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Joe Wanford

@jwanford.bsky.social

Group leader and Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellow at King's College London. Using comparative genomics, microbiology and innate immunology to study Klebsiella virulence. Foodie and below average footballer.

19 Posts285 Follower458 Folgt
Olaya Rendueles@olayarendueles.bsky.social · 6mo ago

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 · 6mo 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

Characteristics and capsule production of capsule-swapped strains. Genetic (lower triangle) and biochemical (upper triangle) relatedness between the different capsule types analyzed in this study. Biochemical similarity was calculated as the percentage of residues shared between two K types (# of shared unique oligosaccharides/# of different nonredundant oligosaccharides). Oligosaccharidic compositions and models were taken from K-PAM. Genetic relatedness was calculated taking into account all homologous genes between two K types. Monosaccharides composing the different capsules are depicted according to the Symbol Nomenclature for Glycans convention.
Alan McNally@alanmcn1.bsky.social · 6mo ago

A couple of new papers driven by Zong this week. both on the dominant Klebsiella lineage in China - ST11 1 - The enhanced ability of ST11 to utilise alternative carbon sources gives it a competitive advantage in gut colonisation www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Enhanced ability to utilize alternative carbon sources drives a competitive advantage for a successful lineage of Klebsiella pneumoniae

Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) poses critical threats to public health, with sequence type 11-capsular type 64 (ST11-KL64) CRKP dom…

sciencedirect.com

Roby Bhattacharyya@roby-b.bsky.social · 7mo ago

The last part abt how measles disrupts immunity vs other infections is, imo, underappreciated (& mechanism was recently clarified). It's part of why measles vaccination was seen to help beyond just reducing measles complications - not getting measles reduces severity of subsequent infections too.

Measles virus infection diminishes preexisting antibodies that offer protection from other pathogens

Measles virus infection can cause long-term damage to the immune system.

science.org

Ryan Marino, MD@ryanmarino.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Before the vaccine, 10% of measles infections resulted in deafness. Measles currently causes 100K children/yr to become blind. Even those who recover completely can later develop the fatal encephalitis. Every infection disrupts the immune system and can cause loss of all immunity to other infections

Francois Lebreton@flebreton.bsky.social · 7mo ago

New preprint out! Anjali Sapre, Melissa Martin and co. mapped the evolutionary routes of convergence in K pneumo. Pop analysis of >1,400 global genomes & 7,500 closed plasmids to see how #AMR & virulence genes come together and impact phenotypes. www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-8...

Preferred evolutionary routes of convergence in Klebsiella pneumoniae favor siderophore acquisition over hypervirulence

The rise of Klebsiella pneumoniae combining antimicrobial resistance and virulence genes poses a major health threat, but the evolutionary routes and phenotypic consequences of this convergence are po...

researchsquare.com

Juan David Valencia Bacca@juanvalenciabacca.bsky.social · 7mo ago

journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/... Proud to see our work published in mBio! We uncover how C3 and C4 provide layered immune protection against Klebsiella pneumoniae. Grateful for my incredible mentors Dr. Ammar Zafar @azmicro.bsky.social, Dr. Karen Haas and supportive colleagues.

Divergent roles for complement components C3 and C4 in controlling Klebsiella pneumoniae gut colonization and systemic dissemination | mBio

Klebsiella pneumoniae, a major public health threat, resists antibiotics and can spread from the gut to the bloodstream, causing severe infections. Our study reveals how the immune system uses complement proteins C3 and C4 to block this spread. C3 limits bacterial growth in the gut through two potential mechanisms: (i) coating K. pneumoniae with fragments that signal bacteria-eating phagocytic cells to destroy it and (ii) recruiting more phagocytes into the gut. C3 also helps clear bacteria that escape into the blood. However, when antibiotic-resistant strains overgrow, C3 alone is insufficient. In these cases, C4 becomes critical, likely by enhancing C3’s ability to tag bacteria for elimination. This two-layered defense highlights new immune pathways that could be targeted to prevent bloodstream infections, especially in vulnerable patients or those colonized with drug-resistant bacteria. These insights open doors to innovative strategies against life-threatening Klebsiella infections.

journals.asm.org

Stuart Neil@tetherin.bsky.social · 7mo ago

This is finally out. Very short take home. All the variation in spike that produced the immune escape characteristics of Omicron can occur in one single persistently infected individual over the period of a year. This is why persistent infections matter www.cell.com/cell-reports...

Antibody escape drives emergence of diverse spike haplotypes resembling variants of concern in persistent SARS-CoV-2 infections

Snell et al. develop sequencing methodology to identify full-length spike haplotypes and show that persistent SARS-CoV-2 infections drive divergent haplotype emergence, accelerating viral evolution an...

cell.com

Ben Vezina@bananabenana.bsky.social · 7mo ago

This is the sort of strategic planning that should go into #vaccine design 💉 They analysed 1,930 #Klebsiella pneumoniae 🦠🧫🧬 neonate blood isolates from 13 countries and estimate that 20 antigens 🧪 could cover 72.9% of all infections for 5–10 years #IDSky #EpiSky journals.plos.org/plosmedicine...

Distribution of capsule and O types in Klebsiella pneumoniae causing neonatal sepsis in Africa and South Asia: A meta-analysis of genome-predicted serotype prevalence to inform potential vaccine cover...

Thomas Stanton and colleagues use whole genome sequencing to evaluate the prevalence of Klebsiella pneumoniae K and O antigen types in 13 countries in Africa and South Asia to help inform vaccine desi...

journals.plos.org

@masseylab.bsky.social · 8mo ago

The first of some rather chunky papers coming out of Sam Fenn’s work here at @uccmicrobiology.bsky.social Here we identify and characterise yet another way S. aureus survives life in the bloodstream, but remodelling a major part of its metabolism

Metabolic reprogramming promotes Staphylococcus aureus serum resistance during bacteraemia.

Staphylococcus aureus is a leading cause of bloodstream infections causing an estimated 300,000 deaths worldwide. Using a functional genomics approach, our group previously identified that adaptation ...

eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com

Laura Mike@lauraamike.bsky.social · 8mo ago

If you have any interest in Klebsiella, registration for the April seminar series is open. Abstract submission for short talks are due Feb 16. Looking forward to connecting this spring! #klebclub2026

Klebsiella Club@klebclub.bsky.social · 8mo ago

We’re excited to kick off a new season of the Klebsiella Seminar Series, held on Thursdays in April 🧫🧬! We have 3 sessions on pathogenesis, pediatric Klebsiella & translational approaches. We will also have an open session. Registration is mandatory & FREE in this link forms.gle/LhJu11WQN6Yy... 🔁

Morten Kam Dahl Dueholm@mkddueholm.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Ever wondered if your favorite bacteria 🧫🦠 produce exopolysaccharides? You can now easily check that with epsSMASH, our new bioinformatic tool built on the antiSMASH framework. It detects both known and novel exoPS BGCs. Check out and share the preprint! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

epsSMASH uncovers exopolysaccharide biosynthetic gene clusters in environmental and human microbiomes

Biofilms represent the default mode of bacterial life in natural and built environments, with extracellular polysaccharides (exoPS) serving as essential structural and functional components of the bio...

biorxiv.org

Willem van Schaik@wvschaik.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Super-interesting paper 'Colanic acid–mediated phage resistance enhances virulence in high-risk global clone Escherichia coli ST410' journals.plos.org/plospathogen...

Colanic acid–mediated phage resistance enhances virulence in high-risk global clone Escherichia coli ST410

Author summary Multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli ST410 has emerged as a high-risk global clone threatening both human and animal health. Phages offer promising alternatives to antibiotics, yet the ...

journals.plos.org

Olaya Rendueles@olayarendueles.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Preprint alert📢! 
Ever wondered how much bacterial parasites influence evolutionary outcomes of their host? ➡️ We co-evolved two bacterial strains in conditions in which the costs and benefits of prophage carriage varied Here is what we found. 
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 
#MicroSky #PhageSky 🧵

Environment-dependent evolution drives divergent adaptive strategies and parasite dynamics in a minimal community

Prophages, phage genomes integrated into bacterial chromosomes, are widespread, yet, the extent to which these resident parasites contribute to host fitness and shape evolutionary trajectories, partic...

biorxiv.org

Willem van Schaik@wvschaik.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Interesting new paper by @kimingeneva.bsky.social and colleagues 'Enterococcus faecalis persists and replicates intracellularly within neutrophils' journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Enterococcus faecalis persists and replicates intracellularly within neutrophils | Infection and Immunity

Chronic wound infection represents a major global public health concern, impacting both healthcare costs and patient quality of life (1, 2). Enterococcus faecalis is a Gram-positive opportunistic path...

journals.asm.org

Ben Vezina@bananabenana.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Absolutely stoked to have this published in @plosbiology.org We looked at the metabolism of #Klebsiella pneumoniae 🦠🧫. We not only demonstrated lineage-specific #metabolism, but that lineages can cross-feed and support each other. journals.plos.org/plosbiology/... #MicroSky #microbiology 🧬 🧪 💊

A metabolic atlas of the Klebsiella pneumoniae species complex reveals lineage-specific metabolism and capacity for intra-species co-operation

Why are there so many co-circulating Klebsiella pneumoniae clones? Using genomics and large-scale metabolic modelling of >7000 isolates, this study identifies structured, clone-specific metabolic spec...

journals.plos.org

Leah McPhillips@leahmcphillips.bsky.social · 9mo ago

📄 Delighted to share that the preprint of my main PhD work is out now! 👏 A huge thank you to everyone involved, @tommclean.bsky.social, Govind Chandra, Ngat Tran (both not on BlueSky) and especially my PhD supervisor @tunglejic.bsky.social 👏 🧵 below! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Stable inheritance of the Streptomyces linear plasmid SCP1 by dual ParABS partition systems

Low-copy-number plasmids often rely on dedicated maintenance mechanisms, such as partitioning systems, to ensure stable inheritance across generations. These partition systems actively segregate siste...

biorxiv.org