🚨 New in @natmicrobiol.nature.com! We reveal how the antibiotic target PBP1b fortifies the E.coli division site against osmotic rupture. Proud this was completed in our independent labs @dmf-unil.bsky.social, with @avettiger.bsky.social. Congratulations to all authors! 🦠❄️🔬 #teamtomo bit.ly/3SCbOg1 👇

The penicillin-binding protein PBP1b fortifies the Escherichia coli division site against osmotic rupture - Nature Microbiology

A specific isoform of PBP1b functions independently of the activator protein, LpoB, to drive generation of a wedge-like peptidoglycan structure that strengthens the division site in Escherichia coli.

doi.org

Excited to see our story published in @natmicrobiol.nature.com today! It’s been a long journey. We answered a major outstanding question: why does E. coli encode two aPBPs, yet only one plays a critical role in ensuring reliable PG fortification during cell division?

Paula Navarro@navarropaula.bsky.social · 2mo ago

🚨 New in @natmicrobiol.nature.com! We reveal how the antibiotic target PBP1b fortifies the E.coli division site against osmotic rupture. Proud this was completed in our independent labs @dmf-unil.bsky.social, with @avettiger.bsky.social. Congratulations to all authors! 🦠❄️🔬 #teamtomo bit.ly/3SCbOg1 👇

Dr Alain Baulard and Professors Nicolas Willand and Benoît Deprez describe how alpibectir enhances the efficacy of ethionamide by hijacking bacterial regulatory pathways and triggering bacterial self‑intoxication through the overproduction of endogenous proteins➡️ pasteur-lille.fr/actualites/u...

📢 New publication in Nature Com by @natureportfolio.nature.com A new study led by A Baulard, N Willand and B Deprez, in collab with M Pieren and M Remuinan, report the mode of action of AlpE a novel combination therapy pairing alpibectir with ethionamide to enhance tuberculosis treatment.

#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

Our new paper on DusB’s role in redox metabolism in V. cholerae is now out in @narjournal.bsky.social linking tRNAmodif enzymes and metabolic adaptation. Beyond RNA modification: a tRNA-modifying enzyme shaping oxidative stress resilience and metabolism in V. cholerae #rnasky #rnabiology 😊🦠💫

Beyond RNA modification: a novel role for tRNA modifying enzyme in oxidative stress response and metabolism

Abstract. RNA modifications play a fundamental role in regulating essential cellular processes, including translation fidelity and stress adaptation. While

academic.oup.com

What is better than one? Two connected papers! #NewResearch S protein of Streptococcus pneumoniae activates PBP1a and coordinates with a wider GpsB-associated multi-protein complex to regulate peptidoglycan remodelling and cell division. #MicroSky 🦠 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Streptococcus pneumoniae S protein activates PBP1a to regulate peptidoglycan remodelling and cell division - Nature Microbiology

S protein interacts with and activates PBP1a during cell division, as part of a larger GpsB-associated multiprotein complex that coordinates peptidoglycan remodelling in Streptococcus pneumoniae.

nature.com

Nature Microbiology@natmicrobiol.nature.com · 8mo ago

#NewResearch S protein from Streptococcus pneumoniae activates cell wall repair and modification to promote virulence against in vivo antimicrobial pressures including lysozyme and LL-37 @veeninglab.com #MicroSky 🦠 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Apply now to attend the next EMBO Bacterial Networks meeting #EMBOBacNet 🗓️13-18 September 2026 📍Sant Feliu de Guixols, Spain 📝Program and registration info: meetings.embo.org/event/26-bac... 👩‍🔬Organised with co-chair @s-lab.bsky.social and ECR @coralietesseur.bsky.social #MicroSky

The diderm cell envelope is not a stack of layers but a unified scaffold of Inner Membrane–Peptidoglycan–Outer Membrane. We discuss how tethering the OM to the PG in E. coli preserves integrity — and extend the concept across diderm bacteria. Curr Opin Microbiol: doi.org/10.1016/j.mi... #microsky 🔬

Proud of our new study out in @cp-cellreports.bsky.social! Using E. coli lacking all 8 endopeptidases, we provide direct evidence that peptidoglycan expansion during elongation requires ED-mediated insertion of one glycan strand at a time. This can be performed by MepS, MepM, MepH and PBP7 #microsky

Role of endopeptidases in lateral cell wall expansion in Escherichia coli

Peptidoglycan, the major constituent of bacterial cell walls, is a giant macromolecule made of glycan strands cross-linked by short peptides, which pr…

sciencedirect.com

Finally out, such an awesome piece of work, very proud of this one: www.cell.com/cell-systems... #MicroSky

Dual CRISPRi-seq for genome-wide genetic interaction studies identifies key genes involved in the pneumococcal cell cycle

Dénéréaz et al. introduce dual CRISPRi-seq, a broadly applicable method to chart gene-gene interactions across whole genomes. Applying it to the pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae, they uncovered over ...

cell.com

Jan-Willem Veening@veeninglab.com · 2y ago

Genome-wide dual CRISPRi-seq! Knocking down every gene with every other gene in the pneumococcus, identifying > 4000 genetic interactions (GIs), most of which have never been reported. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Our paper on the Bacteroidota BAM complex is out in @natmicrobiol.nature.com! With @madejmar.bsky.social We found that BAM in Bacteroides and Porphyromonas gingivalis has a distinct architecture from BAM in Proteobacteria. doi.org/10.1038/s415...

Structure of a distinct β-barrel assembly machinery complex in the Bacteroidota - Nature Microbiology

Structural and functional characterization of the β-barrel assembly machinery complex in Bacteroidota reveals a distinct, seven-component complex with a large extracellular domain that may enable β-barrel–surface lipoprotein complex assembly.

doi.org

Dual transposon sequencing profiles the genetic interaction landscape in bacteria | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Dual transposon sequencing profiles the genetic interaction landscape in bacteria

Gene redundancy complicates systematic characterization of gene function as single-gene deletions may not produce discernible phenotypes. We report dual transposon sequencing (dual Tn-seq), a platform...

science.org

Nice work on tackling genetic interactions in the pneumococcus! If you like this, you will also like our work doing the same thing using dual CRISPRi. Coming soon in @cp-cellsystems.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Dual CRISPRi-Seq for genome-wide genetic interaction studies identifies key genes involved in the pneumococcal cell cycle

A major goal in biology is to uncover the relationship between genotype and phenotype. However, identifying gene function is often hampered by genetic redundancy. For example, under standard laborator...

biorxiv.org

Sarah Svensson@campy-bara.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Dual transposon sequencing profiles the genetic interaction landscape in bacteria | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

And that’s a wrap on the Great Wall Symposium 2025! Roll on 2027, venue to be confirmed shortly …

It's finally here: PneumoWiki! A great complement to PneumoBrowse 2.0. Essential tools for pneumococcal research, congrats to the Greifswald team! #MicroSky www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

PneumoWiki: A pan-genome-based database for the pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae

The Gram-positive bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major human pathogen that exhibits more than 100 different capsular serotypes and considerable genomic variation. S. pneumoniae is also an imp...

biorxiv.org

🚨New paper out! #MicroSky Studying obligate predators like Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus is tricky—essential genes for predation are also essential for survival. We expanded its genetic toolbox: 🧬promoters to fine-tune expression 🧬IPTG-inducible system 🧬CRISPRi for rapid knockdown bit.ly/46GUn2c 1/4

Expanding the genetic toolbox of the obligate predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus with inducible gene expression and CRISPR interference

Inducible gene expression and CRISPR interference-mediated depletion in the predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus.

academic.oup.com

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....

#Archaea sometimes turn against #Bacteria using hitherto unknown mechanisms. @apapageorgiou.bsky.social & @precambriangoat.bsky.social explore a @plosbiology.org study that reveals bacterium-killing peptidoglycan hydrolases in archaea 🧪 Paper: plos.io/4lrJBBa Primer: plos.io/3HGMYpU

Archaea-on-bacteria action! @romainstrock.bsky.social @tobiaswarnecke.bsky.social &co show that many #archaea encode #peptidoglycan hydrolases, which specifically target #bacterial cell walls, experimentally confirming the killing capacity of 2 of these enzymes @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4lrJBBa

#microsky We challenge the long-standing view that peptidoglycan alone protects cells from bursting. Our study shows that the periplasm — enclosed by OM–PG connections — acts as a pressure buffer essential for osmoprotection in Gram-negative bacteria. 📄 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Peptidoglycan–outer membrane attachment generates periplasmic pressure to prevent lysis in Gram-negative bacteria - Nature Microbiology

Outer membrane attachment to peptidoglycan enables periplasmic pressure to build up and counter cytoplasmic turgor pressure, preventing lysis during osmotic challenges in Escherichia coli.

nature.com

Excited to present our new study on the mechanism of lateral peptidoglycan expansion in B. subtilis. We combined microscopy visualisation with clickable D-Ala-D-Ala analogues and stable-isotope peptidoglycan labelling to describe an inside-to-outside expansion model @natcomms.nature.com.

Mechanism of lateral cell-wall expansion at a constant diameter in Bacillus subtilis

Nature Communications - In Escherichia coli, lateral cell-wall expansion during growth occurs by crosslinking of new glycan chains to the existing peptidoglycan network. Here, Liang et al. show a...

rdcu.be

Thrilled to announce our new paper with M. Ethève-Quelquejeu's lab @upcite.bsky.social published @chemistryeurope.bsky.social! We report on the synthesis, and testing by HRMS, of new β-lactam prodrugs, a proof of concept for designing drugs targetting specifically β-lactamase-producing pathogens.

Optimization of Prodrug Activation by Enzymatic Cleavage of the β‐lactam Ring of Carbapenems

We report synthetic routes that yield prodrugs consisting of two carbapenems connected by benzyl carbonate linkers. A mass spectrometry assay was elaborated to monitor, in a single kinetic experiment...

doi.org

#MicroSky Summer read! Predatory bacteria kill and eat other bacteria. Their deadly actions come in many flavors, often via direct physical contact between predator & prey 🧛 How do they do it? Our review 📖 @coralietesseur.bsky.social @ysantin.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Strategies and mechanisms of contact-dependent predation in bacteria

Predatory bacteria kill other bacteria to acquire nutrients. Among diverse strategies to kill and feed on prey, contact-dependent predation stands out…

sciencedirect.com

You thought all OMPs were trimeric? 🧐 Not in our predator B. bacteriovorus! 🦠 Excited to have contributed to this great collab with the Lovering lab on this intriguing protein. @lalouxlab.bsky.social 👉 Paper here! www.nature.com/articles/s41... #BacterialPredation #Bdellovibrio #StructuralBiology

A porin-like protein used by bacterial predators defines a wider lipid-trapping superfamily - Nature Communications

This study reveals that an outer membrane protein from the predator Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus forms a pentameric assembly that traps a lipid monolayer within. This allows the discovery of two superfa...

nature.com

Here our new preprint on the LPS holo-translocon doi.org/10.1101/2025... , collaboration with Yves Quentin @JulieMarcoux @fronzeslab.bsky.social @pstansfeld.bsky.social - @cbitoulouse.bsky.social

Structural Basis of Lipopolysaccharide Assembly by the Outer Membrane Translocon Holo-Complex

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) assembly at the surfaces-exposed leaflet of the bacterial outer membrane (OM) is mediated by the OM LPS translocon. An essential transmembrane beta-barrel protein, LptD, and a...

doi.org

New preprint 🚨: with @madejmar.bsky.social we found that the Bacteroidetes beta-barrel assembly machinery is quite different to E. coli. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #cryo-EM

Please repost!!!!! Abstraction submission for the next Great Wall Symposium is now open! Come to Sicily in September and learn the latest on bacterial cell wall biology. thegreatwall-symposium.org/abstract-sub...

Really interesting piece by @philipcball.bsky.social, on the surprisingly early origins (apparently) of the Last Universal Common Ancestor www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

Luca is the progenitor of all life on Earth. But its genesis has implications far beyond our planet

New research into the single-celled organism is providing clues about what the early planet looked like – and raising the prospect that we may not be alone in the universe

theguardian.com

Very excited to share our work on (p)ppGpp-mediated resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics published in Nature Microbiology!! A great outcome for a project we started working on 5 years ago. A big thank you to all authors that participated in this study! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

(p)ppGpp modifies RNAP function to confer β-lactam resistance in a peptidoglycan-independent manner - Nature Microbiology

The bacterial alarmone (p)ppGpp induces β-lactam resistance through modification of RNA polymerase and ribosome function rather than regulation of peptidoglycan metabolism in Escherichia coli.

nature.com