Please remember that the International Symposium on Plasmid Biology (ISPB 2026) will take place 7–11 September 2026 in Berlin, Germany!

A great opportunity to meet, reconnect, and engage with the global plasmid biology community. 🤝

plasmid-biology-2026.de

Unraveling the Prevalence and Multifaceted Roles of Accessory Peptide Deformylases in Bacterial Adaptation and Resistance Abstract. Peptide deformylases (PDFs) are enzymes that are essential for bacterial viability and attractive targets for antibiotic development. Yet, despit

We've come full circle! I began my postdoctoral career by identifying the peptidyl deformylase gene. Today, we show that half of bacterial species harbor multiple PDF genes (up to 7, for always a single Met-tRNA transformylase), and while the role of these PDFs ... academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...

Evolved plasmid-carrying clones with high copy number contain a mix of full-length and streamlined plasmids. Left: summary of the initial experimental evolution design and nomenclature used for the evolved plasmid-carrying clones. Host strains had either wildtype (w) or increased (m) mutation rate. Treatment indicates the % of plasmid-free hosts added at each passage during evolution. Right: coverage map of evolved clones. Relative coverage of sequencing reads is shown for all clones across R1 sequence length (only the first 50 kb are shown). The AMR region and copies of IS1 are shown against the ancestral R1 (“anc” treatment) coverage map.

Conjugative plasmids help spread AMR genes. @andrewmatthews.bsky.social @sonjalehtinen.bsky.social & @tatianadimitriu.bsky.social show that #AMR loss in evolving populations involves streamlined #plasmids that gain a transmission advantage by deleting AMR genes @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/48NM0BL

Plasmid streamlining drives the extinction of antibiotic resistance plasmids under selection for horizontal transmission Conjugative plasmids play an important role in the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes among pathogenic bacteria. This study shows that AMR loss in evolving populations is associated with t...

Our story on plasmid streamlining is now published in PLoS Biology! With @andrewmatthews.bsky.social and @sonjalehtinen.bsky.social
#MicroSky #Mevosky
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

The next (and last) session of the ISPB Virtual Seminars is coming up on 16 December
Don’t miss the closing of this amazing series! ✨
Save the date!!

#Plasmid #MGE #ISPB

Host genetics regulate bacterial plasmid conjugation differentially in avian ceca explant co-culture through secretory miRNA - npj Antimicrobials and Resistance npj Antimicrobials and Resistance - Host genetics regulate bacterial plasmid conjugation differentially in avian ceca explant co-culture through secretory miRNA

🐓 Bacteria trade resistance genes in the chicken gut, but the host may influence this exchange.
Small RNAs from chicken tissue modulate plasmid transfer between E. coli. 🧬

#Plasmid #Conjugation #miRNA

doi.org/10.1038/s442...

Structure and activation mechanism of a Lamassu phage and plasmid defense system Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 14 October 2025; doi:10.1038/s41594-025-01677-4Li et al. show that a Lamassu defense system protects bacteria from phage infection by activating a lethal tetrameric DNA-cutting enzyme. In the absence of phages, a protein clamp holds the enzyme as an inactive monomer, preventing self-damage.

New online: Structure and activation mechanism of a Lamassu phage and plasmid defense system

How the Vectors of Antibiotic Resistance Have Evolved - Professor Zamin Iqbal YouTube video by Milner Centre for Evolution

Podcast with me and @turiking.bsky.social for the @milnerevolution.bsky.social series, on plasmid evolution over the last 100 years, talking about our ( @cazares-adr.bsky.social , Nick Thomson, @sarah1alexander.bsky.social & co) recent paper www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
youtu.be/Mzr3TD4ijs0?...

Dissecting pOXA-48 fitness effects in clinical Enterobacterales using plasmid-wide CRISPRi screens - Nature Communications This study investigates the effects of the carbapenem resistance plasmid pOXA-48 in clinical enterobacteria. Using CRISPRi screens, the authors revealed that the carbapenemase OXA-48 has a role in the plasmid-associated fitness costs.

Dissecting the fitness effects of a carbapenem resistance plasmid in clinical Enterobacterales using plasmid-wide CRISPRi screens

@aliciapcv.bsky.social @jorgesastred.bsky.social @sanmillan.bsky.social @cnb-csic.bsky.social

#bacteria #plasmids

Non-conjugative plasmids limit their mobility to persist in nature Sabnis et al. explain why non-conjugative plasmids move at a low rate in nature. While increased mobility can easily evolve by incorporating phage DNA into plasmids, this is disadvantageous because it...

New paper with my (amazing) friend and mentor @jrpenades.bsky.social
Really looking forward to see what plasmid aficionados think of this one!!
With @asantoslopez.bsky.social @wfigueroac3.bsky.social Akshay Sabins and others
www.cell.com/cell-reports...

The time has come for you to listen to the next session of the ISPB Virtual Seminar Series. Tuesday, October 14th, from 07:00–08:00 UTC.
Two new speakers, two great new stories.
Do not miss them!
#ISPB #Plasmid #MGEs

Hey hey hey!
Tomorrow, September 16th at 16:00 UTC, don’t miss the next ISPB virtual seminar!
This session will focus on plasmid elimination with great speakers lined up.

#Plasmid #ISPB #MGEs

📢 Postdoctoral research position

A 2-year postdoctoral position on bacteriophages research is available at the Institut Pasteur in Paris in the Plasticity of the Genomes Unit.

🧐 Those interested can now send their applications!

The extended mobility of plasmids Abstract. Plasmids play key roles in the spreading of many traits, ranging from antibiotic resistance to varied secondary metabolism, from virulence to mut

Must-Read Paper 👀

Check out this latest review on plasmid mobility and how interactions between MGEs shape and affect plasmid stability and transfer:

doi.org/10.1093/nar/...

#Plasmid #MGE #Mobility

Heads up! 📢
The 5th Session of the ISPB Virtual Seminars is tomorrow, from 8:00 to 9:00 UTC. Hope to see you there virtually!
#Plasmid #ISPB #VirtualSeminar

Hey! Reminder ‼️

Today we’ll enjoy another session of the ISPB Virtual Seminar Series from 16:00 to 17:00 (UTC).
Join us for some great science!

#Plasmids #MGEs #ISPB

Kicking off the week with exciting news:

🧐 There is still time to register and submit your abstract until 30th May for the 2nd edition of "Secretion Days" (October 2-3, Marseille).

💻Registration:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAI…

📩 More info: secretion@imm.cnrs.fr

Heey! ✋
If you missed the live session of the ISPB Virtual Seminar Series, there's still time to catch up and enjoy the great work of Zhengqing Zhou and Alicia Calvo Villamañán.
Huge thanks to the speakers and the organizers!! 🫂

💡This work brings important biological context to advancing bacterial genomics and highlights the significance of the accessory genome in uncovering patterns of pathogen epidemiology and evolution 🦠

Mobile genetic elements define the non-random structure of the Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi pangenome | mSystems Given bacterial evolution occurs in both vertical and horizontal dimensions, inclusion of both core and accessory genetic material (i.e., the pangenome) is a logical step toward a more thorough unders...

- The authors used a Jaccard Index based approach to compute the Typhi pangenome and study the vertical and horizontal evolutionary relationships among the genomes.

- This analysis revealed a non-random pangenome structure that is driven predominantly by the gain and loss of MGEs.

Mobile genetic elements define the non-random structure of the Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi pangenome | mSystems Given bacterial evolution occurs in both vertical and horizontal dimensions, inclusion of both core and accessory genetic material (i.e., the pangenome) is a logical step toward a more thorough unders...

Must-Read Paper 👀

Wrap up the week exploring how mobile genetic elements (MGEs) drive pangenome structure: Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi.

journals.asm.org/doi/full/10....

#Plasmid #MGEs #Salmonella

Truee!! So sorry!!!!!!

💡This work brings important biological context to advancing bacterial genomics and highlights the significance of the accessory genome in uncovering patterns of pathogen epidemiology and evolution 🦠

-The authors used a Jaccard Index based approach to compute the Typhi pangenome and study the vertical and horizontal evolutionary relationships among the genomes.

-This analysis revealed a non-random pangenome structure that is driven predominantly by the gain and loss of MGEs.

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The ISPB Virtual Seminars 2025 continue tomorrow with the second session:

📅 Tuesday, April 15
🕢 07:00–08:00 (UTC) (everytimezone.com)

Make sure you don't miss it! 🤠

#Plasmid #ISPBVirtualSeries

Imagine resistance genes as stickers, and plasmids as the sticker albums where they're collected and swapped. 🤔🧩

Now, You should check this amazing work from Wang et al.! 👇

doi.org/10.1093/isme...

#Plasmid #MGEs #AntimicrobialResistance #ARGs

#Plasmid #PlasmidTransfer #Conjugation #ARGs #AntimicrobialResistance #StopSmoking @ulikluemper.bsky.social

Effects of cigarette-derived compounds on the spread of antimicrobial resistance in artificial human lung sputum medium, simulated environmental media and wastewater | Environmental Health Perspective... Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and smoking of tobacco products are two of the most important threats to global human health. Both are associated with millions of deaths every year. Surpris...

They also observed that cigarette filters become hotspots of ARGs and pathogens in wastewater stream. 🔥

Read more in: doi.org/10.1289/ehp1...

Cigarettes: bad for your health… and for antibiotic resistance, too? 🚭🚭

Fang, Konyali and colleagues have demonstrated that smoking-derived compounds promote the conjugation rates in different environments (artificial lung sputum medium and environmental medium).

Updates are back! We’ll be sharing papers and reviews relevant to our community. Please, feel free to contact us if you’d like us to feature your work. Thanks!! 🧬