Maria Dzunkova
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dzunkovam.bsky.social
Maria Dzunkova
@dzunkovam.bsky.social
Microbial Single-Cell Genomics group leader at the Institute for Integrative Systems Biology #I2SysBio @i2sysbio.es, University of Valencia @uv.es, interested in unknown microbes 🇸🇰🇨🇿🇪🇦🇦🇺🇺🇲🇪🇦 https://i2sysbio.es/groups/19 #single-cell #metagenomics
Another collaborative effort to uncover new broad-spectrum antivirals! This one works for SARS-CoV-2, respiratory syncytial virus, and Ebolavirus (as well as HIV and EVA71 from another work). pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
A Tetrapodal Tryptophan Derivative with Multiple Exposed Free Carboxylic Acids Blocks Host Cell Entry of Omicron SARS-Cov-2 and Respiratory Syncytial Virus
Omicron sublineages of SARS-CoV-2 have accelerated the spread of the virus and facilitated immune escape. In this work, we demonstrate that compound 2, a potent HIV and enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) entry inhibitor previously discovered in our research group, also displays potent in vitro activity against different SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants while showing no activity against the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan strain. Moreover, its sodium salt (2-Na salt) exhibited in vivo antiviral activity in a murine model of Omicron BA.1. infection. Indeed, biophysical and cryo-EM studies revealed binding of 2-Na salt to the Omicron BA.1 spike (S) protein stabilizing a “closed” form in which ∼75% of the S particles have all RBDs down, unlike the usual “open” form with one RBD up. Such “closed” form decreases S avidity for the cellular receptor ACE2, thus inhibiting viral entry. Computer-assisted modeling studies strongly suggest that 2 can interact with the intersubunit cavity of the S trimer of the Omicron BA.1 subvariant, making use of the multivalency principle. In this context, compound 2 can be considered a pharmacological tool for studying and validating new antiviral strategies against Omicron variants. We also identified 2 as a potent inhibitor of RSV and the Ebola virus. The effectiveness of 2 against a diverse set of viruses of different families supports its use as a promising lead for the development of entry inhibitors against current and future viral infections, representing a meaningful advance in the field.
pubs.acs.org
November 22, 2025 at 7:36 AM
Reposted by Maria Dzunkova
Full day of cool science at Beijing, teaching, training & meeting old friends at the #instituteofbotany from the #chineseacademyofsciences #zhanwudai @i2sysbio.es
November 19, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Finally having our Springer book in my hands!
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...

#microsky #single-cell @i2sysbio.es
November 17, 2025 at 2:44 PM
SingleM v0.20.2 - ONT/PacBio input reads now supported (if somewhat inefficiently), plus improved Lyrebird database for phage profiling.

Microbial fraction is now prokaryotic fraction, easier to specify input genomes.
November 17, 2025 at 7:30 AM
I has been a great pleasure presenting at the @catbiogenoma.bsky.social congress today. There are so many fascinating animals and plants being sequenced now! As the only prokaryote researcher I felt very welcome and found new important collaborators🤩
@i2sysbio.es #bioinformatics #nudibranchs
November 12, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Metagenomics colleagues!

I'm looking for studies where both Illumina and ONT sequencing were performed on the same samples from soil, human, ruminent, and other sample types for comparison. Bonus if those studies include PacBio data.

Please help and share!
November 11, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Our Springer Nature book is just published! Big thanks to the co-editor Chris Rinke
@chrisrinke.bsky.social and to all book contributors, coming from @i2sysbio.es, @jgi.doe.gov and many other institutes I couldn't find on BlueSky
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
#microsky #singlecell #genomics 🧪🦠
Single-Cell Omics in Microbiome Research
This volume introduces single-cell microbial (gen)omics as an innovative approach to study microbial diversity and symbiosis
link.springer.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Reposted by Maria Dzunkova
🚨vConTACT3 preprint live!🚨(Peer Review soon...!)

vConTACT3 delivers a unified, scalable, and transparent framework for genome-based virus taxonomy — helping translate big viral data into systematic classification.

🔗 Read the preprint: doi.org/10.1101/2025...

Improvements details below 👇
Scalable and systematic hierarchical virus taxonomy with vConTACT3
Viruses are key players in diverse ecosystems, but studying their impacts is technically and taxonomically challenging. Taxonomic complexities derive from undersampling, diverse DNA and RNA genomes wi...
doi.org
November 7, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Reposted by Maria Dzunkova
This paper has been a must! Great collaboration with @mkrupovic.bsky.social and @yifanzhou.bsky.social, a N&V by a legend of halophilic archaea tinyurl.com/yc3dcv72, and one picture of one of our expeditions to Dallol making the cover of the November issue of @natmicrobiol.nature.com

rdcu.be/eLtCH
November 2, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Reposted by Maria Dzunkova
GcMeta - a new global resource of metagenome-assembled genomes and their encoded functions with an easy to use, interactive and searchable website academic.oup.com/nar/advance-...
gcMeta 2025: a global repository of metagenome-assembled genomes enabling cross-ecosystem microbial discovery and function research
Abstract. The rapid growth of metagenomic sequencing has generated an unprecedented wealth of metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs), transforming opportuniti
academic.oup.com
November 3, 2025 at 9:01 AM
Reposted by Maria Dzunkova
Nature suggests you use their "Manuscript Adviser" bot to get advice before submitting

I uploaded the classic Watson & Crick paper about DNA structure, and the Adviser had this to say about one of the greatest paper endings of the century:
November 3, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Reposted by Maria Dzunkova
First time posting on Bluesky! 🥳 We discovered a new pilus family in cyanobacteria. The pilin has a novel protein fold that forms a super-tight double-layer tube. Similar gene clusters exist in a few cyanobacterial orders. A great collaboration with John and others! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A family of tubular pili from harmful algal bloom forming cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa - Nature Communications
Ricca et al discover a new family of tubular pili in Microcystis aeruginosa, a harmful algal bloom-forming cyanobacterium. These pili are crucial for buoyancy by forming cell micro-colonies, which inc...
www.nature.com
October 24, 2025 at 4:08 AM
Reposted by Maria Dzunkova
This is an INCREDIBLE advance in our understanding of coral diversification. 🪸🎉 Fantastic new work led by @claudiavaga.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A global coral phylogeny reveals resilience and vulnerability through deep time - Nature
The most recent common ancestor of the stony coral Scleractinia dates to about 460 million years ago and was probably a solitary, heterotrophic and free-living organism.
www.nature.com
October 23, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Reposted by Maria Dzunkova
I’m very happy this is finally out! Here, we showcase the combination of BONCAT and SIP metaproteomics to uncover rare and active microbes driving anaerobic acetate turnover. We are excited to see what other microbial metabolisms and ecosystems this approach can help to illuminate! 🦠
October 21, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Reposted by Maria Dzunkova
🧪🎥 Rosario Gil, IP del grupo de Genética Evolutiva en el #I2SysBio (@csic.es[email protected]), explica su trayectoria y la labor de su grupo en esta entrevista.

Este video forma parte de una serie de presentaciones del centro sobre sus grupos de investigación.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsS6...
Interview of Rosario Gil, Principal Investigator of the Evolutionary Genetics group
YouTube video by Institute for Integrative Systems Biology I2SysBio
www.youtube.com
October 17, 2025 at 9:52 AM
🚨 Last chance to register for the One Health Pangenome 25 congress, December 2-5 in Valencia 🇪🇸 Abstract submission deadline October 31st. I'll be talking about high-throughput #single-cell genomics by @atrandi.bsky.social for linking bacteria with #phages
#bioinformatics #congress #microsky 🧬🖥️🦠🧪
👉Congress
👉One Health Pangenome 25
The microbial pangenome in one health
December 2-5, 2025, Valencia, Spain
www.alocongress.com/pangenome2025

👉New Deadlines
Abstract Submission: Oct 31st, 2025
Early Bird Registration: Nov 14th, 2025
Students’ Fee Discount

🧬🖥️🔬🌱🧪
#bioinformatics #pangenome #science
PANGENOME2025
The biology of prokaryotic cells is directly dependent on the differential gene pools that characterize each cell or strain. This has been a fundamental aspect of epidemiology for delimiting outbreaks...
www.alocongress.com
October 16, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Reposted by Maria Dzunkova
🎉👏 #I2SysBio (@uv.es - @csic.es) researchers Rafael Sanjuán, Andrés Moya and @pilardomingoc.bsky.social are included in Stanford University's Word Ranking Scientists. This ranking recognises the top 2% of authors worldwide for the excellence of their intellectual output.

www.uv.es/uvweb/biolog...
Investigadors de la Facultat de Ciències Biològiques al Stanford University - World Ranking of Scientists dels més influents del món
La setmana passada es va publicar l’ Stanford University - World Ranking of Scientists. Una classificació de més de 236.313 científics que conformen el Top 2% d'autors més citats basada en publicacion...
www.uv.es
October 15, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Reposted by Maria Dzunkova
Proud to be included in the top 2% World Ranking of Scientist @stanforduniversity.bsky.social, and to be the only woman at my Faculty in 2024 @ccbiologiquesuv.bsky.social. Thanks to my lab #EnBiVirLab @i2sysbio.es @uv.es @csic.es, all collaborators, and special thanks to all #VLCPhageHunters!
October 14, 2025 at 7:36 PM
My @i2sysbio.es 🇪🇸 colleague Javier Buceta @javierbuceta.bsky.social welcomes #postdoc position applications
#bioinformatics 🖥🧬🧪
October 13, 2025 at 1:25 PM
My @i2sysbio.es colleagues Jérémy Dufloo @jeremydufloo.bsky.social and Rafael Sanjuan @rafa-sanjuan.bsky.social published a paper in Nature Microbiology @natmicrobiol.nature.com on receptors of porcine coronavirus. Congratulations! 👏👏👏
#microsky #viruses #coronavirus 🧬🖥🧪🧫🦠
October 11, 2025 at 6:32 AM
Reposted by Maria Dzunkova
Back from #MycoVLC2025 after presenting our M. tuberculosis work. Huge thanks to Mireia for stellar mentorship. Proud of my @pathogenomics.bsky.social mycolegas for standout posters. Energized to turn ideas into results. #TB #TBResearch @i2sysbio.es
October 10, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Reposted by Maria Dzunkova
🎥🧪 Conoce a @rongellerlab.bsky.social, Investigador Principal del grupo Biología viral, y el trabajo que realiza junto a su equipo.

Esta entrevista forma parte de una serie de vídeos de presentación del #I2SysBio (@csic.es- @uv.es) sobre sus grupos de investigación

youtu.be/5mr4st5Vfyw
Interview of Ron Geller, Principal Investigator of the Viral Biology group
YouTube video by Institute for Integrative Systems Biology I2SysBio
youtu.be
October 9, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Reposted by Maria Dzunkova
👩‍🔬La investigadora del #I2SysBio (@uv.es[email protected]) @pilardomingoc.bsky.social ha sido propuesta por la revista Magas de @elespanol.com para formar parte del Top 100 Mujeres Líderes.

🔗Te invitamos a leer su propuesta y votarla.
💜¡Enhorabuena, Pilar!

www.elespanol.com/mujer/lastop...
Vota por Pilar Domingo Calap en las Top 100 Mujeres Líderes en España - Votaciones 11 Edición - magasIN
Votaciones para Pilar Domingo Calap en la categoría Académicas e Investigadoras - Top 100 Mujeres Líderes en España 11ª edición
www.elespanol.com
October 8, 2025 at 7:50 AM
My @i2sysbio.es colleagues Robby Concha-Eloko, Beatriz Beamud @beatrizbeamud.bsky.social, Pilar Domingo-Calap @pilardomingoc.bsky.social & Rafael Sanjuan @rafa-sanjuan.bsky.social published in Nature Communications a database linking phage depolymerases to their hosts 👏 #phages #viruses #microsky
October 7, 2025 at 7:04 PM