The main grant that made this work possible came from @agencerecherche.bsky.social JCJC #FOCuS ANR-19-CE20-0010!

Elisa Dell'Aglio, Blanca Soriano Saiz, Charline Dalverny, Veronica La Padula, Petri Turunen, Isabelle Rahioui, Agnès Vallier, @cmonegat.bsky.social, Baptiste Vierne, @nicolasparisot.bsky.social, Guy Condemine, Pedro Da Silva, Xavier Jaurand, Yannick Schwab, @kaltenpoth-lab.bsky.social, Aziz Heddi

This adventure was only possible thanks to all our wonderful colleagues and collaborators - Thank you!

🔬Séverine Balmand, Camille Rivard, Sergio Peignier,
@rachelmellwig.bsky.social , Meriem Debbache, Justin Maire,
@tcsengl.bsky.social ky.social, @mariferrarini.bsky.social ky.social

How do your favorite bacteria look like under transmission electron microscopy, when using High-Pressure Cryofixation instead of chemical fixation? 👀

Tubenets are just another striking example of what bacteria can do with their #membranes, a field of research that is expanding rapidly!

Our working model is that tubenets help bacteria access carbohydrates. Similarly to the microvilli in our gut cells, they increase surface area for exchange, between bacteria and with the host cytosol.

→ Antibody stainings showed that these structures carry bacterial outer-membrane markers

→ Electron tomography (with the @yschwab.bsky.social Lab, @embl.org) showed that these structures interconnect into complex networks

→ STXM @synchrotron soleil showed that the structures are enriched in sugar

Bacteria wrapped in massive, complex tubular membrane structures.
We called them tubenets.

To understand what these structures were, we pursued the investigation, thanks to an amazing team and collaborative work:

A few years ago, we decided to use High-Pressure Cryofixation on samples, before electron microscopy imaging.

Why? To better preserve the membranes and locate a transmembrane protein we were studying.

Then we saw something unexpected 🧐

We study mutualistic symbiotic #bacteria that live inside the cells of an #insect of agronomic interest. It’s an obligate relationship: the bacteria complete the insect’s nutritional input. They cannot grow outside this host’s cells. Both partners exchange #nutrients.

📣 Our latest article is out in Cell @cp-cell.bsky.social:

doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...

A scientific adventure, retold as a 🧵!

📣 #OurLastPaper is out! And it's a major breakthrough that we're publishing in @cp-cell.bsky.social l: we've discovered architect bacteria that build complex structures to feed themselves better!
#SymbioSky 1/5

Congratulations @francoisleulier.bsky.social, recipient of the Jaffé Prize - Fondation de l'Institut de France. This award honors work or experiences aimed at advancing progress and the well-being of humanity.

Many thanks @amanzanom.bsky.social !