Vincent and Michael discuss how infection with influenza A virus disperses Streptococcus pneumoniae biofilms leading to disease, and an amazing protein chainmail in a viral capsid.
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by Elio | Quick, which is the biggest symbiotic association on Earth? Did you guess the mycorrhizae? They are the huge symbioses between fungi and the roots of most terrestrial plants. Their total size is not easy to measure because not all the fungal filaments in soils are mycorrhizal nor are the mycorrhizal…
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by Elio | Pick an archaeon, any archaeon, and you will find it has a story to tell. Not all archaea are exotic but plenty of them are. These stalwarts live in environments we humans call extreme, where they carry out what to us seem extreme types of metabolic conversions. Most have come…
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by Marcia Stone | The lab was a crime scene; dead and dying cells were everywhere—but did they commit mass suicide or were they murdered? The burly young post doc who discovered the corpses sat in the corner sobbing softly, his PI by his side. She was trying in vain to comfort her…
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Vincent, Elio, and Michele review how horizontal gene transfer from bacteria to an insect genome enables a tripartite nested mealybug symbiosis, and how probiotic bacteria work by competing for iron in the intestine.
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by Elio | In 1962 Cole and Hahn published in Science an unassuming sounding paper entitled Cell wall replication in Streptococcus pyogenes. The authors asked the question: do strep cells synthesize their cell wall by intercalating new parts at different sites on their surface or does this take place at one site…
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by Katy Patras | The recent film World War Z describes an apocalyptic event where a rabies-like virus spreads via bite wounds to the majority of Earth’s population and turns them into zombies. Since the world’s leading virologist dies early in the film, it is up to Brad Pitt’s character to find the source…
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by Elio | Wouldn’t you be tempted to attend such a session if it were part of a current-day ASM meeting? The first five papers ever delivered to a meeting of the Society of American Bacteriologist (now the ASM) are so utterly relevant to our concerns that they could be delivered now. No changes…
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by Mike Manzella | Our understanding of microbial life is greatly biased by our narrow focus on microbes as they grow in the laboratory. Yet, as discussed previously in this blog, microbes can persist in various dormant forms for extended periods of time. Sporulation (from the Greek “spora” or seed) is perhaps the best-known strategy…
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Moselio (Elio) Schaechter & Roberto Kolter
The purpose of this blog is to share our appreciation for the width and depth of the microbial activities on this planet. We will emphasize the unusual and the unexpected phenomena for which we have a special fascination... (more)