Bacterial rRNAs are highly modified, but their functions are often mysterious. Zac Park says that methylation of 16S rRNA by MraW(RsmH) enhances translation of structured mRNAs. Thus, mRNA structure and rRNA modifications likely co-evolved to fine-tune protein dosage.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Delighted to share our latest work on gene transfer agents (GTAs). We found a lysis control hub which allows GTAs to escape their bacterial host cells and transfer DNA 🧬 between bacteria. Thanks to @tunglejic.bsky.social, all co-authors, and our amazing collaborators!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
New preprint from the Vecchiarelli Lab! 🧵
Congratulations to first author Dr. Claire Dudley!
@claire-dudley.bsky.social
Claire uncovered a critical player in the organization for the photosynthetic cytoplasm of cyanobacteria - polyphosphate! #polyP
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Excited to share our latest work with Guanming Zhang and @stemartiniani.bsky.social in @natcomms.nature.com, where we uncover universal long-range structure in three distinct noisy particle systems spanning soft matter and machine learning.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
I am pleased to share my lab’s latest publication - Acinetobacter species lack canonical DNA repair pathway activation mechanisms, and we discovered a conserved transcriptional activator that fills this role: academic.oup.com/nar/article/...
Our work on understanding how Staphylococcus aureus mode of cell division contributes to pathogenesis is now available in bioRxiv
Submission open for the tenth YBM Meeting (deadline - 26th March)! Abstract submission link: forms.gle/SBeQeAp9MR2U...
It’s finally out! Together with @embopress.org and
@reviewcommons.org, we conducted a structured side-by-side comparison of human peer review and our AI scientific review (see thread 👇👇👇🔥).
Come do a PhD with me and @trevor-lithgow.bsky.social at @monashuniversity.bsky.social ! We’re at the leading edge of pathogen biology using cutting edge Cryo-EM and AI-driven genetic screens to uncover the mysteries of outer membrane biology. Reach out to me for a chat!
macsys.org/phd-scholars...
Exciting line up of talks for CauloCon 2026 - includes keynotes from @brunlabcaulo.bsky.social @lamasonlab.bsky.social and @thanbichlerlab.bsky.social! Hear work from Isaac Payne and Trung Nguyen, 2 students in my lab, on Weds and Thurs. 🤩
The science writing over at @asimovpress.bsky.social is fantastic!
From the origin of the lab vortex, to the history of Xenopus, their content is creative, beautiful, and thoughtfully researched.
Consider assigning some of their pieces in science courses.
www.asimov.press/p/vortex?utm...
1/ With @maxencevincent.bsky.social, we ask: when single bacterial cells behave differently under stress, is it really just “noise”?
Read more @cp-cellreports.bsky.social :
Unveiling hidden variables in stressed bacteria (doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...)
Hey alpha aficionados - it's almost time for CauloCon 2026! This free, virtual meeting will feature talks from @brunlabcaulo.bsky.social @thanbichlerlab.bsky.social and @lamasonlab.bsky.social with opps for trainee talks. Register using the link below. 👇
#Addendum to 1970 paper, “CYTOPLASMIC FILAMENTS OF AMOEBA PROTEUS: I. The Role of Filaments in Consistency Changes and Movement,” includes eight video sequences originally recorded on 16-mm films. No technology was available at the time to include this data. 🎞️ rupress.org/jcb/article/...
#Actin
Submission open for the eighth YB Meeting (deadline - 21st January)! Abstract submission link: forms.gle/SBeQeAp9MR2U...
Registration is open for the 2026 Gordon Research Conference on Microbial Stress Response to be held on July 19-24 2026!! Submit your abstract by February 15th to be considered for a short talk. Apply now before it fills up!! Hope to see you there!! www.grc.org/microbial-st...
Excited to see our new work published! We have established the evolutionary and ecological context of our favorite model Caulobacter and made some unexpected findings.
Who would have thought that close relatives lack dimorphism? And have potential for phototrophy?
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
indeed, 𝘙𝘶𝘨𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘢 𝘰𝘳𝘺𝘻𝘢𝘦 looke like fusilli, which are notably better at holding on salsa di pomodoro than spaghetti... and as pasta addicts, we fell instantly in love with the shape of this newly described alphaproteo from the Rhizobiales 🤭
#MicroSky
![Comparative analysis of the Caulobacter SOS response under mitomycin-C damage. Top left: Schematic summarizing the RNA-sequencing experiment. Caulobacter cells were treated with 0.25 μg/ml mitomycin-C for 20 and 40 min (Created in BioRender). Samples were collected for transcriptomic analysis before (0 min, control), and at 20 and 40 min post damage induction. Top right: Venn diagram representing the genes that meet the listed criteria: 1. Genes induced in wild type cells under MMC damage at 40 min (white circle). 2. Genes induced in ΔlexA in the absence of damage (blue circle). 3. Genes not induced in ΔrecA background under MMC damage at 40 min (gray circle). Genes fulfilling all three criteria are in the gray circle. Number of genes in each category is indicated. Bottom left: Bar graph indicating whether promoters of the shortlisted genes exhibit binding by the LexA protein as assessed from ChIP-seq analysis [10]. Bottom right: LexA ChIP-seq profile for genes belonging to the SOS response. Normalized reads (in rpm) are represented for 500 bp upstream and downstream of the gene CDS.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:5522ztebtekoor5efelihqhb/bafkreigerw7qsbl4br367qyqg3mouvx3va6s7f3pcqugpf2m24adc3wa6y)
Comparative analysis of the Caulobacter SOS response under mitomycin-C damage. Top left: Schematic summarizing the RNA-sequencing experiment. Caulobacter cells were treated with 0.25 μg/ml mitomycin-C for 20 and 40 min (Created in BioRender). Samples were collected for transcriptomic analysis before (0 min, control), and at 20 and 40 min post damage induction. Top right: Venn diagram representing the genes that meet the listed criteria: 1. Genes induced in wild type cells under MMC damage at 40 min (white circle). 2. Genes induced in ΔlexA in the absence of damage (blue circle). 3. Genes not induced in ΔrecA background under MMC damage at 40 min (gray circle). Genes fulfilling all three criteria are in the gray circle. Number of genes in each category is indicated. Bottom left: Bar graph indicating whether promoters of the shortlisted genes exhibit binding by the LexA protein as assessed from ChIP-seq analysis [10]. Bottom right: LexA ChIP-seq profile for genes belonging to the SOS response. Normalized reads (in rpm) are represented for 500 bp upstream and downstream of the gene CDS.
The bacterial #SOSresponse unfolds in a defined temporal order, but how does this arise? @adityakamat.bsky.social @anjbadri.bsky.social &co show that intrinsic #promoter strength, modulated by #SigmaFactor usage, governs timing of SOS gene activation in Caulobacter @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4oAKf0Q
We instead find that intrinsic promoter strength of SOS response genes, governs the temporal order of the Caulobacter SOS response. Our observations also raises the exciting possibility of differential association of sigma factors as a modulator of the observed hierarchy.
A case in point is of two SOS response genes (ccna_01391 and ccna_02355), which possess identical LexA binding sites yet display distinct time to induction post exposure to DNA damage.
The timing of the SOS response has been typically attributed to the binding kinetics of the LexA repressor (with stronger LexA binding leading to delayed induction). We observe that LexA-associated properties are inadequate for explaining the temporal hierarchy of the Caulobacter SOS response.
When bacteria encounter DNA damage, they typically deploy the SOS response- a vast network of genes contributing to DNA damage repair and tolerance. These genes are not turned on simultaneously and exhibit variation in their time of induction. What determines such temporal order?
1/Now published! We identify a novel regulatory layer underlying SOS response dynamic. Find a short summary about our findings below.
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
#MicroSky
A case in point is of two SOS response genes (ccna_01391 and ccna_02355), which possess identical LexA binding sites yet display distinct time to induction post exposure to DNA damage.
The timing of the SOS response has been typically attributed to the binding kinetics of the LexA repressor (with stronger LexA binding leading to delayed induction). We observe that LexA-associated properties are inadequate for explaining the temporal hierarchy of the Caulobacter SOS response.
When bacteria encounter DNA damage, they typically deploy the SOS response- a vast network of genes contributing to DNA damage repair and tolerance. These genes are not turned on simultaneously and exhibit variation in their time of induction. What determines such temporal order?
Now published. Thank you very much to our collaborative team, and very supportive editors and reviewers!!!
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
