Our April issue is out now featuring...

🔬the impact of foundational, discovery-based microbiology
🪱a nematode-trapping fungus Arthrobotrys oligospora
🏥climate change driving antibiotic resistance
👁️human eye disease linked to aquatic virus transmission

and more! 👇
www.nature.com/nmicrobiol/

An emerging human eye disease is associated with aquatic virus zoonotic infection Nature Microbiology - Covert mortality nodavirus, a pathogen previously known to cause important losses in shrimp aquaculture, is identified as being a potential causative agent of an emerging and...

You can read it on readcube!

rdcu.be/faCLX

Commensals join the effector game Nature Immunology - Bacterial type III secretion systems, traditionally viewed as virulence factors, are prevalent in healthy gut microbiomes, where they deliver effectors that modulate human...

My latest News & Views in Nature Immunology explores work by Young et al. mapping how commensals could use T3SS to "talk" to our cells, fine-tuning our immune responses: rdcu.be/e9JSq @springernature.com
Original: www.nature.com/articles/s41... @interactome.bsky.social @natmicrobiol.nature.com

Science diplomacy, research and global health Nature Microbiology, Published online: 23 March 2026; doi:10.1038/s41564-026-02296-5As a young scientist from the global south, engaging in science diplomacy has brought greater purpose and meaning to my career, writes Delfina Fernandes Hlashwayo.

Out Now! Science diplomacy, research and global health #MicroSky

Weaning, more than a change of food: it shapes a life-long, healthy gut In animal models, weaning reshaped the gut microbiome, which in turn ‘trained’ intestinal stem cells to respond better to microbes later in life.

#Weaning is an important step for #babies -- it affects their #gutHealth as adults. Drs. L Shen, L. Yang et al explain their findings. @natmicrobiol.nature.com @bcmhouston.bsky.social #microbiome #inflammation blogs.bcm.edu/2026/03/24/f...

Spider silk hits the ramp!

Dear researchers, an editor is always on your side Have you ever felt that editors are gatekeepers and just looking for a reason to reject your papers? Let me try to reassure you that we are, in fact, your best friends.

Yes, dear researchers. An editor is perhaps your best friend in publishing.

editorome.substack.com/p/dear-resea...

So much cool synthetic microbiology going around.

After they showed engineered E. coli could convert PET to paracetamol, the group now shows E. coli could be engineered to generate another drug from PET.

Bacteria are the first model system and continue to amaze with the diversity of biology they exhibit, confounding the bias of non-microbiologists who tend to think of bacteria as "simple". Recognizing this important history, @geiselbiofilm.bsky.social, EIC of Journal of Bacteriology @asm.org started

Clostridia from preterm infants metabolize human milk oligosaccharides to suppress pathobionts and modulate intestinal function in organoids - Nature Microbiology Clostridium perfringens lacking perfringolysin O toxin isolated from preterm infants metabolizes human milk oligosaccharide disialyllacto-N-tetraose to produce metabolites that promote the growth of commensal bifidobacteria, inhibit pathogens and suppress inflammation in an organoid model.

A new probiotic in development? 🦠👶

Clostridium perfringens isolated from preterm infants metabolizes human milk oligosaccharide to promote commensal Bifidobacteria, inhibit pathogens and suppress inflammation in organoids
Interesting work from @stewartlab.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Clostridia from preterm infants metabolize human milk oligosaccharides to suppress pathobionts and modulate intestinal function in organoids Nature Microbiology, Published online: 16 March 2026; doi:10.1038/s41564-026-02297-4Clostridium perfringens lacking perfringolysin O toxin isolated from preterm infants metabolizes human milk oligosaccharide disialyllacto-N-tetraose to produce metabolites that promote the growth of commensal bifidobacteria, inhibit pathogens and suppress inflammation in an organoid model.

Out Now! Clostridia from preterm infants metabolize human milk oligosaccharides to suppress pathobionts and modulate intestinal function in organoids #MicroSky

Clostridia from preterm infants metabolize human milk oligosaccharides to suppress pathobionts and modulate intestinal function in organoids - Nature Microbiology Clostridium perfringens lacking perfringolysin O toxin isolated from preterm infants metabolizes human milk oligosaccharide disialyllacto-N-tetraose to produce metabolites that promote the growth of c...

#microsky #microbiomesky #microbiome

From Chris Stewart’s lab with a sialic acid twist

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Associate Senior Lecturer/Assistant Professor in Molecular Microbiology The Department of Biology conducts research and teaching in many subject areas such as ecology, evolutionary biology, organismal biology and molecular biology. A total of approximately 300 people curr

Associate Senior Lecturer/Assistant Professor position in Molecular Microbiology available at Lund University, Sweden:
lu.varbi.com/en/what:job/...

Empiric azithromycin alters the upper respiratory microbiome and resistome without anti-inflammatory benefit in COVID-19 - Nature Microbiology Longitudinal metatranscriptomics in a prospective cohort of 1,164 adults hospitalized for COVID-19 reveals that azithromycin offered no apparent anti-inflammatory benefit but enriched the respiratory ...

Lessons still being learnt from the COVID19 pandemic 💡 🦠

While it was widely used in hospitalised patients, Azithromycin didn't offer a significant anti-inflammatory benefit but enriched the respiratory microbiome with potential pathogens and AMR genes.

#MicroSky

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The tremendous amount of computing resources required to simulate even a minimal bacterium for a short duration really puts into perspective what a remarkable machine such a tiny organism is.

#MicroSky

Antibiotic use and gut microbiome composition links from individual-level prescription data of 14,979 individuals - Nature Medicine Using individual-level data from the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register and fecal metagenomes of 14,979 individuals in Sweden, the authors examined the association between oral antibiotic use over 8 yea...

#NatMicroPicks

Antibiotics in the long run ⌛💊🦠

Antibiotic use shows lasting associations with reduced gut microbial diversity for up to 8 years, indicating long-term impacts on the adult gut microbiome.

#MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#NatMicroPicks

No-GMO enhanced Bt toxin 🦠🌱🪲

Naturally occurring 'sporesilk' matrix coating the Bacillus thuringiensis toxin crystals boosts insecticidal activity providing a non-GMO pest biocontrol.

#MicroSky

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Acinetobacter baumannii’s lifestyle includes soil-dwelling colonization of decaying plant material and airborne spread - Nature Communications Little is known about the ecology and evolution of the nosocomial pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii outside the hospital. Here, Wilharm et al. show that the lifestyle of A. baumannii includes soil-dwel...

#NatMicroPicks

The versatile Acinetobacter baumannii! 🦠

The dreaded pathogen naturally occupies soil and airborne niches that underpin its recalcitrance and human contact may have shaped its evolution.

#MicroSky

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Genetically engineered eye-colonizing microbes that deliver the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 enhance corneal tissue repair Engineered bacteria provide a platform for localized delivery of therapeutics. Here, Shane et al. show that an engineered eye commensal can accelerate corneal wound healing by promoting epithelial wou...

#NatMicroPicks

Therapeutic eye bacteria 🦠👁️🔧

Engineered eye‑colonizing bacteria deliver IL‑10 long‑term to reduce inflammation, and accelerate corneal wound healing.

#MicroSky

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

Highly mutagenic continuous evolution in E. coli using a Φ29-based orthogonal replication system - Nature Biotechnology Mutational rates of bacterial evolution are increased using an error-prone orthogonal system.

#NatMicroPicks

Sending evolution into overdrive 🔧🦠

A Φ29‑based DNA replication system in E. coli enables stable and targeted hypermutation achieving evolution of enzyme activities within days

#MicroSky

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A lot has been said about AI in biological research. While it is certainly a disruptive force, it is not yet an assistant you could blindly delegate your scientific tasks to.

Read our thoughts on the promise and pitfalls of AI in this month's editorial

#MicroSky 🦠🤖

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Very sad news indeed. 😔

Please join our editor Lia Parkin at Keystone Symposia Human Microbiome: From Models and Mechanism to Medicine January 19-22 in Banff! Hope to see you there! https://keysym.us/KSMicrobiome26 #KSMicrobiome26

Next week, I will be at the microbiome Keystone Symposia at Banff, Canada. Looking forward to socialising with brilliant scientists and learning about their interesting research.

If you're also there, catch me for a quick chat!

#MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky

Fungal commensal promotes intestinal repair via its secreted peptide in mice - Nature Microbiology A short peptide derived from a commensal-fungal-secreted protein promotes repair in models of colon epithelial damage when delivered directly or via probiotic microbes.

A fungal commensal secretes a protein that stimulates cellular regeneration in injured gut tissue in mice, with probiotic potential for treating gut-related conditions. #NBThighlight www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Large-scale testing of antimicrobial lethality at single-cell resolution predicts mycobacterial infection outcomes - Nature Microbiology Via high-throughput imaging and tracking over 140 million single mycobacteria, the authors show that drug- and strain-specific killing predict treatment outcomes, with potential to improve drug develo...

#microsky

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Structural insights into the assembly and evolution of a complex bacterial flagellar motor - Nature Microbiology Structural, genetic, functional and biochemical analyses of the complex flagellar motor of Campylobacter jejuni reveal structural adaptations with an ancient origin also found more widely across bacte...

This is 😮

Structural insights into the assembly and evolution of a complex bacterial flagellar motor

#microsky

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Credit in research goes hand in hand with responsibility. In this week’s editorial we argue that when things go wrong & a retraction is needed, if it is clear who among the authors is responsible they should be named in the retraction note. COPE agrees
🧪 #AcademicSky
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

New Perspective!

Navigating the duality of Akkermansia muciniphila

by Erica Grant, Elena Monzel & Mahesh Desai

#microsky #microbiomesky

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

New Microbe Matters!

@relenski.bsky.social traces the legacy of Escherichia coli and how science is evolving to use this model organism in new ways

#microsky

www.nature.com/articles/s41...