shocking statistics, but only limited public outcry.. We should be more vocal about this tb.impactcounter.com
Tuberculosis Impact Counter | Tracking TB Funding Impact
Tracking the impact of TB funding via USAID
tb.impactcounter.com
Wilbert Bitter
@wilbertbitter.bsky.social
Professor in Medical and Molecular Microbiology, VU university & Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands tuberculosis, cell envelope, protein secretion, Type VII secretion, ESX, host-pathogen, zebrafish, antimicrobials
www.nytimes.com/2026/04/30/s... And after the human genome he reinvented himself as a microbiologists! See also the picture. He received the Leeuwenhoek award for this work.
J. Craig Venter, Scientist Who Decoded the Human Genome, Dies at 79
nytimes.com
ComEC structure is out!! 😍 Congratulations to the authors! That’s not an easy one. We have been trying for years to get that structure… We failed and gave up.
Structural basis for DNA processing and membrane translocation by ComEC in natural transformation
Natural transformation is one of the major pathways of horizontal gene transfer in bacteria, enabling the acquisition of extracellular DNA and its integration into the host genome. ComEC is a membrane...
science.org
CRUK goes green [OA] news.cancerresearchuk.org/2026/04/01/w...
Why we won’t be funding open access publishing any more - Cancer Research UK - Cancer News
The open access movement was bold and promising, but ultimately disappointing. Now is the time to stop and call for a new way to make publishing work…
news.cancerresearchuk.org
Rapid resistance evolution against phage cocktails #ISMEJournal by Baltus van der Steen, Matti Gralka, and @yuvalmulla.bsky.social academic.oup.com/ismej/advanc...
Rapid resistance evolution against phage cocktails
Abstract. When bacteria are treated with multiple antibiotics simultaneously, resistance is highly unlikely to evolve. In contrast, resistance against mult
academic.oup.com
A Type VII-secreted toxin enables inter-mycobacterial competition https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.03.26.714487v1
🧐”Study reveals how #tuberculosis exploits immune defenses to promote infection.” 🔗to study published in Science Immunology ⬇️ Mycobacterial α-glucans hijack dectin-1 to facilitate intracellular bacterial survival www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Mycobacterial α-glucans hijack dectin-1 to facilitate intracellular bacterial survival
Mycobacterial α-glucans target dectin-1, altering phagosomal maturation and enhancing intracellular bacterial survival.
science.org
Climate, Ecology, War & More: Dr. Glen Barry BigEarthData.ai@bigearthdata.ai · 7mo agoStudy reveals how tuberculosis exploits immune defenses to promote infection ->News-Medical | More from Lil Dr Glen EcoChat at BigEarthData.ai
🚨PhD position alert🚨 🔬Cryo-EM? ✅ 🧫Membrane proteins? - we've got 165 TMs for you! ✅ Join me and the team👥 in beautiful Amsterdam🚴 to untangle the amazing mycobacterial protein secretion machinery! 📝Apply here: tinyurl.com/mmxnfpnw 📆Deadline: 23 January #PhDstudent #T7SS #cryoEM #newPI
Vacature — PhD candidate; Mechanism and assembly of type VII secretion system machineries
We are looking for an enthusiastic and motivated PhD candidate to join Dr. Catalin Bunduc’s team in the Molecular Microbiology Section of the Amsterdam Institute for Life and Environment (A-LIFE).
tinyurl.com
Of course I like all the papers that we publish, but this is actually a very cool story, a great example of 'bush mechanics' in mycobacteria. A new role for lipoproteins LpqZ and FecB in orchestrating mycobacterial cell envelope biogenesis | mBio journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
A new role for lipoproteins LpqZ and FecB in orchestrating mycobacterial cell envelope biogenesis | mBio
Tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), remains the world’s deadliest bacterial infection, in part because the bacterium’s unique cell envelope makes it highly resistant to antibioti...
journals.asm.org
Our latest T7SS study is now out in Science Advances! We solved the cryoEM structure of the T7SSb core unit (T7bCU) composed of YukB, YukC, and YukD from Bacillus subtilis, revealing how these components assemble within the secretion machinery. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
A ubiquitin-like protein controls assembly of a bacterial type VIIb secretion system
Cryo-EM structure reveals how a ubiquitin-like protein orchestrates assembly of a bacterial weapon system.
science.org
Two M. tuberculosis RelE toxins don’t cut mRNA, they slice 16S rRNA itself, shutting down translation in a totally unexpected way, new study reveals. A big leap in understanding TB’s survival tricks and new angles for therapies. 📖 shorturl.at/Z8MVX ✍️ @genevauxpierre.bsky.social & coll. #MicroSky
PPE51 is one of the best candidates to form a MOM transport channel. However, our data indicate that it is not that simple. PPE51 mutations in Mmarinum (4 close homologs) indeed reduce the growth on glycerol & glucose, but also highly increase permeability.. and no, we do not fully understand this
PPE51 modulates membrane integrity in Mycobacterium marinum | mBio
The impermeable outer membrane of pathogenic mycobacteria presents a major obstacle to nutrient acquisition and antibiotic penetration. PPE51, a substrate of the ESX-5 secretion system, has previously...
journals.asm.org
www.nature.com/articles/s41... After 10 years they finally found the culprit… great work, although it is not so surprising that it turns out to be a Vibrio sp.
Vibrio pectenicida strain FHCF-3 is a causative agent of sea star wasting disease - Nature Ecology & Evolution
The causative agent of sea star wasting disease has been elusive. This study used genetic datasets and experimental exposures to demonstrate that a strain of the bacterium Vibrio pectenicida caused di...
nature.com
Reading: How a Biofilm’s Strange Shape Emerges From Cellular Geometry www.quantamagazine.org/how-a-biofil... via @QuantaMagazine
How a Biofilm’s Strange Shape Emerges From Cellular Geometry | Quanta Magazine
Micro decisions can have macro consequences. A soft matter physicist reveals how interactions within simple cellular collectives can lead to emergent physical traits.
quantamagazine.org
This biologist aims to solve the cell’s biggest mystery. Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
This biologist aims to solve the cell’s biggest mystery. Could it help cancer patients, too?
Four decades after his lab found odd, massive particles inside cells, Leonard Rome is still determined to figure out what “vaults” do
science.org
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Mycobacterium bovis infected domestic cats in an officially bovine tuberculosis free country resulting in human infection
Although the Netherlands is an officially bovine tuberculosis (bTB) free (OTF) country, sporadic infections with Mycobacterium bovis still cause tuber…
sciencedirect.com
Krista Freeman et al 𝘊𝘌𝘓𝘓 stunning atomic-level imaging (Cryo-EM, cryo-ET) reveals how 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐠𝐞 Bxb1 reshapes its tail tip to breach the mycobacterial cell wall and deliver DNA to the cytoplasm can inform precise targeted phage therapies for TB and NTM infections www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... exciting new study on role of disulphide bond formation in secretion and motility in Bacteroidota
A central, shared role for disulfide bonds in Bacteroidota protein transport and gliding motility
The gliding motility and Type 9 Secretion Systems (T9SSs) of Bacteroidota share a Power Chain that in current models uses a Hub complex to distribute energy to both the T9SS translocon and a moving gl...
biorxiv.org
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Structural basis of siderophore export and drug efflux by Mycobacterium tuberculosis - Nature Communications
Mycobacteria produce small molecules (mycobactins) to acquire the essential nutrient iron. Here, Earp et al determine the cryo-EM structures of the mycobactin exporter MmpL4, which also effluxes the T...
nature.com
For all its prominence in research, E. coli is a blip in a rich microbial world. Scientists are rethinking our infatuation with microbiology’s superstar and considering what can—and should—constitute a model organism going forward. Read the article: asm.org/Articles/202...
Stopping clinical trials with such haste is unethical and potentially dangerous and violates the very principles that all who conduct interventional studies must adhere to. It is sad and exposes ignorance and a complete lack of respect for people!
Madhu Pai, MD, PhD@madhupai.bsky.social · last yr.Abandoned in the Middle of Clinical Trials, Because of a Trump Order www.nytimes.com/2025/02/06/h...
New preprint 🚨: with @madejmar.bsky.social we found that the Bacteroidetes beta-barrel assembly machinery is quite different to E. coli. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #cryo-EM
Last ever lecture in the infamous W&N building at the VU Amsterdam…apparently it had one of the longest hallways in the Netherlands, 250 meter.
How do animals compensate for trait loss? In beetles, symbiosis is a consistent strategy. Where the repeated loss of endogenous digestive enzymes is offset by functionally convergent symbioses: www.cell.com/current-biol... Excited to share our latest, out today in @currentbiology.bsky.social!
MPI for Biology Tübingen & Friedrich Miescher Laboratory@mpi-bio-fml.bsky.social · 2y ago🪲 Leaf beetles 🧬 New research reveals how these diverse insects overcome dietary challenges through symbiosis & horizontal gene transfer. #Insects #Symbiosis #EvolutionaryEcology #Symbionts @hassansalem.bsky.social [link to press release: t.ly/NRxc7 ]
Researchers have engineered symbiotic associations between fungal cells and introduced organelles in an effort to explore how endosymbiosis might have given rise to eukaryotic cells. 🌱🐋🧪🦫🧠 #Evolbio
Is this how complex life evolved? Experiment that put bacteria inside fungi offers clues
Biologists created a symbiotic system that hints at how cell features such as mitochondria and chloroplasts might have emerged a billion years ago.
nature.com
Out today! Our review on the current evidence of protein import into endosymbionts/early organelles. We cover protists, insects and plant systems, so something for everybody! With Mygg Stiller, Lena Kröninger and Eva Nowack. #protistsonsky #SymbioSky febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
FEBS Press
The acquisition of bacterial endosymbionts by ancient host cells followed by massive adaptation of the partners gave rise to mitochondria and plastids. Today, various systems with younger and less in...
febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com