347: At Wound's Edge

347: At Wound's Edge

January 4, 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

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