Excited to share our lab's first paper on the evolution of a c-di-GMP-controlled sigma factor: journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Regulatory divergence and functional diversification of a c-di-GMP-controlled sigma factor in Actinomycetota | mSystems

Mounting global responses to dynamic environmental conditions is a crucial function that bacterial cells must perform. Global regulatory networks are most often studied in individual species, however,...

journals.asm.org

RmdB acts as a global c-di-GMP sink and local anti sigma factor antagonist to drive cellular differentiation in Streptomyces venezuelae journals.plos.org/plosgenetics...

Dual-function enzyme acts as a global c-di-GMP sink and local anti sigma factor antagonist to drive cellular differentiation

Author summary Bacteria use small signaling molecules to coordinate complex behaviors. In the filamentous soil bacterium Streptomyces venezuelae, the signaling molecule cyclic di-GMP controls the swit...

journals.plos.org

Another chapter of my thesis is out! We asked whether we could pair proteome-wide AlphaFold screening with Tn-seq to identify biologically relevant protein-protein interactions. We identify ClcR (formerly YerH) as a component of the Rod complex in Gram-positive bacteria. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

A broadly conserved gram-positive lipoprotein regulates cell elongation | PNAS

The cell wall peptidoglycan (PG) protects virtually all bacteria from osmotic lysis and specifies cell shape. Synthesis of this exoskeleton is carr...

pnas.org

@felixrl.bsky.social presenting his work at #ASMicrobe today. His preprint follows up on his recent work on orthogonal cell division in S. aureus and reports that PcdA, the division septum placement factor, is required for forming staphylococcal abscess colonies.

Kumaran Ramamurthi@ramamurthilab.bsky.social · 6mo ago

@felixrl.bsky.social reported that PcdA mediates orthogonal cell division in #Staphylococcus aureus: www.nature.com/articles/s41.... But what’s the point? Well, forming staphylococcal abscess communities to evade host immune responses requires this mode of division: www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...

Our study into the incredible genome of Embleya australiensis has been published in Microbial Genomics. We've shown that Embleya carry gigantic secondary chromosomes around 4 - 6 Mb in size! Enjoy reading and don't hesitate to reach out! www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour... 🧪💻🦠 1/4

My second postdoc paper in @tunglejic.bsky.social lab and two of my favorite things in the lab combined: ParB and killing bacteria. Thanks to everyone who helped make this project possible!

Tung Le@tunglejic.bsky.social · 4mo ago

@biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social Who knew ParB-CTPase fold can kill!!! A protein fold best known for segregating chromosomes…can be transformed into a potent antibacterial toxin in some plant and animal pathogens. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Excited to announce our new paper in Nature Microbiology describing diphtheria toxin homologues in Streptomyces called Streptomyces antiquus insecticidal proteins (SAIP), stemming from a long term collaboration with Ying Xu, Min Dong, Cameron Currie, and many others. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Streptomyces produce a diphtheria toxin-like exotoxin that targets insects - Nature Microbiology

Bioinformatic, structural and functional analyses characterize Streptomyces antiquus insecticidal protein (SAIP) as a diphtheria toxin homologue that is lethal to insect cells and targets the Flower p...

nature.com

Delighted to share our latest work on gene transfer agents (GTAs). We found a lysis control hub which allows GTAs to escape their bacterial host cells and transfer DNA 🧬 between bacteria. Thanks to @tunglejic.bsky.social, all co-authors, and our amazing collaborators! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A bacterial CARD–NLR-like immune system controls the release of gene transfer agents - Nature Microbiology

An immunity-like system functions as a lysis control hub to promote gene transfer agent particle release from host bacterial cells, suggesting that bacterial immune systems may be co-opted to promote ...

nature.com

Congratulations to undergraduate Amena Shamia and graduate student Morgan Serbagi on receiving the NSF GRFP! Proud moment for the Feaga Lab, Cornell Micro, and CUNY Community Colleges (LaGuardia and BMCC) where these two outstanding scientists started their careers!

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 · 6mo ago

Orthogonal cell division organizes surface virulence factors to drive staphylococcal abscess community formation https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.03.12.711374v1

Maybe a single image is worth a thousand thread words:

Yves Brun lab@brunlabcaulo.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Working on a 🧵 Bacterial Tad pili extend and retract pili using a single motor ATPase with a unidirectional catalytic mechanism. We find that the Tad motor achieves bidirectionality by physical inversion; alternating which face of the ATPase toroid engages the IM platform complex. #microsky

Research into filamentous actinomycetes, the antibiotic producers, is in steep decline. Loads of natural products chemistry research worldwide but not much aimed at understanding their biology and ecology. The latter is key to unlocking their specialised metabolism link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Revitalizing actinobacteria research: an urgent response to the antimicrobial resistance crisis - Natural Products and Bioprospecting

Abstract The crisis of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is escalating while the antibiotic pipeline remains stagnant. Our bibliometric analysis of eight decades of literature reveals a critical imbalanc...

link.springer.com

Beachside science in Ventura with @kelleygallagher.bsky.social and her awesome PhD student during the STIM GRC. We put Streptomyces on a pedestal. From regulatory networks to signaling molecules that shape microbial decisions and metabolism. Science is better with conversations and ocean air. 🦠🧫

All I do is not hear about grants I applied for 8 months ago.

Jeremy Berg@jeremymberg.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Someone shared a video posted on X on the official NIH Director's account. It is a video set to DJ Khalid's "All I Do is Win..." 1/2

My first first-author paper is posted! Glad to have this out! 🦠🚨🕺 We show that pGpp production depletes GTP, inhibits translation, and remodels the transcriptome faster than (p)ppGpp. ...and more!

bioRxiv Microbiology@biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Starvation-independent alarmone production inhibits translation through GTP depletion https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.12.699007v1

The sporulation phosphorelay protein Spo0B is membrane localized in Paenibacillus! The transmembrane domain appears to increase interaction with relay partners. Congrats to former lab undergrad @isabellalin.bsky.social and her grad mentor @cassidyprints.bsky.social journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

So happy to see Mark recognised for his incredible work. Over a ~40 year career he and his group discovered ECF sigma factors, characterised many key developmental regulators of the Streptomyces lifecycle, and identified new mechanisms of bacterial gene regulation, antibiotic action and resistance.

John Innes Centre@johninnescentre.bsky.social · 9mo ago

NEWS - Professor Mark Buttner receives Marjory Stephenson Prize 2026 Professor Buttner, one of our Emeritus Fellows, has received the @microbiologysociety.org Marjory Stephenson Prize for 2026. Congratulations Mark! 👏 Read about his exceptional research and career: www.jic.ac.uk/news/profess...

Huge congrats to outstanding undergraduate student @justine-choi.bsky.social who defended her honors thesis this week!

📄 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

Marjory Stephenson Prize 2026: Professor Mark Buttner — @johninnescentre.bsky.social Outreach and Engagement Prize 2026: @lindsaybroadbent.bsky.social — @uniofsurrey.bsky.social Translational Microbiology Prize 2026: @alanlparker.bsky.social — @cancerwales.bsky.social

Happy to share our newest manuscript about the discovery and hererologous expression of metanodin, a new lassopeptide with unprecedented structural features directly from soil metagenomes. pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.... #secmet #lassopeptides #syntheticbiology

Discovery and Heterologous Expression of the Soil Metagenome-Derived Lasso Peptide Metanodin with an Unprecedented Ring Structure

Culture-independent metagenomic approaches have proven to be effective tools for identifying previously hidden biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) encoding novel natural products with potential medical relevance. However, producing these compounds remains challenging as metagenomic BGCs often originate from organisms phylogenetically distant from available heterologous hosts. Lasso peptides, a subclass of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide (RiPP) natural products, exhibit diverse bioactivities, yet no lasso peptide has previously been discovered directly from a metagenome. Here, we report the discovery and heterologous expression of the first soil metagenome-derived lasso peptide. Expression of its biosynthetic gene cluster in Escherichia coli, followed by mass spectrometry analysis, strongly supported the predicted amino acid sequence and lasso structure of the peptide. Notably, this lasso peptide is the first to feature asparagine as the ring-forming residue at position one. Taxonomic analysis of the corresponding BGC identified an uncultivated member of the Steroidobacterales family (Gammaproteobacteria) as the closest known relative of the potential native host. These findings underscore the potential of metagenomic genome mining to reveal structurally novel RiPPs and to expand our understanding of the natural diversity of lasso peptides.

pubs.acs.org

We have a PhD opportunity available in our group @johninnescentre.bsky.social through the NRP Doctoral Training Partnership. Help us uncover the Hidden Diversity of Bacterial NLRs. Start date: October 2026. For more information and how to apply👉 biodtp.norwichresearchpark.ac.uk/projects/bey...

Beyond Immunity: Uncovering the Hidden Diversity of Bacterial NLRs (SCHLIMPERT_J26DTP) | Doctoral Training Partnership

Join us in exploring the hidden functions of ancient immune proteins in bacteria. Bacteria, like plants and animals, have evolved sophisticated systems to detect and respond to threats.

biodtp.norwichresearchpark.ac.uk

Very excited about our work from @jordanthesier.bsky.social and @popomicro.bsky.social et al. We find that Tn7 family elements common in bacteria (that include all of the guide RNA-directed transposons, CAST) are also found across archaea including many in the exciting Asgard group! #MicroSky #TESky

Jordan 🧬@jordanthesier.bsky.social · last yr.

My first co–first author paper with the amazing PoPo @popomicro.bsky.social is now on bioRxiv ! 🧬 We found that Tn7-like transposons - known for finding specific insertion sites before they jump - aren’t just in bacteria. They're in archaea distributed across all major superphyla!

Words cannot describe how excited I am to share the findings from the second half of my postdoc in @aaronwhiteley.bsky.social's lab where we discover that bacteria use functional amyloids to defend themselves from predatory bacteria. rdcu.be/euu5Y. See thread for details on this epic adventure 1/.

Functional amyloid proteins confer defence against predatory bacteria

Nature - Escherichia coli uses curli fibres, oligomers of the functional amyloid CsgA, as a barrier to protect against the predatory bacteria Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus and Myxococcus xanthus in a...

rdcu.be

Finally published! Many thanks to the reviewers and editor whose comments & suggestions improved this work significantly more than the first preprint version!!! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Expanding the diversity of bacterial DNA partitioning: A CTP-independent ParABS system for plasmid partitioning in Streptomyces | PNAS

The ATP- and CTP-dependent ParA-ParB-parS segrosome is a macromolecular complex that segregates chromosomes/plasmids in most bacterial species. CTP...

pnas.org

Excited to share our latest review! Check it out to see what we know so far about how Staphylococcus aureus coordinates key processes during its cell cycle

Kumaran Ramamurthi@ramamurthilab.bsky.social · last yr.

@felixrl.bsky.social's new review in JBC highlights recent research on how #Staph aureus performs several interrelated processes like peptidoglycan assembly, cell division septum placement, and how the septum is a hub for modifying the PG to decorate the cell surface: www.jbc.org/article/S002...

How does your favorite species elongate? 🧵 "Phenotypic plasticity in bacterial elongation among closely related species". Happy to see this paper in print @natcomms.nature.com. Nice work by @mariedelaby.bsky.social, Liu Yang et al. See original 🧵, different colours, same data and conclusions.

Phenotypic plasticity in cell elongation among closely related bacterial species

Nature Communications - Multiple types of cell elongation have been described in bacteria, but little is known about how these strategies vary across species. Here, the authors use fluorescent...

nature.com

Yves Brun lab@brunlabcaulo.bsky.social · 2y ago

How does your favorite species elongate? 🧵 "Phenotypic plasticity in bacterial elongation among closely related species" by @mariedelaby.bsky.social, Liu Yang et al https://buff.ly/48Kw96x. How do cells elongate, all over, poles, middle? Close species do it the same way right? Not quite! #Microsky

First podcast recording of the day. Guest is Dr. Tory Hendry of Cornell University, chatting about interactions between fluorescent Pseudomonas and aphids!

Happy to announce that our „newest old tool“ autoMLST2.0 is out and published. You need an accurate and easy to use tool to build #phylogenetictrees from #bacterialgenomes: academic.oup.com/nar/advance-...

AutoMLST2: a web server for phylogeny and microbial taxonomy

Abstract. Accurate and accessible phylogenetic analysis is essential for understanding microbial taxonomy and evolution, which are integral to microbiology

academic.oup.com

Our review on Z-ring placement mechanisms in cocci is out! This was a fun one to write! #Microsky 🦠🧫

Kumaran Ramamurthi@ramamurthilab.bsky.social · last yr.

Cell division in rod-shaped bacteria is well studied (think "Min system"), but how do round bacteria find their middle? @felixrl.bsky.social 's new review article covers how #Staph aureus, Streptococci, and others figure out how to perform binary fission. portlandpress.com/biochemsoctr...