Microscopy nerd alert: two scopes in California can now do phase contrast cryoEM - potentially fixing the tech's very low signal/noise ratio. The phase filter they used is a laser. Which is also the brightest thing in the solar system (outside of the inside of the sun). cen.acs.org/analytical-c...

CapK is a bacterial DNA damage-activated kinase that phosphorylates transcriptional repressor CapS to control adjacently-encoded anti-phage immune pathway genes in response to a universal stress signal, DNA damage @kevincorbett.bsky.social and colleagues link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Happy #MicroscopyMonday! This live image captures a larval sea anemone (Nematostella vectensis) that refracts light like a gemstone. The vibrant, true-color image highlights the organism’s birefringence. Imaged by @shribak.bsky.social) and @karenecheverri.bsky.social#MicroscopyMondayfrom the MBL’s Bell Center.

it's summer, and time to go to the pool. our post next monday will be about bacteria that swim the backstroke. stay tuned... #MicroSky

The T6SS is a widespread nanoweapon deployed by #bacteria, but why is it deployed heterogeneously? @cascaleslab.bsky.social &co show that #Ecoli adopt distinct #T6SS attacker "ON" & defender "OFF" roles to optimize survival, a key strategy in microbial warfare @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/3S5dL45

Bacteria don't need signaling cascades to rewire gene silencing. They use DNA 🧬 twist. ➕Overwind → H-NS forms a filament. ➖Underwind → H-NS bridges and silences. 📣Topology is the switch. See our preprint for more details: doi.org/10.64898/202...

Submission open for the 11th YBM Meeting (deadline - 20th May)! Abstract submission link: t.co/8pCwjpO2Ml

My second postdoc paper in @tunglejic.bsky.social lab and two of my favorite things in the lab combined: ParB and killing bacteria. Thanks to everyone who helped make this project possible!

Our most recent paper "Divergent Rickettsia species exhibit distinct mechanisms of actin-based motility" is now out in @jcb.org! Check it out here: rupress.org/jcb/article/...

Happy to share the finalized version of my paper on phage lysis in bacteria with unique envelopes! 🎉 Bacteriophages target membrane-anchored glycopolymers to promote host cell lysis and progeny release www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Bacterial rRNAs are highly modified, but their functions are often mysterious. Zac Park says that methylation of 16S rRNA by MraW(RsmH) enhances translation of structured mRNAs. Thus, mRNA structure and rRNA modifications likely co-evolved to fine-tune protein dosage. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Delighted to share our latest work on gene transfer agents (GTAs). We found a lysis control hub which allows GTAs to escape their bacterial host cells and transfer DNA 🧬 between bacteria. Thanks to @tunglejic.bsky.social, all co-authors, and our amazing collaborators! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

New preprint from the Vecchiarelli Lab! 🧵 Congratulations to first author Dr. Claire Dudley! @claire-dudley.bsky.social Claire uncovered a critical player in the organization for the photosynthetic cytoplasm of cyanobacteria - polyphosphate! #polyP www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Excited to share our latest work with Guanming Zhang and @stemartiniani.bsky.social in @natcomms.nature.com, where we uncover universal long-range structure in three distinct noisy particle systems spanning soft matter and machine learning. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

I am pleased to share my lab’s latest publication - Acinetobacter species lack canonical DNA repair pathway activation mechanisms, and we discovered a conserved transcriptional activator that fills this role: academic.oup.com/nar/article/...

Our work on understanding how Staphylococcus aureus mode of cell division contributes to pathogenesis is now available in bioRxiv

Submission open for the tenth YBM Meeting (deadline - 26th March)! Abstract submission link: forms.gle/SBeQeAp9MR2U...

It’s finally out! Together with @embopress.org and @reviewcommons.org, we conducted a structured side-by-side comparison of human peer review and our AI scientific review (see thread 👇👇👇🔥).

Come do a PhD with me and @trevor-lithgow.bsky.social at @monashuniversity.bsky.social ! We’re at the leading edge of pathogen biology using cutting edge Cryo-EM and AI-driven genetic screens to uncover the mysteries of outer membrane biology. Reach out to me for a chat! macsys.org/phd-scholars...

Exciting line up of talks for CauloCon 2026 - includes keynotes from @brunlabcaulo.bsky.social @lamasonlab.bsky.social and @thanbichlerlab.bsky.social! Hear work from Isaac Payne and Trung Nguyen, 2 students in my lab, on Weds and Thurs. 🤩

The science writing over at @asimovpress.bsky.social is fantastic! From the origin of the lab vortex, to the history of Xenopus, their content is creative, beautiful, and thoughtfully researched. Consider assigning some of their pieces in science courses. www.asimov.press/p/vortex?utm...

1/ With @maxencevincent.bsky.social, we ask: when single bacterial cells behave differently under stress, is it really just “noise”? Read more @cp-cellreports.bsky.social : Unveiling hidden variables in stressed bacteria (doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...)

Hey alpha aficionados - it's almost time for CauloCon 2026! This free, virtual meeting will feature talks from @brunlabcaulo.bsky.social @thanbichlerlab.bsky.social and @lamasonlab.bsky.social with opps for trainee talks. Register using the link below. 👇

#Addendum to 1970 paper, “CYTOPLASMIC FILAMENTS OF AMOEBA PROTEUS: I. The Role of Filaments in Consistency Changes and Movement,” includes eight video sequences originally recorded on 16-mm films. No technology was available at the time to include this data. 🎞️ rupress.org/jcb/article/... #Actin

Submission open for the eighth YB Meeting (deadline - 21st January)! Abstract submission link: forms.gle/SBeQeAp9MR2U...

Registration is open for the 2026 Gordon Research Conference on Microbial Stress Response to be held on July 19-24 2026!! Submit your abstract by February 15th to be considered for a short talk. Apply now before it fills up!! Hope to see you there!! www.grc.org/microbial-st...

Excited to see our new work published! We have established the evolutionary and ecological context of our favorite model Caulobacter and made some unexpected findings. Who would have thought that close relatives lack dimorphism? And have potential for phototrophy? www.nature.com/articles/s41...

indeed, 𝘙𝘶𝘨𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘢 𝘰𝘳𝘺𝘻𝘢𝘦 looke like fusilli, which are notably better at holding on salsa di pomodoro than spaghetti... and as pasta addicts, we fell instantly in love with the shape of this newly described alphaproteo from the Rhizobiales 🤭 #MicroSky

The bacterial #SOSresponse unfolds in a defined temporal order, but how does this arise? @adityakamat.bsky.social @anjbadri.bsky.social &co show that intrinsic #promoter strength, modulated by #SigmaFactor usage, governs timing of SOS gene activation in Caulobacter @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4oAKf0Q

1/Now published! We identify a novel regulatory layer underlying SOS response dynamic. Find a short summary about our findings below. journals.plos.org/plosbiology/... #MicroSky

Now published. Thank you very much to our collaborative team, and very supportive editors and reviewers!!! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

‘Chromosomal Topological Domain Formation Modulates Transcription and the Coupling of Neighboring Genes in Escherichia coli‘ by Drs. Nico Yehya, Christopher Bohrer, and collaborators, is now available on bioRxiv. Check it out! doi: doi.org/10.1101/2025...

Assembly, architecture and functional roles of microbial surface layers Review article published in @natrevmicro.nature.com with @bupbuse.bsky.social, Andriko von Kügelgen and @vikramalva.bsky.social. S-layers are everywhere! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Thrilled to share our multidisiplinary work on how genome-wide DNA bridging by H-NS reshapes the stationary phase bacterial nucleoid and affects the transcriptional landscape. With Xindan Wang and @meyerroc.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

new preprint from our group & Antoine Hocher: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... A fantastic collaboration with Antoine, with Jovana Kaljevic' initiated the collaboration and drives the project.

Independent research fellowships leading to tenured positions at the John Innes Centre. Repost = nice. Thank you very much!!!

🚨🚨🚨Calling all Caulophiles and Alpha aficionados - stayed tuned for a virtual CauloCon in early 2026. And HOPEFULLY an in person alpha meeting in 2027!! DM me or @chienlab.bsky.social w questions or to stay in the know.

🚨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

N6-methyladenine modification of DNA enhances RecA-mediated homologous recombination www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

🚨 Imagine a bacterium that refuses to follow the textbook: It grows as tangled filaments, divides unevenly, reshapes its own membranes… and even builds grappling hooks. Meet Litorilinea aerophila — and here’s why it blew our minds.

Biophysics enthusiasts, do consider applying for the seventh session of YBM! Submit your abstracts by 20th August.

#MicroSky Summer read! Predatory bacteria kill and eat other bacteria. Their deadly actions come in many flavors, often via direct physical contact between predator & prey 🧛 How do they do it? Our review 📖 @coralietesseur.bsky.social @ysantin.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

And the story is published now!🍾 www.nature.com/articles/s41... Open access link: rdcu.be/exnOc Many years in the making, great collaboration with @archaellum.bsky.social & @tunglejic.bsky.social Thanks @ukri.org BBSRC & @leverhulme.ac.uk for funding, reviewers & editor!! 🙏 #microsky #archaeasky

Theoretical physics enthusiasts, do consider submitting an abstract for the upcoming sixth YBM! Submit your abstracts here: t.co/W1qGraRpAc

In @elife.bsky.social: Bacteriophage infection drives loss of β-lactam resistance in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus doi.org/10.7554/eLif...

Happy to see our collaborative work on the contractile injection system (CIS) in Streptomyces published. We show that the membrane protein CisA gives Streptomyces CIS a licence to kill. @pilhoferlab.bsky.social & Bastien Casu, @joesallmen.bsky.social #MicroSky elifesciences.org/articles/104...

The fifth session of YBM is coming up next week. Join us for two exciting talks on Monday (7th July) at 11am (EDT). Mark your calendars🗓️: tinyurl.com/29b7yk47 Meeting link: shorturl.at/0ng5A

Finally published! Many thanks to the reviewers and editor whose comments & suggestions improved this work significantly more than the first preprint version!!! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

The excitement continues! Check out my latest preprint examining how phages have adapted to lyse different bacterial envelopes. I found a lysis gene (lysZ) that is conserved in phages that infect corynebacteria mycobacteria, and other actinos. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

I'm pleased to announce that I will be starting my lab as an Assistant Professor at UMass Chan Medical School in August! My group will study phages that infect corynebacteria and mycobacteria to understand bacterial cell envelope assembly and phage gene function. Website and more info to come soon!