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Matters Microbial

Mark O. Martin
Matters Microbial
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  • Matters Microbial #102: Teaching Through the Issues with Microbes!
    Matters Microbial #102: Teaching Through the Issues with Microbes! July 31, 2025 Today, Dr. Davida Smyth, Professor of Biology and Deputy Director of the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement at Texas A&M University-San Antonio joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss her impressive work using microbiology to engage students at the intersection of cutting edge research and current events. #MicrobialLiteracy! Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: Davida Smyth Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode The American Society for Microbiology Carski Award website. The American Society for Microbiology Distinguished Lecturer website. The concept of “classroom agreements.” The 10:1 (microbial cells to human cells) story, and a related article. The 3-2-1 approach to learning in the classroom. Dr. Smyth’s “How Toilets Changed the World” class. The American Society for Microbiology Curriculum Guidelines. The National Science Foundation’s “Vision and Change” website describing improvements in biology education. The American Society for Microbiology profile for Dr. Smyth. A video seminar by Dr. Smyth describing open science in undergraduate education. The website for the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement. Dr. Smyth’s faculty website. Dr. Smyth’s superb research website. Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to [email protected]
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  • Matters Microbial #101: Electrifying News about Cable Bacteria
    Matters Microbial #101: Electrifying News about Cable Bacteria July 25, 2025 Today, Dr. Nicole Geerlings from the University of Vienna in Austria joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss some of the wonderful work she and colleagues have carried out studying the wild, weird, and wonderful world of cable bacteria, which can conduct electricity over microbially enormous distances!  Definitely time for #OMG and #WTM! Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: Nicole Geerlings Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode This just became available:  a wonderful short introduction to day’s topic, the cable bacteria, from Asimov Press.  It is an absolute must read for everyone interested. Here is a link to the Summer Science Program, a wonderful outreach program for high school juniors. An essay about Nobel Prize winning Albert Szent-Györgyi, who stated that life was a matter of electrons finding a place to rest.  Here is a short video introduction to his work. A video introduction to microbial metabolism. A video introduction to electron transport.  Remember that bacteria and archaea are VERY skilled at using different electron donors and acceptors than eukaryotic life. The really fun concept of the “Jagendorf Jump,” showing electron transport vs. pH in chloroplasts. An overview of the microbial fuel cell concept.  Here is a nice overview I highly recommend. A commercial source for you to build your own microbial fuel cell. A DIY approach to building a MFC.  An ESSENTIAL overview to the idea of electrons in microbial sediments. A review article about cable bacteria.  Here is another fine review. This is a third great introduction to cable bacteria. And here is a video overview.   An article by Dr. Geerlings and colleagues describing cable bacteria for new #Micronauts.  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. An review of stable isotope probing in microbiology. Here is a video seminar using SIP in microbiology. An overview of Nano-SIMS and how it is used in microbiology.  Here is another review.   A deeply wonderful article by Dr. Geerlings and colleagues suggesting that inactive cells with the “microbial cable” are still conducting electrons! Dr. Geerlings postdoctoral scholar website. Links and References on Cable Bacteria from Dr. Geerlings: 1. Here is a website from the group of Prof. Dr. Filip Meysman from the University of Antwerp, which includes a great video on the electron conductivity of cable bacteria. 2. The first paper describing redox half-reactions separated by long-distance electron transport. Nielsen, L. P., Risgaard-Petersen, N., Fossing, H., Christensen, P. B., and Sayama, M. (2010). Electric currents couple spatially separated biogeochemical processes in marine sediment. Nature 463, 1071–1074. doi: 10.1038/nature08790 3. The paper describing the discovery of cable bacteria. Look into the supplemental material for the excellent experimental set-up to prove that the cable bacteria are the ones doing the long-distance electron transport. Pfeffer, C., Larsen, S., Song, J., Dong, M., Besenbacher, F., Meyer, R. L., et al. (2012). Filamentous bacteria transport electrons over centimetre distances. Nature 491, 218–221. Doi: 10.1038/nature11586 4. A paper that dives into the conductivity of the cable bacteria network and shows that these fibres can conduct electrons just as well as a copper wire. Meysman, F. J. R., Cornelissen, R., Trashin, S., Bonné, R., Martinez, S. H., van der Veen, J., et al. 2019. A highly conductive fibre network enables centimetre-scale electron transport in multicellular cable bacteria. Nat. Commun. 10:1–8. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-12115-7 5. This paper describes how cable bacteria activity generates a layer of iron oxyhydroxides on the top of the sediment layer and how this delays the release of sulfide into the water column for several weeks in a seasonally hypoxic basin in the Netherlands. Seitaj, D., R. Schauer, F. Sulu-Gambari, et al. 2015. “Cable Bacteria Generate a Firewall Against Euxinia in Seasonally Hypoxic Basins.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 112: 13278–13283. 6. This paper describes how the catabolic division of labor is coupled to an anabolic division of labor where cells reducing oxygen cannot grow and therefore provide a “community service” for the rest of the filament. Nicole M. J. Geerlings, Cheryl Karman, Stanislav Trashin, Karel S. As, Michiel V. M. Kienhuis, Silvia Hidalgo-Martinez, Diana Vasquez-Cardenas, Henricus T.S. Boschker, Karolien de Wael, Jack J. Middelburg, Lubos Polerecky, and Filip J.R. Meysman. Division of labor and growth during electrical cooperation in multicellular cable bacteria. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 117, 5478–5485. Doi: 10.1073/pnas.1916244117   Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to [email protected]
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  • Matters Microbial #100: What's the Buzz on Phage Therapy for Honeybees?
    Matters Microbial #100: What’s the Buzz on Phage Therapy for Honeybees? July 14, 2025 Today, Dr. Heather Hendrickson from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss the research she and her team are conducting on bacteriophage therapy to protect vulnerable honeybees from bacterial infections. Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: Heather Hendrickson Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode Here is the website for a former undergraduate research student of mine, Dr. Paula Welander, now a professor and administrator at Stanford University.  Yes, I am proud. Here is a link to another former undergraduate research student of mine, Dr. Krista Venecia Edmiston, now a professor at California Health Sciences University.  Yes, I am proud. A review on cell shape in bacteria. A review on the cytoskeleton of bacteria and archaea. I am a great admirer of Dr. John Roth, and his clearheaded and direct approach to microbial genetics.  Here is his academic website with many publications. An article about the causative agent of American Foulbrood, Paenibacillus larvae. An overview of American Foulbrood’s impact on honeybees. The honeybee lifecycle. Beemites and honeybees. A video overview of bacteriophage therapy against bacterial diseases. An explainer of bacteriophage plaques. A video overview of lytic versus lysogenic bacteriophages. Dr. Graham Hatfull and his simply amazing SEAPHAGEs program, teaching so many people about isolating and studying bacteriophages. An article from Dr. Hendrickson’s laboratory exploring cell shape in bacteria. An article from Dr. Hendrickson’s laboratory explaining the importance of protecting honeybees from American Foulbrood, and the approach her laboratory uses. An article from Dr. Hendrickson’s laboratory describing a community based approach to search for bacteriophages of Paenibacillus larvae. An article from Dr. Hendrickson’s laboratory analyzing the types of Paenibacillus attacking bacteriophages isolated in New Zealand. An article from Dr. Hendrickson’s laboratory describing an improved method for isolating bacteriophages. A truly great video from Dr. Hendrickson some years ago, explaining her research.  This is a “must see.” Dr. Hendrickson’s faculty webpage. Dr. Hendrickson’s informative research group website. This section of Dr. Hendrickson’s research group website is devoted to outreach, and so very worth your time. Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to [email protected]
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  • Matters Microbial #99: Albert Kluyver—Microbial Unity and Diversity in Metabolism
    Matters Microbial #99: Albert Kluyver—Microbial Unity and Diversity in Metabolism July 10, 2025 Today, Dr. Dianne Newman of Caltech joins the #QualityQuorum live at ASM Microbe in Los Angeles, to discuss the role that Albert Kluvyer played in helping microbial scientists to understand the unity and diversity to be found in microbial metabolism. Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: Dianne Newman Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode A review article by Roberto Kolter about the history of microbiology. An overview of the “Delft School” of microbiology.  Here is another article on that topic. The 1924 article by Albert Kluyver that Dr. Newman references—very much worth you time. A video overview of microbial metabolism.  Here is a recent article on that topic. A short biography of Albert Kluyver. Here is another article on that topic. A wonderful 2023 video seminar by Dr. Newman exploring the unity and diversity of microbial metabolism.  Much recommended. Dr. Newman’s faculty website. Dr. Newman’s very impressive research group website. Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to [email protected]
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  • Matters Microbial #98: Nesting Dolls of Endosymbiosis
    Matters Microbial #98: Nesting Dolls of Endosymbiosis July 3, 2025 Today, Dr. John McCutcheon of Arizona State University joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss the work he and his research group do to investigate the strategies by which microbes become symbionts of other cells. After all, the mitochondria and chloroplasts of eukaryotic cells, including yours, were once bacteria! Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: John McCutcheon Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode A video about the symbiosis of Hydra virdissima, which captured my heart when I was young.  Look at those symbiotic algae!  Here is an overview of this topic. A video describing the Rhizobium – legume nitrogen fixing symbiosis in all of its glory—by my PhD advisor, the great Dr. Sharon Long.  Here is an overview of this topic.   An appreciation of Paul Buchner’s very important book, “Endosymbiosis of Animals with Plant Microorganisms.” A wonderful review by Dr. McCutcheon on how symbioses form. A wonderful essay by Ed Yong about an event that made eukaryotic cells possible:  how bacteria became mitochondria. A story about an anaerobic protist that lost its mitochondria completely. A bacterial symbiont of mitochondria, the “midichlorian.” The recent discovery of a new integrated symbiont that has become an organelle, the nitrosome. The “X-bacteria” and amoebae story. A retrospective on endosymbiosis, and Paramecium based on Tracey Sonneborn’s work. An essay on aphids and bacteria. An article on the Moranella/Tremblaya symbiosis. An article on “bacteria inside other bacteria” found in several symbioses, written by Dr.McCutcheon and colleagues. Genomic instability in bacterial endosymbionts. An article on cicadas and bacterial endosymbionts from Dr. McCutcheon and colleagues. An article on mealybugs and bacterial endosymbionts from Dr. McCutcheon and colleagues. Dr. McCutcheon’s thoughts on his career path (so worth reading). The Center for Mechanisms of Evolution research institute in which Dr. McCutcheon works. Dr. McCutcheon’s faculty website. Dr. McCutcheon’s (and his research team’s) wonderful research website. Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to [email protected]
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About Matters Microbial

Matters Microbial is a podcast about the wonders of microbiology, microbiologists, and microbial centrism with Dr. Mark Martin
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