Ellie Boardman
@ellieboardman.bsky.social
Postdoc working in Ben Berks’s group at the University of Oxford. Previously T7SS In Tracy Palmer’s group at Newcastle University.
Happy to share our recent story on the Type VII secretion system. Here were present new insights into the regulation of secretion mediated by the central pore. Thanks to all authors involved in the work. 🙂
bioRxiv Microbiology@biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · 5d agoIntrinsic flexibility of Type VII secretion central pore is required for substrate translocation https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.07.31.742005v1
This is bananas
Jeff Groh@jeffgroh.bsky.social · last wk.Avocados come in 2 varieties - A-types start each day female and switch to male midday. B-types do the reverse. In work just published from the last chapter of my PhD, we show this system evolved 40+million yrs ago and is regulated by alleles of 1 transcription factor www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Bacteriocins in archaea and archaeocins in bacteria. @romainstrock.bsky.social surveys the the exchange of molecular weaponry between archaea and bacteria. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Bacteriocins in archaea and archaeocins in bacteria
Archaea and bacteria routinely live side by side in microbial communities and must interact at least on occasion. Whether such cross-Domain interactions are dominated by mutual disregard, co-operation...
biorxiv.org
Very proud of this preprint out of my lab, our first (of hopefully many) host-microbe spatial transcriptomics paper. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Amazing insights into P. aeruginosa biology and chronic airway disease @cysticfibrosis.org.uk @sangerinstitute.bsky.social @asthmaandlung.org.uk
Interested in joining our group in Oxford? We are looking for a PDRA with single particle Cryo-EM experience to help us figure out how sphingolipids are transported to the cell surface of Gram-negative bacteria. The deadline is 31st July. Informal enquires are welcome. Please share!
Job Details
my.corehr.com
Huge congratulations to @rhyswg.bsky.social and colleagues for this behemoth of a paper shedding light onto the mechanism of pyocins and their impact on cell function.
L-type pyocins inhibit the BAM complex to kill without cell entry - Nature Communications
L-type pyocins are a class of bacteriocin-like proteins with antibacterial activity. Here, the authors show that these proteins kill the pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa by inhibiting the BAM complex a...
nature.com
A Garmin watch face with a living microbial battlefield powered by your daily stats that is never the same! 🦠⌚️ The BacFighT6 Watch Face runs a live, #T6SS mediated bacterial simulation on your wrist. apps.garmin.com/apps/eaf881d...
This has been such a fun collaboration and a great example of team science
Patrick Moynihan@pmoyniha.bsky.social · last mo.New paper in collaboration with @proftracypalmer.bsky.social, @lislowe.bsky.social and many more. We show that mycobacteria produce Type VII secreted anti-bacterial protein toxins. Excited to explore this new area of mycobacterial biology. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Fab to see this out finally! Lots of hard work from all involved 🥳
Patrick Moynihan@pmoyniha.bsky.social · last mo.New paper in collaboration with @proftracypalmer.bsky.social, @lislowe.bsky.social and many more. We show that mycobacteria produce Type VII secreted anti-bacterial protein toxins. Excited to explore this new area of mycobacterial biology. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Check out our latest T7SS toxin story. These reverse toxins aren’t as rare as we thought!
bioRxiv Microbiology@biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · last mo.A novel reverse lipase toxin substrate of the Staphylococcus aureus type VII secretion system https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.06.22.733114v1
Out Now! Structure and substrate recognition by the bacterial twin-arginine translocation (Tat) core complex #MicroSky
Structure and substrate recognition by the bacterial twin-arginine translocation (Tat) core complex
Nature Microbiology, Published online: 22 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41564-026-02399-zCryo-EM structural, biochemical and functional analyses of the bacterial twin-arginine translocation system for protein transport across membranes reveal mechanisms of substrate binding.
go.nature.com
Out Now! A phage takes the wheel #MicroSky
A phage takes the wheel
Nature Microbiology, Published online: 19 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41564-026-02405-4Prophage FRφ rewires the flagellar apparatus of its Enterobacter sp. host through RNA-guided repression of native flagellin, favouring its own phage-encoded isoform. This enhances host motility and reduces immune recognition, boosting bacterial fitness in mice.
go.nature.com
Structure of the proton-powered secretion motor at the heart of the bacterial flagellum https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.06.13.732081v1
This pit of fire has been burning for 55 years. And there’s something ALIVE at the bottom of it! 1/7 ⚛️🧪
Latest research from the lab out now. We examined the role and expression of fimbriae during UPEC bloodstream infection. A real team effort and brilliant collaboration with Mark Schembri’s lab in Brisbane. Thanks to the MRC and BBSRC for supporting our research @ukri.org
Yad fimbriae are triggered by host cues and enhance extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli tissue colonisation during bloodstream infection
Author summary Extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) colonise the human gut without causing disease but can disseminate to the urinary tract and bloodstream. Understanding the mechanisms...
journals.plos.org
Register now for the EMBO Workshop "Advances and new frontiers in #ProteinTranslocation across membranes" in Sant Feliu de Guixols, Spain, 21–25 Sep 2026. Abstract submission/Registration by 19/30 Jun https://meetings.embo.org/event/26-protein-translocation #EMBOProteinTranslocation #EMBOevents 🧪
Rejection is part of science. So is resilience. 🔬 Tim Blower and @stewartlab.bsky.social share how setbacks helped shape their careers. We don't talk about this enough. 🔁Please repost and share your own stories of defeat or bouceback. Break the stigma! lister-institute.org.uk/news/resilie...
What are the genetic and molecular determinants underpinning the repair of bidirectional replication fork collapse in bacteria? PhD position open in my lab in collaboration with the brilliant @heathmurraylab.bsky.social. Please share and contact me if interested: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Identifying bacterial DNA repair requirements enabling stable genetic inheritance during bidirectional replication fork collapse at Newcastle University on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Identifying bacterial DNA repair requirements enabling stable genetic inheritance during bidirectional replication fork collapse at Newcastle University, listed on FindAPhD.com
findaphd.com
We have a PhD studentship open! (UK only sadly) but if you are or know a student keen to work on some *really* weird mycobacterial enzymes then get in touch! #glycotime Advert below www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Uncovering a new class of toxins in pathogenic mycobacteria at Newcastle University on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Uncovering a new class of toxins in pathogenic mycobacteria at Newcastle University, listed on FindAPhD.com
findaphd.com
We’ve been sciencing! M abscessus makes a arabinanase toxin to chop up the cell wall of competitor mycobacteria! #glycotime 🦠 thanks to @wellcometrust.bsky.social for the funding that makes this collaborative work possible! Also Sam’s structures are 😍 and Jean-Lou did some lovely biochem
Patrick Moynihan@pmoyniha.bsky.social · 4mo agoWe've been we've been working on this for quite a while now (hopefully published soon). Grateful to @proftracypalmer.bsky.social for concinving me & @lislowe.bsky.social that mycobacteria produce inter-bacterial toxins. Team science, led by @sambenedict5.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Our work on understanding how Staphylococcus aureus mode of cell division contributes to pathogenesis is now available in bioRxiv
bioRxiv Microbiology@biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · 5mo agoOrthogonal cell division organizes surface virulence factors to drive staphylococcal abscess community formation https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.03.12.711374v1
Come work with us in Oxford! www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DQL601/p...
Postdoctoral Research Associates in the Molecular Analysis of Bacterial Outer Membrane Biogenesis at University of Oxford
An opportunity for an academic position as a Postdoctoral Research Associates in the Molecular Analysis of Bacterial Outer Membrane Biogenesis is available, as advertised on jobs.ac.uk. Apply now and ...
jobs.ac.uk
Syma Khalid@sykhalid.bsky.social · 5mo agoCome work with Ben Berks FRS in Oxford 2 x PDRA posts: Molecular Analysis of Bacterial Outer Membrane Protein Biogenesis 2 complementary projects investigating bacterial outer membrane protein biogenesis. Building on our recent work (Nature (2015) 647: 479-487) my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...
Are you a structural biologist pushing the boundaries of molecular science with an ambitious research programme? Join our Structural Studies Division as a tenure-track Group Leader, with core funding, world-leading facilities & enthusiastic colleagues. Apply by 16 MAR www.nature.com/naturecareer...
🌀 How do spirochete bacteria swim through thick fluids like champions? We solved T. denticola flagella structure - asymmetric proteins expand one side, compress the other for perfect corkscrew motion! @debnathghosal.bsky.social 🔗 doi.org/10.64898/202... #StructuralBiology #CryoEM #Microbiology
7 years to the day that I started in @proftracypalmer.bsky.social’s lab I am leaving for pastures new in Ben Berks’s lab at Oxford Biochemistry! It’s a very sad goodbye but onto exciting new things!
Excited to share our new study! Great fun working again with my good friend @stephenrgarrett.bsky.social — always a highlight! Huge thanks to fantastic co-authors @samkaytucker.bsky.social, @drandyjroe.bsky.social and our star technician Vojtech Pavelka. academic.oup.com/nargab/artic...
We are back, soon! The secrets of bacterial cell envelopes' our free online seminar series is due to resume in January 2026 after a long break. Hosted by Georgina Benn and Syma Khalid- supported by the Microbiology Society. More details soon. @microbiologysociety.org Please spread the word
