Well, this is upsetting. The search for a vaccine against gonorrhea just got more challenging. Again.

Greg Folkers@gregfolkers.bsky.social · 4w ago

NEJM: Meningococcal B Vaccine to Prevent Neisseria gonorrhoeae Infection / no benefit Kate L. Seib et al bit.ly/4foOOKe

The Dillard Lab is looking to hire a research technician to study the mechanisms by which Neisseria gonorrhoeae damages human Fallopian tubes during pelvic inflammatory disease. Lab website: www.dillardlab.mmi.wisc.edu View the job posting: shorturl.at/YO2sE

Our lab is hiring an enthusiastic and motivated research specialist to study host-pathogen interactions in the context of S. aureus infection. For more information, see below: Lab website: www.reyesruizlab.org jobs.wisc.edu/jobs/researc...

Research Specialist - Madison, Wisconsin, United States

Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process.Job Category:Academic StaffEmployment Type...

jobs.wisc.edu

Spanish government launches a plan to study women’s health, which has been so neglected 👏🏼👏🏼 El gobierno lanza un plan para apoyar la investigación sobre la salud de la mujer, tan abandonada hasta ahora elpais.com/salud-y-bien...

El Gobierno lanza un plan para que la ciencia también se interese por investigar en salud de la mujer

El Ejecutivo propone triplicar la inversión en I+D para atajar la brecha de género y reservar fondos para proyectos centrados en dolencias infraestudiadas en ellas

elpais.com

The #WHO just released recommendation of #doxyPEP for #STI prevention among MSM and transgender women Monitoring of #AMR also recommended Research gaps still remain, including long-term impacts on AMR/microbiome and effectiveness in different settings www.who.int/teams/global... #STIsky

We’re hiring! Join the Weber Lab at the University of Iowa to study Chlamydia effector biology, centrosome regulation, vesicular trafficking, and innate immunity. Please share!

I'm convening a session at ASM Microbe 2026 on vaginal infections. Come learn about the great recent advances in research on Gardnerella, Sneathia, Group B Strep, and Candida infections. #ASMicrobe invt.io/1bxbqiyuh8c

Sharing New Research at ASM Microbe 2026

I’ll be presenting at ASM Microbe 2026, showcasing new insights in microbial science. Join us June 4–7 in Washington, D.C.

invt.io

Out Now! Local peptidoglycan composition defines division site selection in Streptococcus pneumoniae #MicroSky

Local peptidoglycan composition defines division site selection in Streptococcus pneumoniae

Nature Microbiology, Published online: 07 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s41564-026-02322-6Sequential peptidoglycan carboxylase activity of DacA and DacB generates a local peptidoglycan signature that recruits MapZ and establishes the division site at the Streptococcus pneumoniae cell equator.

go.nature.com

Exciting research here on the development and lab evaluation of #CRISPR #POC tests for #STIs (chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, HSV 1 /2) Also very interesting they could detect S91F to predict cipro resistance in #gonorrhea POC tests for STIs can be game-changers in many settings #STIsky #IDsky

The Lancet Microbe@lancetmicrobe.bsky.social · 5mo ago

New research article CRISPR-Cas-based diagnostics for point-of-care detection of sexually transmitted infections: a laboratory development and evaluation study www.thelancet.com/journals/lan... #IDSky #ClinMicro #STI #OpenAccess #OA

Dr. Cole's presentations at the Neisseria meetings were delightful. So sorry he is gone.

Institute of Microbiology and Infection @imibirmingham.bsky.social · 5mo ago

It is with deep sadness that we share the passing of Professor Jeff Cole. An esteemed academic, Jeffs research on bacterial adaptation to oxygen and nitrosative stress made a lasting impact on the field. He mentored nearly 60 doctoral students, our thoughts are with his family, friends & colleagues

This is a great @cidjournal.bsky.social supplement for all you #gonorrhea, #STI, and #AMR enthusiasts. Or for anyone who’s heard about drug-resistant gonorrhea and wants to learn more. Will link articles in 🧵 below - check it out and share! #openaccess #IDsky #STIsky bsky.app/profile/carb...

CARB-X@carb-x.bsky.social · 7mo ago

📘 New publication supported by CARB-X! A new supplement in Oxford University Press Clinical Infectious Diseases highlights why treatment diversification is essential to address rising drug resistance in N. gonorrhoeae. #IDSky 🧪 🔗 Read here: bit.ly/45KVg90

Wishing a happy and successful year to all of you

We mapped the whole human fallopian tube in 3D and at single-cell resolution via our CODA workflow. More about this work here: biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Excited to share my latest postdoctoral work in the Shen Lab at Tufts! In this study, we follow up on an exciting finding by former grad student @shailab.bsky.social that C diff uses its Class A PBP (PBP1) to drive cell division (unlike previously studied bacteria)! journals.plos.org/plosgenetics...

Molecular dissection of Class A PBP function uncovers novel features of the non-canonical Clostridioides difficile divisome complex

Author summary Bacterial cell division is an ancient and essential process, but our molecular understanding of this process is primarily based on studies in a select few model systems. Recent work fou...

journals.plos.org

A Lyt at the end of the tunnel? Unraveling the complex interactions of the N-acetylglucosaminidase LytG in cell wall metabolism RSC Chemical Biology pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...

A Lyt at the end of the tunnel? Unraveling the complex interactions of the N-acetylglucosaminidase LytG in cell wall metabolism

The growth and division of the Gram-positive cell requires the coordinated action of enzymes involved in the synthesis and degradation of the heteropolymer peptidoglycan. Herein, we present the use of...

pubs.rsc.org

STD cases have fallen, but not syphilis in newborns. Data for 2024 from the CDC showed a 3rd consecutive year of fewer gonorrhea cases & the 2nd year of fewer adult cases of chlamydia & the most infectious form of syphilis. However, congenital syphilis cases aren't seeing the same improvements👇

STD Cases Fall, but Not Syphilis in Newborns

Overall decreases may be due to a general decline in young people having new partners

medpagetoday.com

Cool work by @mkjos.bsky.social Daniel Straume showing that the competence-induced peptidoglycan hydrolase LytF promotes pilus extrusion, thereby enhancing the efficiency of DNA uptake in S, sanguinis. Is this also a major function of the pneumococcal CbpD fratricide? www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

LytF contributes to pilus extrusion during natural competence in Streptococcus sanguinis SK36.

Streptococci may enter a physiological state called competence, during which they express a specific set of genes required for exogenous DNA uptake and its subsequent integration into the genome throu...

biorxiv.org

Uropathogenic #Ecoli #UPEC proliferate as round coccoid cells during intracellular infection; @alaskapokhrel.bsky.social @bill-lab.bsky.social &co show that accelerated division via FtsZ constriction drives this, the coccobacillus form persisting for generations @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4gdx97i

Our paper describing transformation of Gardnerella species is published in Infection and Immunity. We think this will lead to further molecular studies of bacterial vaginosis and potential therapeutics. journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Genetic transformation of Gardnerella species and characterization of vaginolysin and sialidase mutants | Infection and Immunity

Genetic manipulation is a fundamental process in the study of bacterial pathogenesis. The ability to make mutations and complements is necessary for definitive identification of virulence genes, and the ability to make unmarked mutations is preferable in these studies (1). Certain bacterial pathogens were considered genetically intractable for many years, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis or Chlamydia trachomatis, and studies of their virulence mechanisms necessarily focused on epidemiology, immunology, cell biology in the host, and proteomic or transcriptomic analyses (2, 3). Those classic cases were eventually resolved by the discovery of effective transduction, natural transformation, and chemical transformation methods, greatly facilitating the identification of virulence factors (4–7). Gardnerella species have similarly been considered genetically intractable, and like M. tuberculosis and C. trachomatis, Gardnerella have an unusual cell envelope. Similar to other Actinobacteria, Gardnerella are generally considered gram-positive, but stain gram-variable because of their unusual and incompletely characterized envelope (8).

journals.asm.org

This first-author publication is my… first! Archaea kill bacteria by targeting their Achilles’ heel: peptidoglycan. Big shoutout to @ahocher.bsky.social‬, @valeriesoo.bsky.social‬, Pauline Misson, @tobiaswarnecke.bsky.social‬ and MRC LMS Proteomics. A thread 🔽 journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

Archaea produce peptidoglycan hydrolases that kill bacteria

Archaea regularly interact with bacteria but reports of archaea killing bacteria are very rare. This study shows that many archaea encode peptidoglycan hydrolases, which specifically target bacterial ...

journals.plos.org

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...

Thrilled to share the first preprint from my group! Prevotella are predominant but understudied members of the respiratory microbiome. They have a reputation for being hard to work with, but understanding them is likely important for understanding how they contribute to respiratory health. 🧫🔬

bioRxiv Microbiology@biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · last yr.

Development of a basal media for carbon utilization assay and analysis of the starch utilization locus in Prevotella melaninogenica https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.04.663206v1

I wrote a preview for Cell Host & Microbe about the article from Kurt-Jones et al. on IFN-epsilon enhancement of gonococcal infection. One cool facet of this work is that it provides a possible mechanism for Chlamydia to increase gonococcal co-infection. www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...

Type I interferons give gonococci a sweet treat and a chance at survival

In this issue, Kurt-Jones et al. demonstrate a surprising role for the type I interferon, IFN-ε, in Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections of the female reproductive tract. Rather than protecting the host, ...

cell.com

Very happy to share that a large part of my thesis work is out today: B. subtilis uses the second messenger c-di-AMP to modulate its turgor pressure in response to the state of its cell envelope. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Cyclic-di-AMP modulates cellular turgor in response to defects in bacterial cell wall synthesis - Nature Microbiology

Brogan et al. uncover a signalling pathway in which levels of the nucleotide second messenger c-di-AMP increase in response to defects in cell wall synthesis. This regulatory pathway decreases turgor ...

nature.com

It's the height of morel season in south-central Wisconsin.

Checkout out our preprint describing mutagenesis methods for Gardnerellla species. We showed that a vaginolysin mutant was defective in lysing cervical cells in human cervix explants and that a sialidase mutant was deficient in degrading human cervical mucus. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Genetic transformation of Gardnerella species and characterization of vaginolysin and sialidase mutants

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most prevalent vaginal disorder in women of childbearing age and causes pregnancy complications including preterm birth. Species of Gardnerella increase just prior to t...

biorxiv.org

We have developed methods for making targeted mutations in Gardnerella species. It's been a long slog, and the bacteria put up a lot of hurdles. Thanks to the hard work and ingenuity of Amy Klimowicz and Erin Garcia, we can make deletions, point mutations, and complements. Preprint is on bioRxiv.

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...

dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour... #MicroSky

Listeria monocytogenes requires phosphotransferase systems to facilitate intracellular growth and virulence

Author summary Listeria monocytogenes is an important bacterial pathogen and the causative agent of listeriosis, a foodborne infection associated with significant morbidity and mortality. L. monocytog...

dx.plos.org

So…um…who is doing the testing for multi drug resistant gonorrhea and resistant trichomonas ????

Alexander Tin@alexander-a-tin.bsky.social · last yr.

Labs at CDC investigating STD and hepatitis outbreaks have now been cut, as part of Secy Kennedy's layoffs Specimens were still arriving from state health departments, with no one left on job from labs to handle them "The outbreak detection is gone" www.cbsnews.com/news/rfk-jr-...