🚨New preprint out! We present a foundational genomic resource of human gut microbiome viruses. It delivers high-quality, deeply curated data spanning taxonomy, predicted hosts, structures, and functions, providing a reference for gut virome research. (1/8) www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

The impressive molecular details of the retroelement Eco8 defense activation, a protein-RNA-DNA complex in which all three play a part www.cell.com/molecular-ce...

A brand-new Gordon Conference on Microbiomes!🦠 The opening session (Jan 2026) dives into microbiome editing - how fundamental research and new technologies can advance human health and environmental sustainability. Super looking forward!🧪 #microsky #microbiomesky #grc www.grc.org/microbiome-e...

@prczhaoyansong.bsky.social’s deep dive into the dark matter of compost communities is now out 🎉 Genomic islands hijack jumbo phages—whose capsids enable transfer of large tracts of DNA—shedding new light on the scale & scope of phage-mediated gene flow 😎 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Our work on viruses and virus satellites of haloarchaea and their DPANN symbionts is out today in Nature Microbiology! @mkrupovic.bsky.social @deemteam.bsky.social @anagtz.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Phage defense is sometimes so convoluted 🙃

Excited to share our preprint led by Carlos Voogdt et al We developed new genetic tools & genome-wide libraries for species of the Bacteroidales order; constructed saturated barcoded transposon libraries in key representatives of three genera. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Phages evolve fast, or do they? In oysters, some stay identical for years. With >1,200 phages & 600 Vibrio genomes, we reveal long-term stability and new mobile elements. Proud of this collaborative work across our teams (Roscoff-UdeM and @epcrocha.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Another breakthrough work on the fascinating biology of Diversity Generating Retroelements by Jeff Miller’s team

Can we exploit past phage infection events (prophages) to decipher the specificity of phage receptor-binding proteins such as depolymerases?🔎 Happy to share our recent work at @natcomms.nature.com 🔽 #microsky #phagesky www.nature.com/articles/s41...

MIT says no to the Trump admin higher-ed compact clearly and emphatically. Other universities would be well served to read, remix, and respond similarly. "In that free marketplace of ideas, the people of MIT gladly compete with the very best, without preferences." orgchart.mit.edu/letters/rega...

Type IV secretion systems: from structures to mechanisms Kévin Macé and colleagues summarize recent structural insights into the assembly and function of bacterial type IV secretion systems www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

Biofilm formation mediated by a Type IV secretion system pilus www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Today in @nature.com , we highlight how a cousin of CRISPR-Cas10, mCpol, establishes an evolutionary trap in anti-phage immune systems. Check out @erinedoherty.bsky.social and my work from @doudna-lab.bsky.social lab here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

"Alignment" (aka fealty) is not a merit-review criteria. If ideology determines outcomes, our world-class federally funded research system will reward apparatchiks and loyalists while punishing opponents and critics. And then soon, it won't be world-class. www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...

I get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA 10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)

🚨New paper out! #MicroSky Studying obligate predators like Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus is tricky—essential genes for predation are also essential for survival. We expanded its genetic toolbox: 🧬promoters to fine-tune expression 🧬IPTG-inducible system 🧬CRISPRi for rapid knockdown bit.ly/46GUn2c 1/4

Delighted to share our recently published work! Ever wondered how Klebsiella (and others) deals with capsule production’s costs ? The paper: journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/... Thread👇

🚨New Review Out🚨 We explore how phage-antibiotic synergy can dismantle efflux-driven resistance in multidrug-resistant ESKAPEE pathogens. By reprogramming bacterial defences, phages offer a precision strategy to restore antibiotic efficacy. journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Our paper on model cyanobacterial communities by @andrejakust.bsky.social is finally typeset and looks beautiful, check it out: academic.oup.com/ismej/articl...

OMG this is it?! The final piece in the puzzle?!😲 tRNAs are the key, because archaic tRNAs sit at the core of all ribosomes. If aminoacyl-tRNAs could form on early Earth, you have a plausible route for the first self-replicators, the bridge from chemistry to biology www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Ever wondered why some bacteria have multiple CRISPR-Cas systems? Our new study led by Leah Smith shows how type I CRISPR systems can promote the acquisition and retention of new spacers into a co-occuring type III system. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

1/16 New pre-print from the Sternberg Lab! We uncover how temperate phages can use RNA-guided transcription factors to remodel the flagellar composition of their bacterial host and enhance their fitness. Find the preprint and full story here: tinyurl.com/mshwjd77

What a cool way to sort out massive information!

Seriously cool Microbiome Engineering work! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Because of the forces they have to withstand being whizzed around on #flagellae, flagellotropic #phages are super stable. It turns out that the same super-stability remains long after you adapt to a host bacterium without a #flagellum rdcu.be/ewnzT

How may theoretical ecology & evolutionary theory push microbiology forward? At Environmental Microbiology, I am commissioning a series of Perspectives exploring that question. Excited to share them in the 🧵 below The series is open, so do get in touch if you'd like to propose a new contribution!

Prophages block cell surface receptors to preserve their viral progeny www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#phage #phagesky

Now published, congrats Bevika, Kinki, Vincent, Florian and Paddy! #MicroSky www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Fantastic preprint of Bert van den Berg, @sykhalid.bsky.social Syma Khalid, and colleagues on the molecular mechanism of how phages target LptD as host receptor👇🏼🧬🔐

😳 microcins #microsky www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Our paper demonstrating that within-species warfare interactions are ecologically important on human skin is now published in Nature Micro! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

In-situ SPA 🧨 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

It's about time we asked this question www.nature.com/articles/d41...

How do multiple coexisting bacteria and phages (co)evolve? Well... they don't (or do so much less! In this paper we tracked bacteria-phage (co)evolution in monoculture (individual bacteria-phage pairs) or in polyculture (all three pairs) over 6 weeks. Read more here👇 doi.org/10.1099/mic....

New Preprint!! Alejandro González-Delgado accomplished a major feat on this one: ported retron recombineering, which we love so much in E. coli, into 14 new bacterial species via a massive collaborative effort involving 9 labs! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Saccharibacteria deploy two distinct type IV pili, driving episymbiosis, host competition, and twitching motility | The ISME Journal | Oxford Academic https://academic.oup.com/ismej/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ismejo/wraf119/8158625?login=true

Cryogenic electron microscopy showed for the first time that large RNA complexes can assemble without the help of proteins, expanding our understanding of RNA folding and function. www6.slac.stanford.e...

How bad will it be? Catastrophic. Proposed cuts to #NSF, #NIH, and #NASA will set the US R&D landscape back 25 yrs+, cause economic and job loss now, and undermine innovations to come. But, this is the WH's *proposed* budget. Speak up now before it is too late. (inflation adjusted $-s below)

Its here! Finally published. www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

www.quantamagazine.org/how-paradoxi... We need more of this! “Recreational biology”

AMR in Nature Medicine 4,502 surveillance records 32M tested isolates 101 countries Impact of socioeconomic and environmental factors—forecasts based on antimicrobial consumption reduction, sustainable development, shared socioeconomic pathways under climate change www.nature.com/articles/s41...

www.nature.com/articles/s41... Type IV pili versatility never cease to amaze. In this case, used by Myxococcus can thus to grab and kill other bacteria