Félix Ramos-León
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felixrl.bsky.social
Félix Ramos-León
@felixrl.bsky.social
Postdoctoral fellow at NIH studying cell biology of coccoid bacteria.
Views my own.
He/him/Él 🏳️‍🌈
Pinned
Excited to share that our paper is now out in ⁦Nature Microbiology @natureportfolio.bsky.social! We characterize a positive mechanism for Z ring placement in S. aureus governed by the proteins PcdA/DivIVA, and its implication during infection in a mouse model #Microsky
rdcu.be/dYmdC
PcdA promotes orthogonal division plane selection in Staphylococcus aureus
Nature Microbiology - PcdA interacts with DivIVA and FtsZ, promoting Z-ring formation and division plane selection in Staphylococcus aureus, which increases virulence in mice and reduces...
rdcu.be
Reposted by Félix Ramos-León
New in JB: Jorgenson reviews recent advances in cell envelope assembly via the lens of the essential lipid carrier undecaprenyl phosphate and with an eye on targets of novel Abx development.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
@asm.org #JBacteriology
February 5, 2026 at 2:27 PM
Reposted by Félix Ramos-León
CauloCon 2026 is coming! 🔬✨ March 3–5 (fully virtual + free). Keynotes by Yves Brun, Becky Lamason & Martin Thanbichler. Great chance for grad students & postdocs to present their work (work-in-progress welcome!). Submit an abstract by Sun Feb 8. Register + submit: www.caulocon.com
CauloCon 2026
A free, 3-day virtual meeting on all things Caulobacter and Alphaproteobacteria
www.caulocon.com
February 2, 2026 at 6:54 PM
Reposted by Félix Ramos-León
#Microbiology

The anti-tuberculosis drug bedaquiline targets the mycobacterial ATP synthase, but how that leads to bacterial death is unclear

Here the authors clarify how bedaquiline works

@jnblab.bsky.social @morwan.me
#TBSky #antibiotics #AMR

http://dlvr.it/TQjZ0W
February 2, 2026 at 5:07 PM
Reposted by Félix Ramos-León
First paper of my PhD @doerrlab.bsky.social is up! We characterized meropenem tolerance in Enterobacterales species, and then further dissected tolerance mechanisms in Klebsiella pneumoniae. journals.plos.org/plospathogen...
Prevalence and mechanisms of high-level carbapenem antibiotic tolerance in clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae
Author summary Bacteria can survive exposure to antibiotics by constantly repairing cellular damage induced by the drug. This “antibiotic tolerance” enables diverse bacteria to survive long enough to ...
journals.plos.org
February 3, 2026 at 6:07 PM
Reposted by Félix Ramos-León
It was great to play a part in this study, using all of the work on alphaproteobacterial GTAs to help inform and identify key tell-tale patterns of GTAs in the human gut microbiome. I'm sure there will be many great followup studies on these fascinating particles.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Large-scale capsid-mediated mobilisation of bacterial genomic DNA in the gut microbiome - Nature Communications
Here, the authors show that packaging of bacterial DNA by phage-like particles is widespread in the gut microbiome, with activity of gene transfer agents being prominent in Oscillospiraceae and Rumino...
www.nature.com
February 2, 2026 at 10:15 AM
Reposted by Félix Ramos-León
iCASE PhD project available in my lab, combining microscopy method development with high throughput screening of bacteria. Applications to antibiotic drug discovery and screening for new cell division proteins. Collaboration with Cairn Research #microsky #bioimaging
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Image-based bacterial phenotyping and antimicrobial drug discovery using smart high-throughput super-resolution microscopy at University of Warwick on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Image-based bacterial phenotyping and antimicrobial drug discovery using smart high-throughput super-resolution microscopy at University of Warwick, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
February 2, 2026 at 11:11 AM
Reposted by Félix Ramos-León
Please share!
My group at @zmbp-tuebingen.bsky.social is offering a post-doctoral position (4 years). We look for a structural biologist with experience in Cryo-EM/Cryo-ET to investigate the mechanisms of host invasion by pathogenic fungi. Deadline February 28th!
uni-tuebingen.de/universitaet...
January 30, 2026 at 1:56 PM
Reposted by Félix Ramos-León
Peptidoglycan architecture dictates protein interactions, tissue tropism, and arthritis in the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi

Exciting new research from @jutraslab.bsky.social

journals.plos.org/plospathogen...

#MicroSky
Peptidoglycan architecture dictates protein interactions, tissue tropism, and arthritis in the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi
Author summary Many of the pathogenic mechanisms by which Borrelia burgdorferi causes disease involve cell envelope interactions with host components. To further elucidate the role of peptidoglycan in...
journals.plos.org
January 29, 2026 at 8:25 PM
Reposted by Félix Ramos-León
Cool stuff!

“A quorum-sensing molecule from Pseudomonas aeruginosa induces defensive multicellularity in a coinfecting pathogen”

#microsky
A quorum-sensing molecule from Pseudomonas aeruginosa induces defensive multicellularity in a coinfecting pathogen | PNAS
Microorganisms commonly exist in polymicrobial communities, where they can respond to interspecies secreted molecules by altering behaviors and phy...
www.pnas.org
January 29, 2026 at 11:06 AM
Reposted by Félix Ramos-León
Friends, please help spread the word about our microbiology REU program at Montana State University.
www.montana.edu/mbi/reu/

Each student receives a stipend ($7000 for 10 wks). Travel compensation, room, and board are also provided.

Details in the attached pic--Feb 14 deadline
🧫🧪🦠#microsky
January 28, 2026 at 7:46 PM
Reposted by Félix Ramos-León
A Novel Conjugation System in AMR-associated pELF-type Linear Plasmids of Enterococcus faecium. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.27.701956v1
January 28, 2026 at 2:19 AM
Reposted by Félix Ramos-León
Check out these tools to detect co-evolution in protein-protein interactions developed by postdoc @chrislbgraham.bsky.social

Very useful as a hypothesis generator, complementing protein interaction prediction from Alphafold.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org
January 27, 2026 at 8:55 AM
Reposted by Félix Ramos-León
New paper out in @pnas.org, and it made the cover! 👁️

We represent plasmids as circles and mutations as dots, resembling an eye, because in this paper we literally 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ plasmids evolve.

‼️Check Paula’s 🧵 and the paper👇

𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗺𝗶𝗱 𝗺𝘂𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗽𝘆 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
January 27, 2026 at 8:23 PM
Reposted by Félix Ramos-León
New paper out in PNAS!!! 🎉

Do more plasmid copies mean faster evolution?

🧵 Dive into the story

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Plasmid mutation rates scale with copy number | PNAS
Plasmids are extrachromosomal DNA molecules that spread by horizontal transfer and shape bacterial evolution. Plasmids are typically present at mul...
www.pnas.org
January 27, 2026 at 12:02 PM
Reposted by Félix Ramos-León
SAVE THE DATE!
The next instalment of the long-running Bacterial and Archaeal Cell Division Conference will take place at www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels..., Italy from the 20th to 23rd of April 2027.
Organisers: me, @s-lab.bsky.social, @awehenkel.bsky.social.
More info soon.

#MicroSky
www.marriott.com
January 26, 2026 at 1:14 PM
Reposted by Félix Ramos-León
Beyond thrilled to finally see my postdoctoral work with Dr. Alexander Horswill, published in @natcomms.nature.com Here we report how the absence of surface associated collagen binding adhesin causes visibly worsened skin infection. Bacterial deception at its best! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Collagen binding adhesin restricts Staphylococcus aureus skin infection - Nature Communications
Staphylococcus aureus is able to evade host immune responses by expressing surface adhesins, like collagen binding adhesin (Cna). Here, the authors report the role of Cna during S. aureus skin infecti...
www.nature.com
January 24, 2026 at 2:00 AM
Reposted by Félix Ramos-León
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Excited to share that PNAS published our research article focused on "Why are Ralstonia goofy?"
January 23, 2026 at 5:43 AM
Reposted by Félix Ramos-León
Defining the order of assembly of the Clostridioides difficile divisome complex https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.19.700290v1
January 20, 2026 at 2:17 AM
Reposted by Félix Ramos-León
One of the big stories of my thesis is out!
We identified HsbA as a novel regulator of the starvation-induced biofilm dispersal response in P. putida that inhibits c-di-GMP synthesis by CfcR.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
HsbA represses stationary phase biofilm formation in Pseudomonas putida
Pseudomonas putida biofilm growth is associated to nutrient-sufficient conditions and biofilm dispersal is induced by nutrient starvation, signaled by…
www.sciencedirect.com
January 18, 2026 at 6:25 PM
Reposted by Félix Ramos-León
#NatMicroPicks

gut microbes protect from pneumonia! 🦠🫁

SFB colonization reprograms alveolar macrophages to resist influenza‑induced depletion and enhances their antibacterial function protecting mice from secondary bacterial pneumonia

#MicroSky

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Segmented filamentous bacteria reprogramming of alveolar macrophages limits postinfluenza bacterial pneumonia
SFB colonization phenotypically alters alveolar macrophages, maintaining their antibacterial functions in inflamed interferon-rich lungs.
www.science.org
January 16, 2026 at 2:50 PM
Reposted by Félix Ramos-León
Reposted by Félix Ramos-León
Bacteria are amazing! The abundant Dps protein binds and protects DNA in stationary-phase cells with minimal effect on chromosome accessibility, dynamics, and organization. Now in NAR doi.org/10.1093/nar/...; I'm really proud of our multidisciplinary team led by Lauren, Lindsay, and Xiaofeng, et al.
January 16, 2026 at 1:32 PM
Reposted by Félix Ramos-León
This is 😮

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

#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...
www.nature.com
January 16, 2026 at 6:22 AM