#Inktober2019 Day 1: Ring. Spirosoma linguale is a non-pathogenic microbe that forms beautiful ring-like or horseshoe shaped cells. To me, they resemble microscopic curly fries. 
#Inktober2019 Day 2: Mindless. Your reminder that the amazing microbial diversity we observe is due to the mindless march of evolution. Evolution has no agenda. It is random variation and fitness-based selection, and microbes are fantastic at developing new ways to be fit.
#Inktober2019 Day 3: Bait. One theory for why some bacteria glow is to attract predators like zooplankton, allowing the bacteria access to all the great nutrients in the predator’s gut.
#Inktober2019 Day 4: Freeze. Colwellia psychrerythraea is a psychrophile, meaning it can withstand extreme cold (as low as -10 C). It does this by coating itself in a unique sugar with antifreeze-like properties.
#Inktober2019 Day 5: Build. Some bacteria in our gut are responsible for building beneficial compounds like short chain fatty acids. These compounds can then be used by the cells lining our gut as a food source.
#Inktober2019 Day 6: Husky. Thiomargarita namibiensis is one husky bacterium. It is the largest known bacterial species and can be seen with the naked eye.
#Inktober2019 Day 7: Enchanted. (adj. placed under a spell, bewitched) Ophiocordyceps unilateralis infects ants. Infection changes the ant’s behavior causing it to migrate to areas that nurture fungal growth. Infection ends with a fungal growth protruding from the ant’s head.
#Inktober2019 Day 8: Frail. Microbes are often thought of as ever-replicating or even immortal, but in reality bacteria/fungi cells age just like the rest of us. This is usually associated with increasing rounds of division. Unfortunately for the microbes, we all must grow up.
#Inktober Day 9: Swing. Studies have suggested that the bacteria in our guts may drive our moods. While there isn’t much in the way of concrete evidence for this, there is no denying that gut microbes have profound effects on our lives, many of which are still unclear.
#Inktober2019 Day 10: Pattern. Choanoflagellates are thought to be one of the unicellular organisms most closely related to multicellular life because under certain conditions single cells will clump together to form patterned multicellular structures called rosettes. #sciart
#Inktober2019 Day 11: Snow. Pseudomonas syringae uses a protein on its surface to form ice crystals at temperatures above freezing. It is used to make artificial snow. It also may be an important part of cloud formation and precipitation. #sciart
#Inktober2019 Day 12: Dragon. It was long believed that Komodo dragon bites are deadly because their saliva has high loads of bacteria leading to sepsis. But this is a myth. Turns out that they are just venomous. The number of bacteria in their mouths is very average. #sciart
#Inktober2019 Day 13: Ash. Forest fires are destructive to the ecosystem in which they take place. Many bacteria, however, survive the blaze. It is even believed that many soil microbes hitch a ride on the ash from the fire and get transplanted in a new ecosystem. #sciart
#Inktober2019 Day 14: Overgrown. Myxococcus xanthus is a predatory organism that preys on other bacteria. A Myxococcus swarm on a plate can completely overgrow an E. coli colony in a rippling pattern as they break open the E. coli cells and feast on their innards. #sciart
#Inktober2019 Day 15: Legend. Microbial urban legends often cause confusion. A common one is that all E. coli are all the same. In reality, there are many different kinds of of E. coli. Some are harmless gut bacteria, some are special laboratory strains, and others make us sick.
#Inktober2019 Day 16: Wild. Bacteria in the wild deal with unpredictable conditions by expressing all kinds of fun traits. When we grow a strain in the lab, we give it stable conditions, leading to the loss of those cool traits. Reproducible results ✅ Appropriate context ❌❔
#Inktober2019 Day 17: Ornament. Staphylococcus aureus decorates its surface in fibrinogen, a human protein that assists in clotting. Staph will form large clumps made of cells ‘glued’ together by fibrinogen. These clumps are protected from host immune responses. #SciArt #SciComm
