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Viroids are some of the most unusual biological infectious agents because they consist of only very small circular RNA molecules. They are too small to encode proteins, yet they are resilient and cause disease in a variety of agriculturally important plants, including cannabis, the sixth largest cash crop in the U.S. Dr. Zamir Punja is a Professor of Plant Biotechnology at Simon Frasier University, whose laboratory studies the cannabis viroid, which he refers to as the "COVID of cannabis". Dr. Punja describes how viroids only infect plants, how a viroid stunts the growth and potency of cannabis plants, where viroids may have come from, why agricultural practices may enhance the spread of the cannabis viroid, how "beneficial" biological approaches may protect cannabis from infectious agents, and how the beautiful environment of Vancouver promotes good science. Dr. Vince Young joined microTalk on this episode, which was supported by Gordo Sheepsay's My Dope Microscope. Participants: Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA) Zamir Punja, Ph.D. (Simon Frasier University) Vincent Young, M.D., Ph.D. (University of Michigan) Janakiram Seshu, Ph.D. (UTSA)

Guinea worm infections have been plaguing mankind throughout recorded history. The Carter Center took the lead in the guinea worm eradication effort in the 1980's, when there were over 3 million cases per year. Through concentrated effort, this disease is on the brink of extinction, with only 14 human cases in 2023! Adam Weiss, MPH, is the director of the Guinea Worm Eradication Program at the Carter Center. microTalk caught up with Adam at the ASM Microbe conference in Atlanta in a live session to discuss the imminent extinction of guinea worm disease. Weiss talks about how seeing the disease first-hand led to President Carter's and Weiss' passion for eradication, how behavior modification was key to guinea worm eradication, how a reservoir in dogs affects eradication efforts, and how being in the Peace Corps influenced his career path. Watch this episode: https://youtu.be/yt7cDHZhThI Participants: Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA). Adam Weiss, M.P.H. (Carter Center) Janakiram Seshu, Ph.D. (UTSA). Jesus Romo, Ph.D. (UTSA).

Houston, we definitely do NOT have a problem…with interviewing Dr. Kate Rubins, NASA astronaut. Dr. Rubins is a virologist who has spent over 300 days in space, performing experiments aboard the International Space Station, where she was the first person to sequence DNA in space. We caught up with Dr. Rubins at the Neutral Buoyancy Lab in Houston, where she discusses what it felt like the first time she saw the earth from space, some of the difficulties in performing research without gravity, how to study the microbiome of the ISS, how the international inhabitants of the ISS communicate with each other, and the spur-of-the-moment event that led to her becoming an astronaut. This episode was supported by Cestodium, a new weight-loss program.* Participants: Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA) Kate Rubins, Ph.D. (NASA) Janakiram Seshu, Ph.D. (UTSA) Jesus Romo, Ph.D. (UTSA) *The recorded ads heard on microTalk are for parody purposes only, there are no actual products for sale.

Plague and anthrax are feared diseases due to high mortality rates following pulmonary exposure, and both are considered potential bioweapons. Dr. Virginia Miller, professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and ASM President, studies plague, as well as other Gram negative bacteria. Dr. Theresa Koehler, emeritus professor at UTHealth Houston and ASM president-elect, is an expert in anthrax. microTalk caught up with Dr. Miller and Dr. Koehler at ASM Microbe 2023 in Houston to discuss these biothreat agents. Dr. Miller discusses why she studies plague, the differences between bubonic and pneumonic plague, why Klebsiella pneumoniae poses a growing health threat, and what it was like being John Mekalanos' first Ph.D. student. Dr. Koehler discusses why anthrax is considered a potential bioweapon, why significant scientific progress was made following the anthrax attacks of 2001, why gardeners shouldn't worry about catching anthrax, and her first failed experiment. Both discuss their vision for ASM and the role it plays in microbiological research and society. Participants: Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA) Virginia Miller, Ph.D. (UNC Chapel Hill) Theresa Koehler, Ph.D. (UT Health Houston) Janakiram Seshu, Ph.D. (UTSA) Jesus Romo, Ph.D. (UTSA)

The study of evolution has experienced a tremendous revolution with the advances in current sequencing technologies enabling e.g. rapid whole genome sequencing. Dr. Vaughn Cooper, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh who studies evolution in microbes, has taken advantage of these technologies to delve into how microorganisms adapt and evolve in different environments. microTalk caught up with Dr. Cooper at the ASM Microbe conference in Houston and discussed microbial evolution with him. Dr. Cooper discusses the power of next generation sequencing for the study of evolution, how mutation rates affect evolution, how providing hands-on evolution experiments to high school students can stimulate the next generation of scientists, how scientists need to work to combat public distrust of science, how antibiotic resistance evolves in the presence of immunodeficiency, and how his initial experience with baculoviruses hooked him into a lifelong study of evolution. This episode was supported by Darbie's pinworm detection kit, to combat nematodes in your bikini bottom. Participants: Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA) Vaughn Cooper, Ph.D. (University of Pittsburgh) Janakiram Seshu, Ph.D. (UTSA) Jesus Romo, Ph.D. (UTSA)

Exosomes are small vesicles that that facilitate communication between eukaryotic cells. They resemble mini-cells, and act like carrier pigeons, trafficking various "payloads" among cells. Dr. Ramin Hakami is a Professor of Microbiology at George Mason University. Dr. Hakami studies how infectious diseases are modulated by exosome signaling. Dr. Hakami talks about how exosomes can deliver messages to cells, how Rift Valley Fever and Plague affect exosome signaling within infected hosts, how exosomes provide specificity and a "reply all" function to signaling, how being in a Nobel lab affected his approach to science, and his alternate career as a salsa dancer. This episode was supported by IV Rehydration Therapy, the treatment that prevents explosive diarrhea from inhibiting your social life. Participants: Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA) Ramin Hakami, Ph.D. (George Mason University) Janakiram Seshu, Ph.D. (UTSA) Mylea Echazarreta (UTSA)

There have been dramatic declines in amphibian populations around the world, and one of the culprits is the disease Chytridiomycosis. This is a skin disease of amphibians caused by two different species of Batrachochytrium fungi, and it has decimated frog and salamander populations and even driven some to extinction. Dr. Anat Belasen is a post-doctoral scientist at the University of Texas Austin who studies Chytridiomycosis. Dr. Belasen discusses how some amphibians are highly susceptible to this disease whereas others are resistant, why amphibian skin is so important for their well-being, how frogs can be considered a biological indicator of the health of an ecosystem, how farmed bullfrogs may be spreading the disease around the world, how genetic susceptibility screening and microbiomes may be used to try and stop the population decline, and how she's been a frog lover for her entire life. This episode was supported by Gordo Sheepsay's My Brave Little Autoclave, the kitchen appliance that may literally save your life. Participants: Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA) Anat Belasen, Ph.D. (U.T. Austin) Mylea Echazarreta (UTSA)

Vibrios are marine bacteria that live in aquatic environments with a lot of other microbes, and occasionally a particular strain will arise that can cause serious disease in humans and can spread through the population in pandemics. V. cholerae causes large pandemics of cholera, and V. vulnificus causes sporadic cases of necrotizing fasciitis. Genomic sequencing has allowed scientists to follow the evolution of pathogens as they pass through the human population, and highlighted specific genomic changes that are associated with disease. Dr. Salvador Almagro-Moreno is an assistant professor in the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Central Florida. Dr. Almagro-Moreno is studying how pathogens emerge from a background of relatively harmless environmental organisms. Dr. Almagro-Moreno discusses how Vibrios can arise that cause disease, how the environment can influence pathogenic traits that are advantageous inside of a host, how oysters may be a training ground for Vibrio vulnificus pathogenesis in humans, how growing up on an island in Spain sparked his interest in marine pathogens, how climate change has impacted Vibrio-related disease, and how playing flamenco guitar keeps him sane. The microCase for listeners to solve is about France Holiday, an anti-vax social media influencer who gets more than she bargained for while promoting an antibacterial drinking straw. Participants: Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA) Salvador Almagro-Moreno, Ph.D. (University of Central Florida) Mylea Echazarreta (UTSA) Cameron Lloyd (UTSA)

Dr. John Mekalanos (Harvard Medical School) has devoted his career to the study of bacterial pathogens, with a special emphasis to understanding Vibrio cholerae, the bacterium that causes the deadly disease cholera. And what an amazingly productive research path he has followed, from the discovery and characterization of the regulon that controls V. cholerae virulence, to the identification of the pilus that allows the bacteria to colonize the intestine, to the discovery of the bacteriophage that encodes the cholera toxin. His (relatively) recent discovery of the Type VI Secretion System and characterization of its role in inter-bacterial competition and host modulation has had broad impact on all aspects of microbiology. Dr. Mekalanos received the 2022 ASM Lifetime Achievement Award for all of his tremendous contributions to our understanding of bacterial-host interactions. Dr. Mekalanos talks about the background of some of the seminal discoveries from his laboratory, how important his laboratory personnel (graduate students, postdoctoral fellows) have been to his success, his thoughts on the eradication of cholera through vaccination, and how his love of poker has contributed to his success as a scientist. Participants: Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA) John Mekalanos, Ph.D. (Harvard Medical School) Karla Satchell, Ph.D. (Northwestern University)

Campylobacter jejuni is a major cause of diarrheal disease in humans. However, C. jejuni is also naturally found in chickens and doesn't cause them any problems, so people frequently get sick from eating undercooked chicken. Dr. David Hendrixson is a Professor of Microbiology at the UT Southwestern Medical Center. Dr. Hendrixson studies C. jejuni and how it causes disease. Dr. Hendrixson talks about why C. jejuni is preferentially found in chickens and other birds, how C. jejuni is also associated with the paralytic condition Guillain-Barre syndrome, how the motility of C. jejuni helps it cause disease, how the motility appendage (the flagellum) of C. jejuni is a beautiful nanomachine, why C. jejuni microaerophilic growth leads to underreporting of Campylobacter disease, could disease be reduced by preventing C. jejuni colonization of chickens, and how an off-the-cuff comment by his postdoctoral mentor led him to jump into a challenging and rewarding field of research. The microCase for listeners to solve is about Dusty Broome, a curio shop owner who gets a mysterious illness while cleaning out his shed. Participants: Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA) David Hendrixson, Ph.D. (UT Southwestern Medical Center) Janakiram Seshu, Ph.D. (UTSA) Mylea Echazarreta (UTSA)

Cheese is delicious, and also the product of a complex mixture of microbes. Different communities of microbes produce the wide variety of cheeses made around the world. Dr. Rachel Dutton is an Assistant Professor at the University of California San Diego who studies cheese microbiomes. Dr. Dutton talks about how cheese is made, how the cheese microbiome is a great model for understanding how microbes interact with each other, how the microbial community determines what type of cheese is made, how her experience working on a cheese farm influenced her research, how the long history of cheesemaking practices gives great insight into microbial interactions, where the holes in Swiss cheese come from, and how studying the cheese microbiome has the added benefit of being able to eat your experiments. microTalk was pleased to be joined by Dr. Jimmy Ballard (University of Oklahoma Health Science Center) when this podcast was recorded at the ASM Microbe 2019 conference in San Francisco, CA. The microCase for listeners to solve is about Houser Sampson, whose voracious appetite for sushi causes him to come down with a mysterious illness. Participants: Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA) Rachel Dutton, Ph.D. (University of California San Diego) Janakiram Seshu, Ph.D. (UTSA) Mylea Echazarreta (UTSA) Jimmy Ballard (OUHSC)

Lyme Disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States. The bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi is transmitted to humans through the bite of a deer tick, and can lead to the debilitating disease that most commonly is associated with arthritis, but can also cause heart and neurological problems. Dr. Tim Sellati is the Chief Scientific Officer at the Global Lyme Alliance (GLA). GLA is dedicated to development of more effective diagnostics and treatments of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. Dr. Sellati talks about how people can avoid Lyme Disease, what typically happens when someone is infected with Borrelia burdorferi, how the immune response against the bacteria is the cause of disease symptoms, why people in the Northeast U.S. are more likely to get Lyme Disease, whether tick eradication is a possibility for the elimination of Lyme, how the internet can spread misinformation that inhibits the control of this disease, and what the likely prospects are for a Lyme Disease vaccine. The microCase for listeners to solve is about Wandering River Spirit, a young hippie who comes down with a potentially debilitating disease while trying to volunteer with a global health charity. Participants: Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA) Timothy Sellati, Ph.D. (Global Lyme Alliance) Janakiram Seshu, Ph.D. (UTSA) Mylea Echazarreta (UTSA) Subscribe to microTalk via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Android, Email or RSS and never miss an episode!