Minimal diadenylate cyclases have been co-opted to detect phage immune evasion https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.10.743972v1

Tim Blower and I are guest editing a Biochemical Journal @biochemsoc.bsky.social themed collection on: The Prokaryotic Immune System It's now open for research submissions and we'd welcome submission of research and review articles. More info: portlandpress.com/biochemj/pag...

Thrilled to share! We present the structure of a prototypical P2 OLD and reveal that its tRNAse activity is triggered by ssDNA hairpins in phage origins or unresolved termini in RecBCD-deficient cells. Great team effort with Wang, Bikard & Nudler labs. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

OLD sentinel: an abortive tRNase surveys phage replication and DNA defects in RecBCD-compromised cells

OLD, an abortive immunity protein from prophage P2, consists of an ABC ATPase sensor and a TO-PRIM nuclease effector - a core architecture shared by a large protein family, including components of ant...

biorxiv.org

Are you interested in #phages? The Taga Lab is looking to hire a postdoc with expertise in phage biology to work on a project about phage-mediated nutrient sharing. If you're interested, please reach out to Dr. Taga.

Capturing dynamic phage–pathogen coevolution by clinical surveillance @nature.com @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Out Now! A phage protein screen identifies triggers of the bacterial innate immune system #MicroSky

A phage protein screen identifies triggers of the bacterial innate immune system

Nature Microbiology, Published online: 16 January 2026; doi:10.1038/s41564-025-02239-6A library of 400 phage protein-coding genes is used to find a trove of antiphage systems, revealing systems that target tail fibre and major capsid proteins.

go.nature.com

Such a privilege to share the Phage Foundry (phagefoundry.org) team’s work at the inaugural GRC meeting on Microbiome Editing 🎉🎊.

We are hiring new faculty!! Come join our amazing community in the Department of Molecular Microbiology at Washington University School of Medicine! The deadline for applications is 2/21, but applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. facultyopportunities.wustl.edu/Posting/Deta...

Registration is open for the 2026 Gordon Research Conference on Microbial Stress Response to be held on July 19-24 2026!! Submit your abstract by February 15th to be considered for a short talk. Apply now before it fills up!! Hope to see you there!! www.grc.org/microbial-st...

Registration is open for September’s Vibrio2026 conference in Berlin! event.fourwaves.com/vibrio2026/p...

Vibrio2026: The International Meeting on the Biology of Vibrios

Join Vibrio2026: The International Meeting on the Biology of Vibrios, September 13-16, 2026. Learn more on Fourwaves.

event.fourwaves.com

Durham University (@durham.ac.uk) and NEB scientists described the first biochemical characterization of GmrSD Type IV restriction enzyme substrate specificity and inhibition by phage protein IP1*. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2024.0072

Modified DNA substrate selectivity by GmrSD-family Type IV restriction enzyme BrxU

Abstract. Bacteriophages (phages), viral predators of bacteria, generate selection pressure that causes bacteria to evolve defence systems. Type I, II and

royalsocietypublishing.org

Fer’s tour de force in B. anthracis is out! Fer got Tn-seq running, built an ordered knockout library, defined all essential sporulation genes, and found a peptidoglycan deacetylase inhibitor critical for engulfment. Including our first one-by-all Alphafold screen! journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

Identification of sporulation genes in Bacillus anthracis highlights similarities and significant differences with Bacillus subtilis

How good is Bacillus subtilis as a model for the spore-forming pathogen Bacillus anthracis? Using high throughput genetics to identify B. anthracis sporulation genes and cytological analysis of the mu...

journals.plos.org

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!

Phages are full of genes of unknown function that are likely adaptive in specific conditions. New preprint: Phage TnSeq identifies essential genes rapidly and knocks all non-essentials. We would like to send a pool of phiKZ mutants to anyone wanting it! Reach out tinyurl.com/bdcfrejh

I’m happy to share our new preprint! We uncovered the full diversity of bacterial TIR-based antiviral immune signaling, massively expanded the known diversity of Thoeris systems, and revealed conservation of TIR-derived immune signals across the tree of life. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Systematic discovery of TIR-based immune signaling systems in bacteria

Toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) domains are important for immune signaling across humans, plants and bacteria. These domains were recently found to produce immune signaling molecules in plant immuni...

biorxiv.org

📢 We have multiple open PhD positions to study bacterial immune systems using cutting-edge cryo-EM, microbiology, and biochemistry in our group! Join us and uncover how bacterial defenses eliminate predators and engineer next-gen biotech tools. 🔥 Apply by Jan 8, 2026 Details: phd.pages.ista.ac.at

Check this out for the 2026 SISB (phage defense) meeting in NYC. Mark your calendar! (and note the Zoom option, if needed) sisb2026.rockefeller.edu

Spatial constraint drives negative frequency dependent selection of phage weaponization https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.26.690769v1

First the link to the preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Systematic mapping of bacteriophage gene essentiality with HIDEN‑SEQ

The constant arms race of bacteriophages and their bacterial hosts has inspired major breakthroughs in biotechnology and shaped phages as fierce predators with great clinical potential to fight multid...

biorxiv.org

Hot off the press! Our latest paper led by @fernpizza.bsky.social, understanding how plasmids evolve inside cells. These small, self-replicating DNA circles live inside bacteria and carry antibiotic resistance genes, but also compete with one another to replicate. 1/ www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Intracellular competition shapes plasmid population dynamics

From populations of multicellular organisms to selfish genetic elements, conflicts between levels of biological organization are central to evolution. Plasmids are extrachromosomal, self-replicating g...

science.org

🚨Preprint alert - this is a big one! We transfer the revolutionary power of TnSeq to bacteriophages. Our HIDEN-SEQ links the "dark matter" genes of your favorite phage to any selectable phenotype, guiding the path from fun observations to molecular mechanisms. A thread 1/8

I’m excited to share my recent postdoc work. Here, we interrogate how different phage infection outcomes (productive vs. restrictive) affect the expression of phage defense systems. We find that a restricted infection not only inhibits the phage but also induces increased immune protein abundance.

bioRxiv Microbiology@biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Surviving phage attack dynamically regulates bacterial immunity to defeat counterdefenses https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.13.688357v1

Join the Blokesch lab (@EPFL) as a postdoc in Molecular Microbiology 🤩 Study Vibrio cholerae defense systems (phage/plasmid) in a dynamic, collaborative environment in Lausanne close to Lake Geneva in 🇨🇭! Please visit my lab's webpage for details about the position and how to formally apply.

Adams Group webpage is live! #NIAIDNews #IRPatNIH #ResearchingSpirochetes 🔬🧫🧬 (Consider joining our team!!) www.niaid.nih.gov/research/ada...

Adams Research Group

The Adams Research Group uses molecular and cellular techniques to manipulate spirochetes, sequence bacterial transcriptomes, characterize cellular processes, map regulatory networks, and study spiroc...

niaid.nih.gov

Since we have had a big boom to bsky let me reintroduce myself. I am Aisha Burton and a new PI at Cornell Micro. Currently on maternity leave but my two research techs are keeping the research going 🙏🏾. My lab is interested in studying small proteins and how they impact stress responses in bacteria

Really excited to share my first preprint as a postdoc! Here, we determined that the BREX-inhibitor, OrbA, encoded by the lytic phage ICP1 inhibits BREX through the ATPase BrxC in V. cholerae. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

The vibriophage-encoded inhibitor OrbA abrogates BREX-mediated defense through the ATPase BrxC

bioRxiv - the preprint server for biology, operated by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, a research and educational institution

biorxiv.org

Attention phage/microbiology 🧫🦠enthusiasts- the Seed lab kimseedlab.com @UCBerkeley is hiring a staff research associate, an ideal opportunity for folks looking to gain research experience before grad school/professional school careerspub.universityofcalifornia.edu/psp/ucb/EMPLOY… please share!

Yay @aishaburton.bsky.social glad to see this out!

Ákos T Kovács@evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social · 3y ago

The alternative sigma factor SigN of Bacillus subtilis is intrinsically toxic J Bacteriology by Aisha Burton et al from Dan Kearns lab with Libor Krásný lab journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...