Happy to share this study from the lab led by Orlaith Keenan published in mBio! Working with an outstanding collaborative team, Orlaith demonstrated that maintaining the right balance of neutrophils is key to limiting severe disease during C. difficile infection. journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Pharmacological reduction of neutrophil infiltration reduces Clostridioides difficile infection severity | mBio

Clostridioides difficile remains a leading cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea worldwide and a major healthcare burden. While antibiotics are commonly used to treat CDI, high antibiotic resistance...

journals.asm.org

Now out in AEM @asm.org! 🎉🧪 *High school student-isolated mutants 👉🏻 novel genetic causes of biofilm-associated adaptations *We learn how diversity arises quickly and is maintained *EvolvingSTEM enables scalable research in classrooms & promotes scientific literacy journals.asm.org/eprint/FBU9M...

Genetic diversification of Pseudomonas fluorescens maintained by multi-niche selection within biofilms | Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Bacterial biofilms dominate microbial life; however, their evolutionary genetics remain incompletely understood. Extensive replication of biofilm selection experiments by secondary school students can...

journals.asm.org

Vaughn Cooper@vscooper.micropopbio.org · last yr.

Sharing the most significant work from my group, led by the @evolvingstem.bsky.social team. Come for the discoveries of how Pseudomonas adapts in biofilms, stay for the story of how they were discovered by thousands of young scientists in grades 9-12. 🧪🧫🧬🧵 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

We're hiring at NTU SBS, Singapore. Tenure-track faculty position in Biomedical Data Science (computational biology, AI in biology, bioinformatics). Great infrastructure, great place to do science. Please share. apply.ap1.interfolio.com/119013

We're hiring a Research Fellow (postdoc) in cell biology at NTU Singapore. The project sits at the intersection of host-pathogen interactions and ER stress biology: CRISPR screens, infection models, lipid peroxidation, wound healing. Apply or share 👇 ntu.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/Careers/job/...

Research Fellow (Cell Biology)

Join Our Team at the School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore The School of Biological Sciences (SBS), part of the College of Science at Nanyang Technological Univers...

ntu.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com

Frederick's @frederickreinhart.bsky.social paper on E. faecalis egress from host cells following intracellular replication is now up at #PLOS Pathogens. 😎 Check it out! dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...

Gelatinase regulates the egress of intracellular replicating populations during Enterococcus faecalis infection

Author summary Pathogenic bacteria are traditionally classified as either “intracellular” or “extracellular”, but growing evidence suggests that many extracellular bacteria also adopt transient intrac...

dx.plos.org

Kimberly Kline 🏔@kimingeneva.bsky.social · 8mo ago

There's more! @frederickreinhart.bsky.social now shows Fsr quorum sensing turns on during intracellular replication, driving GelE-dependent host cell lysis/egress, a model for how intracellular “factories” become new extracellular inocula, primed for reinfection. 5/n www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

What if quorum sensing doesn’t promote biofilms - but restrains it? 🤔 New work from @harisantypas.bsky.social shows that the Fsr QS system in Enterococcus faecalis acts as a brake on biofilm formation and pathogenesis during infective endocarditis (IE). www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Loss of Fsr quorum sensing promotes biofilm formation and worsens outcomes in enterococcal infective endocarditis - Nature Communications

Infective endocarditis (IE) is an understudied biofilm-associated infection. Here, analyses of preclinical and clinical data reveal that the Fsr quorum sensing (QS) system of Enterococcus faecalis is ...

nature.com

There's more! @frederickreinhart.bsky.social now shows Fsr quorum sensing turns on during intracellular replication, driving GelE-dependent host cell lysis/egress, a model for how intracellular “factories” become new extracellular inocula, primed for reinfection. 5/n www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Gelatinase regulates the egress of intracellular replicating populations during Enterococcus faecalis infection

Enterococcus faecalis is a common opportunistic pathogen, frequently isolated from chronic wounds, yet the mechanisms underlying its virulence and persistence in this niche remain incompletely underst...

biorxiv.org

🧵Enterococcus faecalis is not just an extracellular organism. 🧵 A growing body of work shows it can survive + REPLICATE inside host cells, and that intracellular life may seed persistence, dissemination, and reinfection. 1/n #MMBR @asm.org journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Enterococcus faecalis: an overlooked cell invader | Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews

SUMMARYEnterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium are human pathobionts that exhibit a dual lifestyle as commensal and pathogenic bacteria. The pathogenic lifestyle is associated with specific conditions involving host susceptibility and intestinal ...

journals.asm.org

Excited to share our first look at Enterococcus faecium infection biology: diabetic wounds are complex, and E. faecium persists despite early immune responses. In diabetic mice, it shows impaired clearance + sustained neutrophil recruitment, worsening healing.

bioRxiv Microbiology@biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Enterococcus faecium colonization and persistence in a model of diabetic wound infection https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.20.689639v1