It’s fun studying “water bottle buddies” (#WBBs). Here is a plastic bottle swabbed from the inside wall of the bottle, and the integral straw. Cannot wait to see 16S rRNA results! I wish I had $$$ to do this seriously. #MicrobesEverywhere #MicrobialCentricity #WaterBottleBuddies @microbe.tv

Here is a swab onto R2A medium from the wall of a student’s plastic water bottle and a close up. Fungus or bacterium? Time and DNA will tell! #WaterBottleBuddies #MicrobialCentrism #MicrobialEvangelist @microbetv.bsky.social @asmicrobiology @univpugetsound.bsky.social

I have always enjoyed showing #Micronauts “who” lives in their water bottles. #DocMartian Chianna demonstrates. These #WaterBottleBuddies are not bad or good. They simply are. #DontFearTheMicrobe #microbialcentrism @asmicrobiology @univpugetsound.bsky.social @microbetv.bsky.social

Sure, I enjoy teaching students about their #WaterBottleBuddies. They aren't bad. the microbes are just there; part of the dense and wondrous microbial universe within and around us. The upper sticker is designed by the great @ethankocak.com The lower sticker is a screencap from SNL.

So my #Bio350 #Micronauts have eached isolated three bacterial types from their reusable water bottles---their #WaterBottleBuddies. Here is the sticker created by Ethan Kocak and nine representative plates with different sizes, colors, consistence, and even fluorescence. Now to identify them!

Another week of #microbiology lab with my #Bio350 #Micronauts at @univpugetsound! #WaterBottleBuddies #BacterialPitter. I will miss working with students! @asmicrobiology Bonus #BabyCarl @microbe.tv

Time for #MicrobiologyFriday! Today, I chat about microbes, water bottles, single colony isolation, and siderophores. DO NOT FEAR THE MICROBE #WaterBottleBuddies #Microbialcentrism. @univpugetsound @ASMicrobiology @microbe.tv

In my #Bio350 microbiology course at tge University of Puget Sound , I love showing #Micronauts that diverse microbes live in their water bottles! Here a student shows off her #WaterBottleBuddies! @asmicrobiology microbe.tv @univpugetsound

I had fun today with my #Bio350 #Micronauts as we explored their #WaterBottleBuddies in lab. @univpugetsound @ASMicrobiology P.S. I wish I knew Aubrey Plaza.

Deep thoughts with my #Bio350 #Micronauts today. I showed them what happens on R2A plates when you swab the the output of a RO water source: oligotrophs rule? #WaterBottleBuddies @univpugetsound @ASMicrobiology

More fun with my #Bio350 #Micronauts today. I showed them what happens on R2A plates when you swab the the water bottle refill station and water fountain. #WaterBottleBuddies @univpugetsound @ASMicrobiology

I had fun with my #Bio350 #Micronauts today. I showed them what happens on R2A plates when you swab the straw and the inside wall of a reusable water bottle. #WaterBottleBuddies @univpugetsound @ASMicrobiology

Whenever I think about my #WaterBottleBuddies project with undergraduate students, I think of
@Blackmudpuppy’s sticker, the @artis_micropia water bottle, a favorite meme, and a relevant SNL skit. I teach students that microbes are everywhere! @ASMicrobiology @univpugetsound

Hmmmm. Here are some 16S rRNA results from #Bio111A #WaterBottleBuddies on R2A this year at @univpugetsound. Of these, which should I save as frozen stocks for possible later analysis? Again, this was just single colony PCR with 27F and 1492R primers. @ASMicrobiology