✨ Hier au Bar des Sciences : cap sur LUCA, le Last Universal Common Ancestor, ancêtre commun de toutes les formes de vie. Une plongée dans les origines du vivant et les débats actuels. Merci à Patrick Forterre, prof de #biologie à @univparissaclay.bsky.social pour ses éclairages sur LUCA. #science

Le public pose des questions sur l'origine et l'évolution de Luca dans ce Bar des Sciences avec Patrick Forterre, professeur de biologie et ancien directeur de l' @institutpasteur.bsky.social à l' @univparissaclay.bsky.social #biologie #science #Paris

ribosomologists take note 👇 #CryoEM #CryoET #teamtomo

~50 kb genomes, 4× smaller than the genomes of 𝘕𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢 sp. 👀 and ~3× smaller than the 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢 genome 👀. Elio called 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢 ...👇 #SymbioSky

@carolinamicro.bsky.social Huang & @lbobay.bsky.social investigated genomic rearrangements across 121 microbial species, showing that rearrangements occur at a variable pace across bacteria and archaea, pointing to different selective constraints. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evag002 #genome #evolution

Five years after the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines started, it seems the mystery of why the Astra-Zeneca and J&J vaccines led to a rare but deadly side effect of unusual blood clots and bleeding has finally been solved. 
 It's a fascinating case of molecular mimicry that may help make vaccine safer.🧪

Check out our latest preprint from @jnvmartinson.bsky.social and @leosong.bsky.social! 🌟🦠 We found that conjugative plasmids can actively eliminate recipient bacteria that resist plasmid acquisition. 🧵

Archaeal G-quadruplexes: a novel model for understanding unusual DNA/RNA structures across the tree of life url: academic.oup.com/nar/article/...

a daring approach: looking at LUCA's ancestors, i.e. pre-darwinian evolution. but not surprising it's coming from @kacarlab.bsky.social 👏 glad to see Iwabe et al. (1989) among the references (blew my mind when it came out >30 y ago)

Note for those interested in Asgard archaea - please join us on the morning of July 10th for a ‘building a community’ discussion!

HORBEC are found in most prokaryotes, and are particularly diverse in Archaea. Phylogenetic analyses indicate a complex evolutionary history. However, we show that respiratory complex I (Nuo/Fpo) was likely present in the LUCA, challenging current hypotheses on the ancestral energetic metabolism.

𝘌. 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘪 chromosome replicationists take note 👇 tsutomu katayama's lab tackles one of the last remaining puzzles of DnaB loading by DnaA to 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘊 after opening. for bi-directional replication, 𝘁𝘄𝗼 DnaB helicases have to be loaded (in case you forgot). thx for pointing this out, wiep 🙏 #MicroSky

Multiple protein structure alignment at scale with FoldMason | Science https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.ads6733?af=R

Emergence and evolution of protein-coding de novo genes | Nature Reviews Genetics https://www.nature.com/articles/s41576-025-00929-9

Iron Sulfides Produced by Thermococcales: An Iron Detoxification Mechanism enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Nice, the authors still use the name Asgard archaea and not Promethearchaeati!

Fresh news on de novo genes! Happy to present our latest work published in Nature communications: www.nature.com/articles/s41... Keywords not in specific order: intergenic ORFs, de novo genes, GC content, foldability, genetic code, ancestral sequence reconstruction and more :)

The Human Archaeome: Commensals, Opportunists, or Emerging Pathogens? #microbiology #archaea #GutMicrobiota #MicroSky #ArchaeaSky www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/14...

Quelle chance! A lire et relire.

Le silence pour ce qu’il se passe au Soudan me sidère depuis des mois. On parle de gens obligés de s’enterrer vivants. Tués à la machette. À la mitraillette. Décapités. Des images satellites montrant un bain de sang. C’est un génocide. 0 Black Lives Matter. 0 manifestation. Le silence. Honteux.

Large-scale analysis of bacterial genomes reveals thousands of lytic phages | Nature Microbiology https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-025-02203-4

“A process which led from the amoeba to man appeared to the philosophers to be obviously a progress - though whether the amoeba would agree with this opinion is not known" - Bertrand Russell, 1976. Time-lapse video of Vampyrella lateritia eating Spirogyra algae from Science Source/Oliver Skibbe. 🦠

A great paper on one of my favourite enzyme. Congratulations to Tamara, her team znd collaborators.

Aujourd’hui, nous célébrons les 120 ans de la loi du 9 décembre 1905, texte fondateur de la laïcité en France. Liberté de croire ou de ne pas croire et neutralité de l’État : elle est l’un des piliers de notre vivre-ensemble. Continuons à en être les garants.

Subcellular organization of the archaeal cell #archaea #microbiology sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Evolutionary Flexibility of Ribosome Biogenesis in Bacteria | Molecular Biology and Evolution | Oxford Academic https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/42/11/msaf288/8340222?login=false

Cellular and viral RNA polymerases: evolutionary insights into eukaryotic origins: Trends in Microbiology https://www.cell.com/trends/microbiology/fulltext/S0966-842X(25)00335-X?rss=yes

An archaeal transcription factor bridges prokaryotic and eukaryotic regulatory paradigms - ScienceDirect https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867425012413?dgcid=rss_sd_all

Horizontal gene transfer and gene loss drove the divergent evolution of host dependency in Micrarchaeota | National Science Review | Oxford Academic https://academic.oup.com/nsr/advance-article/doi/10.1093/nsr/nwaf542/8351087?login=true

Fantastique experîmental work. However, the interpretation should be revised. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that the ubiquitous Asgard actin has been most likely recruitrd from a proto-eukaryote. See for instence Da Cunha er al. Mol Biol Evol. 2022, PMID 35150280

🧬 New method to map DNA polymerase errors with unprecedented precision. Institut Pasteur researchers (Ludovic Sauguet's lab) developed a high-throughput approach using PacBio sequencing to characterize how DNA polymerases make mistakes. In collaboration with @nebiolabs.bsky.social

Convergent evolution of viral-like Borg archaeal extrachromosomal elements and giant eukaryotic viruses | Nature Communications https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-65646-7

So happy to announce our new preprint, “A geothermal amoeba sets a new upper temperature limit for eukaryotes.” We cultured a novel amoeba from Lassen Volcanic NP (CA, USA) that divides at 63°C (145°F) 🔥 - a new record for euk growth! #protistsonsky 🧵

Our study on ribonucleotides incorporation the genomes of Haloferax volcanii and Thermococcus barophilus is new published in #NAR #ribonucleasesH academic.oup.com/nar/article/...

Is it a flagellate? A tiny ball with tentacles? Contamination in my ciliate culture? NEW SUPERGROUP OF EUKARYOTES? Yes to all 4! Meet Solarion - just out in #Nature doi.org/10.1038/s415... Huge congrats to Marek Valt, Cepicka Lab & the star team! Very happy to be part of this project. #ProtistsOnSky

Ce dont des chercheurs chinois qui ont montré les premier l’efficacité de l’HQ contre le covid. DR et ses collègues ont ajouté un antibio, l’azitro, pour eviter les surinfections bactériennes. L’association s’est révélée efficace. Son emploi systémique aurait permis de sauver des milliers de vie.

Why these poeple have added halophilic and methanogenic bacteria in this tree of Archaea ? One of my students ask me. - it’s because the first members of these groups were isolated before 1977 and the « discovery » of Archaea - The student: are you joking???

Thermophiles don’t just survive heat, they thrive in it. 🔥 They provide heat-stable enzymes, insights into early Earth, and tools for biotech. Our new thematic issue in #FEMSMicrobiolEcol captures how diverse this field is. Explore the collection👉 buff.ly/kD8fmOL

137 years ago today 🎂 Institut Pasteur opened in Paris (Nov 14, 1888 🏛️) Funded by 100K+ donors after the rabies vaccine success, it launched a scientific legacy: 🔬 10 Nobel Prizes 🌍 32 Pasteur Network Institutes 💉 Countless lives saved From rabies to COVID-19, the mission continues.

Why these poeple have added halophilic and methanogenic bacteria in this tree of Archaea ? One of my students ask me. - it’s because the first members of these groups were isolated before 1977 and the « discovery » of Archaea - The student: are you joking???

📢 Interested in #chromosomes 🧬 & #archaea thriving at the edge of life? PhD project in York,UK on how archaea pass on their genome to daughter cells.Friendly supervisors: me, @steve-quinn-lab.bsky.social & @georgerheath.bsky.social www.findaphd.com/phds/project... 📅 January 7, 2026 Please RP🙏thx!

Tale of Two viruses: Two coinfecting archaeal viruses provide insights into virus-virus interactions | Research Square https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-7669873/v1

How to become a "hot RNA" 🌡️? The answers were kindly provided by hyperthermophilic archaea: rRNA modifications are key! Check out this new publication presenting pan-modification profiling of the epitranscriptome. www.cell.com/cell/fulltex.... (1/3)

Jesus est un mythe qui n’a jamais existé en tant que personnage historique.

Faux. Watson et Crick ont réalisé la découverte la plus importante du XX ème siécle en biologie. RF est passée à côté car elle ne croyait pas à l’interet des modèles. Elle a reconnu sans problème la priorité de WC. L’info la plus importante a été A=T, G=C.

Extensive lateral gene transfer between proto‐eukaryotes and Heimdallarchaeia suggests their close association during eukaryogenesis - Forterre - 2025 - mLife - Wiley Online Library onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

A very nice review on my favorite archaea. The Thermococcales as a model system: historical perspectives and emerging tools | Journal of Bacteriology journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...