347: At Wound's Edge

347: At Wound's Edge

From This Week in Microbiology by Vincent Racaniello

January 5, 2026 · 55 min · Episode 347

About this episode

This episode discusses the dynamic pathogenicity of S. aureus and the role of short chain fatty acids in reducing its competitive fitness.

TWiM explains how S. aureus pathogenicity is a dynamic, niche-specific choreography that constantly recalibrates in response to the host microenvironment, and short chain fatty acids produced by commensal microbiota reduces its competitive fitness. Hosts: Michael Schmidt , Michele Swanson and Petra Levin . Guest: Mark O. Martin Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode: Niche-specific fitness of S. aureus at the wound edge (Nat Comm) Commensal derived short chain fatty acids attenuate S. aureus (mBio) Ditch the term pathogen (Nature) Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission. Send your microbiology questions and comments to twim@microbe.tv

People in this episode

Hosts: Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson, Petra Levin

Guest: Mark O. Martin

Topics covered

  • S. aureus
  • pathogenicity
  • microenvironment
  • short chain fatty acids
  • commensal microbiota
  • wound healing

Keywords

  • S. aureus
  • pathogenicity
  • short chain fatty acids
  • commensal microbiota
  • wound edge
  • microenvironment

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Nat Comm, mBio, Nature

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