How does epithelial polarity shape Chlamydia trachomatis infection? 🦠 🧫 In this review, Hovhannisyan & Rudel @uni-wuerzburg.de highlight this overlooked aspect of host–pathogen interactions and its impact on disease. 👉️ buff.ly/lyElCoY

How do commensal bacteria protect against pathogens? @jmghigolab.bsky.social lab identified CSAP-1, a pore-forming protein that mediates bacterial competition and enhances infected zebrafish survival —a promising lead for aquaculture antimicrobial strategies. 👉️ buff.ly/HSn0tLP @pasteur.fr

🌟 Very proud of the newest Dr. in the team , Dr. @julielebris.bsky.social 👩‍🎓! She brilliantly defended her PhD last Friday @pasteur.fr Excellent thesis in terms of output & quality! Thanks to the jury @lucyweinert.bsky.social @sylvainbrisse.bsky.social @edfeil.bsky.social Maria Halima Laaberki

🔬🦠 Comment #Klebsiella parvient-elle à changer de capsule aussi fréquemment pour mieux s’adapter à son environnement ? Les travaux de @julielebris.bsky.social mis à la une par @cnrsbiologie.bsky.social 👏 -avec @epcrocha.bsky.social #MicroSky @cbitoulouse.bsky.social

CNRS Biologie@cnrsbiologie.bsky.social · 3mo ago

#ResultatScientifique🔎| Une bactérie capable de changer de « bouclier » pour mieux s’adapter à son environnement : une stratégie étonnante de Klebsiella pneumoniae qui éclaire ses capacités d’évolution et de résistance. ✍️ @olayarendueles.bsky.social @julielebris.bsky.social ▶️ buff.ly/q8AKHo1

#ResultatScientifique🔎| Une bactérie capable de changer de « bouclier » pour mieux s’adapter à son environnement : une stratégie étonnante de Klebsiella pneumoniae qui éclaire ses capacités d’évolution et de résistance. ✍️ @olayarendueles.bsky.social @julielebris.bsky.social ▶️ buff.ly/q8AKHo1

TraF from a broad-host monoderm plasmid is the first conjugative T4SS component with strong homology to T7SS pseudokinase 🧬 Grohmann & Keller labs elucidate its crystal structure, function and partners. @uni-grat.at & BHT_berliner 👉️ buff.ly/ndoiPD4

A new era of bacteriophage research is underway. microLife’s thematic issue on Viruses of Microbes brings together studies exploring bacterial immunity, the role of phages in microbiomes, & their growing use in molecular biology & next-gen phage therapy. Explore the thematic issue: buff.ly/f8rLFus

Fluorescent labeling extended to 3 streptococcal species 🧫✨ @veeninglab.com & coll. benchmarked 5 proteins and developed multicolor cassettes enabling triple labeling—expanding tools for gene expression, cell dynamics & infection studies. 👉️ buff.ly/DFMXjE7

What happens when Klebsiella's capsule locus is swapped? Unexpectedly little in terms of cell growth. Yet, it does change the bacterium's environment and interactions with it: evolution by seamless plug-and-play capsule swap. Led by @julielebris.bsky.social @olayarendueles.bsky.social

Olaya Rendueles@olayarendueles.bsky.social · 4mo ago

So happy to see this finally published in @plosbiology.org! This is the first chapter of @julielebris.bsky.social PhD thesis demonstrating how capsules are exchanged by plug-and-play dynamics w/ @epcrocha.bsky.social #microsky @klebclub.bsky.social Link below- Check out her 🧵 for more details!

Our latest manuscript explores capsule exchangeability & phenotypic portability We didn’t directly address its role in #virulence ⏩️ that was already elegantly shown here—worth a look 👀👇🏻 doi.org/10.1371/jour... 🎯 Their results supports our plug-and-play model! Bonus: we kept 🐭 alive #microsky

Capsule type defines the capability of Klebsiella pneumoniae in evading Kupffer cell capture in the liver

Author summary Klebsiella pneumoniae is a major human pathogen. While capsule is the main virulence factor of the pathogen, only several of more than 80 capsule serotypes are frequently identified in ...

doi.org

PLOS Biology@plosbiology.org · 4mo ago

How do multi-gene systems evolve across genetic backgrounds without disruptive epistasis? @julielebris.bsky.social @olayarendueles.bsky.social &co show the #Klebsiella capsule locus is a plug&play module that swaps with low fitness cost while preserving #virulence @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4s64Ko0

So happy to see this finally published in @plosbiology.org! This is the first chapter of @julielebris.bsky.social PhD thesis demonstrating how capsules are exchanged by plug-and-play dynamics w/ @epcrocha.bsky.social #microsky @klebclub.bsky.social Link below- Check out her 🧵 for more details!

Plug-and-play evolution of the Klebsiella pneumoniae capsule locus enables serotype exchange across genetic backgrounds

How complex multi-gene systems evolve across genetic backgrounds without disruptive epistasis remains unclear, particularly in highly exchangeable loci such as the capsule of Klebsiella pneumoniae. Th...

doi.org

Julie Le Bris@julielebris.bsky.social · 11mo ago

How complex functions, with important physiological and evolutionary impacts get repeatedly and efficiently transferred across genomes? That’s what we explored using one of the fastest-evolving loci in Bacteria: the capsule locus. The paper: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Thread👇

How do multi-gene systems evolve across genetic backgrounds without disruptive epistasis? @julielebris.bsky.social @olayarendueles.bsky.social &co show the #Klebsiella capsule locus is a plug&play module that swaps with low fitness cost while preserving #virulence @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4s64Ko0

🦠 How does #Salmonella find #iron in the gut? @ferrytin.bsky.social & colleagues show acidic pH pushes it to switch from using endogeneous to exogeneous #siderophores—revealing a flexible, pH-driven iron uptake strategy. 👉 buff.ly/90EZoqQ

🦠 Beyond classic probiotics: @schmitzstreitslab.bsky.social lab reveals diverse #Bacteroidota gut strains that block #biofilms of major pathogens. Many also disrupt quorum sensing & show bile salt hydrolase activity—expanding the #microbiome toolbox against infection. 👉 buff.ly/sjPk8ZD

New preprint out on bioRxiv! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Can conjugative plasmids be used to control plasmid and pathogen spread? Follow me down the rabbit hole that led to this story 🧵

🧬 Dive into the small proteome of Methanosarcina mazei (across 5 conditions)! A key resource by @schmitzstreitslab.bsky.social @uni-kiel.de for uncovering #smallproteins functions, motifs and proteoforms in #archaea. 👉 buff.ly/HJOi3E0

🦠 @laurentterradot.bsky.social lab reviews #Brucella’s #T4SS—a key virulence factor—covering its structure, function, and growing effector arsenal. It also explores how effectors enter host cells, opening new paths to understand and target infection. 🔬 👉 buff.ly/KW4kVN4

My team at @cbitoulouse.bsky.social is recruiting a postdoc #bioinformatics with solid experience in metagenomic analyses. Interest in evolution, ecology & MGEs is important. The offer stands until the perfect candidate is found, and it could be you 🫵 🔁 🙏 #microSky #phagesky #UTIsky @cnrs.fr

@archaellum.bsky.social lab reveals how #cdiAMP and 4 RCK proteins shape osmotic stress responses in H. volcanii 🧬🦠. In highly halophilic #archaea, c-di-AMP coordinates ion balance and cell volume—mirroring bacterial strategies for environmental stress adaptation. 👉 buff.ly/ApWkCtg

Review –by J. Yuan @mpimicrobiomarburg.bsky.social, HG. Koch & B. Berghoff— highlights bacterial small membrane proteins (SMPs) 🧫: from regulating membrane targets and insertion pathways to toxin roles. SMPs also offer potential as tools and templates for new antibiotics.💊 👉 buff.ly/9UzCwF2

As 2026 begins, the EAM, @Vdlorenzo.bsky.social, Paul B. Rainey and many others remind us the urgency of renewing support to Society Journals and, taking action to reward quality research and curb predatory publishing. 👉 buff.ly/V36xgMO 👉 buff.ly/T8QE90G

🦠Insight into the resilient world of prokaryotes! Koch lab – @sfb1381.bsky.social – reveals that E.coli use small membrane proteins (YohP & YncL) to condense their DNA & slow down metabolism, helping them survive to stresses. 🧬 buff.ly/dMzcQsP

Everything you need to explain AMR to family and friends-12: @pablolaborda.bsky.social @crisherencias.bsky.social @pharmageddon.bsky.social @ecdc.europa.eu @eberllab.bsky.social @klebclub.bsky.social ‪ @olayarendueles.bsky.social‬ the ESKAPE Rogues www.imili-eah.com/prod-api/pro...

New insights into #Hpylori’s virulence machinery 🕵️🧪 Josenhans lab & coll. unravel new interactions between CagT4SS surface proteins and outer membrane proteins HopQ & HopZ—key for host interaction and #proinflammatory signaling. 🦠 @lmumuenchen.bsky.social 👉 buff.ly/toApn0c

🦠 Small changes, big defense! Jordan Vacheron & coll. show specific SNPs in #Pseudomonas protegens CHA0 (algC & ykcC) remodel LPS to block #phage ΦGP100—while growth, competitiveness & root colonization stay intact, in lab conditions. 🧬 @unil.bsky.social 👉 buff.ly/MFOH2er

What can an “orphan” #Cas4 do? 🧫 In #archaea M. mazei, Solo-Cas4 cleaves dsDNA in a metal-dependent manner and is upregulated in stationary phase—hinting at roles in stress or DNA metabolism. Biochemical characterization by Schmitz lab @uni-kiel.de 👉 buff.ly/kpz0yZ1

#C.albicans invades tissues as hyphae but spreads as yeast, How? @jlspragu.bsky.social & coll. show yeast can reach the bloodstream by hitchhiking with invasive hyphae or by switching forms. 🧫 More clues for understanding systemic infections ! 👉 buff.ly/0vklJeb

🔍 From rods to stars, bacteria craft their shapes using bPBPs & GTases. Garcia-del Portillo lab’s global analysis reveals unexpected diversity & flexibility in these morphogenetic complexes. 🦠 @cnb-csic.bsky.social 👉 Read more : buff.ly/D0pMhMr

De-DUFing the DUFs 🧩 @franznarberhaus.bsky.social lab uncovers how small DUF1127 proteins regulate #phosphate uptake by binding the sensor kinase PhoR. Their conserved role from Agrobacterium to E. coli highlights how even small DUFs can shape bacterial physiology 🦠 buff.ly/jJd9Eho

New insights from #CRISPR-Cas systems! 🧬 @cyanolab.bsky.social reveals that in the #cyanobacteria Synechocystis, RNase J works with RNase E to mature CRISPR3 RNAs—key for RNA-based immune defense. RNase J can also team up with PNPase in a degradosome-like complex. buff.ly/CrxiQPy