Talmudic Question #207 How come the smallest cells of a given bacterial species are also the ones with the slowest growth rate? Read more →
Insect Symbiont–Host Balance
by Mechas
The diversity of life on earth is not only astounding but inundated with myriad expressions of host-symbiont relationships. Among these, microbial symbionts are so pervasive that they could be considered the rule, rather than the exception, among multicellular eukaryotes.
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Gene Transfer Agents and Survival
by Mechas
We recently posted an update on horizontal gene transfer (HGT) to highlight the existence of strategies used by bacteria to exchange DNA – in addition to those traditionally acknowledged, that is transformation, transduction and conjugation. One of these more recently recognized mechanisms involves entities called gene transfer agents (GTAs).
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E. coli aficionados, do your strains have the wild-type rpoS gene?
by Roberto
For many of you, the rpoS allele in your E. coli strains might not matter. But if you are interested in the general stress response or adaptations to stationary phase, you might want to know if you are starting out with a wild-type rpoS gene.
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On Being 70
by Roberto
A little over fifteen years ago in the early days of STC, in a post Elio called "On Being 80," he celebrated his 80th birthday by sharing his life experience of melding his love of bacteria at the bench with his love of hunting mushrooms in the wild.
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Phaeovirus
by Janie
"Self" versus "other" delineations in biology are fascinating, from both a biological and conceptual standpoint. The example that probably leaps first into people's minds is the human microbiome:
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Thoughts on Lactate
by Roberto
In the past, when I thought about lactate (or lactic acid), two things immediately came to mind: the many ways lactic acid bacteria (LAB) furnish us with delicious, fermented foods and the grueling "lactate threshold" training sessions in preparing for endurance athletic events.
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[da capo] Of Terms in Biology: Neuston
by Merry
When I stumbled across the term bacterioneuston, I discovered a whole new world where the air meets the sea. I found that marine neuston had long been used to refer to the diverse flora and fauna inhabiting the topmost 5 cm of the oceans — a distinctly different assemblage than found in the waters below.
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Biocrusts
by Mechas
Have you ever heard of biocrusts? If not, you are not alone. I only stumbled upon this term recently and was surprised to find that it represents a growing field of research on what appear to be fragile, surface soil communities that are just the opposite. Biocrusts are incredibly resilient to inhospitable conditions.
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Go FISHing to Image Bacterial Communities
by Davide Ciccarese
Bacterial communities live in a small world where cells fill any available micron. Depending on their location and surrounding environment, they can readily respond to changes by gearing up their gene repertoire to insure their position in a densely packed biofilm. To be able to visualize this...
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