Can we leverage bacterial competition for targeted replacement of harmful strains? Maybe! Our recent piece in @natmicrobiol.nature.com provides a theoretical framework and a set of experiments to show what it might take: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

So happy to share this! Bacteriocins were first discovered over 100 years ago, but what do they actually do? We look at >1000 bacteriocin plasmids and find links to virulence and antimicrobial resistance, and frequent bacteriocin sharing in Enterobacteriaceae. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Growth-coupled microbial biosynthesis of the animal pigment xanthommatin — Led by Leah Bushin, featuring M. Gracia Alvan, @danielvolke.bsky.social @oscarpuiggene.bsky.social in a fantastic collaboration w/Brad Moore @labnikel.bsky.social @natbiotech.nature.com 🦑 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#mycrosky #synbio www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Development of a CRISPR/Cas9-induced gene editing system for Pseudoalteromonas fuliginea and its applications in functional genomics journals.asm.org/doi/full/10.... #jcampubs

Bacteriophages of the predominant coral symbiont Endozoicomonas: novel models for coral holobiont interactions https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.29.685362v1

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of plants and fungi is enhanced by plasmid copy number variants go.nature.com/3CdewQS rdcu.be/eNaje

Can synthetic biology help save endangered ecosystems? Our new paper with @vmaull.bsky.social explores how engineered genes can spread through soil microbes. We model how synthetic gene transfer can support biodiversity. @vdlorenzo.bsky.social @guimaguade.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

What an incredible opportunity to meet with my symbiosis superheroes, establish new collaborations and put the Alker Lab on the map. Thanks @memartino.bsky.social and @raquelpeixoto.bsky.social for organizing and bringing us all together in such a beautiful venue!

Extending microbiome research across diverse organisms is key to understand the complexity of host–microbe symbioses In our latest study, we developed a protocol to generate #gnotobioticclams We hope it will be useful for a wide range of bivalves to test microbial traits in nature and aquaculture

Please share this with anyone who may be interested in a post-doc in Germany: jobs.awi.de/Vacancies/20... This is quite an exciting opportunity to push the boundaries of what is known regarding the molecular basis of the formation and demise of photosymbiotic relationships in marine habitats.

We're excited to share with everyone a preprint of our manuscript that resolves the cellular origins of the symbiosome in cnidarian-algal symbiosis through proteomics of the symbiosome, RNAi, and CRISPR/Cas9 experiments. ⬇️ www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Read on below! 1/12 🧵

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...

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...

A study in Nature Metabolism shows that the dietary fiber inulin modifies the gut #microbiome to better process fructose, helping prevent metabolic dysfunctions and emphasizing the role of dietary fiber. go.nature.com/4gKCvHe#microbiome🧪

Today was a hard day for Ph.D. students who found out that they can no longer apply for NSF's prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship Program. "Devastating“ was how one student described it to me. #GradSchool #NSFGRFP www.science.org/content/arti...

OPEN INVITATION to the One Health Microbiome Symposium, May 13-14, 2026!! This is not your typical siloed topic conference. It unifies diverse research fields in microbiome science across Ag, Envtl, and Human Health. 1/n www.eventbrite.com/e/2026-one-h...

We’re looking for highly motivated prospective students interested in interrogating genetic mechanisms driving marine host-bacteria interactions. Reach out to discuss research ideas and language for agency priorities

👀 Very cool - can’t wait to try these!

Check out my colleague’s feature in #mattersmicrobial! @symbiosisrox.bsky.social @urigso.bsky.social @universityofri.bsky.social #GoRhody!

Phosphite as an engineered niche for Pseudomonas veronii in a synthetic soil bacterial community #mSystems by Clara Bailey et al with Jan Roelof van der Meer @dmf-unil.bsky.social journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Check out our latest preprint where we show synergistic interactions between bacteria for the degradation of complex polysaccharides 🌊🦠🔺 @envsysmicro.at @akshitg.bsky.social #MicroSky www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

On a small beach in rural Rhode Island, I unplugged for just one moment and considered the small things 🧬🦠🧫🧪 @stcmicrobeblog.bsky.social

Congratulations @doudna-lab.bsky.social !! History will position her name alongside the likes of Darwin, Einstein, and Hodgkin.

From bench to big boss: mitigating the widening gap between PI and lab Laboratory dynamics can change as the age and experience of the principal investigator increase. But there are ways to combat this. Read our piece in Nature, with @sprekeler.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Excited to finally share this work! We noticed a pair of genes - a nuclease and a protease - shuffles between antiviral systems. We show how proteolysis activates the nuclease, triggering defense in known and unknown immune contexts. tinyurl.com/2uwwy4ty

🚨 Fresh from the press! We created and analyzed over 100 in vitro cyanobacterial consortia using well-characterized model cyanobacterial hosts to better understand how cyanobacteria recruit and interact with their microbiomes. Check it out: doi.org/10.1093/isme...

Here's our new broad review on the extended mobility of plasmids, about all mechanisms driving and limiting their transfer. From conjugation to conduction, phage-plasmids to hitchers, molecular to evolutionary dynamics, ecology to biotech. The state of affairs. 1/9 academic.oup.com/nar/article/...

Engineering the gut microbiome in people with hyperoxaluria to avoid kidney stones science.org/doi/10.1126/... @science.org

The findings of a study in Nature Microbiology show the high bioaccumulation capacity of gut bacteria for PFAS, commonly known as forever chemicals. go.nature.com/4le7Svk #microbiome #medsky 🧪

This perspective highlights why federal research opportunities (e.g. NSF REU internships, NSF GRFP fellowships and grant-supported technician positions) were fundamental for me to advance in the academic research ranks. Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to afford to become a scientist #saveNSF

New pre-print out \o/ All about CRISPR, metagenomes, and what you learn when you collect (a lot of) spacers from natural communities, with @apcamargo.bsky.social @urineri.bsky.social @lhug.bsky.social but also Uri Gophna, Nikhil George (not on Bsky I think) & others at JGI doi.org/10.1101/2025...

OUT NOW: Inducible transposon mutagenesis identifies bacterial fitness determinants during infection in mice #microsky 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Click editing uses DNA polymerases, HUH endonucleases and oligonucleotide templates for genome modification go.nature.com/3zPEIjp rdcu.be/erfhL

#microsky #synbiosky

It's NSF CAREER season! I've been fortunate to review dozens of CAREER grants and received one in 2022. Here are the most common mistakes I see and actionable tips to strengthen your proposal.

🄰🅆🄴🅂🄾🄼🄴 Stubbusch et al 𝘚𝘊𝘐𝘌𝘕𝘊𝘌 Bacteria 🦠 repurpose Type VI Secretion Systems based on environmental cues: Nutrient-rich environments ➜ kill competitors Under starvation ➜ lyse neighbors to scavenge their nutrients Even “non-pathogens” shift from competition to predation as a survival strategy

Think Like a Microbe is back!! 🧪🧫 #philsci open.substack.com/pub/thinkmic...

Presidential budget is out. Here's NSF. Biggest cut, by amount, is $1 billion, or 66.8%, from MPS (Physics & Math directorate). nsf-gov-resources.nsf.gov/files/00-NSF...

Scientists, reach out to your local communities about the importance of funding science! Write an op-ed to your local newspaper as part of the #McClintockLetters. Please spread the word and sign up! DM me if you're interested and need help getting started. I'm trained as a writer and happy to help.

In #mBio, researchers argue that the One Health framework, traditionally focused on microbial threats, needs a bold expansion to include the full breadth of microbial diversity—from pathogenic to beneficial—within its ecological and evolutionary context. asm.social/2qj

DmdA-independent lag phase shortening in Phaeobacter inhibens bacteria under stress conditions febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

1/10 Today in @science.org in collaboration with the Liu group we report the development of a laboratory-evolved CRISPR-associated transposase (evoCAST) that supports therapeutically relevant levels of RNA-programmable gene insertion in human cells. drive.google.com/file/d/1I-Ub...

BONCAT-Live for isolation and cultivation of active environmental bacteria www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #jcampubs

Junior faculty job alert in Germany - Marine Evolutionary Genomics @geomarkiel.bsky.social / University of Kiel www.geomar.de/en/karriere/... Marine study system of your choice (no microbes, sorry…), excellent infrastructure and ship access, moderate teaching requirements, closing date 6 June

#MicroSky: In vitro enzyme cascades for synthesis of complex molecules face scale-up challenges. Elias et al boosted cascade efficiency by colocalizing enzymes on synthetic scaffolds via cohesin–dockerin tags. This proximity raised product yield at low enzyme doses. doi.org/10.1111/1751...

Enabling next-generation anaerobic cultivation through biotechnology to advance functional microbiome research www.nature.com/articles/s41... #jcampubs

The president is recommending a 40% cut to next year’s NIH budget. This would be disastrous for our nation’s health and economy. Please contact your representatives, especially if they are Republicans, and tell them why this cannot happen. An easy option: 5calls.org

FYI: The Spencer Foundation, Kapor Foundation, The William T. Grant Foundation, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation have collaborated to offer $25K rapid response grants. "This rapid response bridge funding opportunity is for scholars and teams whose grants have recently been cancelled by NSF."