Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Adam Pickrum

Roni Odai @rodai.bsky.social · 7d

Viral AlphaFold Database (VAD) is live in Science Advances

~27,000 predicted viral protein monomers & homodimers

Conserved folds across bacteria, archaea & eukaryotic viruses

New toxin–antitoxin system KreTA uncovered

Vast “functional darkness” remains uncharted

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

The Viral AlphaFold Database of monomers and homodimers reveals conserved protein folds in viruses of bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes

VAD is a Viral AlphaFold Database of protein monomers and homodimers from viruses infecting hosts across the tree of life.

www.science.org

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Reposted by Adam Pickrum

Heran Darwin, PhD @heran.bsky.social · 1d

We're hiring! Check out our ad and please re-post or forward to interested #Microbiology parties: apply.interfolio.com/174783

Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio

apply.interfolio.com

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Reposted by Adam Pickrum

Shabaana Khader @khadershabaana.bsky.social · 4d

UChicago Microbiology is searching for tenured or tenure-track faculty working in host-pathogens interactions, viral and bacterial pathogenesis, and emerging infectious diseases. Come join our vibrant Department! microbiology.uchicago.edu
Apply here apply.interfolio.com/174404

Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio

apply.interfolio.com

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Erin Green @erinrgreen.bsky.social · 4d

Job alert ‼️ UChicago Micro is hiring! Open to tenured/tenure track faculty at all levels in any area of microbiology. Come join our amazing and growing department. apply.interfolio.com/174404

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Jordan Jastrab @jordanjastrab.bsky.social · 13d

Thrilled to share my work from the @jkagan1.bsky.social lab!

TLDR: O-acetylation and wall teichoic acid compete for space on S. aureus peptidoglycan. This competition regulates DNA release, and thus immune receptor activation, during infection!

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

#microsky #immunosky

Wall teichoic acid is required for DNA-triggered innate immune receptor activation by Staphylococcus aureus

Receptors that stimulate inflammation are commonly activated by ligands that are buried within microbial cells. The mechanisms that facilitate immunostimulatory ligand release from microbes during inf...

www.biorxiv.org

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Reposted by Adam Pickrum

Tominaga K. (tomiken) @pacyc184.bsky.social · 13d

Dual transposon sequencing profiles the genetic interaction landscape in bacteria | Science https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.adt7685?af=R

Dual transposon sequencing profiles the genetic interaction landscape in bacteria

Gene redundancy complicates systematic characterization of gene function as single-gene deletions may not produce discernible phenotypes. We report dual transposon sequencing (dual Tn-seq), a platform for assaying the fitness of a comprehensive double ...

www.science.org

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Reposted by Adam Pickrum

Joe Bondy-Denomy @jbdsf.bsky.social · 13d

Our Department of Microbiology & Immunology at UCSF is running a faculty search this year for a new Assistant Professor! Please see the ad below for details. Searching for a great colleague, mentor, and scientist!
aprecruit.ucsf.edu/JPF05807

Microbiology and Immunology – Faculty Position (Ladder Rank) – Assistant Professor

University of California, San Francisco is hiring. Apply now!

aprecruit.ucsf.edu

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Reposted by Adam Pickrum

Kyle Enriquez @kyletenriquez.bsky.social · 15d

Last month I attended the #GRS and #GRC on Staphylococcal Diseases. The conference was an excellent opportunity to meet new colleagues, learn with and about the vibrant #Staphylococcal community, and get ideas on #Zinc #ZNG1 research, coming soon

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Reposted by Adam Pickrum

Vaughn Cooper @vscooper.micropopbio.org · 15d

🚨 Microbiologists! We are recruiting Assistant / Associate Professors in 3 collaborative areas of our U. Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
1) MMG (my dept): fundamental research in med micro
2) Peds ID / I4Kids institute
3) Center for Vaccine Research
🔗 to all 3 w/info: www.linkedin.com/posts/vaughn...

Faculty Professor Associate - Full-Time | Vaughn Cooper

We are recruiting Faculty microbiologists in three (3) different, complementary, and collaborative areas at the University of Pittsburgh associated with the School of Medicine. 1) Fundamental researc...

www.linkedin.com

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Reposted by Adam Pickrum

Salvador Almagro-Moreno @bioetry.bsky.social · 20d

Delighted to announce that The International Meeting on the Biology of Vibrios will be back next year!

Vibrio2026 will be held in Berlin in September 13-16. See you there Vibriologists!

event.fourwaves.com/vibrio2026/p...

Vibrio2026: The International Meeting on the Biology of Vibrios

Fourwaves - Vibrio2026: The International Meeting on the Biology of Vibrios

event.fourwaves.com

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Adam Pickrum @apickrum.bsky.social · 26d

Wrapped up another great #cshlhost25 meeting! Such a special place to share the awesome science going on around the world.

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Salvador Almagro-Moreno @bioetry.bsky.social · Aug 23

Interview with yours truly on what to do to protect yourself against the flesh-eating pathogen Vibrio vulnificus for the Associated Press

apnews.com/article/vibr...

How to protect yourself from Vibrio vulnificus, the bacteria found in some coastal waters

States are warning beachgoers about a summertime surge in infections from a frightening, flesh-eating bacteria found in coastal waters.

apnews.com

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Reposted by Adam Pickrum

Kevin Forsberg @kvnforsberg.bsky.social · Aug 18

Come be my colleague!

I've been very happy at UTSW Micro. Why?

Its a supportive environment full of excellent people. There's strong ambition, reflexive empathy, and excellent resources.

Julie Pfeiffer @jkpfeiff.bsky.social · Aug 18

Faculty search announcement 2025: Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Microbiology at UT Southwestern. We seek candidates working in microbial pathogenesis (some preference may be given to bacterial pathogens). Come join our community! (1/5) www.utsouthwestern.edu/departments/...

Department members sit at a very long table in the hallway eating a pre-Thanksgiving potluck feast.

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Adam Pickrum @apickrum.bsky.social · Aug 11

Nice! Congrats to you and the team. Looking forward to reading this one.

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Adam Pickrum @apickrum.bsky.social · Aug 2

After some time in sunny Barcelona, I’m excited to kick off the #staphGRC this week! Ready for some awesome science.

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Reposted by Adam Pickrum

Francis Alonzo @francisalonzo12.bsky.social · Aug 1

Happy to share Iván’s first-author pub from the lab! www.cell.com/cell-reports...

Staphylococcus aureus exploits lipoic acid salvage to combat host oxidative stress

Acosta et al. find that ADP-ribosylation of the lipoic acid carrier protein GcvH-L promotes Staphylococcus aureus resistance to oxidative burst and facilitates infection. ADP-ribosylation leads to a s...

www.cell.com

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Reposted by Adam Pickrum

Andreas Peschel @andreaspeschel.bsky.social · Jul 28

"Among all bacterial species, S. aureus ranks second only to E. coli in the number of scientific publications."
It was a pleasure to contribute to this review, with @pinholab.bsky.social and Friedrich Götz
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Staphylococcus aureus: a model for bacterial cell biology and pathogenesis | Journal of Bacteriology

When talking about Staphylococcus aureus, one usually has in mind the diseases that can be caused by this bacterium, ranging from mild skin and soft tissue infections, such as abscesses and furuncles,...

journals.asm.org

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Reposted by Adam Pickrum

Joe Zackular @joeyzacks.bsky.social · Jul 26

Excited to share this collaborative study with @ritatamayo.bsky.social showing that E. faecalis influences C. diff morphology through the phase variable CmrRST system! This work was co-led by the amazing team of @ashleyweiss.bsky.social and Jilarie Santos-Santiago!

bioRxiv Microbiology @biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · Jul 25

Enterococcus faecalis modulates phase variation in Clostridioides difficile https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.24.666506v1

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Andreas Bäumler @abaumler.bsky.social · Jul 22

Infection and Immunity is now welcoming nominations for highly promising scientists at the assistant professor level (or equivalent) to submit research to the next New Voices in Microbiology Collection!

Please nominate by the August 18 deadline using the below link:
app.asm.org/account/logi...

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Science Magazine @science.org · Jul 21

"I can’t predict the next hiring cycle or the next election. But I can keep doing the science I love while I still have a bench." #ScienceWorkingLife scim.ag/4lXUwDa

An illustration of a woman standing at a dead end looking at different roads and buildings. Text reads: My academic job offer was rescinded. I’ll keep going—but U.S. researchers are running out of road.

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Cell Host & Microbe @cp-cellhostmicrobe.bsky.social · Jul 16

Methylglyoxal: antibacterial effector

Methylglyoxal produced by infected macrophages upon transition to aerobic glycolysis acts as an innate immune antimicrobial effector that bacteria must detoxify for virulence and to prevent mutations
www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...

Methylglyoxal is an antibacterial effector produced by macrophages during infection

Infected macrophages that transition to aerobic glycolysis produce the reactive aldehyde methylglyoxal. In this study, Anaya-Sanchez et al. use both host and bacterial genetics to show that methylglyo...

www.cell.com

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Reposted by Adam Pickrum

Kim Davis @davislabjhu.bsky.social · Jul 10

Excited to post our first S. aureus preprint on biorxiv! Big congrats to co-first authors, postdocs @anjali20anil.bsky.social and Rezia Braza, and really enjoyed the collaboration with @torreslab.bsky.social !

bioRxiv Microbiology @biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · Jul 9

Staphylococcus aureus exhibits spatiotemporal heterogeneity in Sae activity during kidney abscess development https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.08.663646v1

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Reposted by Adam Pickrum

Christin Herrmann @christinviral.bsky.social · Jun 25

Excited to share with you my postdoctoral work published today in Nature Microbiology!

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

We have known for a while that stress can impact the outcome of infectious diseases; however, we reveal in our paper that it is not always detrimental.