Phages communicate across species to shape microbial ecosystems Gallego-del-Sol et al. show that arbitrium-coding phages can sense non-cognate peptide signals from other phages to regulate lysis-lysogeny decisions. This crosstalk affects lysis-lysogeny outcomes of phage infections, mixed lysogenic communities, and polylysogens. Our results demonstrate that crosstalk is an important mechanism that drives phage interactions in microbial communities.

Now online! Phages communicate across species to shape microbial ecosystems

AF2BIND: predicting small-molecule binding sites using the pair representation of AlphaFold2 www.nature.com/articles/s4...

Metabolic interactions shape ecosystems

Excited to share the upcoming EMBO | EMBL Symposium “Metabolic interactions shape ecosystems” 🧬🌍

📍 Heidelberg & online
📅 21–24 July 2026

Abstract deadline: 14 April!

More info & registration: www.embl.org/about/info/c...

#Metabolism #Microbiome #SystemsBiology #Ecology #EMBL #EMBO

It's amazing to me that even in extensively studies phages like Lambda there are still new things to discover 🧐

Check out the nice article summary by Silverman & @SaharMelamed on a sRNA boosting DNA replication ⤵️

Bacterial Schlafen proteins mediate phage defence - Nature Microbiology This study highlights that Schlafens are ancient, mechanistically conserved immune effectors that mediate antiviral immunity in organisms ranging from humans to bacteria.

Bacterial Schlafen proteins mediate phage defence www.nature.com/articles/s41... #jcampubs

Yes

In general, I imagine that many defense systems evolved to sense essential phage proteins, which limits the phages ability to escape easily by simple loss of function mutations...

Hi! The phage protease is an essential phage protein (it is responsible for cleaving multiple capsid proteins to create mature phage particles). So a phage cannot mutate this protease to evade CBASS (by losing protease activity) and still make viable phage particles..

@nitzantal.bsky.social @romihadary.bsky.social @soreklab.bsky.social use structure prediction and in silico binding site analysis to discover viral immune evasion proteins! Exciting for our lab @reneechang.bsky.social @riveralopz.bsky.social to help with this project.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

After >10 years of our lab studying bacterial cGAS-like enzymes, @hobbslabutah.bsky.social finally reconstitutes viral sensing in vitro and discovers how these ancient receptors sense phage protease enzymes to detect virion assembly and activate antiviral immunity

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Congrats Nitzan! 🥰

Out today: We discovered new viral proteins that target immune signaling molecules, solely based on their AlphaFold-predicted shapes

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Congrats Nitzan Tal and coauthors! Thank you Kranzusch lab for the fun collaboration!

Linking below previous thread on our findings

Check out this new preprint discovering a cool mechanism for activation of the CBASS antiphage system-- proteolytic cleavage by the phage protease! Explains why I couldn't isolate any spontaneous phage mutants that escape CBASS.

Super cool. Can't wait to read in depth 🤓 Congrats Sam & Philip! 🥂

New post-doctoral research position in my phage-host interactions (Phi) laboratory in @otagomicroimmuno.bsky.social at @universityofotago.bsky.social New Zealand. The project is focused on defences against jumbo phages. Please share and if interested apply using the link in the comments.

Fantastic collaboration w/ @dbikard.bsky.social @audeber.bsky.social @rayanchikhi.bsky.social labs led by @jmouradesousa.bsky.social : We assessed the rates of variation of anti-phage systems in P4-like satellites and P2 helper phages. Quick conclusion: Huge variation! We focus on 4 key questions/5

Out now! In collaboration with Leifu Chang, we uncover the molecular and structural underpinnings of CRISPR-Cas12f-like RNA-guided transcription systems!

Links to the published articles:
tinyurl.com/55kpavet
tinyurl.com/sk6djwx3

Previous thread for the preprint:
bsky.app/profile/did:...

Abstract submission is now OPEN for the 2026 Symposium on the Immune System of Bacteria!

sisb2026.rockefeller.edu
🗓 May 5–7, 2026
📍 Rockefeller University, New York City
⏰ Abstract deadline: March 16, 2026

Attendance will be capped, be sure to register early and secure your spot.

See you in NYC!

Congratulations to Sonomi Yamaguchi for her paper at @nature.com. Sonomi discovered Clover defense and explained how nucleotide signals control each step of viral sensing, immune regulation, and viral restriction – named for her beautiful "four-leaf" structures 🍀

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

EMBL International PhD Programme - summer recruitment 2026! 👀

Research groups across EMBL are recruiting now! www.embl.org/about/info/e...

Don’t miss this opportunity to receive dedicated mentoring while doing interdisciplinary research.

Rewiring of oncogenic signaling in #DrugResistance is a moving target. In our new study, we used biophysical phosphoproteomics to investigate #BRAF mutant cancer, linking phosphorylation changes to protein function and #MolecularMechanisms through #Multi-Omics integration.
tinyurl.com/funsignaling

The paradox of immune systems conservation between prokaryotes and eukaryotes - Nature Reviews Microbiology The widespread prokaryotic immune systems, in particular restriction–modification, CRISPR–Cas and defensive toxin–antitoxin systems, are absent in eukaryotes, whereas relatively rare ones, such as Arg...

The immune systems paradox

Some widespread prokaryotic immune systems are absent in eukaryotes, whereas relatively rare ones became central to eukaryotic innate immunity

@audeber.bsky.social & E. Koonin hypothesize the answer is #HGT

shareable link: rdcu.be/e2EmD

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

That's cool, and flattering 🙃 I hope they enjoy it

Two independent super-elegant studies from Maxwell & Laub labs find immune proteins that sense infection by binding to oligomeric phage protein rings (i.e phage portal), using them as a scaffold to assemble into their active immune effector form 🤯

Highly recommend read! 🤓📖l

A DNA damage-activated kinase controls bacterial immune pathway expression www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02...

A great example of the ongoing arms race between bacteria and phages. 🦠🛡️ The plot thickens on the NAD+ bacteria vs. phage battlefield.

See thread below from @ostermanilya.bsky.social ⤵️

Congrats to you and all involved 🥂 I wonder what's next? 🧐

Helaine& Kranzusch labs reveal a mechanism by which a prophage-encoded abortive infection protein defends the host from other phages using a tail tip triggered tRNA nuclease, while maintaining its own propagation abilities- by encoding a tail tip variant that does not trigger it.

👇🏽🧬✂️☠️🦠

Another cool finding of nucleotides activating antiphage defense 👇🏽

5′-phosphorylated deoxydinucleotides arising during host genome degradation activate the doughnut shaped ApeA oligomer, to cleave host
tRNAs and abort infection

✂️🧬➡️🍩✨➡️✂️☠️🦠

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Recruitment for the EMBL International PhD Programme is officially open! 🔊

At EMBL, we train young scientists to become skilled and creative future leaders in academia, industry and other sectors. Start your career in the life sciences with us!

🔎 Read more here:
tinyurl.com/4jdt2ra5

A new paper from the lab on virus-like particles called eCISs www.nature.com/articles/s41...

How bacteria evolved thousands of precision nanoinjectors?

Some bacteria don’t secrete toxins — they inject them using phage-derived machines called extracellular contractile injection systems (eCISs).

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