#microsky New preprint from the lab! Widespread immune systems protect bacteria against conjugative plasmids www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Kudos to the extremely talented lead author Ludovic Poiré! Key contributions by @francoisrousset.bsky.social and also help from C. Lesterlin/TacC lab. 🧵⬇️

Widespread immune systems protect bacteria against conjugative plasmids

Conjugative plasmids are a class of mobile genetic elements capable of efficient transfer between bacterial cells. Although they can introduce beneficial traits such as antibiotic resistance to recipi...

biorxiv.org

We’re happy to introduce phageFACTor (Functional Annotation and Curation Tool) 👩‍💻Developed by Tanaïs Moreau, our most recent PhD candidate, and building on Phold, we were able to improve annotation of prophage genes by as much as 50% 🧬 You should check it out github.com/TMs-code/pha...

🚨New paper alert 🚨 Here we tried to leverage an (incredible) metagenome time-series to better understand MGE diversity and activity in soil across decade(s). @scbagby.bsky.social has an amazing thread about this work with all the details - bsky.app/profile/scba...

Mobile genetic elements shape microbial diversity and functions in thawing permafrost soils - Nature Microbiology

An 8-year soil meta-omic time series shows how mobile genetic elements shape permafrost microbial diversity and impact a range of functions, including carbon and nutrient cycling.

nature.com

Sarah Bagby@scbagby.bsky.social · last mo.

Out today in Nature Microbiology: a paper that started in 2021 with an email from @sullivan-lab.bsky.social. Subject line: "Crazy ideas". www.nature.com/articles/s41... 1/23

Please share widely! Abstract submissions open for the 2026 Jacques Monod conference: Ecology and evolution of host-parasite interactions in a changing world! Held in beautiful Roscoff France from November 2- 6, 2026. Abstracts submission deadline : June 6 cjm.sb-roscoff.fr/en/conferenc...

The Social Lives of Viruses is coming to Vancouver, Canada, from 4th-8th August 2026! This is a free meeting dedicated to all aspects of virus-virus interactions & evolution. To apply: socialviruses.zoology.ubc.ca @sociovirology.bsky.social #socialviruses #evosky #lovevirology #virosky

Excited to share our new paper out today in @science.org 🎉 We show that HGT via natural competence drives diversification of chromosomal integrons in V. cholerae 🤩 Below a 🧵 on key findings incl. background on natural competence in V. cholerae 1/ #microsky #phagesky www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Out Now! Local peptidoglycan composition defines division site selection in Streptococcus pneumoniae #MicroSky

Local peptidoglycan composition defines division site selection in Streptococcus pneumoniae

Nature Microbiology, Published online: 07 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s41564-026-02322-6Sequential peptidoglycan carboxylase activity of DacA and DacB generates a local peptidoglycan signature that recruits MapZ and establishes the division site at the Streptococcus pneumoniae cell equator.

go.nature.com

📣Huge preprint 🔔 Today we share something our group has been working toward for a long time, led by @lucasmoriniere.bsky.social We asked can we predict which receptor a phage targets from its genome sequence alone? For most phages, we couldn’t. So Lucas set out to do something I had only dreamed of.

🔥Preprint fresh off the press🔥 Hello Bluesky! I'm delighted to share the story I have been working on for the past 3y in @vivekmutalik.bsky.social's lab at LBNL and Adam Arkin's lab @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social. It's a wild story about 255 phages & 1,000+ HT genetic screens, are you ready? 🧵

🔊 Looking for a Research Assistant in Bacterial Evolution to join my lab 🦠 🥼Main duties: Research (AMR + microbiome) + lab assistance. ⏲️ Post duration: 30 months 🗓️ Closing date for applications: 20th April 2026 💰 Salary: ~£35k Details and how to apply: tinyurl.com/2a3v66y7 Please share!

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👇

Only 9 days left to apply for this post doctoral position. Please share and forward to your colleagues.

Peter Fineran@peterfineran.bsky.social · 5mo ago

New post-doctoral research position in my phage-host interactions (Phi) laboratory in @otagomicroimmuno.bsky.social at @universityofotago.bsky.social New Zealand. The project is focused on defences against jumbo phages. Please share and if interested apply using the link in the comments.

Excited to share the first preprint from the lab! We show that ApeA defends against RNA phage infection by cleaving the phage genome: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Horizontal gene transfer is often depicted as a process distributing pre-existing functions to novel genetic backgrounds. Yet HGT can also increase the rate of functional innovation after transfer. Here's a brief review on the topic: ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v... #evosky #microsky

🚨 We’re hiring – MRC-funded Postdoc (3 yrs) Research Fellow to investigate how mobile genetic elements interact in Staphylococcus aureus and shape gene transfer and pathogenicity. University of St Andrews Closes 31 March 2026 www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DQR250/r... Enquiries: afh22@st-andrews.ac.uk

Research Fellow at University of St Andrews

Searching for an academic job? Explore this Research Fellow opening on jobs.ac.uk! Click to view more details and browse other academic jobs.

jobs.ac.uk

A pleasure to host you in Lyon ! Great science and discussions! Looking forward to testing HIDEN-SEQ in the lab 😉

Alexander Harms@aharms485.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Many thanks to you and @annechevallereau.bsky.social for hosting me in Lyon - great company, great discussions, and a great city! 🇫🇷🧬🚀

We found a viral Trojan Horse: a virus can hide inside another virus.This one surprised us: deltaviruses don’t just borrow a helper virus. They can travel inside it. A literal Trojan Horse “virus-in-a-virus” route into cells. 🤯 Kudos to 1st author @viroscope.bsky.social and co-authors !

Deltaviruses spread through a viral Trojan Horse

Hepatitis D-like satellite viruses, known as deltaviruses, have been recently discovered in a wide range of animals. These viruses are thought to expr…

sciencedirect.com

The paper "Our work identifies the mechano-antiviral response system (MARS), a natural cellular defense mechanism that strengthens the host cell membrane as a physical barrier against viruses without direct viral targeting." www.cell.com/cell-chemica...

Mechanosensation promotes broad-spectrum antiviral defense through membrane remodeling

Huang et al. define the mechano-antiviral response system (MARS) and reveal that mechanical force triggers Piezo1-dependent membrane stiffening. This establishes a broad-spectrum, interferon-independe...

cell.com

#MicroSky Please RT @erc.europa.eu-funded postdoc position in my lab to identify the molecular basis of prey-predator interactions using our favorite micro-vampire Bdellovibrio exovorus as a model. Let's find what the bite is made of! 🧛 Flexible start date. Info: euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/415877

Postdoctoral researcher in molecular and cellular bacteriology - ERC CoG VAMPIRE

The research group of Prof Géraldine Laloux at the de Duve Institute (UCLouvain) is looking for a highly motivated postdoc to elucidate the molecular factors underlying bacterial prey-predator interac...

euraxess.ec.europa.eu

In our latest work, we characterise the Tmn defence system. We reveal plasmolysis as a new way to block phage infection, dramatically reducing secondary infections.

New post-doctoral research position in my phage-host interactions (Phi) laboratory in @otagomicroimmuno.bsky.social at @universityofotago.bsky.social New Zealand. The project is focused on defences against jumbo phages. Please share and if interested apply using the link in the comments.

➡️ preprint from the lab! Bacteria have loads of antiviral defences in their mobile genetic elements (MGEs). So when MGEs move between bacteria, the defences move with them, generating a fast turnover of defences in bacteria. But what about the antiviral defence turnover in the MGEs themselves? 🤔 🧵👇

📢 Opportunity to apply for a PhD fellowship to join our group and work on MGE-MGE interactions and phage defence systems! @mmsb-lyon.bsky.social See informations about eligibility and research project on this web page: graduate-plus.fr/immunology-v... Contact me if you are interested !

📢 Funded PhD in molecular microbiology & phage biology How do bacterial stress responses control prophage activation and horizontal gene transfer? Join us at St Andrews to dissect Clp protease–mediated regulation in Staphylococcus aureus. Apply: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Protease-Controlled Prophage Activation in Staphylococcus aureus: New Mechanisms Driving Antimicrobial Resistance and Virulence at University of St Andrews on FindAPhD.com

PhD Project - Protease-Controlled Prophage Activation in Staphylococcus aureus: New Mechanisms Driving Antimicrobial Resistance and Virulence at University of St Andrews, listed on FindAPhD.com

findaphd.com

Out now in @plosbiology.org : our big joint effort on the role of #CRISPR in plasmid competition. Read on for a really fun (I’m biased ok) analysis of how a defence system has new selective pressures when it’s mobile journals.plos.org/plosbiology/... 1/6

Plasmids use immune systems like #CRISPR-Cas to compete with other #plasmids, but do these systems confer an advantage? @davvi36.bsky.social &co show that CRISPR-Cas benefits resident plasmids but is constrained by toxin-antitoxin systems after horizontal transfer @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4qNbdDt

Congratulations to @josie-e.bsky.social for being awarded a MSCA postdoc fellowship! 👏

Josie Elliott@josie-e.bsky.social · 6mo ago

I'm excited and grateful to share that I have been awarded a Marie Skłodowska-Curie postdoc fellowship for my work with @annechevallereau.bsky.social at @mmsb-lyon.bsky.social. I feel incredibly lucky and I'm looking forward to getting to work on all the phage-y experiments we have planned 🧫

🎉Extremely happy that Josie Elliott was awarded a MCSA postdoctoral fellowship to continue our work on the competition between mobile genetic elements in bacteria ! Congratulations !

Josie Elliott@josie-e.bsky.social · 6mo ago

I'm excited and grateful to share that I have been awarded a Marie Skłodowska-Curie postdoc fellowship for my work with @annechevallereau.bsky.social at @mmsb-lyon.bsky.social. I feel incredibly lucky and I'm looking forward to getting to work on all the phage-y experiments we have planned 🧫

Un poste de Maître de Conférence est ouvert pour rejoindre notre unité à Lyon ! Possibilité de rejoindre mon équipe pour travailler sur: - caractérisation des mécanismes de défense anti-phage - transfert horizontal et interactions entre éléments génétiques mobiles N'hésitez pas à me contacter

MMSB-Lyon@mmsb-lyon.bsky.social · 6mo ago

📢 Recrutement d’un(e) Maître(sses) de conférence en Biochimie générale, spécialité bactériologie moléculaire à MMSB 🔬Recherche *Immunité anti-phages *Réponse au stress, modulation de la croissance bactérienne ✉️ christophe.grangeasse@cnrs.fr 📚Enseignement : Université Lyon I ✉️ patrice.gouet@ibcp.fr

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