the "Mg²⁺ problem" has been known for a long time. For example, in the standard "rich medium" LB (see👇). now we get to know more about the reasons! #MicroSky

The Lim­i­ta­tions of LB Medium

by Hiroshi Nikaido — LB medium, also known incorrectly as Luria-Bertani medium, is widely used to grow bacterial cultures, mainly because it is easy to prepare and provides a broad base of nutrien…

smallthingsconsidered.blog

Kumaran Ramamurthi@ramamurthilab.bsky.social · 3w ago

Folks have known for years that adding magnesium to media rescues the lethality of deleting many 'essential' genes, but why? @eswaralab.bsky.social and @subtisilly.bsky.social say that free iron builds up in these mutants. Mg2+ mitigates this by redirecting metabolism towards limiting ROS production

Folks have known for years that adding magnesium to media rescues the lethality of deleting many 'essential' genes, but why? @eswaralab.bsky.social and @subtisilly.bsky.social say that free iron builds up in these mutants. Mg2+ mitigates this by redirecting metabolism towards limiting ROS production

Asher King@subtisilly.bsky.social · last mo.

I am so excited to share my first first-author manuscript regarding the mysterious effects of magnesium in Bacillus subtilis! 🧵⬇️ www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... #MicroSky

Thrilled to share this insightful work of Asher King @subtisilly.bsky.social and Pilar Horigian @pilarhorigian.bsky.social! #ProudPI #MicroSky #AMR #SubtiWiki In this work, we reveal the *magic* behind the protective effects of magnesium in Bacillus subtilis. Read Asher's 🧵 below for more details.

Asher King@subtisilly.bsky.social · last mo.

I am so excited to share my first first-author manuscript regarding the mysterious effects of magnesium in Bacillus subtilis! 🧵⬇️ www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... #MicroSky

Magnesium induces iron starvation and metabolic rewiring to support the viability of cell envelope mutants and antibiotic-stressed cells https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.31.748404v1

I am so excited to share my first first-author manuscript regarding the mysterious effects of magnesium in Bacillus subtilis! 🧵⬇️ www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... #MicroSky

Magnesium induces iron starvation and metabolic rewiring to support the viability of cell envelope mutants and antibiotic-stressed cells

Magnesium supplementation permits deletion of otherwise essential genes involved in cell envelope biogenesis in the Gram-positive model bacterium Bacillus subtilis. Yet, the specific underlying mechan...

biorxiv.org