Matters Microbial #73: Seeing the Microbiome

Matters Microbial #73: Seeing the Microbiome January 8, 2025 Today, Dr. Travis Wiles, Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at the University of California, Irvine, joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss the work he and his research group have done to visualize the changing dynamics of the gut microbiome—including bacteriophages residing there. Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: Travis Wiles Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode Dr Anne Estes' academic website is found here, along with her blog, and her social media link on Bluesky. So many interesting ideas! Transgenic zebrafish as pets are called GLOfish. Use of zebrafish as a model system for developmental biology. An article exploring the effects of the microbiome on gnotobiotic ("germ free") zebrafish. An essay on both lytic and lysogenic bacteriophages. An essay describing how bacteriophage interact with the gut microbiota. One of my former undergraduate research students, Dr. Danielle Campbell, works in this area! An article suggesting that bacteriophage do in fact interact with eukaryotic cells. The concept of phage conversion: how some bacteriophages carry bacterial genes, including toxin genes. An article about bacteriophages and bacterial evolution. An article about the study of the zebrafish gut microbiome. An article about research with zebrafish and Mycobacterium. The article discussed in this episode by Dr. Wiles' group: "Phollow: Visualizing Gut Bacteriophage Transmission within Microbial Communities and Living Animals ." Dr. Wiles' academic website. Dr. Wiles' very colorful and interesting laboratory group website. Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to [email protected]