Seth Bordenstein

The Vanderbilt Microbiome Initiative is receiving attention for its role as a standard bearer for other microbiome programs, thanks to a new article on the importance and emergence of microbiome centers – academic hubs of microbiome-related research. Read More

Changing the gut microbiome to beat illness really does hold great potential, but first scientists must answer what constitutes a healthy gut microbiome and in whom. Read More

Bordenstein’s team studied Nasonia parasitic wasps, which are about the size of a sesame seed, and they serve as one of the best models to dissect and characterize the evolution of insect genomes. Read More

How a bacteria hijacked insect fertility remained a mystery for five decades, until Associate Professor of Biological Sciences Seth Bordenstein and his team helped solve it. Read More

Genes used by the insect parasite Wolbachia to control its hosts' reproduction can be used to help control the spread of mosquito-borne diseases like dengue, Zika and malaria. Read More

Artificial kidneys, gay-straight alliances and junkyard batteries captured readers' attention in 2016. Read More

A laboratory study of four animal species and their microbiota finds that each species hosts a unique community of microbes that can significantly improve its health and fitness. Read More

DNA related to black widow spider toxin been discovered in a phage that infects the bacterial parasite Wolbachia. It is the first time animal-like DNA has been found in a bacterial virus. Read More

Fecal transplants are increasingly being used to treat certain human illnesses and more scientists have begun to research the transplants' effects in animals. Read More

Recent microbiological research has shown that plants and animals, including humans, are not autonomous individuals but are holobionts: biomolecular networks that consist of visible hosts plus millions of invisible microbes. Read More

A family of single-celled organisms that thrive in environments too extreme for most other species to survive may be an untapped source of new antibacterial drugs. Read More

Seth Bordenstein, associate professor of biological sciences, and graduate student Robert Brucker, discovered that the survival of a new hybrid of wasp depended not on their genes but on the microbes that naturally lived on and inside the insects. Read More

The popular science magazine Science News has chosen a story featuring research by Vanderbilt's Seth Bordenstein and Robert Brucker as its top science story for the year. Read More

A new study provides the first direct evidence that microbes can contribute to the origin of new species by reducing the viability of hybrids produced between males and females of different species. Read More

According to Seth Bordenstein, assistant professor of biological sciences, studying Wolbachia has yielded some surprising new insights on microbial evolution that could help us understand, treat and prevent certain infectious diseases. "It's what gets me up every day and keeps me excited about doing this work." Read More

Vanderbilt researchers are exploring what role, if any, bacteria play in environmental diversity, with the aim of answering one of biology's most fundamental questions. Read More