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Microbiome studies have traditionally fallen into studies of who’s there and what are they doing. To address these questions, biologists often use next-generation sequencing. Sequencing the 16S rRNA reveals the identity of the organisms present while sequencing of all transcripts gives clues into what the microbes are doing.

But aside from sequencing, scientists can also study the microbiome by using engineered genetic tools and reporter microbes. Let’s take a look at a few of these methods below.

When you think about going to a scientific conference, you may think about sitting amongst a sea of chairs listening to talks all day. But nope, not at the American Society for Microbiology 2018 Microbe meeting. Soon after I arrived, I was looking through a paper-based, affordable, and portable microscope called the ‘foldscope’ (Dr. Prakash, Stanford University). Right there on the floor outside the lecture hall.

Knowing where bacteria are located within their host is often key to understanding their role in both health and disease. To observe bacteria in action, researchers have developed in vivo bacterial reporters that use fluorophores and luciferases to track bacteria in real time, but each of these reporters has its drawbacks. Acoustic reporter genes (ARGs) overcome these limitations by using gas vesicle reporters that are detectable by an inexpensive and widely available imaging platform: ultrasound.

Here at Addgene, we often refer to plasmids as lab or experimental tools. They certainly are very handy in research, but where did these tools come from and why do they exist in nature? Read on to learn more about environmental plasmids, and how they’ve helped us develop molecular biology tools for the lab.

This post was contributed by guest blogger, Jennifer Rivers, a research microbiologist specializing in bacteriology and drug resistance. 

It seems as though, nowadays, we cannot make it a full month without a new, drug-resistant ‘superbug’ making headlines in one part of the world or another. Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is certainly a topic of great concern in healthcare today, but it doesn’t have to be some looming, abstract, convoluted scientific concept. It is imperative that we all understand what antibiotic resistance is and how it develops so that we may take an active part in our own health and the health of our loved ones, and become a positive force for public health.

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