)