Maria Letizia Di Martino
@mldm.bsky.social
Associate Professor at Uppsala University | Host-pathogen interactions | Intestinal organoids | Virulence gene regulation | Shigella and Salmonella | Functional genomics | Associated to the SellinLab @sellinlab.bsky.social
Thrilled to share that our study on how the pcnB gene sustains Shigella virulence is now published in PLOS Pathogens: journals.plos.org/plospathogen... In short: pcnB ➝increased virulence-plasmid replication ➝ elevated T3SS expression ➝ enhanced invasion/spread within the intestinal epithelium.
The pcnB gene sustains Shigella flexneri virulence
Author summary Bacterial infections represent a major global threat. Understanding the genetic determinants promoting infections is crucial to overcome this threat. Shigella is an intracellular bacter...
journals.plos.org
Happy to announce that our paper is finally out! Thanks to @brozlab.bsky.social and co-authors @elliottbernard.bsky.social @ehartenian.bsky.social 🥳 the NLRP6 inflammasome is activated by sterile- or pathogen-induced endolysosomal damage @embojournal.org
Broz Lab@brozlab.bsky.social · 9mo ago
IT'S HAPPENING! 💥 I'm psyched to launch the collaboration between @qedscience.bsky.social & @openrxiv.bsky.social @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social! Preprint + q.e.d = your science is out there, and anyone can appreciate it. Let's care about making discoveries, and not on “getting published” (1/3) 👇
Enhanced virulence and stress tolerance are signatures of epidemiologically successful Shigella sonnei @sydneylmiles.bsky.social @katholt.bsky.social 🙏to transformative collaborative effort www.nature.com/articles/s41...
So excited our antibiotic potentiation story is out 🤩 Led by the extraordinary @manonlang.bsky.social with @fox-science.bsky.social & @amazeld.bsky.social +amazing collaborators @immunobladder.bsky.social @imaneelmeouche.bsky.social 🦠 We believe it can make a difference in #AMR infections!
Uridine as a potentiator of aminoglycosides through activation of carbohydrate transporters
Uridine boosts aminoglycoside treatment efficiency against antibiotic-susceptible as well as antibiotic-resistant E. coli strains.
science.org
Mast cell subsets respond uniquely to Salmonella infection. Read all about it in our latest paper in EJI. Another chapter in our deciphering of mast cell interactions with enterobacteria, driven by Chris von Beek. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Mast Cell Phenotypic Heterogeneity Impacts the Interplay with Pathogenic Salmonella Typhimurium Bacteria
Mast cell phenotypic features influence anti-bacterial response. Connective tissue-like mast cells sense Salmonella through combined Toll-like-receptor (TLR) signaling and recognition of Type-III-sec....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Such a rewarding collab it has been with our colleagues at #Novavax to dissect the MoA of their potent Matrix-M adjuvant. This project has really put the imaging skills of @erixoneriksson.bsky.social to the test. The fruits of this joint labour out now in NPJ Vaccines www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Matrix-M adjuvant triggers inflammasome activation and enables antigen cross-presentation through induction of lysosomal membrane permeabilization - npj Vaccines
npj Vaccines - Matrix-M adjuvant triggers inflammasome activation and enables antigen cross-presentation through induction of lysosomal membrane permeabilization
nature.com
🦠 Launching a bimonthly digest on RNA modifications and related topics in bacteria!🤩 First issue: Summer 2025. Shared here + by email, future ones will be quicker reads! 😅 #rnasky #microsky #ribosome Subscribe and share if you are interested! rnamodifupdates.substack.com/p/rna-modifi...
RNA modifications digest Summer 2025
Bimonthly newsletter: RNA modifications and related topics, mostly in bacteria. Summer 2025, first issue!
rnamodifupdates.substack.com
#NatMicroPicks Decoding Shigella’s Virulence Blueprint 🦠🧬 Combining organoid infection models with genome-wide mutagenesis allows mapping the full set of Shigella genes required for human gut colonization www.nature.com/articles/s41... @sellinlab.bsky.social @natgenet.nature.com
A scalable gut epithelial organoid model reveals the genome-wide colonization landscape of a human-adapted pathogen - Nature Genetics
A genome-wide screen using human gut epithelial organoids combined with transposon-directed insertion sequencing identifies over 100 Shigella flexneri genes required for epithelial colonization.
nature.com
Could lab-grown mini-organs help scientists research a range of infections? A new study published in Nature Genetics shows how researchers have mapped how the Shigella bacterium infects the human gut. Read our interview with study co-author — and UTM Biology prof — Lars Barquist at uoft.me/bI7.
Excited to be at #EESMicrobiology this week presenting our latest work on #Shigella gut #organoid infection screen from our recent Nature Genetics paper (see below)! Stop by poster 109 or just look for me, happy to chat and connect! #Microbiology #Shigella #Organoids #TraDIS
Nature Genetics@natgenet.nature.com · last yr.📢ONLINE @natgenet.nature.com 📰A scalable gut epithelial organoid model reveals the genome-wide colonization landscape of a human-adapted pathogen. By @mldm.bsky.social, @lbarquist.bsky.social, Mikael E. Sellin and colleagues. ⬇️ www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The pcnB gene sustains Shigella flexneri virulence https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.06.16.659909v1
A study in Nature Genetics establishes the comprehensive genome-wide map of Shigella genes required to infect human intestinal epithelium. go.nature.com/4e7fdKp 🧬 🧪
New preprint out: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... We followed up on our recent Nature Genetics paper mapping Shigella colonization in intestinal organoids with a deep dive into one of the screen hits: pcnB. #Shigella #virulence #microsky
biorxiv.org
Thanks @sydneylmiles.bsky.social and @sergemostowylab.bsky.social for writing such a sharp and thoughtful editorial, which covers all the main points and potential caveats of our study published yesterday. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Organoid models advance dysentery control - Nature Genetics
Shigella is a major human pathogen with a stark lack of pipelines linking genome content to clinical pathogenesis. An innovative study using large-scale organoid models, combined with genome-wide muta...
nature.com
Our latest work combines human gut epithelial #organoid culture with experimental #Shigella #infections, transposon mutagenesis, and statistical modeling. This has led to the mapping of the comprehensive geneset that drives Shigella epithelial colonization. Out @natgenet.nature.com: rdcu.be/eqGgf
A scalable gut epithelial organoid model reveals the genome-wide colonization landscape of a human-adapted pathogen
Nature Genetics - A genome-wide screen using human gut epithelial organoids combined with transposon-directed insertion sequencing identifies over 100 Shigella flexneri genes required for...
rdcu.be
Very excited about our latest combining advanced cell culture, transposon-insertion sequencing, and statistical modeling to map Shigella virulence determinants in organoid models. Great collaboration w/ @mldm.bsky.social @sellinlab.bsky.social in @natgenet.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A scalable gut epithelial organoid model reveals the genome-wide colonization landscape of a human-adapted pathogen - Nature Genetics
A genome-wide screen using human gut epithelial organoids combined with transposon-directed insertion sequencing identifies over 100 Shigella flexneri genes required for epithelial colonization.
nature.com
“we used mini organs, specifically mini-intestines, and infected them with a dangerous bacterium called Shigella” says @mldm.bsky.social @sellinlab.bsky.social (SciLifeLab & @uu.se) shows that cultured mini-organs can uncover how pathogens cause disease youtu.be/xG_66ZGd_fk
Lab-grown mini-organs help uncover how pathogens cause disease
YouTube video by SciLifeLab
youtu.be
Thanks to lab-grown miniature intestines, researchers at #HIRI & Uppsala University have mapped how Shigella bacteria infect the human gut. This @natgenet.nature.com study opens the door to using cultured mini-organs to investigate a wide range of infections. 📍🦠 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A scalable gut epithelial organoid model reveals the genome-wide colonization landscape of a human-adapted pathogen - Nature Genetics
A genome-wide screen using human gut epithelial organoids combined with transposon-directed insertion sequencing identifies over 100 Shigella flexneri genes required for epithelial colonization.
nature.com
Thrilled to share our work is finally out at @natgenet.nature.com ! rdcu.be/eqGgf Combining a scalable human gut organoid model with TraDIS and statistical modeling, we mapped how Shigella colonizes the intestine at genome-wide resolution.
A scalable gut epithelial organoid model reveals the genome-wide colonization landscape of a human-adapted pathogen
Nature Genetics - A genome-wide screen using human gut epithelial organoids combined with transposon-directed insertion sequencing identifies over 100 Shigella flexneri genes required for...
rdcu.be
Out now @mbio.bsky.social !: We provide a time-resolved map comparing #Salmonella and #Shigella epithelial colonization strategies in human #enteroids and #colonoids. Connecting the dots among decades of molecular findings reg. underlying virulence factors. journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Determinants of divergent Salmonella and Shigella epithelial colonization strategies resolved in human enteroids and colonoids | mBio
Pathogenic bacteria employ partially overlapping sets of virulence factor functions to colonize host epithelia but can differ markedly in their pathogenesis and disease kinetics. This work combines ba...
journals.asm.org
#EESInfection was very inspiring and enriching! Thanks for all new connections and for the opportunity to present our soon to be published story on TraDIShigella during infection of human intestinal organoids! Stay tuned to read the full story!
EMBL Events@events.embl.org · last yr.And it’s a wrap on #EESInfection! ✨🦠 Huge thanks to all participants, speakers, and organisers who made it a success. Can’t wait for next time! 🏅👏 Congrats to our 5 poster prize winners for their fantastic work! Stay updated ➡️ embl.org/events/
Only 328 days to go! We're very busy behind the scenes getting thigns ready for the meeting! In the meantime you can add your email address for updates here: coming-soon.embo.org/w26-04
Shigella, the first international meeting
coming-soon.embo.org
Was great fun to have the emminent @lbarquist.bsky.social visit for the @scilifelab.se The Svedberg seminar this week. Few can explain computation and statistics so that even wetlab biologists get it, but here is one: www.utm.utoronto.ca/biology/peop... www.helmholtz-hiri.de/en/research/...
OUT NOW: Inducible transposon mutagenesis identifies bacterial fitness determinants during infection in mice #microsky 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Inducible transposon mutagenesis identifies bacterial fitness determinants during infection in mice - Nature Microbiology
InducTn-seq, a method for inducible mutagenesis followed by transposon insertion site sequencing, enables temporal control of transposition to bypass population bottlenecks and enable the quantificati...
nature.com
Interested in predicting AMR in bacteria? We show ignoring phylogenetic structure in genome collections leads to overly optimistic evaluations of machine learning methods for AMR prediction. With @nwheeler443.bsky.social and former PhD student Yanying Yu. 🦠🧫🧬🖥️🧪 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Biased sampling confounds machine learning prediction of antimicrobial resistance
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a growing threat to human health. Increasingly, genome sequencing is being applied for the surveillance of bacterial pathogens, producing a wealth of data to train...
biorxiv.org
New paper from the lab out now. ProQ prevents polyadenylation to stabilise mRNA in Salmonella. Fantastic work by Sofia Bergman and Christopher Birk.
ProQ prevents mRNA degradation through inhibition of poly(A) polymerase
Abstract. The RNA-binding protein ProQ interacts with many transcripts in the bacterial cell. ProQ binding is associated with increased messenger RNA (mRNA
track.smtpsendmail.com
Interested in collecting, sharing, and interacting with large collections of bacterial functional genomics data (RNA-seq, Tn-seq/TraDIS, etc.)? Check out our new web platform, Micromix, with case studies for Salmonella and Bacteroides! 🧫🧬🖥️🧪 Thread 1/n academic.oup.com/gigascience/...
Micromix: web infrastructure for visualizing and remixing microbial ‘omics data
Abstract. Micromix is a flexible web platform for sharing and integrating microbial omics data, including RNA sequencing and transposon-insertion sequencin
academic.oup.com