The Social Lives of Viruses is coming to Vancouver, Canada, from 4th-8th August 2026!
This is a free meeting dedicated to all aspects of virus-virus interactions & evolution.
To apply: socialviruses.zoology.ubc.ca
@sociovirology.bsky.social #socialviruses #evosky #lovevirology #virosky
again a Science paper super easy to read that I will present to my students (as the ones on T6SS!), congrats again!
Congratulation Melanie!
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/...
Many thanks to @erc.europa.eu @agencerecherche.bsky.social Université de Montréal, Fondation Courtois, CERC, FCI; @cnrs.fr @pasteur.fr and yes I still eat oysters...
>1000 lytic vibriophages sequenced. 4 years later… still there. Same genomes. Same vibes. Different story. When nothing changes—but everything does. Congrats to Jeff & Karine et al. and @epcrocha.bsky.social for the intellectual turbulence ;-)
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Finally, oysters serve as hotspots of horizontal gene transfer betw bacteria, mediated by mobile genetic elements. Which, considering the high density of bacteria in marine animals (rel. environment), could be quite general. Great work led by Jeff Liang, Karine Cahier. With @fredoleroux.bsky.social
Our ms on re-sampling 4 years apart vibrio phage in natural environments is now out with some improvements. First, clearer evidence of cryptic population dynamics between phage and vibrio, presumably because of genetic diversity. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Latest from the lab!
Between clinical S. aureus, most gene transfer mechanisms are blocked, yet lateral transduction remains highly efficient.
Restriction modification-defective strains act as gateways for horizontal gene transfer, enabling DNA flow across populations. rdcu.be/fbNQK
Lundi 9 mars, 12H, évènement CERC Le Roux/decanat UdeM, journée internationale de la femme. Projection documentaire et débat "sur la libération de la parole et de l'écoute de personnes ayant vécu de l’oppression basée sur le genre." Pavillon Jean-Brillant – Salle B-0245 . Inscription avant 2 mars.
Armes puissantes contre la culture du silence, les médias ont permis à des voix restées longtemps mutiques ou étouffées d’être entendues et d’exprimer une somme impressionnante de colères et de désirs" - Caroline Pierret
Plus jamais silencieuses est une installation vidéographique documentaire et participative dont le propos est centré sur la libération de la parole et de l'écoute de personnes ayant vécu de l’oppression basée sur le genre.
Projection du documentaire "Plus jamais silencieuses" de Caroline Pierret
Organisée par la CERC de Frédérique Le Roux, professeure titulaire au @Département de microbiologie, U de M - , en collaboration avec le vice-décanat à la recherche et au développement
www.facebook.com/medecine.umo...
Seeking expressions of interest from researchers abroad for a Canada Impact+ Research Chair ($1M/year × 8 + up to $6M CFI) in AI-enabled antibiotic discovery and/or AMR, phage & phage-based derivatives. Email me a short vision, CV, and 3–5 key papers. Deadline: March 10, 2026 (Intake 2: June 15).
🦠💊 L’Institut @pasteur.fr vient de publier un communiqué de presse sur nos récents travaux, qui décrivent une nouvelle piste pour augmenter l’efficacité des antibiotiques. #Pasteurdon #Recherche #Science #AMR
Merci à toutes celles et ceux qui ont contribué.
📘 English version coming soon!
Many thanks to all those involved, including Jeffrey Liang, who stayed in our lab for several months, our own Charles Bernard and, of course, @fredoleroux.bsky.social and the usual suspects @agencerecherche.bsky.social @erc.europa.eu @cnrsbiologie.bsky.social @pasteur.fr @umontreal.ca etc
Two intensive sampling periods of oyster-associated vibrio and their phage, 4 years apart, and many surprises. Despite being washed by the Atlantic, wide tides, and vibrio (almost?) disappearing most of the year, we can find the exact same virulent phages 4 years later (down to 0 SNP)! preprint👇
Phages evolve fast, or do they?
In oysters, some stay identical for years.
With >1,200 phages & 600 Vibrio genomes, we reveal long-term stability and new mobile elements.
Proud of this collaborative work across our teams (Roscoff-UdeM and @epcrocha.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
Thrilled to share our two latest papers with the @tcostalab.bsky.social
lab! In the first, we uncover a new mechanism of satellite transfer: cf-PICIs hijack tails from diverse phages to spread across species.
@imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Chimeric infective particles expand species boundaries in phage-inducible chromosomal island mobilization: Cell www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
The ecology and evolution of microbial immune systems: a look on the wild vibrio side
Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B by @fredoleroux.bsky.social
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
And thank you so much Pauline!!! It was very cool to see you again with other 'old' conference friends, looking forward to see you again @ Roscoff 2026/Monod conference/virus evolution ;-)?
👉 Next stop: Montréal! 🇨🇦 Thrilled to join the Canada Society of Microbiology (CSM) conference, June 17-20. Science, community, and reconnecting with old friends — can’t wait!
The study involves our microbiologist @fredoleroux.bsky.social, whom we profiled in late 2023 as a new hire and Canada Excellence in Research Chair: nouvelles.umontreal.ca/en/article/2...
Allo Montreal, 11 juin –18H au café La brassée:
"Des sphères aux spirales, des extrémophiles aux probiotiques: plongez dans l’univers fascinant des bactéries ! "
Appéro- Science, qui dit mieux? #cinqascience #5ascience
commemorating pride from the clinical microbiology lab
And I've written a few reviews on the subject over the years, but this one is pretty short, so why not start there ;)
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Allo Montreal, 11 juin –18H au café La brassée:
"Des sphères aux spirales, des extrémophiles aux probiotiques: plongez dans l’univers fascinant des bactéries ! "
Appéro- Science, qui dit mieux? #cinqascience #5ascience
