Nice Genes!

Challenging assumptions around food security

Is the world running out of bananas? Well, no. Not…yet — but nature is flashing a big, yellow, squishy "caution" sign. In this episode, Dr. Kaylee Byers peels away our assumptions about food security by looking at bananas. Venturing Down Under, we connect with Dr. James Dale from Queensland University of Technology – a bona fide banana expert, who tells us exactly why this iconic yellow fruit could one day become a rarity. But, with the help of a clever genomic idea, he and his intrepid team of Aussie researchers and farmers are looking at how to hit "abort" on complete Bananageddon.

Special thanks to Mark Smith with Darwin Fruit Farm Party Limited for providing field recordings for this episode.

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Highlights:

(01:48) Peeling into bananageddon

(10:33) The cavendish equation, a lucky banana swap 

(20:57) Safety net, saving the cavendish 

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Learn-A-Long: https://bit.ly/46THrTU

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References:

Why Don’t Banana Candies Taste Like Real Bananas? | Science Friday

What We Can Learn From the Near-Death of the Banana | TIME

Banana Wars: Power, Production, and History in the Americas | Duke University Press

Chinese coolies | National Library Board

The Story of the Cavendish Banana | Tenerife Weekly

Not your mother’s banana | Bananageddon

Fungal attacks threaten global food supply, say experts | The Guardian

The banana is dying. The race is on to reinvent it before it's too late | Wired

QUT-developed GM Cavendish offers safety net to world banana industry | Queensland University of Technology

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Credit:

Journey to Banana Land: By the United Fruit Company (1950) | Institute of Visual Training

Ag Report: Fighting rural farm crime; banana disease; and ag grant award | ABC News

Cross-examining the origins of our base pairs

One of our most foundational assumptions is that ‘Our DNA is our own.’ But what if our DNA is stolen? There's a puzzling phenomenon called 'horizontal gene transfer' in which one organisms' genetics jumps to another. Dr. Kaylee Byers is joined by invertebrate specialists Dr. Anna Klompen from the Stowers Institute, and Dr. Jessica Goodheart, a marine biologist hunting for nudibranchs, "gene pirates" of the sea. And Dr. Ted Turlings will tell us how his trip to China led to an exciting discovery about the whitefly -- another common but crafty genetic thief. A final word of advice. Next time a goopy organism bumps into you in a crowd, make sure to check your genes! 

A special thanks to the laboratory of Professor Youjun Zhang Department of Plant Protection, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Beijing. Drs. Zhaojiang Guo, Jixing Xia, and Zezhong Yang.

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Highlights:

(00:00) Finding the Transforming Principle

(11:34) A colorful and slick ocean pirate

(17:50) The hunt for a fluttering and destructive gene thief

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Learn-A-Long: https://bit.ly/49qSB4T

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Resources:

Frederick Griffith - British Bacteriologist | Britannica

Griffith’s Experiment - Progress in Molecular Biology and Transitional Science | Science Direct

20 Cool Genomics Facts - 13&14: Antibiotic resistance | Genome BC

Ancient viral DNA may help humans fight infections | National Institute of Health

Venom system variation and the division of labor in the colonial hydrozoan Hydractinia symbiolongicarpus | Science Direct

Nematocyst sequestration evolution | The Goodheart lab

A chromosome-level genome for the nudibranch gastropod Berghia stephanieae helps parse clade-specific gene expression in novel and conserved phenotypes | bioRxiv

First Report of Horizontal Gene Transfer Between Plant and Animal | The Scientist

Pretty Sly for a Whitefly | The Atlantic

First known gene transfer from plant to insect identified | Nature

Whiteflies stole a gene from plants to survive their lethal toxins | Earth.com

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Credit:

Lady Margot Asquith on the outbreak of World War I Roman Styran

What did your grade four teacher say? "Never Assume. It makes an..." well, you know the rest. We all fall into the trap of our own assumptions from time to time. But in the weird and wonderful world of science, assumptions can misguide research madly off in all directions. That's why challenging assumptions is so important!

Join host Dr. Kaylee Byers and the Nice Genes! podcast team on a journey to learn the truth about some of our most deeply held assumptions. We’ll uncover whether our DNA is truly our own, or a product of genetic theft. We’ll question how societal baggage colours commonly held views about weight and health. And we’ll ponder the genetic puzzle that many assume holds the key to who we are, and who we love. So buckle up your genomics belt and help us follow the assumptions "paper trail." Along the way -- you just might learn the truth about some of our most deeply held societal beliefs.

How a Reptilian 'Virgin Birth' Baffled Scientists

Dr. Kaylee Byers and Producer Phoebe Melvin share one lonely crocodile's story that surprised scientists and sheds light on their distant relatives that once wandered the earth. 

Resources:

'Virgin Birth' recorded in Crocodile for 1st time ever | Live Science

Monsieur Crocodile - Les 5 Pères | Austin Foundation

Crocodile Tears - Eddy Howard and His Orchestra | Austin Foundation

Welcome to our first Gene Shorts Episode! It's the trademark storytelling you love in Nice Genes! but bite sized.

In this episode Dr. Kaylee Byers speaks with Producer Phoebe Melvin about a potentially life saving discovery lurking in the damp depths of brown bear caves.

Repairing the Environment: Climate Special Part 2

With disappearing species, plastic-filled oceans, and environmental commitments lagging behind global targets, it's easy to feel like humanity's fate is already sealed. But can we 'science' our way out of it?

In this episode, Dr. Kaylee Byers meets up with Dr. Aria Hahn to discuss what she believes could be a handy tool to repair some of the damage that's already been done to the planet. While becoming a scientist, she spotted the incredible potential of microbes, tiny organisms responsible for the foundations of life on earth. These tiny microbes have a large role to play in helping us create renewable resources and repair the areas devastated by our climate crisis. Second, we join microbiologist Dr. Christian Rinke whose relaxing sailboat getaway lead him to discover a wriggly solution to the world's plastic pollution problem.

From insect guts to cold hydrothermal vents, the odd places on our planet hold critical answers, and may even shape our future on this spinning rock we call home.

Special thanks to the University of British Columbia students who shared their voices on this episode and scientist and diver Dale Anderson for sharing recordings from his adventures to Antarctica.

Resources:
1. What Microbes Can Teach Us About Adapting to Climate Change | American Society for Microbiology
2. Scientists’ warning to humanity: microorganisms and climate change | Nature
3. Nutrient Acquisition and the Metabolic Potential of Photoferrotrophic Chlorobi | University of British Columbia
4. BC's giant landslide serves as warning for other parts of the world | Global News
5. Soapy the Germ Fighter | Avis Films
6. Here’s how the mining industry can respond to climate change | McKinsey Sustainability
7. 'Superworms' survive solely on polystyrene, as researchers look to create plastic recycling technology | ABC News
8. Superworms: how plastic-eating larvae sparked a scientific breakthrough | The University of Queensland
9. Wax worm saliva rapidly breaks down plastic bags, scientists discover | The Guardian
10. Climate change and the microbiology of the Antarctic Peninsula region | British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council
11. Survival strategies of an anoxic microbial ecosystem in Lake Untersee, a potential analog for Enceladus | Nature Portfolio

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Tracking diseases using genomics 

Stop the presses! New research shows that viruses locked in the Arctic permafrost for thousands of years have the potential to infect present-day organisms. Accompanied with a warming planet, this issue is really starting to thaw out. So what can brave scientists and institutions on the frontlines of tracking diseases do about it? And how can understanding our genomic history with diseases over thousands of years better prepare us in the fight to overcome them?

Dr. Kaylee Byers starts our journey by slinking into a disease-tracking genomics lab at Simon Fraser University to meet Dr. Michael Trimble and Dr. Will Hsiao to understand the challenge of outpacing the rapid evolution of viruses. Then she pops across the ocean to speak with Dr. Birgitta Evengård and Dr. Jean-Michel Claverie about whether the Pandora's box of ancient diseases frozen in the arctic have the potential to become the next global outbreak as temperatures warm. Plus, we unearth ancient burial sites in Vietnam with Dr. Melandri Vlok, to investigate how climate change exacerbates the tension between human health and pathogens.

Special thanks to Dr. Will Hsiao and Dr. Michael Trimble for allowing us to record with them at Simon Fraser University.

Click here for this episode's Learn-A-Long!

Resources:
1. Infection control in the new age of genomic epidemiology | British Columbia Centre for Disease Control Public Health Laboratory
2. The permafrost pandemic: could the melting Arctic release a deadly disease | Unearthed
3. Viral spillover risk increases with climate change in High Arctic lake sediments | The Royal Society
4. Healthy ecosystems for human and animal health: Science diplomacy for responsible development in the Arctic | The Nordic Centre of Excellence
5. Understanding and Responding to Global Health Security Risks from Microbial Threats in the Arctic: Proceedings of a Workshop | National Academies of Science, Engineering, Medicine
6. Next pandemic may come from melting glaciers, new data shows | The Guardian
7. Scientists Revived Ancient 'Zombie Viruses' Frozen For Eons in Siberia | Science Alert
8. A 48,500-year-old virus has been revived from Siberian permafrost | NewScientist
9. Anthrax outbreak in Siberia | euro news
10. CBC News: The National | Russia invades Ukraine | Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC)
11. National Geographic: Explorer Directory, Melandri Vlok | National Geographic
12. Paleoepidemiological Considerations of Mobility and Population Interaction in the Spread of Infectious Diseases in the Prehistoric Past | Bioarchaeology International
13. The Epidemiological Transition: A Theory of the Epidemiology of Population Change | Milbank Memorial Fund
14. Forager and farmer evolutionary adaptations to malaria evidenced by 7000 years of thalassemia in Southeast Asia | nature portfolio
15. CARD 2020: antibiotic resistome surveillance with the comprehensive antibiotic resistance database | Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Simon Fraser University

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Preparing the Environment: Climate Special Part 1 

In part 1 of our climate special, we revisit our oceans to look at the rocky atolls and reefs that are home to colourful world builders, coral!

Since the 1950’s the planet has lost half of its coral reefs due to degradation. With ocean temperatures rising and harmful environmental and human activities, how can we better protect essential ecosystems for communities and marine life alike?

Dr. Kaylee Byers sits down with Dr. Shayle Matsuda, a marine biologist looking into the effects of environmental stresses on coral reefs due to the climate crisis. And with the aid of genomic sequencing, Shayle wonders if we can utilize a clever symbiotic relationship found on these fascinating organisms to cultivate greater reef resilience into the future. Next, meet Ben Williams from the University of Exeter, who shares a unique acoustic invention to help restore reefs in Indonesia. And finally, researcher Madelyn Jones takes us through her work on the British Columbia coast to replenish the spiralling towers we call "kelp forests."

Click here for this episode's Learn-A-Long!

Resources:
1. The sound of recovery: Coral reef restoration success is detectable in the soundscape | British Ecological Society
2. Vital Signs: Ocean Warming | NASA
3. The Planet Has Lost Half of Its Coral Reefs Since 1950 | Smithsonian
4. Coral Reefs Could All Die Off by 2050 | EcoWatch
5. ‘Dire outlook’: scientists say Florida reefs have lost nearly 98% of coral | The Guardian
6. Report: Florida's Coral Reefs Among Most Damaged In U.S. | CBS Local News
7. HydroMoth: Testing a prototype low-cost acoustic recorder for aquatic environments | ZSL
8. What is a kelp forest? | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
9. Canada’s kelp forests are at risk. A seaweed farmer is trying to save them | CBC Creator Network
10. Months after mass die-off of sea creatures in B.C. heat dome, researchers return in search of signs of life | CBC News
11. Coral Bleaching Susceptibility Is Predictive of Subsequent Mortality Within but Not Between Coral Species | Frontiers
12. Larval thermal conditioning does not improve post-settlement thermal tolerance in the dominant reef-building coral, Montipora capitata | Springer
13. Genome-powered classification of microbial eukaryotes: focus on coral algal symbionts | Science Direct
12. Do Coral Reefs Produce Oxygen? | Techie Scientist
14. What is coral spawning? | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
15. Myth 5 - Genomics Can't Help Climate Change | Genome British Columbia

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A genomic whale of a story

Things aren’t always what they seem on the surface, especially when it comes to our oceans. So many mysteries hum below its watery surface. So, you may just have to use your ears when it's too dark to see exactly what's going on down there.

Dr. Kaylee Byers looks into the ocean giants that lurk in the depths and the unique songs they share with us. She sits down with whale biologist Dr. Jennifer Allen on how whale songs are imparting a cultural exchange between populations that are hundreds of miles apart. Filmmaker Joshua Zeman shares his journey to find the infamously dubbed 'Loneliest Whale'. And Paeleobiologist Dr. Travis Park from the Museum of Natural History in London tells us how whales developed their unique singing superpowers by taking us back through millions of years of evolution. Finally, researcher Grace Baer brings us to a remote west coast station studying whale populations and the effects of ocean traffic noise.

It's a whale-sized episode taking you on a listening journey into this wonderful watery world!

Click here for this episode's Learn-A-Long!

CREDITS:

Special thanks to Captain Gaelen Krause of the Island Odyssey, for capturing recordings on his journey to search for whales along the British Columbia coast. Thank you to BCwhales.org, North Coast Cetacean Society, for providing hydrophone recordings in this episode. Credit to Joshua Zeman and Bleecker Street Media for providing audio clips from their documentary The Loneliest Whale: The Seach for 52. And finally, credit to Watkins Mammal Sound Database with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for access to their whale recordings.

Resources:
1. Southern Resident Killer Whale Research Project | Parks Canada
2. Whales learn songs from each other in a cultural 'deep dive' | phys.org
3. Whale-monitoring robots are oceanic eavesdroppers with a mission | Popular Science
4. Whale Songs Are Getting Deeper | The Atlantic
5. The search for the loneliest whale in the world | The Guardian
6. The Loneliest Whale: The Search fro 52 | Bleecker Street Media
7. BTS (방탄소년단) Whalien 52' MV | BigHit Entertainment
7. Watkins Marine Mammal Sound Database  | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
8. Underwater Noise Pollution Is Disrupting Ocean Life - But We Can Fix it | TIME
9. Convergent evolution in toothed whale cochleae | BMC Evolutionary Biology
10. Evolutionary Basis of High-Frequency Hearing in the Cochleae of Echolocators Revealed by Comparative Genomics | Oxford Academic
11. Genome-culture coevolution promotes rapid divergence of killer whale ecotypes | Nature
12. DNA Suggests Cultural Traits Affect Whale Evolution | Science
13. San Francisco: Dead Whale Opens Seafood Season | Universal International Newswire
14. Songs of the Humpback Whale | Roger Payne, CRM Records
15. Whaling Commission | Associated Press Archive
16. Monaco - International Whaling Commission | Associated Press Archive
17. Bubble Net Feeding | BC Whales
18. Cool Genomics Facts - Fact 4 & 5: Environmental DNA | Genome British Columbia

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The Importance of Biodiversity 

Conservation is often about protecting the species that still wander around our Earth. But what about those that once did but have gone extinct? In this Halloween-inspired episode, we take a look into how one spooky idea has gone from science fiction to science fact, de-extinction style.

Dr. Kaylee Byers takes us to the upside-down world of wild animals in Australia. She sits down with Dr. Axel Newton whose research addresses how to resurrect a species that has been extinct for nearly a century. Also joining her is  Dr. Carolyn Hogg who uses the latest genomic technology to understand the impacts of reintroducing endangered species into their native habitats. In this wacky tale of resurrection and 'devils' will the spirit of scientific discovery mean incredible changes for the future, or is a line being crossed that we can't come back from?

Click here for this episode's Learn-A-Long!

Resources:
1. Lab takes 'giant leap' toward thylacine de-extinction with Colossal genetic engineering technology partnership | The University of Melbourne
2. Thylacine Integrated Genomic Restoration Research Lab (TIGRR Lab) | The University of Melbourne
3. Thylacine: How we plan to de-extinct the Tasmanian tiger | Colossal Laboratories and Biosciences
4. Extinction of thylacine | National Museum Australia
5. A year after Australia's wildfires, extinction threatens hundreds of species | Science News
6. Rewilding returns lost species to strengthen ecosystems | Science News
7. Park Conscious | U.S. Dept. of Agriculture
8. Endangered Tasmanian devils insured against future threats | The University of Sydney
9. The 9 Steps to De-Extincting Australia's Thylacine | The University of Melbourne
10. The Value of Reference Genomes in the Conservation of Threatened Species | Marsupial Genetics and Genomics
11. Assessing evolutionary processes over time in a conservation breeding program: a combined approach using molecular data, simulations and pedigree analysis | Biodiversity and Conservation

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