Matters Microbial

• Matters Microbial #114: A Tongue-n-Cheek Look at the Oral Microbiome

  Matters Microbial #114: A Tongue-n-Cheek Look at the Oral Microbiome October 31, 2025 Today Dr. Jessica Mark Welch, Professor at the ADA Forsyth Institute joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss the complex and interactive microbial communities living unseen within our mouths . . . and what those communities can tell us. Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: Jessica Mark Welch Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode Here is a link to the very funny Carisa Hendrix's character "Lucy Darling."  I think I made a #Micronaut out of her! A link to the wonderful microbiological art of Dr. Lizah van der Aart. An overview of FISH technology for visualizing DNA and microbes. A reference to R2A medium which helps grow water associated microbes. The anatomy of the human tongue. The infamous and very interesting article describing how microbes are transmitted between partners via kissing. An overview of the oral microbiome. The relationship between oral microbiota and blood pressure. An article by Dr. Mark Welch and colleagues describing a method for visualizing oral microbial communities. An article by Dr. Mark Welch and colleagues about how her techniques can study the kelp microbiome microbiogeography. An article by Dr. Mark Welch and colleagues about the oral microbiome. An article by Dr. Mark Welch and colleagues about the unusual "corncob" microbes to be found on the human tongue. An article by Dr. Jo Handelsman and colleagues describing the THOR soil community, in which even a few members create very diverse responses to the environment. An article by Dr. Mark Welch and colleagues about the role of mucus in the oral microbiome. An overview of the Forsyth Institute and its mission. The Human Oral Microbiome Database website. The website for Dr. Mark Welch. A fun video snippet with Dr. Mark Welch. Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to [email protected]

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• Matters Microbial #113: Microbes That Swim, Swarm, Stand Up—and 'Walk'

  Matters Microbial #113: Microbes That Swim, Swarm, Stand Up—and 'Walk' October 24, 2025 Today Dr. Joshua Shrout, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences at the University of Notre Dame joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss the work of his research team on sociomicrobiology. This includes how bacteria sense a surface, move together in groups, and communicate with one another.   Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: Joshua Shrout Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode Here is a wonderful video about the late great Dr. Esther Lederberg.  Here is another article on that same subject. Here is an article about prodigiosin synthesis and Serratia marcescens.   An introduction to the concept of sociomicrobiology. An overview of bacterial swarming.  Here is a wonderful swarming video. An overview of bacterial swimming in liquid. An article about group/social motility in Myxococcus. A fine video explaining the amazing bacterial flagellar motor. An article about Vibrio parahaemolyticus and swarming. An overview of quorum sensing. Bacteria cultivated in the laboratory undergo mutational changes during "domestication."  Pigments produced by Pseudomonas, including pyoverdin and pyocyanin. An article from Dr. Shrout's laboratory group describing interactions between Pseudomonas and Enterococcus described in this episode. The Type IV pili-based motility system. An article from Dr. Shrout's laboratory describing how Pseudomonas can "walk" on one pole during swarming. Here is a video from Dr. Shrout's laboratory showing Pseudomonas "walking" on their poles. An overview video of the Shrout laboratory's research interests. Dr. Shrout's faculty website. Dr. Shrout's truly beautiful research website. There are wonderful microbial videos there.  Very much worth your time. Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to [email protected]

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• Matters Microbial #112: Bacterial Size, Stress, and Antibiotic Resistance

  Matters Microbial #112: Bacterial Size, Stress, and Antibiotic Resistance October 17, 2025 Today Dr. Petra Levin, the George and Irene Freiberg Professor of Biology at Washington University in St. Louis joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss her work with bacterial cell size, environmental stress on bacteria, and antibiotic resistance. Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: Petra Levin Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode An overview of the periplasm, found in Gram negative bacteria. An overview of beta-lactam antibiotics. The field of quantitative microbiology. An overview of B. subtilis.  An overview of E. coli.  An overview of Klebsiella.  The biography of Barbara McClintock, "A Feeling for the Organism." A video explanation of the lac operon of E. coli. The LTEE program (Long Term Evolution Experiment) founded by Dr. Rich Lenski. The nomenclature of monoderm and diderm bacteria. A video explanation of peptidoglycan in bacteria. Penicillin binding proteins (PBP) and antibiotic resistance. A video about cell division in E. coli. A famous article coauthored by Dr. Elio Schaechter that describes cell growth and cell size in bacteria. A related article by Dr. Levin and colleagues. An overview of ESKAPE bacteria. An article from Dr. Levin's research group describing the relationship between pH and antibiotic resistance. An article about persister cells and their relevance to antibiotic resistance. Dr. Levin's faculty website. Dr. Levin's very interesting laboratory website. Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to [email protected]

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• Matters Microbial #111: Shocking Tales of Metal-Loving Microbes

  Matters Microbial #111: Shocking Tales of Metal-Loving Microbes October 10, 2025 Today Dr. Jeff Gralnick, Professor of the Department of Plant and Microbial Sciences at the University of Minnesota joins the #QualityQuorum to tell us a shocking story about how his research group studies the relationship between electrons, microbes, and metals.   Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: Jeff Gralnick Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode An article about Nobel Prize winner Albert Szent-Györgyi. The Soudan Formation Iron Mine discussed during the podcast. An article on Banded Iron Formations. An article about the Oxygen Crisis early in Earth's history. An overview of the bacterium Shewanella. An overview of the bacterium Geobacter. An overview of microbial redox reactions. The "bacterial battery" we discussed: the Mudwatt. An article on benthic microbial fuel cells. An article on extracellular electron transfer by bacteria. The laboratory of Dr. Daniel Bond at the University of Minnesota, and colleague of Dr. Gralnick's. An essay on microbial nanowires. An essay on cable bacteria, which was the topic of #MattersMicrobial podcast #101 with Dr. Nicole Geerlings. The new field of electromicrobiology. The relationship between Shewanella and fish!  An article by Dr. Gralnick and colleagues on the Shewanella and fish (and bacteriophage) association. The article about Jon Beckwith (by Howard Shuman) discussed in the podcast:  "With Toothpicks and Logic." Dr. Gralnick's faculty website. Dr. Gralnick's laboratory website. Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to [email protected]

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• Matters Microbial #110: Enumerating the Microbiome

  Matters Microbial #110: Enumerating the Microbiome October 3, 2025 Today Dr. Sean Gibbons, Associate Professor at the Institute for Systems Biology, returns to the #QualityQuorum to tell us about how he and his colleagues are able to listen very carefully to the microbiome to uncover important hints about health. Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: Sean Gibbons Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode Here is the article from Dr. Norm Pace and coworkers on the showerhead microbiome referenced in the podcast. Here is a nonspecialist summary of Dr. Pace's work on the showerhead microbiome and mycobacteria. Here is a link to a prior episode of this podcast with Dr. Ameet Pinto on microbiology of the water supply. Here is Dr. Gibbon's earlier visit to this podcast. An overview of the difference between microbiome and microbiota. An article about the "misnumbering" of the number of microbial to human cells in people.  Here is a nonspecialist summary. An overview of metagenomics. An overview of qPCR. An overview of flow cytometry. Plato's Allegory of the Cave, discussed in this podcast. A cautionary tale about determining a cancer microbiome, as discussed in this podcast. An article by Dr. Gibbons and colleagues described in this podcast about how to estimate microbial biomass directly. An article by Dr. Gibbons and colleagues described in this podcast about how to estimate microbial growth rates in the human gut using metagenomics. An article by Dr. Gibbons and colleagues described in this podcast about how to use metagenomics to determine dietary habits. The website for Dr. Gibbon's research group. The faculty website for Dr. Gibbons at ISB. Courses on microbiome sciences online at ISB. The website for Institute for Systems Biology. Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to [email protected]

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