So excited to share our new preprint! 🎉🤩 Check it out to discover how we investigated the role and spatiotemporal dynamics of an essential Tad nanomachine during the lifecycle of our favorite bacterial predator, B.bacteriovorus 🦠 Many thanks to everyone who made this work possible!

Géraldine Laloux@lalouxlab.bsky.social · 4w ago

New preprint! We show that the bacterial predator B. bacteriovorus deploys a unipolar Tad nanomachine for irreversible attachment to prey and invasion. @coralietesseur.bsky.social used CRISPRi+microfluidics to overcome barriers associated with essential systems in an obligate predatory lifestyle 🦠

New preprint! We show that the bacterial predator B. bacteriovorus deploys a unipolar Tad nanomachine for irreversible attachment to prey and invasion. @coralietesseur.bsky.social used CRISPRi+microfluidics to overcome barriers associated with essential systems in an obligate predatory lifestyle 🦠

A polarity-controlled Tad nanomachine enables prey invasion in a bacterial predator

Type IV pili are dynamic surface appendages assembled by envelope-spanning nanomachines that mediate diverse bacterial interactions, yet how these systems are adapted to predatory lifestyles remains p...

biorxiv.org

Today is the last day to submit your abstract for the EMBO Bacterial Networks (BacNet) meeting #EMBOBacNet! 🧫 Selected participants will be informed by June 30th. meetings.embo.org/event/26-bac...

Géraldine Laloux@lalouxlab.bsky.social · 9mo ago

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

Open postdoc position in my lab on HGT and interbacterial competition. We seek candidates with a PhD in microbiology (or related fields)+ strong 1st-author publications. Curious, highly motivated, and dedicated team players ready to contribute fully are encouraged to apply. Details: tiny.cc/cz01101

Open Positions

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tiny.cc

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

ANNOUNCEMENT! Programme now LIVE on our website for the #ProkaryoticCellBio conference! Check it out here, a reminder that the registration deadline is 13 April!➡️https://bit.ly/4rEH9KP

#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

Fantastic thread and data by @brunlabcaulo.bsky.social on how a single ATPase powers opposite pilus extension/retraction activities.

Yves Brun lab@brunlabcaulo.bsky.social · 5mo ago

🧵 Proud to present a tour de force by postdoc @gregbwhitfield.bsky.social solving the mystery of how bacterial Tad pili can extend and retract with a single motor ATPase. Great collaboration with Lynne Howell, @dr-lori-burrows.bsky.social, @ianyyen.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Just got word that we are a go for the Bacterial Cell Biology and Development GRS and GRC at Southern New Hampshire University! GRS will be on June 5-6, 2027 GRC will be from June 6-11, 2027 Block off your calendars Prokaryotic Cell Biologists! More details to come! Please repost!

academic.oup.com/nar/article/... Collaboration with Y. Yamaichi. Killing donor bacteria in conjugation mixes using water enables transcriptomic profiling of early plasmid genes ! Superb tool for studying zygotic induction of these early genes, which include anti-SOS and anti-RM factors. #microsky

Selective elimination of donor bacteria enables global profiling of plasmid gene expression at early stages of conjugation

Abstract. Conjugative plasmids are a major driving force for the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance. During conjugation, plasmid DNA is transferred

academic.oup.com

Your societies need you #MicroSky! Editorial from the European Academy of Microbiology Task Force: Society journals matter—supporting science through renewed commitment: academic.oup.com/microlife/ar...

Editorial: society journals matter—supporting science through renewed commitment

Scientific publishing is in flux. Commercial publishers have expanded their influence, driven by profit margins and citation metrics. At the same time, a g

academic.oup.com

Our preprint is now published in PNAS! This came together thanks to a great collaboration with Antoine Hocher and a strong team effort from the Le Lab. Thank you to the reviewers and to everyone who helped improve it. I hope ParB aficionados will enjoy it. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Versatile NTP recognition and domain fusions expand the functional repertoire of the ParB-CTPase fold beyond chromosome segregation | PNAS

Nucleotide triphosphate (NTP)-dependent molecular switches regulate essential cellular processes by cycling between active and inactive states thro...

pnas.org

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 🔬

Great collaboration with @guo-lab.bsky.social to determine an in situ architectural model of the Tad pilus machine. Be on the lookout soon for a preprint on the same topic by Grant Jensen and @viollierpat.bsky.social. #microsky

📢 Postdoc position: Cell Biology of Cyanobacteria in my group, as part of the Excellence Cluster "Microbes for Climate" (M4C) in Marburg, Germany. More information at shorturl.at/wNnDT (see Project 2) 🔗Apply at shorturl.at/VsEDl 📅Deadline: Nov 16, 2025 Please repost. #Postdoc

#MicroSky

Fusion Conferences@fusionconf.bsky.social · 10mo ago

We’re excited to announce the incredible speaker line-up for the Prokaryotic Cell Biology Conference! Join the leading researchers as they explore the latest advances in Nanoimaging, Cell Growth and Cellular Structures. Join our speakers & register today! ➡️https://bit.ly/47rtkbw #ProkaryoticCellBio

Versatile NTP recognition and domain fusions expand the functional repertoire of the ParB-CTPase fold beyond chromosome segregation https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.10.680097v1

Happy to finally show our story of the connection between nucleoid conformation, transcription & predation in our favorite predator Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus. 🧵 1/n

Géraldine Laloux@lalouxlab.bsky.social · 10mo ago

📝New preprint! #MicroSky 🕰️We chart the full, synchronized lifecycle of a predatory bacterium using Hi-C, RNA-seq, ChIP-seq & microscopy. 🧬We uncover dramatic shifts in nucleoid architecture & transcription, tightly coordinated with predation. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

📝New preprint! #MicroSky 🕰️We chart the full, synchronized lifecycle of a predatory bacterium using Hi-C, RNA-seq, ChIP-seq & microscopy. 🧬We uncover dramatic shifts in nucleoid architecture & transcription, tightly coordinated with predation. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Dynamics and interplay of gene expression and chromosome organization across a predatory lifecycle

The obligate predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus alternates between a motile attack phase and a growth phase inside another bacterium, during which it undergoes multiple rounds of DNA repli...

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

Another great contribution to the “Cell Regulation” themed issue of Current Opinion in Microbiology www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...

Didier Mazel@amazeld.bsky.social · 12mo ago

For those who love bacterial replicons, The ultimate review, from our lab, signed by the master of their evolution. ‪@val-meve.bsky.social‬ www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Bacterial cell wall & periplasm paradigm shift - important read #MicroSky 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

Michael Deghelt @michaeldeghelt.bsky.social · last yr.

#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...

Chromosome enthusiasts, York is calling! Join us at The Biology & Physics of Chromosomes www.eventsforce.net/biochemsoc/f... Late breaking abstract deadline 📆 7 August @biophychrom.bsky.social @vslioy.bsky.social @damelab.bsky.social @graingerlab.bsky.social @biochemsoc.bsky.social #microsky

Grainger Lab@graingerlab.bsky.social · last yr.

Talk slots full but we can take late breaking poster abstracts until August 7th. Hope to see you in York to hear about your chromosome story 🧬🦠🧫 www.eventsforce.net/biochemsoc/f... @vslioy.bsky.social @damelab.bsky.social @graingerlab.bsky.social @biochemsoc.bsky.social @biophychrom.bsky.social

#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

We wrote 2 📕 chapters with tips & tricks to identify protein-protein interactions in bacteria 🦠 1) In vivo proximity labeling with miniTurbo link.springer.com/protocol/10.... 2) An adapted polar recruitment assay feat. E. coli as a test tube link.springer.com/protocol/10..... Enjoy #MicroSky 🧪

a man wearing sunglasses and a white t-shirt is holding something in his hands .

ALT: a man wearing sunglasses and a white t-shirt is holding something in his hands .

media.tenor.com

Please repost: PhD position with my lab and @weisslab.bsky.social in a great collaboration on bacterial adhesion #microsky. See drive.google.com/file/d/1GJD4...

#MicroSky

Matt Doyle@doylemt1.bsky.social · last yr.

Check out these amazing lipid-monolayer-trapping oligomeric OMPs published by @lalouxlab.bsky.social and Lovering Labs. The BAM complex in these bugs must be wild! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

1/ Excited to share our latest work on gene transfer agents (GTAs) in Caulobacter crescentus, led by Emma Banks in collaboration with Pavol Bardy and Mai Nguyen from York!!! See a brief thread below. shorturl.at/o6S1w

A bacterial CARD-NLR immune system controls the release of gene transfer agents

Bacteria have evolved a wide array of immune systems to detect and defend against external threats including mobile genetic elements (MGEs) such as bacteriophages, plasmids, and transposons. MGEs are ...

shorturl.at

#Postdoc position - at the University of Marburg (Germany), funded within our ERC Advanced Grant "C-SWITCH" Focus: CTP-dependent molecular switches as a new principle of cellular regulation in bacteria (including bacteriophages) Apply by 04 May: stellenangebote.uni-marburg.de/jobposting/2...