Question: Which viruses/fungi/other are most unique to you, and do you like that one?

Samuel Ellis answered on 10 Feb 2022:

There is a huge diversity of microbes out there, although I know more about bacteria than viruses and fungi. My PhD was on E coli, which I find interesting as there are so many strains ranging from harmless and easy-to-handle ones used in lab work and cloning, to some really nasty pathogens causing bad infections.

A more random one is Thermus aquaticus, a very heat resistant bacteria first found in hot springs like Yellowstone. What is cool is that an enzyme from this bacteria (Taq polymerase) is now used as an important part of PCR testing as it works at the high temperatures needed in the reaction!