Matters Microbial #40: Using THOR's hammer to investigate microbial communities

Today, Dr. Jo Handelsman of the University of Wisconsin Madison and Director of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss the work she and her research collaborators do on interactive microbial communities, using THOR (the hitchhikers of the rhizosphere) as a model system. She will also remind us how vital soil is to our lives.
Show notes at www.microbe.tv/mm/mm-040/
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[@mkilptrick]

Jo Handelsman was a superb guest for this show. Easy to understand and very interesting topic.

[@razerginn]

As a former research associate in a soils lab in the 1990s, that "dirt" comment cracked me up! Thanks for that!

[@muscovyducks]

These just keep getting better!

[@loopbraider]

Really interesting all the way through, thank you both for the interview!

[@josedelnegro46]

Thanks Marcus Magnus. Of course I want to use "martial language" for everyone and everything.
Proximity notes:
Davies and his collaborators have provided evidence that low, non-lethal concentrations of antibiotics often induce changes in bacterial gene expression patterns, development, and behavior. They propose that a major role of these "antibacterial" compounds in nature may be for non-lethal communication, cooperation, and management of behavior within complex microbial populations, akin to quorum sensing.
Some key points from Davies' work:
Naturally occurring antibiotics can modulate transcription of many cellular functions at sub-inhibitory concentrations in bacteria.
Numerous examples show sub-MICs of antibiotics increase or decrease exoprotein production, virulence, biofilm formation, motility, and horizontal gene transfer in bacteria.
Davies argues these compounds act as signaling molecules regulating gene expression and interactions within microbial communities, rather than just as therapeutic antibiotics.
This challenges the traditional view of antibiotics solely as antimicrobial agents and suggests they play a broader role in microbial communication and cooperation in nature.
I am once against 25 years late.

[@lucash7012]

33:27 what’s the process for doing this and what company do you use? I’m doing an at home evolution experiment with V. natriegens but haven’t sequenced anything yet

[@joanbieler4767]

Were women scientists equally biased to pick the man over the woman?