microTalk

Bacteria talk to each other using molecules that allow them to coordinate group behaviors, which has been termed "quorum sensing".

A number of bacteria utilize quorum sensing to form gangs that coordinate beneficial behaviors such as symbiotic light production, as well as detrimental behaviors such as attacking their host. Dr. Marvin Whiteley is a Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology who studies bacterial chatter.

He has developed some innovative means to investigate bacterial chitchat, including trapping small clusters of bacteria in tiny synthesized "lobster traps" to see what kind of dialogue ensues.

Dr. Whiteley talks about how and why bacteria talk to each other, whether lab conditions can help us understand what a pathogen does inside a host, how a polymicrobial "love story" in the mouth leads to dental problems, and how his interest in birds with colorful tails led him to a career in microbiology.

microTalk recorded this discussion with Dr. Whiteley at the American Society for Microbiology Microbe 2018 meeting in Atlanta Georgia.

The microCase for listeners to solve is about Kerosene Lampe, an infant who comes down with a scary infectious disease when her mother takes her to "the happiest place in the galaxy".

Participants:

• Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA)
• Marvin Whiteley, Ph.D. (Georgia Institute of Technology)
• Janakiram Seshu, Ph.D. (UTSA)
• Jesus Romo (UTSA)

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The magnificent coral reefs of the world are dying! These fantastic underwater living structures that support entire ecosystems are undergoing massive die-offs that have decimated coral reefs all over the globe.

Tropical coral reefs rely on a symbiosis between the coral polyp and a photosynthetic algae, and when this symbiosis is disrupted, the coral reef undergoes "bleaching" and ultimately dies. Dr. Rebecca Vega-Thurber is an Associate Professor at Oregon State University who has devoted her research career to studying coral reefs.

Dr. Vega-Thurber talks about how climate change is driving the death of coral reefs, how the bacteria and viruses associated with the reef influence its health, some ideas on how to try and protect the reefs from further destruction such as the development of "super corals", and how she stays optimistic despite seeing the death of coral reefs first-hand.

microTalk recorded this discussion with Dr. Vega-Thurber at the American Society for Microbiology Microbe 2018 meeting in Atlanta Georgia, and were pleased to be joined by ASM's Meet the Microbiologist host Julie Wolf.

The microCase for listeners to solve is about Tony Voyage, an aging but surprisingly youthful action movie star who gets a mysterious illness after spending time in his trailer on set.

Participants: Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA) Rebecca Vega-Thurber, Ph.D. (Oregon State University) Janakiram Seshu, Ph.D. (UTSA) Jesus Romo, Ph.D. (UTSA) Julie Wolf, Ph.D. (American Society for Microbiology)

Earth's most abundant biological entities are viruses, and they can be found everywhere where there are living organisms, including extreme (hellish) environments with e.g. low pH, high temperature, etc.

Dr. Ken Stedman is a professor at Portland State University and one of the founders of the Center for Life in Extreme Environments. Dr. Stedman studies viruses from hellish environments like acidic boiling hot springs at Lassen Volcanic National Park.

Dr. Stedman talks about how studying viruses in extreme environments can give insights into the evolution of life on earth, whether a virus is actually alive, how he started studying these unique extremophile viruses, and whether there might be viruses in space (heaven).

The microCase for listeners to solve is about Ella Copter, a third grader who gets sick after eating her favorite meal at the school cafeteria.

Participants:

• Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA)
• Kenneth Stedman, Ph.D. (Portland State University)
• Janakiram Seshu, Ph.D. (UTSA)
• Jesus Romo (UTSA)

Dr. Steve Mayfield is a professor at the University of California San Diego and the Director of the California Center for Algae Biotechnology. Algae are amazing microorganisms, and Dr. Mayfield says that the more you know about algae, the more you like them.

Algae are extremely important to life on earth: they changed the atmosphere of the planet to contain oxygen and allow everything else to live here, they still do the bulk of photosynthesis on earth, converting sunlight and CO2 into biological material, and they are the basis of the petroleum we use.

Dr. Mayfield also sees them as a means to improve the future of mankind: he is exploiting algae as nutraceuticals to improve human health, and as workhorses to create renewable bioproducts. He is extracting polymers from algae to make biodegradable flip-flops, the most common shoe on earth and one of the most common pollutants in the ocean.

Dr. Mayfield talks about the importance of algae, the complicated process of making and scaling-up production of biodegradable flip-flops and surfboards, and how a student's idea about racing a motorcycle in the Mexican desert led to his interest in production of algae-based products.

The microCase for listeners to solve is about Grainy Polaroid, a freelance photographer who gets a strange infection in his foot while working at a destination wedding in Mexico.

Participants:

• Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA)
• Stephen Mayfield, Ph.D. (University of California San Diego)
• Janakiram Seshu, Ph.D. (UTSA)
• Jesus Romo (UTSA)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is on the front lines of the war against infectious diseases, and Anne Schuchat, M.D. has been the Deputy Director of CDC since 2015. She has been at the CDC since 1988 and has served in a variety of leadership roles, including stints as the acting director in 2017 and 2018. Dr. Schuchat has played key roles in a number of emergency responses by the CDC, including the bioterrorist attacks in 2001, the SARS outbreak in 2003, and the H1N1 outbreak in 2009. She has worked all over the world combatting a number of infectious disease threats. Dr. Schuchat discusses current and future disease threats, the difference between perceived versus actual threats, and her experience with Hollywood during the filming of the movie Contagion. microTalk recorded this discussion with Dr. Schuchat at the American Society for Microbiology Microbe 2018 meeting in Atlanta Georgia. The microCase for listeners to solve is about Patricia Zaragoza, a backup dancer turned celebrity who gets sick after helping with relief efforts post-hurricane Maria.

Participants: Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA) Anne Schuchat, M.D. (Centers for Disease Control) Janakiram Seshu, Ph.D., (UTSA) Jesus Romo, Ph.D. (UTSA)

Kevin Doxzen is a science communications specialist at the Innovative Genomics Institute in Berkeley, CA, associated with Dr. Jennifer Doudna. The Institute specializes in gene editing using CRISPR/Cas.

The CRISPR/Cas system evolved as a bacterial defense against virus attack, but it has been exploited primarily to manipulate the genomes of eukaryotes. CRISPR/Cas has already revolutionized gene editing, and has led to the creation of a large number of modified animals, which has led to ethical questions about human genome manipulation.

Dr. Doxzen talks about how CRISPR/Cas evolved, the various applications that is has been used for, some of the controversies associated with its use, and its further potential to improve human health.

The microCase for listeners to solve is about Nigel Tufnel, an aging rocker with a wild lifestyle who comes down with a life-threatening disease after going fishing in the Gulf of Mexico.

Participants: Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA) Kevin Doxzen, Ph.D. (Innovative Genomics Institute/U.C. Berkeley) Janakiram Seshu, Ph.D. (UTSA) Jesus Romo (UTSA)

Puerto Rico suffered a direct hit from the devastating hurricane Maria in September 2017, which destroyed the power grid and caused mass destruction across the island.

Recovery has been slow, and Puerto Rican scientists have suffered from the after-effects in their research activities.

Dr. Greetchen Diaz is the Director of Educational Programs at Ciencia Puerto Rico, Dr. Bejamin Bolaños is a professor of mycology at the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, Marcos Ramos Benitez is a Ph.D. student at the University of Puerto Rico, and Dr. Zomary Flores is a Professor at the University of Puerto Rico. microTalk recorded this discussion about the situation for Puerto Rican microbiologists post-Maria at the Puerto Rican Society for Microbiology meeting at Universidad del Este in Carolina, Puerto Rico.

These Puerto Rican scientists describe what happened to their laboratories after the hurricane, what it was like to be a graduate student mid-thesis in the middle of the devastation, the current status of science in Puerto Rico, some of the infections that increased in the aftermath, and how supportive the U.S. scientific community has been.

The microCase for listeners to solve is about Jim Beam, a middle-aged marketing executive who gets sick after trying to regain his youth during a backpacking trip.

Participants: Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA) Greetchen Diaz Muñoz, Ph.D. (Ciencia Puerto Rico) Benjamin Bolaños, Ph.D., (University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine) Marcos Ramos Benitez (University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences) Zomary Flores-Cruz, Ph.D. (University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras)

Julie Maresca is an associate professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Delaware. Concrete is the most commonly used building material in the world, and is a very unique dry, high pH environment with special chemical properties. Amazingly, there are microbial communities that live within concrete.

Dr. Maresca talks about these trapped communities of microbes, whether they are dormant or growing, whether microbes could be added to make concrete stronger, how some bacteria can thrive in conditions where there are no apparent nutrients, and how the thrill of discovery drove her to be a scientist.

The MicroCase for listeners to solve is about Sarah Lee, the diabetic baker at Cake Baby who becomes sick after walking through her neighborhood to work.

Participants:

Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA)

Julie Maresca, Ph.D. (University of Delaware)

Jesus Romo (UTSA)

Carol Kumamoto is a professor of microbiology at Tufts University. She studies Candida albicans, the most common fungal pathogen of humans.

C. albicans is a normal commensal of the human body, and it typically does not cause any harm to people, but rather lives happily among the other microbes e.g. within the intestine. However when the host becomes immunocompromised, C. albicans will invade tissues and cause a life-threatening infection.

Dr. Kumamoto talks about how C. albicans' interactions with the other microbes within the body influences its virulence, the difficulty of developing antifungals that don't harm people, how antivirulence strategies may identify new antifungals, and how she can't imagine doing anything else besides being a scientist.

The MicroCase for listeners to solve is about Don Risiko, the bat-loving host of the cable TV show "Demons Within Us" who becomes sick after spelunking.

Participants:

• Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA)
• Carol Kumamoto, Ph.D. (Tufts University)
• Jose Lopez-Ribot, Ph.D., Pharm.D. (UTSA)
• Jesus Romo (UTSA)

Cherise Rohr-Allegrini is the program director at the Immunization Partnership, whose goal is to improve vaccination rates in San Antonio and across Texas.

Every year millions of people suffer and die from vaccine-preventable diseases. The Immunization Partnership strives to increase vaccination rates through education and advocacy.

Dr. Rohr-Allegrini talks about how the success of vaccines has ironically contributed to the rise of the anti-vax movement, how the way scientists talk about vaccines is important to increase vaccination rates, the autism-vaccine controversy, the tantalizing approach of polio eradication, and her background in studying vector-borne diseases in developing countries.

The MicroCase for listeners to solve is about Sandy Sanchez, the pregnant bird-watching game warden who becomes sick with a mysterious illness that may threaten her baby.

Participants:

Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA) Cherise Rohr-Allegrini, M.P.H., Ph.D. (The Immunization Partnership) Jesus Romo (UTSA)