Ep. 539 - Exploring the Seed Microbiome

In Defense of Plants Podcast

In Defense of Plants

Science & Medicine, Natural Sciences

4.8 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 17 August 2025

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Microbes are everywhere, even in seeds! Indeed, seeds from various plants can host a community of different microbes. Despite how cool this sounds, we still have a lot to learn about seed microbiomes. Join me and Dr. Gilliam Burgmann as we explore questions like what kinds of microbes are present in seeds? How do these communities differ? Are microbes good, bad, or indifferent to the seeds that host them? This episode was produced in part by Nadia, Heidi, Blake, Josh, Laure, R.J., Carly, Lucia, Dana, Sarah, Lauren, Strych Mind, Linda, Sylvan, Austin, Sarah, Ethan, Elle, Steve, Cassie, Chuck, Aaron, Gillian, Abi, Rich, Shad, Maddie, Owen, Linda, Alana, Sigma, Max, Richard, Maia, Rens, David, Robert, Thomas, Valerie, Joan, Mohsin Kazmi Photography, Cathy, Simon, Nick, Paul, Charis, EJ, Laura, Sung, NOK, Stephen, Heidi, Kristin, Luke, Sea, Shannon, Thomas, Will, Jamie, Waverly, Brent, Tanner, Rick, Kazys, Dorothy, Katherine, Emily, Theo, Nichole, Paul, Karen, Randi, Caelan, Tom, Don, Susan, Corbin, Keena, Robin, Peter, Whitney, Kenned, Margaret, Daniel, Karen, David, Earl, Jocelyn, Gary, Krysta, Elizabeth, Southern California Carnivorous Plant Enthusiasts, Pattypollinators, Peter, Judson, Ella, Alex, Dan, Pamela, Peter, Andrea, Nathan, Karyn, Michelle, Jillian, Chellie, Linda, Laura, Miz Holly, Christie, Carlos, Paleo Fern, Levi, Sylvia, Lanny, Ben, Lily, Craig, Sarah, Lor, Monika, Brandon, Jeremy, Suzanne, Kristina, Christine, Silas, Michael, Aristia, Felicidad, Lauren, Danielle, Allie, Jeffrey, Amanda, Tommy, Marcel, C Leigh, Karma, Shelby, Christopher, Alvin, Arek, Chellie, Dani, Paul, Dani, Tara, Elly, Colleen, Natalie, Nathan, Ario, Laura, Cari, Margaret, Mary, Connor, Nathan, Jan, Jerome, Brian, Azomonas, Ellie, University Greens, Joseph, Melody, Patricia, Matthew, Garrett, John, Ashley, Cathrine, Melvin, OrangeJulian, Porter, Jules, Griff, Joan, Megan, Marabeth, Les, Ali, Southside Plants, Keiko, Robert, Bryce, Wilma, Amanda, Helen, Mikey, Michelle, German, Joerg, Cathy, Tate, Steve, Kae, Carole, Mr. Keith Santner, Lynn, Aaron, Sara, Kenned, Brett, Jocelyn, Ethan, Sheryl, Runaway Goldfish, Ryan, Chris, Alana, Rachel, Joanna, Lori, Paul, Griff, Matthew, Bobby, Vaibhav, Steven, Joseph, Brandon, Liam, Hall, Jared, Brandon, Christina, Carly, Kazys, Stephen, Katherine, Manny, doeg, Daniel, Tim, Philip, Tim, Lisa, Brodie, Bendix, Irene, holly, Sara, and Margie.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Conversations like you're about to hear do not happen unless you support In Defensive Plants.
0:04.0	And now more than ever, we need conversations like this to reach as many ears as possible.
0:09.0	One of the best ways to help keep In Defensive Plants up and running is to become a patron over at patreon.com slash In Defensive Plants.
0:16.0	In return for a tiny bit of support each month, you will get access to a completely separate podcast. It explores
0:21.5	a lot of really fun gardening topics, everything from seed collection and storage to growing native
0:26.1	plants, the struggles of trying to garden in different climates, and so much more. It's a heck of a lot
0:31.7	of fun. We're learning so much, and we're trying to share that with you. So come on and join the
0:35.8	Patreon over at patreon.com slash indefensive plants and help keep this show up and running in the process. I hope to see you over there. But in the meantime, on with the show. Hello everyone and welcome to the Indefensive Plants podcast, the official podcast of Ineventiveplants.com. What's up? This is your host, Matt. Welcome to the show. How is everyone doing this week?
0:54.8	I have said it so many times, and I will continue to say it so many times. Plants are habitat,
0:59.6	and that means something at a lot of different scales, from enjoying insects and birds and things
1:03.7	like that to microbial life. And that is exactly what we're talking about today, specifically
1:09.3	in the context of seeds.
1:11.6	Seeds themselves are full of microbial communities.
1:14.4	And what those communities are doing or not doing is a fascinating and complex world.
1:19.0	Joining us to talk about this is Dr. Gillian Bergman, who is up for the challenge of trying
1:23.2	to understand seed microbiomes.
1:25.7	I don't want to steal any more of her thunder because this is amazing work.
1:28.6	Let's just jump right into it.
1:29.6	Without further ado, here's my conversation with Dr. Gillian Bergman.
1:33.0	I hope you enjoy.
1:50.3	All. All right, Dr. Jillian Bergman, welcome to the podcast.
1:53.4	I can't wait to pick your brain today, but first let's start off with an introduction.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from In Defense of Plants, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of In Defense of Plants and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.