Matters Microbial

Matters Microbial #123: What Whooping Cough Can Teach Us February 6, 2026 Today Dr. Seema Mattoo, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at Purdue University, joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss the fascinating molecular genetics of the bacterium Bordetella pertussis, which can cause the human disease whooping cough. Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: Seema Mattoo Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode linkCDC informationoverviewBordetella pertussisvideodetailB. pertussisoutbreaksoverviewB. pertussisarticleInformationarticleinformationB. pertussisoverviewconceptIgA versus IgGoverviewoverviewECFsstudiesFicoverviewessayProtein misfoldingmentorshipHypothesis Fundarticlearticlearticlearticlefaculty websitelaboratory website Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

Matters Microbial #122: Jumbo Marine Viruses and Nanoscopic Warfare January 26, 2026 Today Dr. Alaina Weinheimer, Simons Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow in Marine Microbial Ecology at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss new and intriguing marine viruses, including Jumbo Phages! Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: Alaina Weinheimer Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode video overviewreview articledescriptionoverviewwumbologySpongebob Squarepantsarticlearticlewebsitemultimedia sitewebpagearticleblogpostarticlefive minute talkpagewebsitepostdoctoral fellowshipwebsite Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

Matters Microbial #121: Phollowing Phage in the Gut Microbiome January 7, 2026 Today Dr. Liz de Ora Ortiz, postdoctoral scholar in the Secor Laboratory at Montana State University, joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss a fascinating new technology that allows investigators to follow bacteriophage infections in live animals. Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: Liz de Ora Ortiz Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode storyVampirococcusVampirococcussummaryoverviewAgrobacteriumstoryPelagibacterstoryAkkermansiaessayvideovideovideoreviewintroductionoverview and discussionpublicationWiles laboratoryepisodeSecor laboratoryLinkedIn profile Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

Matters Microbial #120: Bacterial Interactions among Oral Microbes December 29, 2025 For Episode 120, we welcome Dr. Batbileg Bor, Associate Professor at the ADA Forsyth Institute, to the #QualityQuorum. He joins us to discuss some of the oral community's most enigmatic members: microbes that dwell on other microbes and potentially influence our own health. Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: Batbileg Bor Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode videoessaybookblog overviewDeinococcus radioduransarticlePaenibacillusvideoIce, Ice, Babylinkreview articleoverviewarticleintroductory profileSaccharibacteriareviewarticlearticlerelated articlearticleSaccharibacteriaarticleprofilefaculty pagelaboratory website Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

Matters Microbial #119: Investigating Microbial "Dark Matter" December 22, 2025 Today Dr. Julia Willett, Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Minnesota, joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss how to investigate unknown genes found in nearly every bacterial genome. Call it Microbial Dark Matter! Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: Julia Willett Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode Microbial "Dark MatterannotationarticleJCVI-syn3.0essayEnterococcus faecalisDiseasesEnterococcuspathobionthoughts on the term "pathogentransposon mutagenesistransposon mutagenesisarticleAlpha Fold programwebinarfaculty websitelaboratory website Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

Matters Microbial #118: Biofilms Everywhere! December 15, 2025 Today Dr. Matthew Fields, Director of the Center for Biofilm Engineering at Montana State University, joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss ubiquitous microbial biofilms. These biofilms touch so many aspects of life on Earth, ranging from human health to engineering issues! Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: Matthew Fields Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode websiteAngelina HesseKickstarter projectvideovideovideo overviewPlanet Biofilmreview of biofilmsnewer reviewvideo interviewconceptbiofilm "life cycledetailsarticleEvolving STEMchallengewebsitefact pageresearch pagevideofaculty page Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

Matters Microbial #117: Cancer Virus Hunters and Molecular Biology December 8, 2025 Today Dr. Gregory Morgan, Professor in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at Stevens Institute of Technology, joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss how cancer causing viruses advanced molecular biology as described in his recent book Cancer Virus Hunters. Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: Gregory Morgan Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode linkinterviewEighth Day of CreationprogramoverviewRous Sarcoma Virusbiographyvideoviruses may contributevideofieldvideooverviewvideoconceptstoryhistoryCold Spring Harbor LaboratoryRetrovirusesFeLVBlue chicken eggssummaryMammalian (including human) placentaWar on Canceroverviewsrcoverviewrasoverviewreverse transcriptasebiographybiographyHuman Papillovirus (HPV) and cancerfaculty website Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

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 Hartifulmicrobes and the "built environmentarticlevideoconceptmicrobial limits to lifealkalinophilic bacteriaconcreteDNA from rockoligotrophic microbesalkali-silica reactionroad salt and concretehalophilic microbesxerophilic microbesSLiME communitiesaeonophilesself-repairingcompanyarticlefaculty websiteresearch website Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

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 websiteAnimals in a Microbial Worldsummarynature of kefir grainshyperpolyploidyexplanationlinkBdellovibriooverviewoverviewoverviewMyxococcusvideoMyxococcusreviewBdellovibriovideoBdellovibriois not involvedBdellovibrioreceptorBdellovibriosummaryBdellovibrioliving antibioticreminderarticleeditorialarticlearticlevideoimmune systemfaculty websiteresearch group website Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

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 linklinkFISH technologyreferenceanatomyarticleoverviewrelationshipmethodarticlearticlearticlearticlearticleoverviewwebsitewebsitevideo snippet Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

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 videoarticlearticleSerratia marcescenssociomicrobiologyoverviewswarming videooverviewgroup/social motilityMyxococcusvideoarticleVibrio parahaemolyticusquorum sensingdomestication PigmentsPseudomonaspyoverdinpyocyaninarticlePseudomonasEnterococcusType IV pili-based motilityarticlePseudomonasvideoPseudomonasoverview videofaculty websiteresearch website Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

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 periplasmoverviewquantitative microbiologyoverviewB. subtilisoverviewE. colioverviewKlebsiellabiographyA Feeling for the Organismlac operonE. coliLTEEDr. Rich Lenskimonoderm and didermpeptidoglycanPBPvideoE. coliarticlearticleoverviewarticlearticleaculty websitelaboratory website Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

Matters Microbial #111: Shocking Tales of Metal-Loving Microbes October 10, 2025 Today Dr. Jeff Gralnick, Professor of the Department of Plant and Microbial Sciences at the University of Minnesota joins the #QualityQuorum to tell us a shocking story about how his research group studies the relationship between electrons, microbes, and metals. Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: Jeff Gralnick Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode articleSoudan Formation Iron MinearticlearticleoverviewShewanellaoverviewGeobacteroverviewMudwattarticlearticlelaboratoryessayessaypodcast #101electromicrobiologyrelationshipShewanellaarticleWith Toothpicks and Logicfaculty websitelaboratory website Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

Matters Microbial #110: Enumerating the Microbiome October 3, 2025 Today Dr. Sean Gibbons, Associate Professor at the Institute for Systems Biology, returns to the #QualityQuorum to tell us about how he and his colleagues are able to listen very carefully to the microbiome to uncover important hints about health. Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: Sean Gibbons Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode articlesummarylinkearlier visitoverviewarticlesummaryoverviewoverviewoverviewAllegory of the Cavecancer microbiomearticlearticlearticleresearch groupfaculty websitemicrobiome scienceswebsite Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

Matters Microbial #109: Bat-Crazy About Rabies September 26, 2025 In honor of World Rabies Day, Dr. Rodney Rohde, Regents Professor at Texas State University, joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss rabies and some of the strategies used to limit the influence of that devastating viral disease. Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: Rodney Rohde Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode overviewhistorical overviewglobal impactBatspodcastvideovideoreviewlifecycletestsvaccinesresearch Use of an oral rabies vaccineWorld Rabies DayContagion Livepodcasts by Dr. Rohdevideovideobiographyaculty websitepersonal website Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

Matters Microbial #108: Neanderthal Oral Health, Ancient Bacteria and DNA September 19, 2025 Today, Dr. Laura Weyrich, Associate Professor of Anthropology at Pennsylvania State University, joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss the paleo oral microbiome! We will learn if our ancestors had the same kind of resident microbes as we do. In addition, we will learn about ancient DNA and what it can tell us. Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: Laura Weyrich Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode obituaryEpisode #9ethicsoverviewreviewstudy of low DNA abundance samplesarticlearticleYersinia pestisoverviewarticlearticlevideoarticlevideo faculty websiteresearch team website Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

Matters Microbial #107: Listeria Sprouting Hysteria? September 11, 2025 Today, Dr. Lisa Gorski, a microbiologist and food safety consultant recently retired from the US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss the facts about the disease causing bacterium named Listeria. We will learn about the organism, the disease listeriosis, and food safety. Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: Lisa Gorski Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode descriptionbookoverviewvideo demonstrationSnowMaxInformationListerialisteriosisListeriaplush toyListeriaListerialisteriosisactin rocketsactin-related motilitydescriptionListeriaavoiding listeriosisgroupArticlesprofile Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

Matters Microbial #106: Cells Without Walls – Full-Frontal Bacteria September 6, 2025 Today, Dr. Dennis Claessen of Leiden University’s Institute of Biology joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss how some bacteria lose their cell walls, the costs and advantages of that strategy, and how such cells can shed light on antibiotic resistance and even pathogenesis! Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: Dennis Claessen Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode Institute for BiologyLeiden UniversityMicropiaTardigrade ChairLizah van der Aartvideooverviewreview articleoverviewdiscoveryreview articlearticlearticlearticlearticlearticlevideofaculty websiteresearch website Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

Matters Microbial #105: Snails Farming Bacteria in the Deep Sea August 29, 2025 Let’s take a deep dive into chemoautotrophy! Today, Dr. Roxanne Beinart, Associate Professor of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island, joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss how some marine creatures use bacterial symbioses to provide organic compounds for growth and reproduction. Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: Roxanne Beinart Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode appreciationSmall Things ConsideredvideoThis Week in Microbiologyvideovideooverviewoverviewvideo reviewvideoreviewAlvinellaarticlereportarticlevideoresearch team websitefaculty webpage Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com

Matters Microbial #104: Antibiotic “Tolerance” and Biofilms August 21, 2025 Today, Dr. Boo Shan Tseng, Associate Professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas School of Life Sciences, joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss bacterial biofilms and antibiotic tolerance. Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: Boo Shan Tseng Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode overviewreview articlearticlearticlelinkoverviewoverviewflow cellsarticletechniquetechniquearticlearticlevideobiographylaboratory group websitefaculty website Intro music is by Reber Clark Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com