Epistatic interaction between ribosome-associated Era GTPase and stringent response regulator RelA modulates bacterial cell growth and dormancy www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.04...

Microbial Primer: Bacterial energy metabolism All cells need energy to perform their functions. This primer introduces energy metabolism in bacteria, with a focus on key pathways and examples from model organisms, while acknowledging that bacteri...

Microbial Primer: Bacterial energy metabolism www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour... #jcampubs

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...

New in JB: In the CF airway, P. aeruginosa transitions from an acute to chronic pathogen. Roxana Flores-Vega, Roberto Rosales-Reyes et al. review the role of 2-component systems in this crucial adaptation.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
@asm.org #JBacteriology

Forecasting Multitrait Resistance Evolution under Antibiotic Stress Abstract. Many bacteria rely on efflux pumps to survive antibiotic stress and exposure to antibiotics often leads to mutations in pump genes or their regul

@suvamroy.bsky.social @elibbyscience.bsky.social & @peteralind.bsky.social modeled gene expression in P. aeruginosa efflux systems, analysing how the complex regulatory networks associated with efflux pumps might evolve under antibiotic treatments.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag065

#evobio #molbio

Not all #Salmonella equal in terms of infection risk!

By combining population #genomics & global datasets, we identify lineage-specific markers linked to human infection - including a conserved prophage in S. Agona🦠

This highlights the potential for genomics-informed risk prediction in food safety

Pseudomonas aeruginosa dynamically prioritizes motility and resource recycling during prolonged starvation | mSystems Molecular microbiology has traditionally focused on exponential growth in model organisms as the preferred context in which to study bacterial physiology, especially the regulation of new protein synt...

Now out in its final form, our investigation of how Pseudomonas aeruginosa manages resources to permit ongoing adaptations to environment during starvation:
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/... Congrats to first author @findunmun1.bsky.social, and co-authors Claudia Hemsley and Elize Ambulte.

Happy to have contributed a very small part to this study #microsky 🧪

Top: Diagram showing Type VI Secretion System–mediated interbacterial antagonism integrated with a computational pipeline used to identify and classify previously uncharacterized antibacterial effector families. Created in BioRender. Bayer-Santos, E. (2026). Bottom left: E. coli toxicity assay. Serial dilutions of E. coli carrying pBRA and pEXT22 constructs. Bottom right: Time-lapse microscopy of E. coli carrying pBRA SP-Tox-Act1 grown on repressed or induced conditions. Scale bar: 5 µm. Timestamps in hours and minutes.

During microbial warfare, #bacteria deploy toxins to inhibit or kill competitors. @ebayersantos.bsky.social &co reveal lipid-targeting #antibacterial #toxins & novel toxin domains within #Salmonella T6SS effectors, broadening known toxin enzymatic diversity @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/40zTyEP

Hedging their bets: how bacterial pathogens diversify to survive infection Phenotypic heterogeneity within isogenic bacterial populations represents a fundamental adaptation strategy that enables pathogen survival across the …

New review out! Bacterial pathogens diversify to survive during infection - using bet-hedging and division of labor to generate specialized subpopulations. We explore how host signal actively drive this process

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

#microsky

Four paradigms of bacterial-fungal interactions based on different QS systems. (A) P. aeruginosa can inhibit the morphological transition of C. albicansfrom yeast to hyphae. Meanwhile, farnesol, produced by C. albicans, can induce the production of C4-HSL and PQS in P. aeruginosa biofilm mutants. (B) Adual-species biofilm formed by S. mutans and C. albicans exhibits higher cell counts and biomass. (C) In the antagonistic interaction between the soil-bornebacterium B. subtilis and the fungal plant pathogen S. scabies, heritable phenotypic variation in the bacterium is mediated by mutations in the ComQXPA QSsystem. (D) P. putida KT2440 secretes two extracellular adhesive proteins, LapA and LapF, to form a biofilm. The dimorphic fungus O. piceae uses farnesol as a QSMto regulate its morphological transition from yeast to hyphal form.

How do bacteria and fungi communicate? In #mBio, researchers we examine the intricate quorum sensing-based dialog between these 2 types of microbes, focusing on its role in microbial network assembly and ecosystem function. Read the review: asm.social/2QX

A small polymerase ribozyme that can synthesize itself and its complementary strand The emergence of a chemical system capable of self-replication and evolution is a critical event in the origin of life. RNA polymerase ribozymes can replicate RNA, but their large size and structural ...

A small polymerase ribozyme that can synthesize itself and its complementary strand | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

New in JB: Kang, Hwang et al. identify a two-component system for sensing and neutralizing toxic environmental ammonia. This system is likely imprtant in environments where amino acids are catabolized, leading to ammonia production.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
@asm.org #JBacteriology

The metabolome of an E. coli CRISPRi library identifies benefits of minimal metabolite levels and targets for engineering Rapp et al. combine genome-scale CRISPRi and metabolomics in E. coli. CRISPRi of enzymes enforces metabolite accumulation, which leads to regulatory crosstalk and side reactions. This suggests that ma...

#microsky #synbiosky

www.cell.com/cell-systems...

Intracellular cyclization-coupled peptide library screening yields potent transcription factor antagonists Brennan et al. integrate chemical peptide cyclization with live-cell screening, expanding the functional chemical space accessible to intracellular genetically encoded peptide libraries. The approach delivers functional cyclic peptide inhibitors of the oncogenic transcription factor CREB1, illustrating a general strategy for targeting transcription factor-DNA interactions previously considered “undruggable.”

Online now! Online now! Intracellular cyclization-coupled peptide library screening yields potent transcription factor antagonists #chembiol

🔔Collaborator Advert🔔

I am looking to get my hands on some Lactobacillus spp. from the urogenital tract for work on UTIs and AMR. Does anyone have any that they would be willing to share?

I had a contact, but the MTA has been a nightmare to sort from their end, so struggling.

Are you a post-doctoral microbiologist interested in characterising bacterial resistance evolution and want to apply your knowledge and expertise to developing new therapeutics for Klebsiella (and other Enterobacterales) infections? Then we need you! Apply now bit.ly/3MX39Ce close date March 13th 👀

Gasdermins against intracellular bacterial pathogens Nature Microbiology, Published online: 20 February 2026; doi:10.1038/s41564-026-02272-zThis Review discusses recent advances in our understanding of how gasdermins are activated by distinct signalling pathways and summarizes recent findings from host-adapted bacterial pathogens contrasted with environmental bacteria.

Out Now! Gasdermins against intracellular bacterial pathogens #MicroSky

Fluid flow and environmental geometry guide the journey of swimming bacteria In natural and artificial settings, fluid flow and hydrodynamic interactions shape how bacteria attach to surfaces and form biofilms. Tao et al. show that motile E. coli can swim upstream through micr...

Fluid flow and environmental geometry guide the journey of swimming bacteria

@cellcellpress.bsky.social Preview by Eleonora Secchi
on Tao et al 2026 Newton paper

www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...

JB Table of Contents Volume 208, Issue 2 Journal of Bacteriology: Table of Contents Volume 208, Issue 2

The newest issue of JB is out! Topics include carboxysomes, Helicobacter & cancer, Tad pili, sulfite stress, norepinephrine & Fur, & more.
journals.asm.org/toc/jb/208/2
@asm.org #JBacteriology

Cell-free genomics reveals fundamental regulatory principles of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis transcription cycle Tiers of gene regulation govern cellular life. The intrinsic activities of RNA polymerase (RNAP) constitute a primary tier, while direct modulation by…

Congrats Ruby, Bob, Liz, and team! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

UKRI CEO updates the research community on areas of uncertainty Following an open letter of 1 February, Sir Ian Chapman responds to feedback and provides an update.

www.ukri.org/news/ukri-ce...

Spatial structure: shaping the ecology and evolution of microbial communities Spatial structure naturally emerges in microbial communities, shaping growth, interactions, and evolution, and revealing how microscale processes scale up

Most microbes don't live in shaking flasks; spatial structure shapes how microbes interact and evolve at every scale, as we discuss in our recent review @jeroenmeijer.bsky.social @simonvanvliet.bsky.social @bedutilh.bsky.social @bramvandijk.bsky.social and others
academic.oup.com/femsre/artic... 🧵👇

New in JB: Wang, Liu et al. review the role and regulation of type VI secretion system of the marine V. parahaemolyticus during pathogenesis.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
@asm.org #JBacteriology

1/2
"All T6SS-inducing regulators are equal, but some regulators are more equal than others".
Preprint 🚨: We use #Vibrio to show that #T6SS activation by regulator manipulation may result in the expression of different effector repertoires, affecting toxicity 🦠
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Unveiling hidden variables in stressed bacteria

@cp-cellreports.bsky.social Review by @divyach.bsky.social and @maxencevincent.bsky.social

www.cell.com/cell-reports...

New in JB: Jackson, Kearns et al. describe a role for ClpX-dependent proteolysis of a global regulator controlling expression of the flagellar genes and thus motility.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
@asm.org #JBacteriology

Versatile enzyme that quickly, accurately synthesizes RNA can also perform reverse transcription From vaccines and diagnostics to emerging gene-based therapies, RNA molecules are now central to modern medicine. But as their use continues to grow, so does a fundamental challenge: producing RNA qui...

phys.org/news/2026-02...
#MicroSky

Massively parallel reporter assays: from barcodes to biology Nature Reviews Genetics, Published online: 10 February 2026; doi:10.1038/s41576-026-00944-4In this Journal Club, Fumitaka Inoue discusses a 2009 paper by Patwardhan et al. that introduced a massively parallel saturation-mutagenesis assay that leverages high-throughput DNA synthesis and sequencing to quantify the effects of single-nucleotide changes on regulatory element activity.

New online! Massively parallel reporter assays: from barcodes to biology