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...
Structures of the QatBC complex from Angela Gao and Doug Wassarman in our group reveal an evolutionary link between QatABCD and Type IV CBASS and a role for protein deazguanylation in diverse anti-phage defense systems
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
New preprint from the lab!
We developed a new tool to identify prokaryotic species (down to the strain level) directly from mass spectrometry-based bottom up proteomics data.
#teammassspec #microsky
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Those amazing #phages 🦠 figured out 5mC chemistry before we did:
📄 Out today in @MolecularCell we describe a 5mC-selective #deaminase family in environmental phage genomes with broad applications for #5base #sequencing
#epigenetics #DNAmethylation #genomics #NGS 🧬🧪
www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
Bacteriophages are in a constant arms race with bacteria 🦠 The Phage ORFeome pooled library from the Aaron Whiteley lab contains phage proteins that activate antiphage defense systems — a tool to dissect the mechanisms of bacterial immunity. Aaron Whiteley
Congrats Kotaro!
Happy to share our new work on how phages escape bacterial immunity.
We show that a phage homing endonuclease drives segmental amplification of anti-defense genes, pointing to a versatile and rapid mode of adaptation.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#PhageSky #MicroSky
Antiviral reverse transcriptase-primase synthesizes protein-templated DNA www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.04...
Structural basis of QueC-family protein function in qatABCD anti-phage defense | Nature Communications https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-72155-8
ASO-mediated mRNA silencing enables functional analysis and selective depletion of the human microbiota Prevotellaceae www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.04...
An illustration of an apical region of an animal cell in cross section, shown crowded with individual molecules. The plasma membrane is densely occupied by influenza virus glycoproteins, and from the surface bud influenza virions with different morphologies (L-R): spherical, bacilliform, filamentous with a genome, filamentous and empty, filamentous with a helical inner layer, and filamentous with a cofilactin cytoskeleton.
🚨New pre-print!🚨
Because influenza virions are highly variable in form no single method can show their molecular architecture in detail. Here, we integrate multiple structural and compositional approaches to identify new features of these beautiful virus particles
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
I’m looking for an automated way to read others’s scientific data without giving credit or acknowledgement, and also claim full credit for insights from it. And I want it to have a fitting name
OAI: say no more
We’re hiring a Junior Group Leader - AI in immunotherapy - to join our team at the earliest possible date. The position is embedded within my Chair and the Chair of Cellular Immunotherapy (Michael Hudecek), and connected to CAIDAS center for AI.
med.uni-wuerzburg.de/fileadmin/03...
Excited to share our new findings in @science.org on how the DRT3 bacterial defense system uses a reverse transcriptase that builds DNA repeats without a nucleic acid template. Microbes never cease to amaze!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Finally published. Many thanks to a wonderful collaborative team and scientific platforms!!! And thanks to editors and reviewers for enthusiasm and a great review.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
1/8 🔥 New preprint dropped: Dynamic co-existence of bacteriophages and their hosts 🦠 in the Arabidopsis thaliana 🌱 phyllosphere
Work led by the indomitable @sheilaroitman.bsky.social
#plantscience #microbiome #holobiont
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
We are looking for a postdoctoral scientist to work on challenging and exciting neuroproteomics problems. Close collaboration with @coscialab.bsky.social Apply: jobs.helmholtz-hzi.de/job/Braunsch...
#joboffer #Germany
plz spread it
I'm hiring a Junior leader (E13; 100% for 3-5 y) to start own independence w/ focus on #CryoEM SPA or ET
Ideally 1-2y postdoc experience
Plz get in touch, if you are interested in #Structural biology & #MicroBiochem
@sfb1381.bsky.social @vaam-microbes.bsky.social
Dynamic co-existence of bacteriophages and their hosts in the Arabidopsis thaliana phyllosphere www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.04...
Single-cell RNA-seq of the rare virosphere reveals the native hosts of giant viruses in the marine environment www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A phage-encoded sponge protein suppresses bacterial TIR-Caspase immune signaling | Nature Communications https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-71527-4
Structural atlas of the intact jumbo phage phiKZ | Nature Communications https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-71561-2
Excited to share our new paper out today in @science.org 🎉
We show that HGT via natural competence drives diversification of chromosomal integrons in V. cholerae 🤩
Below a 🧵 on key findings incl. background on natural competence in V. cholerae 1/
#microsky #phagesky
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
The phage nucleus synergizes with an anti-defense protein to resist bacterial immunity: Cell Reports www.cell.com/cell-reports...
PostDoc position available!
(links in post below)
Feel free to share!
A new paper reports a cytosine hypermodification pathway in phage HY126 that confers nuclease resistance
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Repurposing anti-phage defenses to differentially arrest the viral lifecycle reveals the regulatory logic of a parasitic satellite www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.04...
cDNA-guided functional selection uncovers selective defense systems against RNA phages www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.04...
Our work on 'hidden diversity' in unbinned contigs is now published in @natmicrobiol.nature.com :
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
See the linked threads for more details!