Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Adrià Sogues @adriasogues.bsky.social · 20d

Thanks Yoann! I always hoped to come back, even though I had an amazing time in Brussels! I’ll definitely miss it!

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Reposted by Adrià Sogues

Yoann Santin @ysantin.bsky.social · 20d

CRISPRi on #Bdellovibrio to study essential genes 🤗🤩 #MicroSky

Géraldine Laloux @lalouxlab.bsky.social · 21d

🚨New paper out! #MicroSky
Studying obligate predators like Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus is tricky—essential genes for predation are also essential for survival.
We expanded its genetic toolbox:
🧬promoters to fine-tune expression
🧬IPTG-inducible system
🧬CRISPRi for rapid knockdown
bit.ly/46GUn2c
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Expanding the genetic toolbox of the obligate predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus with inducible gene expression and CRISPR interference

Inducible gene expression and CRISPR interference-mediated depletion in the predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus.

academic.oup.com

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Adrià Sogues @adriasogues.bsky.social · 20d

A new chapter begins! Happy to be back at the @pasteur.fr , a place that feels like home. Excited for the journey ahead and all the science to come!

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Reposted by Adrià Sogues

Institut Pasteur | 130 years of biomedical research @pasteur.fr · Sep 1

🎓 Applications for Institut Pasteur's PhD programs open Sept 1-Oct 20, 2025 for October 2026 entry.

Apply to up to 4 projects across 6 programs: PPU, PPU-IMAGINE @institutimagine.bsky.social, [email protected], PPU-EID @upcite.bsky.social & more 🧬

Register now ✍️ www.pasteur.fr/en/education...

Pasteur-Paris University International Doctoral Programme, The call for enrollment of students in October 2026 will be open from September 1st to October 20th, 2025

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Adrià Sogues @adriasogues.bsky.social · Aug 17

Many spores from the Firmicutes group are decorated with hair-like structures. Since the 60s, they remained a mystery. @remaut-lab.bsky.social named these fibres ENdospore Appendages (ENAs). Using Cryo-ID, we report the identity, structure and function of F-ENA.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Cryo-EM identifies F-ENA of Bacillus thuringiensis as a widespread family of endospore appendages across Firmicutes - Nature Communications

B. thuringiensis spores contain uncharacterized protein filaments that extend from the surface of the exosporium. Here, the authors show that these filaments feature conserved β-barrel neck domains an...

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Adrià Sogues

Saravanan Palani @syncellbiolab.bsky.social · Aug 8

Thrilled to see our work published in @embojournal.org
#asgard #archaea #cytoskeleton #tubulin #FtsZ
We sincerely appreciate the constructive peer review and the reviewers’ thoughtful, supportive feedback, which greatly strengthened our work.

The EMBO Journal @embojournal.org · Aug 8

Insights into the origins of the #tubulin / #FtsZ superfamily: @syncellbiolab.bsky.social, Pananghat Gayathri et al show that two #Asgard archaeal paralogs OdinFtsZ1 and OdinFtsZ2 form distinct filamental structures, and employ different modes of membrane tethering
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

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Reposted by Adrià Sogues

Yoann Santin @ysantin.bsky.social · Jul 14

Excited to share our newly book chapter on using #miniTurbo proximity labeling in #bacteria
We wrote it as a hands-on guide for anyone looking to get started with this approach.
Congrats to @coralietesseur.bsky.social and Ophélie Remy 👏 @lalouxlab.bsky.social
link.springer.com/protocol/10....

Identification of In Vivo Protein Networks Using miniTurbo Proximity Labeling in Bacteria

Protein–protein interactions play a crucial role in many bacterial cell processes. miniTurbo-based proximity labeling has emerged as a powerful tool for the identification of in vivo protein net...

link.springer.com

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Adrià Sogues @adriasogues.bsky.social · Jul 30

Don’t forget to check out the fantastic complementary work by @tbharat-lab.bsky.social and @bupbuse.bsky.social

journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

Mapping the ultrastructural topology of the corynebacterial cell surface

The unique cell envelope of corynebacteria remains poorly understood at the ultrastructural level. This study maps the C. glutamicum cell surface, revealing a patchy S-layer organization and the speci...

journals.plos.org

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Adrià Sogues @adriasogues.bsky.social · Jul 30

Huge thanks to all the co-authors: @mikesleutel.bsky.social and @remaut-lab.bsky.social (from VIB-VUB), Julienne Petit and Anne Marie Wehenkel (from @pasteur.fr @ipdbsc.bsky.social), Nicolas Bayan(from @i2bcparissaclay.bsky.social ) and Daniela Megrian (from @ipmontevideo.bsky.social)

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Adrià Sogues @adriasogues.bsky.social · Jul 30

4/4🧵Finally, we believe that our engineered PS2 S-layer can be exploited in the biomaterials and cell display fields, as S-layers are regular self-assembling platforms in which we can now bind other proteins covalently. We've also added our plasmids to @addgene.bsky.social

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Adrià Sogues @adriasogues.bsky.social · Jul 30

3/4🧵How does the S-layer grow during cell division? Using pulse-chase labeling with the SpyTag-SpyCatcher system, we discovered that new S-layer is inserted exclusively at the cell poles, exactly where peptidoglycan synthesis occurs. S-layer assembly and growth are tightly coordinated!

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Adrià Sogues @adriasogues.bsky.social · Jul 30

2/4🧵We show across different strains that the S-layer provides mechanical support to the cell wall, especially when it's compromised (such as after lysozyme treatment). The S-layer acts as a protective scaffold, reinforcing the envelope under stress.

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Adrià Sogues @adriasogues.bsky.social · Jul 30

1/4🧵 We show across different strains that the S-layer provides mechanical support to the cell wall, especially when it's compromised (such as after lysozyme treatment). The S-layer acts as a protective scaffold, reinforcing the envelope under stress.

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Adrià Sogues @adriasogues.bsky.social · Jul 30

Happy to see the final version out! Cryo-EM structure of the PS2 S-layer in Corynebacterium 🔬! We show it provides mechanical support to the cell wall and assembles at the poles in coordination with PG. It can also be used for covalent surface display.

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

#microsky

Cryo-EM structure and polar assembly of the PS2 S-layer of Corynebacterium glutamicum | PNAS

The polar-growing Corynebacteriales have a complex cell envelope architecture characterized by the presence of a specialized outer membrane compose...

www.pnas.org

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Reposted by Adrià Sogues

Yoann Santin @ysantin.bsky.social · Jul 25

Our review on contact-dependent #predation is now out ! We define predation processes and describe how predators kill and eat their prey 😈 Repost appreciated ❤️

Géraldine Laloux @lalouxlab.bsky.social · Jul 25

#MicroSky Summer read!

Predatory bacteria kill and eat other bacteria. Their deadly actions come in many flavors, often via direct physical contact between predator &
prey 🧛

How do they do it?
Our review 📖 @coralietesseur.bsky.social @ysantin.bsky.social

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Strategies and mechanisms of contact-dependent predation in bacteria

Predatory bacteria kill other bacteria to acquire nutrients. Among diverse strategies to kill and feed on prey, contact-dependent predation stands out…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Reposted by Adrià Sogues

Géraldine Laloux @lalouxlab.bsky.social · Jul 29

Bacterial cell wall & periplasm paradigm shift - important read #MicroSky

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

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Reposted by Adrià Sogues

Géraldine Laloux @lalouxlab.bsky.social · Jul 25

#MicroSky Summer read!

Predatory bacteria kill and eat other bacteria. Their deadly actions come in many flavors, often via direct physical contact between predator &
prey 🧛

How do they do it?
Our review 📖 @coralietesseur.bsky.social @ysantin.bsky.social

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Strategies and mechanisms of contact-dependent predation in bacteria

Predatory bacteria kill other bacteria to acquire nutrients. Among diverse strategies to kill and feed on prey, contact-dependent predation stands out…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Reposted by Adrià Sogues

Agata Starosta @agatastarosta.bsky.social · Jul 9

New review from our lab! Compartmentalization during bacterial spore formation. Focusing on latest discoveries in Bacillus subtilis #subtiwiki

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

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Reposted by Adrià Sogues

Martin Steinegger 🇺🇦 @martinsteinegger.bsky.social · Jul 7

Folddisco finds similar (dis)continuous 3D motifs in large protein structure databases. Its efficient index enables fast uncharacterized active site annotation, protein conformational state analysis and PPI interface comparison. 1/9🧶🧬
📄 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🌐 search.foldseek.com/folddisco

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Reposted by Adrià Sogues

Yoann Santin @ysantin.bsky.social · Jul 7

You thought all OMPs were trimeric? 🧐 Not in our predator B. bacteriovorus! 🦠
Excited to have contributed to this great collab with the Lovering lab on this intriguing protein. @lalouxlab.bsky.social
👉 Paper here!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#BacterialPredation #Bdellovibrio #StructuralBiology

A porin-like protein used by bacterial predators defines a wider lipid-trapping superfamily - Nature Communications

This study reveals that an outer membrane protein from the predator Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus forms a pentameric assembly that traps a lipid monolayer within. This allows the discovery of two superfa...

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Adrià Sogues

STCmicrobeblog @stcmicrobeblog.bsky.social · Jul 4

a treat for fans of 𝘉𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘴 and its intriguing spores 👇
#MicroSky

Rodrigues Lab @crodrigueslab.bsky.social · Jul 3

Checkout the latest paper from our lab in PLOS Genetics: dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...

Thanks to our wonderful collaborators, @sgribaldo.bsky.social, @cavalab.bsky.social, @perbullough.bsky.social and Cecile Morlot.

SpoIIIL is a forespore factor required for efficient cell-cell signalling during Bacillus subtilis sporulation

Author summary Bacterial endospores allow bacteria to survive stress, persist in the environment and seed new and recurring infections. Cell-cell signalling is a cornerstone of how bacteria develop in...

dx.plos.org

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Reposted by Adrià Sogues

Alexey Amunts @amunts.bsky.social · Jun 23

Running Phenix and stuck?
Now you can ask the new Phenix chatbot anything from the 600-page tutorial about how to run any program.
Big thanks to Tom Willinger for making this happen!
Try it out: phenix-online.org/version_docs...

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Reposted by Adrià Sogues

Institut Pasteur Education @pasteuredu.bsky.social · Jun 20

🎶 Science meets creativity with TuberKiller! Yaëlle Wormser, PhD student featured in the My PhD at the Institut Pasteur series, raps her tuberculosis research.

Discover how music and science collide to make research unforgettable! 👏

🎧 TuberKiller is also available on Spotify!

@pasteur.fr

When science meets creativity: TuberKiller | My PhD at the Institut Pasteur

YouTube video by Institut Pasteur EDUCATION

youtube.com

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Reposted by Adrià Sogues

Félix Ramos-León @felixrl.bsky.social · Jun 9

Excited to share our latest review! Check it out to see what we know so far about how Staphylococcus aureus coordinates key processes during its cell cycle

Kumaran Ramamurthi @ramamurthilab.bsky.social · Jun 9

@felixrl.bsky.social's new review in JBC highlights recent research on how #Staph aureus performs several interrelated processes like peptidoglycan assembly, cell division septum placement, and how the septum is a hub for modifying the PG to decorate the cell surface:
www.jbc.org/article/S002...

Staphylococcus aureus as an emerging model to study bacterial cell division

Research on bacterial cell division has traditionally focused on rod-shaped model organisms such as Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis. While these models have been important in uncovering broadly...

www.jbc.org

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Reposted by Adrià Sogues

Yves Brun lab @brunlabcaulo.bsky.social · Jun 2

How does your favorite species elongate? 🧵 "Phenotypic plasticity in bacterial elongation among closely related species". Happy to see this paper in print @natcomms.nature.com. Nice work by @mariedelaby.bsky.social, Liu Yang et al. See original 🧵, different colours, same data and conclusions.

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