Stephen Garrett
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stephenrgarrett.bsky.social
Stephen Garrett
@stephenrgarrett.bsky.social
EMBO Postdoctiral Fellow in the Whitney lab at McMaster University, working on interbacterial warfare and phage defense
Very happy to have been part of this work from the Mariano lab, identifying 11 hotspots enriched in phage defence systems in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. It was great to get the chance to collaborate with @giusym1990.bsky.social again!

academic.oup.com/nargab/artic...
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November 25, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Reposted by Stephen Garrett
Excited to share our new study! Great fun working again with my good friend @stephenrgarrett.bsky.social — always a highlight! Huge thanks to fantastic co-authors @samkaytucker.bsky.social, @drandyjroe.bsky.social and our star technician Vojtech Pavelka. academic.oup.com/nargab/artic...
November 21, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Reposted by Stephen Garrett
Our latest T7SS study is now out in Science Advances!
We solved the cryoEM structure of the T7SSb core unit (T7bCU) composed of YukB, YukC, and YukD from Bacillus subtilis, revealing how these components assemble within the secretion machinery.

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
A ubiquitin-like protein controls assembly of a bacterial type VIIb secretion system
Cryo-EM structure reveals how a ubiquitin-like protein orchestrates assembly of a bacterial weapon system.
www.science.org
November 21, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Reposted by Stephen Garrett
There's just over 2 weeks left to apply for a fully funded PhD studentship with us working on C. difficile vancomycin resistance. Two more studentships - linked in the thread below - close in early January
November 19, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Reposted by Stephen Garrett
PhD opportunity (unfortunately UK home students only) to work on nanoparticles to combat AMR with @forganross.bsky.social and me in UoG. If you have a microbiology background and an interest in chemistry this would be a perfect project for you! Please share!
University of Glasgow - Colleges - College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences - MVLS Graduate School - PhD Research Opportunities - College Futures Themes PhD Programme - Projects - Advanced Diagn...
www.gla.ac.uk
November 17, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Reposted by Stephen Garrett
🚨 PhD opportunity! 🚨
Join us at St Andrews to study how multiple prophages shape bacterial behaviour & AMR.
Co-supervised with @tatianadimitriu.bsky.social
This is a competition-based EASTBIO PhD.
Full details and the application link are in the advert 👇
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
EASTBIO: When Phages Collide: Understanding How Multiple Prophages Shape Bacterial Behaviour at University of St Andrews on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - EASTBIO: When Phages Collide: Understanding How Multiple Prophages Shape Bacterial Behaviour at University of St Andrews, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
November 17, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Reposted by Stephen Garrett
A fantastic opportunity with two amazing supervisors!
🚨 PhD Opportunity 🚨
Interested in microbiology, phages & water security?
Join me and Prof Cindy Smith to test phages as a sustainable alternative to chlorine in drinking-water biofilters.
Metagenomics, phage discovery & ecology — all in one exciting project!
Apply: www.gla.ac.uk/colleges/mvl...
November 16, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Reposted by Stephen Garrett
PhD opportunity in the lab of a young PI who’s simply going stratospheric, on using #phage for water treatment. What’s not to like? You can’t miss this chance.
#microsky #phagesky
🚨 PhD Opportunity 🚨
Interested in microbiology, phages & water security?
Join me and Prof Cindy Smith to test phages as a sustainable alternative to chlorine in drinking-water biofilters.
Metagenomics, phage discovery & ecology — all in one exciting project!
Apply: www.gla.ac.uk/colleges/mvl...
November 15, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Reposted by Stephen Garrett
🚨 PhD Opportunity 🚨
Interested in microbiology, phages & water security?
Join me and Prof Cindy Smith to test phages as a sustainable alternative to chlorine in drinking-water biofilters.
Metagenomics, phage discovery & ecology — all in one exciting project!
Apply: www.gla.ac.uk/colleges/mvl...
November 15, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Reposted by Stephen Garrett
Happy to share the last paper form the lab:
Specialized shuttle proteins recognize
T9SS signals and target
effectors to their final destinations. Great work by @maellepllt.bsky.social, led by @thicoz.bsky.social in collaboration with @audebertstephane.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/s42...
Specialized shuttle proteins recognize Type IX secretion signals and target effectors to their final destinations in Flavobacterium johnsoniae
Communications Biology - Bacteroidota use the Type IX secretion system to secrete proteins with a conserved C-terminal domain (CTD) secretion signal domain. Type B CTDs require specific shuttle...
www.nature.com
November 15, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Reposted by Stephen Garrett
Bacteria export alarmone synthetases that produce (p)ppApp and (p)ppGpp 🦠🤯

From Boyuan Wang and John Whitney

journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Bacteria export alarmone synthetases that produce (p)ppApp and (p)ppGpp | mBio
Alarmone synthetases are intracellular enzymes that promote bacterial survival by responding to environmental stress. Although extracellular alarmone production has been reported in Streptomyces, the ...
journals.asm.org
November 15, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Reposted by Stephen Garrett
Please RT. Post-doc opportunity alert! 💥 closing 10th December.. Come join our team (www.thelowlab.org) at Imperial, London, working on the structure and mechanism of bacterial secretion systems.

For more details and to apply please see

www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...
November 4, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Reposted by Stephen Garrett
Hi everyone, a few years ago, we started a list of labs studying bacterial immunty for students, editors, conference organizers... (currently n=79).

Update time ! Send me a message to 1) add your lab or others 2) Correct info
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
#Phagesky #Microsky
Labs in bacterial immunity
docs.google.com
November 4, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Reposted by Stephen Garrett
Remarkable increase in vancomycin resistance among clinical Enterococcus faecium isolates in Italy (from 11.5% in 2015 to 32.4% in 2023).

aricjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
Temporal trend and individual and hospital characteristics associated to vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium bloodstream infections: a retrospective analysis from the national surveillance syste...
Background Several countries have reported an increase in vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREF), a pathogen classified by the WHO as a high-priority threat due to its role in healthcare-ass...
aricjournal.biomedcentral.com
October 18, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Reposted by Stephen Garrett
New paper alert! We used our fav technique, genetic suppression, to understand how FimX controls function of the T4P PilB motor ATPase in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Great collab with the Ellison lab at U Georgia who helped with some fancy microscopy to capture pilus dynamics! doi.org/10.1371/jour...
Twitching motility suppressors reveal a role for FimX in type IV pilus extension dynamics
Author summary Type IV pili enable Pseudomonas aeruginosa to attach to surfaces, move (twitch), and form biofilms. Pilus extension is powered by the motor protein PilB, which is regulated by other fac...
doi.org
October 13, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Some really cool work from @shelbyeandersen.bsky.social in the @duerkoplab.bsky.social using a new approach to identify novel phage defence systems.
Serine recombinases are conserved genetic markers of antiphage defense systems https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.07.681051v1
October 8, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Reposted by Stephen Garrett
🚨PhD Opportunity Alert🚨 Join me, @suzieh.bsky.social and @walllabuoglasgow.bsky.social to investigate how environment shapes anti-phage defences & prophage–prophage conflict in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Apply here:
www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate...
October 1, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Reposted by Stephen Garrett
PhD opportunity to come and work in Glasgow, developing advanced tissue culture models to study Staphylococcus aureus colonisation and infection #microsky #PhD #DTPprogram

Enquiries from potential applicants are welcome.

www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate...

www.findaphd.com/phds/program...
University of Glasgow - Postgraduate study - Centres for Doctoral Training - NorthWest Biosciences - Our Projects - Understanding Pathogens, from Molecules to Phenotypes - Justine Rudkin
www.gla.ac.uk
September 30, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Really excited to share my first paper from the Whitney lab, alongside an amazing grad student, Polina. Here we identify a chaperone family required for the folding of a central domain of T7SS toxins, and solve the structure of the chaperone-toxin complex. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
A widespread family of molecular chaperones promotes the intracellular stability of type VIIb secretion system–exported toxins | PNAS
To survive in highly competitive environments, bacteria use specialized secretion systems to deliver antibacterial toxins into neighboring cells, t...
www.pnas.org
September 15, 2025 at 11:41 PM
Reposted by Stephen Garrett
In our new article, we show how P. aeruginosa, a major cause of chronic respiratory infections in #cysticfibrosis (CF), uses the Type VI Secretion System #T6SS and specific #toxins to eliminate competing bacteria
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
#cryoEM @dshatskiy.bsky.social @jakecolautti.bsky.social
September 14, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Reposted by Stephen Garrett
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
Capsid-forming PICIs (cf-PICIs) produce their own capsids and exploit phage tails from unrelated species to transfer their DNA across bacterial hosts. This tail piracy enables broad dissemination and ...
www.cell.com
September 9, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Reposted by Stephen Garrett
Excited to share that my work in the @aaronwhiteley.bsky.social lab describing chaperone-mediated phage sensing by a bacterial NLR-related protein is out in @plosbiology.org!
June 4, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Reposted by Stephen Garrett
Excited to share my PhD work in the Kranzusch Lab published in @nature.com!

Two key discoveries:
- Nucleotides can act as negative regulators of antiviral immunity
- Ion channel activation is gated by DNA

Thank you to our all collaborators! @soreklab.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A DNA-gated molecular guard controls bacterial Hailong anti-phage defence - Nature
Nature - A DNA-gated molecular guard controls bacterial Hailong anti-phage defence
www.nature.com
April 30, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Reposted by Stephen Garrett
Out in Nature today: A new immune signaling molecule, His-ADPR, is produced by defensive TIR domain proteins in bacteria to protect from phage

Joint work with the Tamulaitienė and Kranzusch labs

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

Congrats Carmel Avraham, Dziugas Sabonis, Renee Chang and co-authors!
April 30, 2025 at 6:44 PM