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Jozef Nissimov

@jinoceanvir.bsky.social

150 followers 160 following 22 posts

Assistant Professor at the University of Waterloo. Head of the Environmental Virology and Ecology Research Group (ENVERG) Into algae, viruses, environmental microbiology, oceanography. Views are my own.

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Jozef Nissimov @jinoceanvir.bsky.social · 20d

Latest work from my lab at @uwaterloo.ca by PhD student Isaac Meza-Padilla on using #Alphafold for #proteome modelling in #cyanophages:

doi.org/10.1016/j.cs...

Jozef Nissimov @jinoceanvir.bsky.social · 4d

(9/9) Overall this preprint and the discoveries in it blur the line between viral and cellular systems as never before, making it truly legitimate to ask the question: What is a virus?

Jozef Nissimov @jinoceanvir.bsky.social · 4d

(8/9) This suggests that #selection has particularly favoured the acquisition of RP-coding genes in certain viruses, and that, in some cases, such viral genes have been transferred to cells, likely becoming essential for the survival of the host.

Jozef Nissimov @jinoceanvir.bsky.social · 4d

(7/9) Interestingly, we find that these PhiMa05 #phage RPs are the only copies of those proteins that some Vampirovibrio strains possess.

Jozef Nissimov @jinoceanvir.bsky.social · 4d

(6/9) We discover that these viral RP-coding genes were horizontally transferred to certain members of the Vampirovibrionia, an ancestral non-photosynthetic lineage of cyanobacteria, via the integration of the viral genome.

Jozef Nissimov @jinoceanvir.bsky.social · 4d

(5/9) In this manuscript we dive into the #evolutionary trajectory of the RPs encoded by PhiMa05, elaborating on the ultimate causes and consequences of this fascinating set of viral proteins.

Jozef Nissimov @jinoceanvir.bsky.social · 4d

(4/9) This makes PhiMa05 the first cyanophage reported to encode RPs, as well as the virus with the most complete RP-coding set of the known #virosphere.

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Jozef Nissimov @jinoceanvir.bsky.social · 4d

(3/9) However, when they do, viruses usually harbor a single RP-coding gene. In this study, we revisit the genome of the jumbo #cyanophage PhiMa05 and show that it encodes six RPs (bS1, bL21, bL27, bL33, uL11and uL1), an RP acetyltransferase, and a ribosome biogenesis protein.

Jozef Nissimov @jinoceanvir.bsky.social · 4d

(2/9) The ultimate divide between #viruses and cells has been proposed to be the absence and presence of ribosomal genes, respectively. This view was recently challenged by the discovery that viral #genomes occasionally encode ribosomal #proteins (RPs).

Jozef Nissimov @jinoceanvir.bsky.social · 4d

(1/9) Latest preprint from our lab at
@uwaterloo.ca conceived predominantly by our very talented #PhD #student Isaac Meza-Padilla:

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

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Jozef Nissimov @jinoceanvir.bsky.social · 4d

Great read. Looks like #viruses also code for some of these same GAF domains: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Cyanobacteriochrome-like GAF folds in phages revealed via AlphaFold proteomic modelling

Accurate protein structure prediction followed by structural homology detection enable the functional annotation of otherwise obscure viral protein-co…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Jozef Nissimov @jinoceanvir.bsky.social · 4d

#algae matters. This is why:

uwaterloo.ca/news/science...

Inside Canada’s largest freshwater algal culture collection | Waterloo News

Algae may call to mind discoloured pool water or the green film floating to the top of your rain barrel, but they’re much more than a summertime nuisance. Algae have applications from carbon sequestra...

uwaterloo.ca

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Jozef Nissimov @jinoceanvir.bsky.social · 20d

Latest work from my lab at @uwaterloo.ca by PhD student Isaac Meza-Padilla on using #Alphafold for #proteome modelling in #cyanophages:

doi.org/10.1016/j.cs...

Reposted by Jozef Nissimov

Great Lakes Now @greatlakesnow.bsky.social · 27d

Join the creators of @alltooclearfilm.bsky.social for a historic real-time dive to Superior Shoal, a towering underwater mountain in the heart of Lake Superior.

Explore the Freshwater Everest on Sunday, September 14 at 3 PM ET.

Learn more: inspiredplanet.ca/live

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Jozef Nissimov @jinoceanvir.bsky.social · 26d

Congratulations!

Jozef Nissimov @jinoceanvir.bsky.social · 26d

Sounds very interesting. Haven't read yet but I am surprised that the authors use the name E. huxleyi given that the taxonomy of this species has changed to Gephyrocapsa huxleyi

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Jozef Nissimov @jinoceanvir.bsky.social · Aug 1

It was an honour meeting and talking to, and snorkeling with the pioneer marine biologist, oceanographer, aquanaut and National Geographic explorer Sylvia Earle at the @psaalgae.bsky.social meeting in #PuertoRico. An incredible ambassador for #Science and the #Ocean. A truly inspiring individual.

Jozef Nissimov @jinoceanvir.bsky.social · Jul 25

Wow. Also beautiful TEM images!!!

Reposted by Jozef Nissimov

Curtis Suttle @virosphere.bsky.social · Jul 8

Join marine researchers @UBC (ubcoceans.ubc.ca). CERC in Ocean Ecological Modeling (research.ubc.ca/media/file/c...). $8M to work at the intersection of oceanography, fisheries, ecology, biodiversity, etc, in the context of environmental change, ecosystems, biogeochemistry & living marine resources.

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Jozef Nissimov @jinoceanvir.bsky.social · Jun 21

Fantastic efforts from my @uwaterloo.ca graduate students at this year's Canadian Society for Microbiology meeting in #Montreal. What a great event and an amazing city!

Reposted by Jozef Nissimov

Ted Pavlic (he/him/his) @tedpavlic.bsky.social · Jun 8

Reminder: Nobel-prize winning PCR (1983), used in basically all genetic tech today, was only possible because of extremophile bacterium discovered in 1964 in Yellowstone funded by a small ~$80k NSF grant with no obvious application at the time. #science 🧪
www.richmondscientific.com/how-a-discov...

How a discovery in Yellowstone National Park led to the development of PCR - Richmond Scientific

A discovery in Yellowstone National Park led to the development of PCR, the gold-standard COVID-19 tests used to fight the global pandemic.

www.richmondscientific.com

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Jozef Nissimov @jinoceanvir.bsky.social · Jun 4

Great to be on the #water again today for some #microbial sampling in lake #belwood. What a way to start the #summer.

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Reposted by Jozef Nissimov

Jed Fuhrman @jedfuhrman.bsky.social · May 22

Out in Science! Zakem et al. mechanistically modeled global marine prokaryotic functional diversity, grounded with field data. Shifts in community composition drive respiration and thus biological C storage. This facilitates C cycle projections in a warming ocean
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Functional biogeography of marine microbial heterotrophs

Heterotrophic bacteria and archaea (“heteroprokaryotes”) drive global carbon cycling, but how to quantitatively organize their functional complexity remains unclear. We generated a global-scale unders...

www.science.org

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Jozef Nissimov @jinoceanvir.bsky.social · May 20

Congratulations to all our co-authors on publishing this great work, led by our own @uwaterloo.ca gradate student Delaney Nash.
rdcu.be/emvgP

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Reposted by Jozef Nissimov

Science X / Phys.org @sciencex.bsky.social · May 12

When viruses infect toxic algal blooms, they can trigger the release of high levels of harmful microcystin-LR, leaving clear water that may still pose risks to health and ecosystems. doi.org/g9h7s9

Clear waters, hidden toxins: Viruses that combat algal blooms may actually increase risks for people and ecosystems

New laboratory research shows that when viruses attack a species that forms toxic algal blooms, those thick, blue-green slicks that choke waterways and that threaten ecosystems, drinking water, and public health, what results might be even worse than before the infection.

phys.org

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Reposted by Jozef Nissimov

Curtis Suttle @virosphere.bsky.social · Apr 18

Many data sets held by NOAA are being "retired" in may, including datasets relevant to ocean sciences and climate. If you have need for these data, or are an archivist, it would be good to download this now. PLEASE SHARE WIDELY. www.nesdis.noaa.gov/about/docume...

Notice of Changes

Notices of changes are formal public announcements of planned services changes to applications and other products.

www.nesdis.noaa.gov

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