Matters Microbial

• Matters Microbial #116: Microbes in the Concrete Instead of the Abstract

  Matters Microbial #116: Microbes in the Concrete Instead of the Abstract November 14, 2025 Today Dr. Julie Maresca, Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss how bacteria can interact with a ubiquitous part of modern life:  concrete! Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: Julie Maresca Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode Hartiful, the vendor that makes the enamel pins I often show on the podcast. An overview of microbes and the "built environment." An article about how concrete is made. A video on how concrete is made. The concept of "self repairing" concrete. An overview of the microbial limits to life with regard to pH. A description of alkalinophilic bacteria. Biofilms that form on concrete. Difficulties in obtaining DNA from rock. An overview of oligotrophic microbes. The alkali-silica reaction in concrete. Challenges of road salt and concrete. An overview of halophilic microbes. An overview of xerophilic microbes. The concept of SLiME communities. The term aeonophiles. Is "Roman" concrete self-repairing? A company that produces "microbial concrete." An article relevant to today's discussion by Dr. Maresca and colleagues. Dr. Maresca's faculty website.   Dr. Maresca's wonderful and artistic research website. Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to [email protected]

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• Matters Microbial #115: Suiting Up Against Bacterial Predators!

  Matters Microbial #115: Suiting Up Against Bacterial Predators! November 6, 2025 Today Dr. Hannah Ledvina, Assistant Professor in the Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Department at the University of Michigan joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss how bacteria can protect themselves against predators in unusual ways . . . including a type of armor! Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: Hannah Ledvina Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode The "Giant Microbes" website. A prompt for my course:  an article on "Animals in a Microbial World," with so many interesting examples.  Here is a summary for novice #Micronauts. A prompt for my course:  an article by the late, great Lynn Margulis on the nature of kefir grains and the definition of multicellularity and the organism. A prompt for my course:  an article on hyperpolyploidy in bacteria. An explanation of "genomic islands." A link to a previous guest of #MattersMicrobial, Dr. Laura Williams, discussing Bdellovibrio and undergraduate based research. An overview of predatory bacteria. Here is a more recent overview.   An overview of the predator Myxococcus. A wonderful video showing the predatory process of Myxococcus.  A fine review of the predator Bdellovibrio.  A video of the life cycle of Bdellovibrio.  Some work by Dr. Koval and colleagues suggesting that aspects of the outer cell wall is not involved with resistance to Bdellovibrio. Recent VERY exciting work suggesting that there is indeed a receptor on bacteria that Bdellovibrio can recognize. Here is a short summary of that work.   Could Bdellovibrio become a "living antibiotic"? A reminder from Drs. Kolter and Losick that bacteria in the laboratory can be quite different from their relatives in nature.   The article under discussion on this podcast by Dr. Ledvina and colleagues. Here is an editorial summary on the article.   An article on curli proteins in bacteria. An article on amyloid like proteins in bacteria. A video by Dr. Ledvina on the research interests of her group. Thoughts on an "immune system" for bacteria. Dr. Ledvina's faculty website. Dr. Ledvina's research group website. Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to [email protected]

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• 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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