Here is it! Super new science from us on horizontal gene transfer & bact defense systems! Liyana OW YONG discovered the first-of-its-kind defense factor AbjA that triggers 'abortive conjugation' as a defense mechanism, by targeting the T4SS! How neat?! #MicroSky 1/7 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Shu-Sin Chng@figlegend.bsky.social · last yr.

Extremely proud of newly minted PhD Dr Nur Liyana bte Ayub Ow Yong for her work in our lab! Some new science coming soon so stay tuned! 🎉🎉

And now published as an Observation! Many congrats to @weeboont.bsky.social for discovering that AsmA superfamily proteins, YhdP/TamB/YdbH, localize to the cell poles in E. coli, curiously AFTER division has occurred! 1/3 #MicroSky journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Polar localization of putative phospholipid transporters in Escherichia coli | mBio

The outer membrane (OM) of Gram-negative bacteria serves as an effective permeability barrier and confers intrinsic antibiotic resistance. This barrier function requires distinct distribution of lipid...

journals.asm.org

Shu-Sin Chng@figlegend.bsky.social · last yr.

@weeboont.bsky.social talked about our lab's recent preprint where we report AsmA superfamily proteins, believed to be phospholipid transporters, localizing to cell poles in E. coli. Really interesting observations, with impt implications for OM assembly! Read it 👇! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Also extremely happy to see work finally published! Kudos to @yushuchen.bsky.social's tenacity and hard work! Read our previous thread and the paper itself for details/updates! Happy to chat if you find our findings interesting! #MicroSky www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Exquisite specificity of Pks13 defines the essentiality of trehalose in mycobacteria | PNAS

Mycolic acids (MAs) are the major component of the mycobacterial outer membrane, a key contributor to the intrinsic resistance of mycobacteria to e...

pnas.org

Shu-Sin Chng@figlegend.bsky.social · last yr.

Happy to share our newest preprint addressing the basis of trehalose essentiality in mycobacteria! This is a story brewing in the lab for the longest time, started by MSc grad Justin Lim, & now completed by the amazing PhD grad-turned-postdoc @yushuchen.bsky.social! #MicroSky #Mycobacteria 1/8

rdcu.be/eRxNf here our new study on the characterization of the lipopolysaccharide holotranslocon, LptDE and the newly identified subunits LptM and LptY. Great collaboration with @fronzeslab.bsky.social @pstansfeld.bsky.social @JulienMarcoux @YvesQuentin

Structural basis of lipopolysaccharide assembly by the outer membrane translocon holo-complex

Nature Communications - The asymmetric distribution of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on the surface of the bacterial outer membrane is essential and crucial for antibiotic resistance. Here, authors...

rdcu.be

Bacterial cell widening alters periplasmic size and activates envelope stress responses Kerwyn Huang, @typaslab.bsky.social et al find that E. coli outer-membrane protein RcsF senses reduced periplasm thickness due to increased cell width, & activates Rcs signaling www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

Thrilled to see my first publication on food chain biofilms out! Check out the super cool biofilms Pseudomonas makes on food surfaces and the contribution of these to food spoilage. We're continuing to work in this space to find novel ways to extend food shelf life and reduce food waste! 🧫🧪

bioRxiv Microbiology@biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · last yr.

Tissue destruction during food spoilage is associated with the formation of biofilms by Pseudomonas species https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.11.664243v1

Great news - this work is now published!! Big congrats to @yeowjiang.bsky.social - amazing that he mastered cryo-EM and now solved his 2nd set of strs! And kudos to Chee Geng (& Nadege) for non-trivial homogeneous purification of TolQRA! pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/... #MicroSky #SGBUG 1/4

Structural Insights into the Force-Transducing Mechanism of a Motor–Stator Complex Important for Bacterial Outer Membrane Lipid Homeostasis

Gram-negative bacteria assemble an asymmetric outer membrane (OM) that functions as an effective barrier against antibiotics. Building a stable and functional OM requires the assembly and maintenance ...

pubs.acs.org

Shu-Sin Chng@figlegend.bsky.social · 2y ago

Really excited to be sharing our newest work on the bacterial Tol-Pal complex! The amazing Jiang YEOW solved cryo-EM structures of the TolQRA complex in 2 rotary states, aiding us to come up with a model for force transduction across the cell envelope! Pls RT! #SGBUG #SCELSE_SG #ChemNUS

@weeboont.bsky.social talked about our lab's recent preprint where we report AsmA superfamily proteins, believed to be phospholipid transporters, localizing to cell poles in E. coli. Really interesting observations, with impt implications for OM assembly! Read it 👇! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Polar localization of putative phospholipid transporters in Escherichia coli

The Gram-negative bacterial cell envelope comprises an outer membrane (OM) with an asymmetric arrangement of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and phospholipids (PLs), protecting them from both physical and c...

biorxiv.org

Shu-Sin Chng@figlegend.bsky.social · last yr.

Jun #SGBUG with Aaron Tan from the groups of @kimingeneva.bsky.social and @gthibault.bsky.social talking about exciting findings on E. faecalis pathogenesis, and @weeboont.bsky.social from our lab sharing his newest work on phospholipid transporters in E. coli! @scelse.bsky.social Awesome crowd!

Lipid interactions are important for the Tol-Pal complex in maintaining outer membrane lipid homeostasis https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.06.10.658765v1

Our new paper on FtsN is out! Now there are three tracks for organized cell wall constriction-- the old, boring E. coli always manages to surprise us. A special shout-out to all the people who made this work possible, especially Dr. Jason Lyu, and Dr. David Weiss. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Third track model for coordination of septal peptidoglycan synthesis and degradation by FtsN in Escherichia coli - Nature Microbiology

Partitioning of FtsN and the septal peptidoglycan synthesis complex between an active synthesis track and an inactive denuded glycan track coordinates opposing peptidoglycan synthesis and degradation ...

nature.com

Our latest work on the bacterial Tol-Pal complex now published! Kudos & congrats to the brilliant @weeboont.bsky.social! We can (finally) confidently assign the true function of Tol-Pal in maintaining OM lipid homeostasis, independent of cell division! 👇 1/7 #microsky www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Primary role of the Tol-Pal complex in bacterial outer membrane lipid homeostasis - Nature Communications

The Tol-Pal complex is important for multiple cellular processes in Gram-negative bacteria, but its molecular functions remain unclear. Here, Tan & Chng provide experimental evidence supporting th...

nature.com

My lab at SCELSE, NTU, Singapore, is recruiting a PhD student to study food chain biofilms! The PhD will commence in January 2026 and tuition and stipend is provided for 4 years. Singaporean and international applicants welcome. See attached for more details. Please share widely!

Really excited to be sharing our newest work on the bacterial Tol-Pal complex! The amazing Jiang YEOW solved cryo-EM structures of the TolQRA complex in 2 rotary states, aiding us to come up with a model for force transduction across the cell envelope! Pls RT! #SGBUG #SCELSE_SG #ChemNUS

bioRxiv Biophysics@biorxiv-biophys.bsky.social · 2y ago

Structural insights into the force-transducing mechanism of a motor-stator complex important for bacterial outer membrane lipid homeostasis https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.11.27.625625v1