TWiM pays tribute to Elio Schaechter, former TWiM host, blogger, and microbiologist extraordinaire, then reviews the finding that Archaea produce peptidoglycan hydrolases that kill bacteria - a form of competition.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson and Petra Levin.

Guest Mark O. Martin.

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Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.

• Elio Schaechter (Wikipedia)
• Elio Schaechter Funeral Service (video)
• Archaea produce peptidoglycan hydrolases that kill bacteria (PLoS Biol)
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TWiM discusses outbreak of Legionnaires disease in Harlem NY, an automated whole genome sequencing platform for bacterial strain typing in clinical microbiology laboratories, building E. coli with a 57-codon genetic code.

Links for this episode

• Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in NY (NY Health)
• Automated whole genome sequencing for clinical labs (J Clin Micro)
• Sequencing workflow for outbreaks (J Clin Micro)
• Rewriting code of life (NYTimes)
• E. coli with a 57-codon genetic code (Science)
• E. coli with one stop codon (TWiM 330)

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Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.

TWiM explains a study that examines pathogen presence in ancient humans and concludes that zoonoses emerged 6500 years ago with the domestication of livestock, and determination of universal rules that govern plasmid copy number.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson, and Petra Levin

Guests: Mark O. Martin

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Links for this episode:

• Human pathogens in ancient Eurasia (Nature)

• What once ailed us (NY Times)

• Rules of plasmid copy number (Nature Comm)

• Scaling laws of plasmids (Nature Comm)

Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.

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TWiM explores the use of gas sensors and machine learning to identify microbes and antimicrobial resistance in clinical specimens, and how a harmful algal bloom species releases thiamin antivitamins to suppress competitors.

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Links for this episode:

• Microbial and antimicrobial resistance diagnostics (Cell Biomaterials)

• Thiamin antivitamins suppress algal competitors (mBio)

Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.

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TWiM explains two strategies for bacterial competition for resources: by laying down a slippery lipid and pushing away competitors, or by breaking open cells with a spike, liberating essential nutrients.

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Links for this episode:

• Secreting a slippery lipid (mBio)

• Lysing neighboring cells for nutrients (Science)

• Underwater hockey (YouTube

Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.

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TWiM describes how microbiological analysis of the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn has revealed an antimicrobial resistance reservoir and bioremediation potential, and fungicide resistance in Fusarium graminearum, the fungus recently smuggled into the US.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Petra Levin.

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Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.

• Microbiology of the Gowanus Canal (J. Appl. Micro)
• Microbes clean up Gowanus (BrooklynPaper)
• Fungicide resistance in Fusarium (Pathogens)
• Couple smuggles fungal pathogen into US (NBC)
• Fusarium and wheat-management strategies (Pathogens)
• Laboratory Biosafety (pdf)
• NIH Biosafety (NIH)
• Take the TWiM Listener survey!

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TWiM explains how a mutualistic model bacterium can become lethal in a non-symbiotic host, and engineering a kill switch into a tuberculosis vaccine for improved safety.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin and Michele Swanson.

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Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.

• When a mutualist becomes lethal (mBio)
• A lasting symbiosis (Nat Rev Micro)
• A kill switch for BCG (Nat Micro)
• Engineering mycobacteria for vaccination (Nat Micro)
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TWiM explains a study of the unique and extreme microbial and chemical environment on the International Space Station, and the connection between the gut microbiome and pain in fibromyalgia.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Michele Swanson.

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Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.

• ISS chemical and microbial environment (Cell)
• Gut microbiota and fibromyalgia pain (Neuron)
• Gut pain eases after doses of gut microbes (Nature)
• Skin innervation and fibromyalgia pain (Ann Neurol)
• Altered microbiome in fibromyalgia (Pain)
• Intestinal microbiome and fibromyalgia (Intl J Rheum Dis)
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TWiM describes isolation of a novel bacterial species isolated from the China Space Station, and how a chemical radar allows bacteria to detect and kill predators.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Petra Levin.

Guest Mark O. Martin.

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Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.

• Niallia tiangongensis from the China Space Station (Int J Syst Evol Biol)
• Bacterial chemical radar (Cell)
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TWiM explains how to recode E. coli so it uses only one stop codon, and an exploration of the mechanisms of bacterial adhesion within dental plaque.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin and Michele Swanson.

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Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.

• Engineering E. coli with one stop codon (Nature)
• Bacterial adhesion in dental plaque (mBio)
• Microbial complexes in subgingival plaque (J Clin Periodontol)
• Bacterial clusters in periodontal and peri-implant diseases (Microorg)
• Take the TWiM Listener survey!

Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to [email protected]