A big thanks to all the authors, reviewers, and readers of Nature Microbiology for their love and support throughout the year. We are on a break & will be back on Jan 2nd, in what will be a very special year for us! In the meantime, enjoy a collage made by @francoismayer.bsky.social #MicroSky 🦠

My article on aeonophiles (ultra-long lived organisms) came out in Aeon Magazine today!

"The changing roles of Escherichia coli" -- a short essay by yours truly. rdcu.be/eVtXT

Oh well, we had to stop adding more papers at one point because the computer memory wasn't able to handle a thread that long! We would like to hear from our readers about their favourite papers! Do add them in replies. #MicroSky 🦠

As the year ends, we decided to select our favorite papers of 2025 Turns out, it is impossible as we love them all! So, we picked 'some' that exhibit the range of microbiology highlighted through the columns of Nature Microbiology. Here is a glimpse into #EditorPicks of 2025 #MicroSky 🦠

What is better than one? Two connected papers! #NewResearch S protein of Streptococcus pneumoniae activates PBP1a and coordinates with a wider GpsB-associated multi-protein complex to regulate peptidoglycan remodelling and cell division. #MicroSky 🦠 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#NewResearch S protein from Streptococcus pneumoniae activates cell wall repair and modification to promote virulence against in vivo antimicrobial pressures including lysozyme and LL-37 @veeninglab.com #MicroSky 🦠 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#NewResearch Plasmodium falciparum proteins were engineered to create a nanoparticle vaccine platform capable of displaying multiple antigens at 48 sites #MicroSky #Malaria 🦠🦟💉 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Now online @natmicrobiol.nature.com! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Postdocs in the lab Nick Quinn-Bohmann & Alex Carr, along with @cdiener.com, wrote a Perspective article on the challenges and opportunities posed by the rise of microbial community-scale metabolic models (MCMMs) in @natmicrobiol.nature.com MCMMs are powerful tools! 💪 doi.org/10.1038/s415...

#NewResearch Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus imports glucose via the bacterial mannose phosphotransferase system (PTSman), which inhibits stringent response, supports growth in cerebrospinal fluid and promotes brain damage during meningitis. #MicroSky 🦠 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#NewResearch O-GalNAc transferase 2 (GALNT2) could restrict viral infection through the regulation of the proteolytic processing of viral glycoproteins via its O-linked glycosylation activity, impairing virus–cell fusion. #MicroSky 🦠 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#NewResearch IL-17 signaling restricts C. albicans pathogenicity in the colonized oral cavity. #MicroSky 🦠🍄 @lableibundgut.bsky.social ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ @frois-martins.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Grateful to share our paper on gene-specific selective sweeps in human gut microbiomes, now out in Nature! It has been a joy to work with @rwolff.bsky.social, whose insights and hard work made this possible. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

We are recruiting for a number of PhDs in the HPRU in Public Health Genomics, based at @unibirmingham.bsky.social, in collaboration with UKHSA. 🦠🧬 Apply below to work on cutting-edge science and public health priorities! (NB deadline of 9th January / UK only due to funding restrictions) (1/7)

#NatMicroPicks Gene drive to drive out Malaria! 🦠🦟💊 locally tailored Anopheles gambiae expressing antimicrobial peptides inhibit diverse Plasmodium falciparum isolates #MicroSky www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#NatMicroPicks AMR plasmid evolution over a century! ⭕🧬🦠💊 Plasmids from 1917–1954 reveal over a century of evolution shaped by antibiotic industrialization #MicroSky www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

#NatMicroPicks Elusive insights into Colibactin structure! 🦠🧬🧪 Colibactin alkylates the minor groove of AT-rich DNA, explaining its mutational signature in colorectal cancer #MicroSky www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

#NatMicroPicks Cholera and diet! 🦠🍕 Dietary protein sources shape gut microbiota and influence Vibrio cholerae colonization #MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky 🦠 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

#NatMicroPicks Fungus exploiting slow defense! 🍄💉 Cryptococcus rapidly enters the brain but triggers delayed immune activation compared to other fungal pathogens #MicroSky 🦠 www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...

#NatMicroPicks Pathogen Resistance in plants via microbiome! 🦠🌱 Combining metabolic modeling with synthetic community experiments reveals mechanisms of pathogen suppression in plants. #MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#NatMicroPicks Population Dynamics in gut Bacteroides 🦠 Gut commensals create population diversity by producing and responding to secreted effector proteins. www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...

Wonderful collaboration with @robertarkowitz.bsky.social et al! Fascinating result that inhibiting ribosome biogenesis triggers filamentation of C. albicans!

Very excited to share this latest research in Nature Microbiology led by PhD student @kosmopoulos.bsky.social in collaboration with @ashish-malik.bsky.social. #phagesky #Microsky

An essay on the history of the RI Christmas lectures published in nature last week. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

#NewResearch During filamentous growth in the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans, a reduction in ribosome concentration leads to a decrease in macromolecular crowding. Inhibition of ribosome biogenesis can trigger filamentous growth in this pathogen. #MicroSky 🦠 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#NewResearch Viral diversity and community structure are shaped by geography and ecosystem health status, positioning viruses as unexpected players in peatland restoration. @kosmopoulos.bsky.social @ashish-malik.bsky.social @karthik-a.bsky.social #MicroSky 🦠 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#NewResearch Engineered Escherichia coli strains expressing a colibactin antitoxin, ClbS, on the surface prevent the genotoxic effects of colibactin released by genotoxin-producing bacteria in the mouse gut. #MicroSky #SynBio 🦠🧬🔧 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#NewResearch Vaccination of Finnish at-risk occupational groups with a clade 2.3.4.4b H5N8 influenza vaccine induced robust antibody and T-cell responses, supporting its potential to provide protection against current H5N1 outbreaks. #MicroSky 🦠💉 #Vaccine www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#NewResearch Yersina pseudotuberculosis eavesdrops on fungal tyrosol signalling, using it as a cue to trigger antifungal T6SS activity #MicroSky 🦠🧬🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#JournalClub Read more about bacterial endosymbiosis in fungi 🦠🍄 #MicroSky #SynBio www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Soil viruses are important regulators of ecosystem function, but what are their roles in environments that face long-term degradation and restoration? In our paper published today in Nature Micro, we asked how soil viruses influence peatland recovery, and vice versa. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

👉Excited to share our latest work @natmicrobiol.nature.com, revealing a decrease in cytoplasmic crowding during filamentous growth in the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans. Furthermore we found that inhibition of ribosome biogenesis can trigger filamentous growth in this pathogen rdcu.be/eT1Su

🎥 New series: Paper in a Minute! CMFI researchers explain key findings from recent publications in under 60s. Ep. 1: Ana Rita Brochado @brochadolab.bsky.social on antifolate-triggered CBASS activation in V. cholerae. Watch: youtu.be/q3EErS28oMs?... #ERC #AMR @natmicrobiol.nature.com #scicomm

Like last year, I compiled a little collage of all our monthly issue covers published in @natmicrobiol.nature.com Another year full of new discoveries, stunning advances and marvelous #microbiology. Thanks to all our authors for all their hard work in pushing the field of microbiology forward.

#NewResearch Evading infection in Cellulophaga baltica comes with cellular changes that alter carbon cycling, metabolite secretion and sedimentation rates. #MicroSky #EnvMicro 🦠🌐 @sullivan-lab.bsky.social @howard-varona.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#Resource HRGM2 - a catalogue of 155,211 high-quality metagenome-assembled genomes spanning 41 countries that allows improved genome-scale metabolic modelling and functional characterization of human gut microbes. #MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky 🦠💻 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#ResearchBriefing Inhibitory interactions between industrial and agricultural chemicals and gut bacteria make a case for considering antibacterial activity in chemical safety assessment. #MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky 🦠🧪💻 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#NewResearch Systematic analyses and machine learning coupled with in vitro and in vivo validation link gut microbiome-mediated transformation of dietary phytonutrients to health outcomes #MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky 🦠🌱 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#NewResearch Targeting two distinct steps of the transcription process yields synergistic antibiotics that kill non-replicating Mycobacterium tuberculosis and reduce drug resistance. #MicroSky🦠@rocklabtb.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#ConsensusStatement A new Consensus Statement presents the standards for technical reporting in environmental and host-associated microbiome studies (STREAMS) guidelines. #MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky 🦠 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#Editorial In the last editorial of the year, we talk about STREAMS - A new community-led checklist provides reporting guidelines for microbiome research across environments. #MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky 🦠 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Our final issue of 2025 has gone live! 🫁pertussis prevention 🏭pollutants and gut bacteria 🕳️porins and resistance in E. coli 🧬many flavours of CRISPR 🦟fatal fungal attraction ...and more 👇 www.nature.com/nmicrobiol/v...

Nature Methods is hiring! We are looking for candidates with expertise in genetics, genomics and/or molecular biology to join our editorial team in the US (NYC/Jersey City) or China (Shanghai/Beijing). Apply by December 12! springernature.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/SpringerNatu...

🔬MGI doctoral student Julia Kelliher served as lead author on a global effort involving 248 experts from 28 countries to write guidelines standardizing environmental microbiome research. Published today in Nature Microbiology. @natmicrobiol.nature.com 🔗https://tinyurl.com/yh3dzc72

Bacteria can control what enters their cells, balancing energy and blocking antibiotics. New study in @natmicrobiol.nature.com uncovers this hidden mechanism of drug resistance: buff.ly/s3YIwyK @andresfloto.bsky.social @vpd-hlri.bsky.social @unibas.ch

#NatMicroPicks Editing gut microbiota in vivo! 🔧🧬🦠 MetaEdit enables precise in vivo CRISPR-based editing of native gut bacteria, integrating new pathways at single-nucleotide resolution #MicroSky #SynBio www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

#NatMicroPicks A new protist with remnants of ancient mitochondrial DNA 🧬🦠 The eukaryotic tree of life grows with the addition Solarion arienae - a unique and peculiar protist species #MicroSky www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#NatMicroPicks New insights into plasmid evolution 🧬⭕ Experimental measurements reveal that plasmid evolution is shaped by both within-cell competition and host-level selection #MicroSky 🦠 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

#NatMicroPicks AI to design therapeutic antibodies! 🧪⚕️ AI-driven monoclonal antibody generator designs novel antibodies without templates, targeting SARS-CoV-2, H5N1, and RSV-A #MicroSky www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...