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

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...

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/...

➡️ 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? 🤔

🧵👇

Thanks David😊

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...

My favourite - the NlaIV system, which can vary its specificity subunit to produce epigenetically heterogeneous populations that present variable bottlenecks to within-species plasmid transmission🤯

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...

I am already excited for my next scientific adventure 🌟 @pasteur.fr @epcrocha.bsky.social

Many thanks also to my assessors @jpjhall.bsky.social and Prof Craig McLean for the thought-provoking discussions during my viva!

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

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...

🚨🚨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...

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...

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

"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...

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

@dunnschool.bsky.social

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.

@dunnschool.bsky.social

pbla is mobilised by the conjugative plasmid pConj, which can harbour a tetracycline resistance marker that confers doxycycline resistance. Due to the close relationship between pbla and pConj, widespread use of Doxy-PEP is likely to promote the spread of both pConj and pbla.

In particular, TEM-135, which has arisen in certain pbla variants, increases resistance to beta-lactams and only requires one amino acid change to become an extended spectrum beta-lactamase.

Subsequently, different evolutionary pathways were taken by three major pbla variants. Changes that mitigate fitness costs of pbla and the emergence of TEM beta-lactamases which confer increased resistance have contributed to the success of pbla.

We investigated the origin and evolution of pbla and demonstrate that the plasmid was acquired on at least two occasions from Haemophilus ducreyi.

Where does the gonococcal beta-lactamase plasmid pbla come from and how does its interaction with the conjugative plasmid pConj, fitness costs and resistance levels determine its spread in the population? And what are the implications for current treatment and prevention strategies such as Doxy-PEP?

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...

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

Absolutely! I finally made it to the bright side and will announce the preprint here as well.
Thanks! I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it!