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Reposted by Allister Crow

eLife @elife.bsky.social · 17d

A new #CryoET study shows that the protein ZapD helps organise FtsZ filaments into stable ring-like structures in building bacterial division machinery.
buff.ly/saLPqJM

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Reposted by Allister Crow

Rhys Grinter @rhyswg.bsky.social · 18d

The outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria blocks many antibiotics. Our latest work reveals that L-type pyocins bypass this barrier by inactivating the BAM complex, killing Pseudomonas aeruginosa without entering the cell, providing a new blueprint for beating antibiotic resistance.

A Protein Antibiotic Inhibits the BAM Complex to Kill Without Cell Entry

Many antibiotics are ineffective against Gram-negative pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa because they cannot penetrate the bacterial outer membrane. Here, we show that protein antibiotics calle...

www.biorxiv.org

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Reposted by Allister Crow

Sazanov Lab @sazanovlab.bsky.social · 20d

How the twin-arginine translocase (Tat) system manages to transport folded proteins across membranes without any leaks? To answer this fundamental question we solved the first structure of TatB3C3 complex with bound cargo. Please check out new preprint!
t.co/962Kj9pt6F

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.16.676506v1

t.co

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Allister Crow @allistercrow.bsky.social · 22d

Delighted that our FtsEX-EnvC paper is now live at mBio!

FtsEX-EnvC is a bacterial Type VII ABC transporter that activates key periplasmic enzymes during cell division.

We found mutations that disrupt FtsEX-EnvC activity and a disulfide that leaves it permanently active.

doi.org/10.1128/mbio...

Diagram of the FtsEX-EnvC mechanism. From Cook & Crow 2025 mBio.

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Phill Stansfeld @pstansfeld.bsky.social · Jul 7

New paper out, with a contribution from Dom Gurvic and I; led by Andy Lovering and @lalouxlab.bsky.social:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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...

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Allister Crow

Rakyan Lab @rakyanlab.bsky.social · Jul 17

Paper in Nature 150 years ago. Beats reading any single-cell experiment…

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Tracy Palmer @proftracypalmer.bsky.social · Jun 1

Check out our latest preprint! We show that the same antibacterial toxin requires different immunity proteins depending whether it’s intra or extracellular

bioRxiv Microbiology @biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · Jun 1

Distinct immunity protein families mediate compartment-specificneutralisation of a bacterial toxin https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.31.657152v1

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Reposted by Allister Crow

Shu-Sin Chng @figlegend.bsky.social · Jun 17

Super excited to share our latest work revealing impt of protein-lipid interactions for the pri fn of the Tol-Pal complex in maintaining outer memb lipid homeostasis in E. coli! Huge discovery by Nadege Lim in collab @pstansfeld.bsky.social @robincorey.bsky.social 1/7
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

www.biorxiv.org

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Reposted by Allister Crow

Kate Michie @kmichie.bsky.social · Jun 3

CdpA-an archaeal anchor for FtsZ! Excited to be part of this. (FtsZ is easily my favourite protein and the whole larger family in Archaea are intriguing).

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

Cell division protein CdpA organises and anchors the midcell ring in haloarchaea - Nature Communications

Cell division in many archaea requires the coordinated activities of two distinct FtsZ proteins, which are part of the midcell division ring. Here, Liao et al. show that an additional protein, CdpA, o...

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Allister Crow

Matt McNeil @mattmcneil86.bsky.social · May 30

Really excited that our group was able to contribute to this awesome work from Bing Zhang and Zihe Rao solving the structure and assembly of the MmpS5L5 efflux pump from Mtb!!

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

Structure and assembly of the MmpL5/MmpS5 efflux transporter from Mycobacterium tuberculosis - Nature Communications

The MmpL5/MmpS5 efflux system is crucial for drug extrusion and siderophore export in M. tuberculosis. Here, the authors report its high-resolution cryo-EM structures, revealing a unique trimeric asse...

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Allister Crow

Rhys Grinter @rhyswg.bsky.social · May 30

Why make a cofactor when you can get it for free?

Our work, led by @fabianmunder.bsky.social, shows that bacteria from 22 phyla use the high-affinity transporter PqqU to obtain the redox cofactor PQQ from the environment as an alternative to cofactor synthesis.

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

High-affinity PQQ import is widespread in Gram-negative bacteria

Diverse bacteria use the high-affinity membrane transport protein PqqU to scavenge the nutrient PQQ from the environment.

www.science.org

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Reposted by Allister Crow

davidroper2.bsky.social @davidroper2.bsky.social · May 28

Beta-lactams covalently bind to Penicillin Binding Proteins and have been the mainstay of antimicrobial chemotherapy for decades.
In this new paper with colleagues @Bicycle_tx we show a new way to hit old targets: rdcu.be/eoaRI

Discovery and chemical optimisation of a potent, Bi-cyclic antimicrobial inhibitor of Escherichia coli PBP3

Communications Biology - Discovery of a bicyclic peptide inhibitor of cell wall biosynthesis in the Enterobacterales demonstrates applicability of a modified phage display platform to antibiotic...

rdcu.be

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Reposted by Allister Crow

Séamus Holden 🔬🦠🧫 @seamusholden.bsky.social · May 9

I forgot to post about this recent paper - exciting work led by @michriscopy.bsky.social showing clearest evidence yet for transertion strongly tethering the bacterial nucleoid to the membrane during fast growth. It was a pleasure to contribute a little 🔬🦠🧫 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The nucleoid of rapidly growing Escherichia coli localizes close to the inner membrane and is organized by transcription, translation, and cell geometry - Nature Communications

The mechanisms underlying bacterial chromosome configuration are not fully understood. Here, Spahn et al. show that the Escherichia coli nucleoid adopts a condensed, membrane-proximal configuration du...

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Allister Crow

Ethan Garner @fleshball.bsky.social · May 20

I’m excited that the work by Diego Ramirez and Lei Yin is out, where they gained several key insights into what provides the force underlying bacterial cell division doi.org/10.1101/2025....

To divide, cells must first bend the membrane inward, a process that’s energetically expensive

The interplay of membrane tension and FtsZ filament condensation on the initiation and progression of cell division in B. subtilis

The first step of cell division is deforming the planar cell membrane inward towards the cytoplasm. As deforming membranes is energetically costly, biology has developed various protein systems to acc...

doi.org

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Reposted by Allister Crow

Jie Xiao @jiexiaolab.bsky.social · May 27

Our new paper on FtsN is out! Now there are three tracks for organized cell wall constriction-- the old, boring E. coli always manages to surprise us.

A special shout-out to all the people who made this work possible, especially Dr. Jason Lyu, and Dr. David Weiss.

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

Third track model for coordination of septal peptidoglycan synthesis and degradation by FtsN in Escherichia coli - Nature Microbiology

Partitioning of FtsN and the septal peptidoglycan synthesis complex between an active synthesis track and an inactive denuded glycan track coordinates opposing peptidoglycan synthesis and degradation ...

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Allister Crow

Microbiology Society @microbiologysociety.org · May 28

The UK Health Security Agency has released an updated antimicrobial stewardship tool to guide healthcare professionals in prescribing the most appropriate antimicrobial to patients to preserve antimicrobial efficacy. Find out more microb.io/452uTvL 👈 #KnockingOutAMR

Antibiotic 'Access' list updated for the UK

UKHSA has published an updated antimicrobial stewardship tool

microb.io

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Reposted by Allister Crow

See-Yeun Ting 陳詩允 @seeyeunting.bsky.social · May 27

Excited to learn that our story on characterizing an interbacterial protease toxin is finally out @plosbiology.org
"An interbacterial cysteine protease toxin inhibits cell growth by targeting type II DNA topoisomerases GyrB and ParE". Led by my wonderful team at Academia Sinica!

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Freya Harrison @friendlymicrobe.bsky.social · May 24

Look at all of our badgers!

Wildlife camera footage. A European badger drinks from a pond in the foreground. There are four other badgers in the background.

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Thiago Carvalho @cyrilpedia.bsky.social · May 26

'If successful, it would be the first new class of antibiotic capable of killing acinetobacter or any other “Gram-negative” bacteria to be developed for more than 50 years. This type of bug has a structure that makes it more difficult to treat.'
www.ft.com/content/1f94...

Roche extends trials of promising antibiotic against resistant superbug

If successful, it would be the first new class of drug against certain bacteria strains for more than 50 years

www.ft.com

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Trevor Lithgow @trevor-lithgow.bsky.social · May 20

We are recruiting for a PhD student who wants to understand how bacterial membranes are built and how they function. It would be a biology meets maths project … if this piques your interest take a look here: macsys.org/monash-phd-s... for project details and contact info

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mikesleutel.bsky.social @mikesleutel.bsky.social · May 20

In our latest preprint we used cryoEM to solve the structure of A-ENA fibers and show that they are stabilized by 10 isopeptide bonds per monomer. A-ENA couples the spore to the cry-toxins, and in doing so increases the virulence of Bacillus thuringiensis: www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-6...

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Allister Crow @allistercrow.bsky.social · May 19

Thanks to all the team (and collaborators) at Warwick for their hard work on this project, and special congratulations to first author Martin McAndrew!

doi.org/10.1101/2025...

Structure of YbbAP-TesA: a Type VII ABC transporter lipid-hydrolase complex

Type VII ABC transporters are ATP-powered membrane protein complexes that drive key biological processes in the bacterial cell envelope. In E. coli, three of the four Type VII ABC systems have been ex...

doi.org

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Allister Crow @allistercrow.bsky.social · May 19

Type VII ABC transporters are unique to bacteria with important physiological functions.

Examples are the FtsEX-EnvC complex (cell division), the MacAB-TolC efflux pump (antibiotic resistance) and LolCDE-LolA (lipoprotein trafficking) system.

Here we define YbbAP-TesA as a novel esterase complex.

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Allister Crow @allistercrow.bsky.social · May 19

New Type VII ABC Transporter just dropped!

We are super excited to present our characterisation of the YbbAP-TesA complex, a novel Type VII ABC transporter linked to a periplasmic thioesterase.

doi.org/10.1101/2025...

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Tung Le @tunglejic.bsky.social · May 9

1/ Excited to share our latest work on gene transfer agents (GTAs) in Caulobacter crescentus, led by Emma Banks in collaboration with Pavol Bardy and Mai Nguyen from York!!! See a brief thread below.
shorturl.at/o6S1w

A bacterial CARD-NLR immune system controls the release of gene transfer agents

Bacteria have evolved a wide array of immune systems to detect and defend against external threats including mobile genetic elements (MGEs) such as bacteriophages, plasmids, and transposons. MGEs are ...

shorturl.at

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