Latest from the lab! Kevin England @kevinengland.bsky.social leads a study on how production of various alarmones (p,pp,pppGpp!) depletes GTP, remodels the transcriptome, and inhibits translation. Wonderful collaboration with Jade Wang's lab at UW Madison. academic.oup.com/nar/article/...

The alarmone pGpp inhibits translation through GTP depletion

Abstract. Bacteria produce the alarmone nucleotides ppGpp and pppGpp during stress to affect replication, transcription, and metabolism. ppGpp and pppGpp a

academic.oup.com

A sad day. Ada's pioneering work on the ribosome changed how we understand one of the central machines of life. She is a remarkable example of curiosity and boldness in pursuing questions that seemed impossible. Her scientific courage and persistence has been an inspiration.

Prof. Ada Yonath, Nobel Laureate and a Model of Scientific Perseverance, Has Passed Away - Weizmann Wonder Wander - News, Features and Discoveries

From pursuing an impossible dream to uncovering one of the cell’s best-kept secrets and advancing the design of improved antibiotics

wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il

We posted a new preprint that revises an earlier preprint. Here, we tested the hypothesis from our original preprint and propose that the two eukaryotic recombinases, Rad51 and Dmc1, specialized in distinct directions after duplication in early eukaryotes www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

A month ago, I defended my PhD! I am now seeking a postdoc position in host-microbe interactions (preferably Gram-negative ESKAPE pathogens but am open to others). Thankful to @doerrlab.bsky.social and others for the support 🫶🧬🧫🐭

A new pre-print out - we show that promoters and terminators of transcription are frequently coupled, throughout the bacteria, and this is regulatory. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Widespread coupling of promoters and terminators of transcription in bacteria

Transcription underpins the expression of genetic information and is viewed as a series of independent initiation and termination events. In bacteria, promoters and terminators of transcription are th...

biorxiv.org

There's a lot in this paper i don't touch on here (cyanotoxins! co-occurrence networks! three-domain primers that only amplified two domains!), so go read it now! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Cyanobacterial cohorts structure the diversity, abundance, and metabolism of heterotrophic bacteria in Lake Erie

Eutrophication and warming in Lake Erie create two microbial threats: cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cHABs) that can produce toxins, and seasonal hypoxia driven by microbial respiration. These p...

biorxiv.org

Pls share: Three open posions in Bacteriology at Wisconsin: bact.wisc.edu/bacteriology...

Bacteriology is Hiring!

Bioeconomy Assistant Professor The Department of Bacteriology is seeking applicants at the Assistant Professor level to launch a research program in the New Bioeconomy. Applicants may be interested in...

bact.wisc.edu

BlueSky doesn't seem to spread the word around as effectively as that other app so I'm reposting this incredible opportunity again (and again!). Please repost and spread the word to strong candidates. Thank you!

Andrew Darwin@durkdarwin.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Phage Meeting 2026! The first Feaga Lab reunion with past members; photo with all former and current Cornellians; Daniel gave an outstanding talk and Morgan earned a poster award! Best Phage Meeting ever?! I think so!

🚨 Job alert! 🚨 Join the faculty at UW–Madison Bacteriology! We have two faculty searches: • Asst Prof (Microbial Communities & Bioeconomy) • Asst / Assoc / Full Prof (Systems & Synthetic Biology) Check out the open positions and apply👇 #FacultyJobs #SynBio #Microbiology #Astrobiology #Evolution

did someone say sadder

🎃HalloDeeny🎃 they/them@geraldinepiche.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I bet the inventor of the microwave was like "no. Sadder."

I'm excited to be co-organizing the 2026 Midwest Microbial Pathogenesis Conference, which will take place Sept 25-27 on the UMN campus in Minneapolis! Poster abstracts due Aug 7! Submit yours & register here ➡️ mmpc2026.umn.edu

Bacteriology-Focused Assistant Professor Position in Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Michigan Application deadline: August 15, 2026 Come be my colleague!

I don’t think AI is the future and I’m 100% basing this on how nobody likes those kitchen trash cans with the powered lids.

Phenazine Pride #PrideMonth #bacterial_pigments Agar art by Marina Smiley

Preprint alert! Using smFRET, we define the only essential ATP hydrolysis step in translation initiation. We show that eIF3 and eIF4B stimulate ATP-hydrolysis-dependent recycling of cap-stalled eIF4F, coupling eIF4F recycling to PIC loading onto an mRNA.🔬 doi.org/10.64898/202...

You would like to exist today? That will be $200.

The M&I department/community at Dartmouth is fantastic. Apply!

George O'Toole (he/him/his)@geiselbiofilm.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Our Dept of Microbiology & Immunology @Geisel School of Medicine @Dartmouth has an opening for an Assistant Professor. Looking for programs bridging multiple areas in Micro & Immuno. A great place to be! Programs: www.M2P2.org www.dartmouthbiofilm.org Job ad: apply.interfolio.com/187637

Introducing an artisanal process for enhancing milk. Recently rediscovered for the health-conscious consumer, this process dates back to the 1800s. Totally organic and chemical free, we simply heat the milk gently for about 15 minutes.

Max Ritter@maxritter.bsky.social · 4mo ago

I love this photo of Louis Pasteur in his laboratory. Pasteurization is such a cool process and it's been amazing getting to design pasteurization systems for a living. #STEM

Additional fact: women were admitted to the last Ivy Leauge holdout in 1983, twenty years after being admitted to Space.

Prof Frank McDonough@fxmc1957.bsky.social · 3mo ago

FACT OF THE DAY. 16 June 1963. Soviet cosmomaut Valentina Tereshkova (aged 26) became 1st woman space traveller. In all her space missions, she orbited the Earth 48 times, spent almost 3 days in space and remains the only woman to have been on a solo space mission.

Structure determination and dual targeting of a plant TACO1 identifies its ancient role as an organelle translation regulator www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Structure determination and dual targeting of a plant TACO1 identifies its ancient role as an organelle translation regulator

Ribosome stalling caused by polyproline (PPs) motifs is common. Their translation is enhanced by accessory proteins such as YebC in bacteria, whose homolog, TRANSLATIONAL ACTIVATOR OF CYTOCHROME C OXI...

biorxiv.org

Reminder — UW #Microbiology has an open search for an Assistant Professor, focusing on fundamental problems in #bacteriology! If you or someone you know would be suitable, here's the ad: apply.interfolio.com/185622

New insights into copper physiology in Bacillus subtilis. The outlines of the pathway for copper import and trafficking to support aerobic growth are emerging. Work led by Grayson Barnes, with support from our collaborators. doi.org/10.1128/mbio... #microsky #metalsinbiology

Pathways of copper import and utilization that support respiration in Bacillus subtilis | mBio

Copper is a critical micronutrient for bacteria; however, it is toxic in excess. This leads to the cell having tightly regulated import and export systems to prevent intoxication while having sufficient copper for cellular needs. Copper export has been well studied, but copper import and the effects of copper starvation are less defined. In this article, we characterize the Bacillus subtilis high-affinity copper importer YcnJ. We show that under copper limitation, the cell is deficient in copper-containing oxidases, which leads to respiratory defects. Copper imported by YcnJ is proposed to function in a pathway with other proteins implicated in the assembly of respiratory oxidases. More generally, this work contributes to the underexplored area of copper import and trafficking in bacteria.

doi.org

See our new latest pre-print for a study led by grad student Ian Reynolds, with current and former undergrads Isabel Westin and Caleb Wood in the lab. A study that goes to show how so many cell surface processes are connected to each other in bacteria. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Here is a link to my student Mitch's final published paper on the activity of Rad51 and Rad54 during the homology search. genesdev.cshlp.org/content/40/1...

Bacterial transmembrane proteins usually localize inside the cell by "finding" a pre-localized protein, but how did the 1st protein get there? @vanipande.bsky.social found a protein in #B.subtilis that localizes by recognizing a *lipid* localization cue. #Microsky www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Diverse mechanisms of translation arrest by a Clostridia ribosome stalling peptide CliM - pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42151144/

Diverse mechanisms of translation arrest by a Clostridia ribosome stalling peptide CliM - PubMed

Ribosome arrest peptides undergo programmed translational stalling in response to changes in the cellular environment to feedback-regulate gene expression. CliM, an arrest peptide in Clostridia, is en...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

These two new PhDs 💕 Congrats Dr. Callan and soon to be Dr. Prince!

Thrilled to share the updated video of my paper in Nature with Maciej (under supervision of @simonemattei.bsky.social & @jomaalab.bsky.social) Proud to use Cryo-ET to uncover how hibernation factors are key to translation restart! To model PTMs in situ and render animations fulfilled my PhD dream!🥹🎉

EMBL@embl.org · 4mo ago

Despite its name, SNOR, a newly discovered protein, is hardly asleep on the job. EMBL researchers’ newest technologies allowed their scientific collaboration to discover a tiny protein with a big role in awakening cells from dormancy to restart protein synthesis. www.embl.org/news/science...

The phenotypic landscape of the model firmicute Bacillus subtilis https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.05.13.724699v1