Horizontal gene transfer is often depicted as a process distributing pre-existing functions to novel genetic backgrounds. Yet HGT can also increase the rate of functional innovation after transfer. Here's a brief review on the topic: ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v... #evosky #microsky

DoxyPEP has been implemented in several countries as a public health intervention against bacterial STIs, but plasmids in Neisseria gonorrhoeae undermine its promise. We summarise knowledge of gonococcal plasmid biology and epidemiology to address this threat. journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Plasmids in Neisseria gonorrhoeae: drivers of DoxyPEP failure and an emerging threat for current therapy | Clinical Microbiology Reviews

SUMMARYGonococcal disease is a serious threat to reproductive health, with cases and antimicrobial resistance steadily increasing. Currently, the β-lactam antibiotic ceftriaxone is the mainstay of tre...

journals.asm.org

➡️ preprint from the lab! Bacteria have loads of antiviral defences in their mobile genetic elements (MGEs). So when MGEs move between bacteria, the defences move with them, generating a fast turnover of defences in bacteria. But what about the antiviral defence turnover in the MGEs themselves? 🤔 🧵👇

Bacteria chromosomes contain Genomic Islands that provide virulence, antibiotic resistance, MGE-defence,... They transfer between cells, but the mechanism of most remains elusive. Here we explore the conjugative capacity of these mysterious Genomic Islands. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Neisseria gonorrhoeae carries an unusually large number of restriction–modification systems (up to 16!), many of which are phase-variable. How does this affect plasmid transmission in gonococci? doi.org/10.64898/202...

On Friday, I passed my PhD viva with no corrections. I can't believe it has already been 4 years at @dunnschool.bsky.social @ox.ac.uk ! What an amazing time it has been! A huge thank you to my supervisor Prof Christoph Tang who has supported me throughout my PhD journey!

I've wanted to write this article for years. About my and other's struggles to even survive sometime in #academia. Thank you to the amazing editors at @plosbiology.org that gave me the forum to write this piece. #science

Lanyard upgrade😍 Thanks @twistbioscience.com! #sciencematters #standupforscience

🚨🚨New paper out in @natcomms.nature.com!! Come for the first large-scale analysis of plasmid copy number across species, stay for one of the most intriguing results of my lab: universal scaling laws in plasmid biology! 📈🧬 👉 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Universal rules govern plasmid copy number - Nature Communications

Plasmids exhibit a broad range of sizes and copies per cell, and these two parameters appear to be negatively correlated. Here, Ramiro-Martínez et al. analyse the copy number of thousands of diverse b...

nature.com

Very happy to see the second paper of my PhD now published in PLOS Pathogens! dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...

Origin, evolution, and success of pbla, the gonococcal beta-lactamase plasmid, and implications for public health

Author summary Neisseria gonorrhoeae is a threat to sexual and reproductive health. With no available vaccine against gonococcal disease, control of infection depends on having effective antimicrobial...

dx.plos.org

"Axial asymmetry organizes division plane orthogonality in Neisseria gonorrhoeae" Out today in @currentbiology.bsky.social! Beautiful live cell imaging and genetics work led by Adi Bandekar and with @fleshball.bsky.social. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Yonatan Grad@yhgrad.bsky.social · 2y ago

New preprint led by Adi Bandekar and w Ethan Garner. What leads to N. gonorrhoeae being diplococci, and how is it that they have sequentially perpendicular division planes? Using beautiful live cell imaging and genetics, Adi showed it’s all about axial asymmetry www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Only two weeks left to register for #Microbio25! Join us for four days of scientific symposia, workshops, fora, Prize Lectures and much more! The deadline is 24 March at 12:00 GMT. Secure your spot, register now - microb.io/AC25Registra... #Microbio25

It started with a passionate discussion about #GenderEquality in science on a trainride and suddendly, we have been running panel discussions for over a year. In our last panel, I discussed with Dessislava Veltcha, Sally Cowley and Mathew Stracy how to navigate different career paths.

A hitchhiker’s guide to the gonococcal population: biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

The origin and evolution of the gonococcal beta-lactamase plasmid, and implications for public health

Neisseria gonorrhoeae is a leading cause of sexually transmitted infection (STI) and a priority AMR pathogen. Two narrow host range plasmids, p bla and pConj, have contributed to ending penicillin and...

biorxiv.org