Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Malaka De Silva

Kate Baker @ksbakes.bsky.social · 21d

Come and join us at @shigellameeting.bsky.social in Paris 2026. Registrations are now open! www.shigella2026.conferences-pasteur.org/home and follow the Shigella starter pack go.bsky.app/6Vbwhjc (message to be added)! 215 days to go!

2 9 18

Reposted by Malaka De Silva

Maxence Lejars @mlejars.bsky.social · 28d

Happy to share the published version of our genetic toolbox, EASY-edit, for simple, flexible and efficient targeted editing in E. coli!

Feel free to to try it, we can send strains and plasmids!

academic.oup.com/nar/article/...

EASY-edit: a toolbox for high-throughput single-step custom genetic editing in bacteria

Abstract. Targeted gene editing can be achieved using CRISPR–Cas9-assisted recombineering. However, high-efficiency editing requires careful optimization f

academic.oup.com

9 19

Reposted by Malaka De Silva

Isabel @isabelott.bsky.social · Sep 1

“…we demonstrate that although human use may affect the prevalence and mobility of genomic resistance in clinical isolates, for most antibiotics, genomic resistance existed within the pangenomes of sampled pathogens prior to clinical introduction.”

Really neat stuff!

Michael Baym @baym.lol · Sep 1

What was antibiotic resistance like before we ever used antibiotics? How did we change what antibiotic resistance genes looked like over 100 years?

Our paper looking at resistance genes from a century of NCTC historical isolates now out in mGen:
www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour...

Genomic resistance in historical clinical isolates increased in frequency and mobility after the age of antibiotics

Antibiotic resistance is frequently observed shortly after the clinical introduction of an antibiotic. Whether and how frequently that resistance occurred before the introduction is harder to determin...

www.microbiologyresearch.org

1 5 15

Reposted by Malaka De Silva

Kaitlin Schaal @evokait.bsky.social · Sep 3

Is the era of microbial metagenomics over? Check out our new preprint on using species abundance distributions to predict plasmid maintenance in bacterial communities: arxiv.org/abs/2509.01695

Heterogeneity drives plasmid maintenance in large microbial communities

Microbiomes are complex systems comprised of many interacting species. Species can survive harsh or changing conditions by rapid adaptation, a process accelerated by the exchange of genetic material b...

arxiv.org

2 1

Reposted by Malaka De Silva

Kaitlin Schaal @evokait.bsky.social · Sep 3

New preprint with my HFSP collaborators. Network structures for bacterial and plasmid interactions determine community structure and evolvability: doi.org/10.32942/X21...

The interplay between ecological networks drives host-plasmid community dynamics

doi.org

3 5

Reposted by Malaka De Silva

Kaitlin Schaal @evokait.bsky.social · Sep 3

Plasmids can be lost from a bacterial community even under positive environmental selection: doi.org/10.1101/2025...

Species interactions determine plasmid persistence in a 3-member bacterial community

Microbial communities are shaped by complex forces, including interspecies interactions and the effects of mobile genetic elements such as plasmids. How these forces interact to affect community respo...

doi.org

2 11 19

Reposted by Malaka De Silva

Eduardo Rocha @epcrocha.bsky.social · Sep 3

At last ! A tool specifically for phage-plasmid hunters. Check tyPPing by @karinailchenko.bsky.social and @eugenpfeifer.bsky.social

Karina Ilchenko @karinailchenko.bsky.social · Sep 3

🚨 New preprint! 🧬

𝐏𝐡𝐚𝐠𝐞-𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐬 (𝐏-𝐏𝐬) are fascinating elements: both 𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 and 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐬 ➡️ tricky to detect.

We present 𝐭𝐲𝐏𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐠 — the first 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐥 🛠️designed specifically for P-Ps:
✅ Accurate
✅ Sensitive
✅ Easy to use

📖 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Efficient detection and typing of phage-plasmids

Phage-plasmids are temperate phages that replicate as plasmids during lysogeny. Despite their high diversity, they carry genes similar to phages and plasmids. This leads to gene exchanges, and to the ...

www.biorxiv.org

16 47

Reposted by Malaka De Silva

Matt Sullivan @drsull.bsky.social · Sep 4

Vacancy! We have a postdoc position at UEA to explore the microbiology of metal resistance in Gram-positive pathogens.
📍 Norwich UK
🗓️ Apply by 21st September 25
🔗 tinyurl.com/mrssbd7f
RPs appreciated!
@microbiologysociety.org @asm.org @aussocmic.bsky.social @femsmicro.org @norwichmicro.bsky.social

Senior Research Associate (RA2346) in University of East Anglia | UEA

View details and apply for this Senior Research Associate (RA2346) vacancy in University of East Anglia. Faculty of Science School of Biological Sciences Senior Research Associate Ref: RA23...

tinyurl.com

5 3

Reposted by Malaka De Silva

Matt Sullivan @drsull.bsky.social · Sep 4

Vacancy! We have a Technician role at UEA to support research on metal resistance in Gram-positive pathogens.
📍 Norwich UK
🗓️ Apply by 21st September 25
🔗 tinyurl.com/mr3ev3ke
RPs appreciated!
@microbiologysociety.org @asm.org @aussocmic.bsky.social
@femsmicro.org @norwichmicro.bsky.social

Research Technician (TC923) in University of East Anglia | UEA

View details and apply for this Research Technician (TC923) vacancy in University of East Anglia. Faculty of Science School of Biological Sciences Research Technician (Part-Time, 0.6 FTE) R...

tinyurl.com

7 3

Reposted by Malaka De Silva

Lewis C. E. Mason @lewiscemason.bsky.social · Aug 28

How should #XDR #shigellosis cases be treated? Our new education piece at #BMJ #SexuallyTransmittedInfections explores specific empirical treatment. Our recommendations are subsequent to our microbial genomic, phenotypic #AMR, and clinical/pharmacological analyses. sti.bmj.com/content/earl... 🧫💻🛟🧪🧬🦠

Antimicrobial treatment options for extensively drug-resistant (XDR) shigellosis in men who have sex with men

The sexual transmission of Shigella s onnei and Shigella flexneri has been observed since the 1970s between men who have sex with men (MSM) associated with living with HIV, sexually transmitted infect...

sti.bmj.com

6 11

Reposted by Malaka De Silva

The Shigella Meeting @shigellameeting.bsky.social · Aug 30

232 days to go ...

1 4

Reposted by Malaka De Silva

Alvaro San Millan @sanmillan.bsky.social · Aug 13

New paper in collaboration with the @asantoslopez.bsky.social lab!

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

15 25

Reposted by Malaka De Silva

The Shigella Meeting @shigellameeting.bsky.social · Aug 7

Why not follow our @shigellameeting.bsky.social starterpack of people who are speaking at and attending the conference - please message to be added to the starter pack if you're planning on coming or we haven't found you yet! go.bsky.app/6Vbwhjc

4 6

Reposted by Malaka De Silva

Kate Baker @ksbakes.bsky.social · Aug 7

I hope all my fellow #shigellaphiles have 20 - 24 April 2026 blocked out in their diaries for @shigellameeting.bsky.social next year in Paris! In the meantime, check out (and join) our starter pack to start community building now 🧫

The Shigella Meeting @shigellameeting.bsky.social · Aug 7

Why not follow our @shigellameeting.bsky.social starterpack of people who are speaking at and attending the conference - please message to be added to the starter pack if you're planning on coming or we haven't found you yet! go.bsky.app/6Vbwhjc

6 4

Reposted by Malaka De Silva

Dr Blanca Perez-Sepulveda @blancaps.bsky.social · Aug 1

Finally out!! It was a long time in the making, I hope you enjoy it!! #salmonella #iNTS #AMR

Kate Baker @ksbakes.bsky.social · Jul 27

There are half a million cases of invasive non-Typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) every year and while you might know S. Typhimurim and Enteritidis, you may not have heard of S. Panama 💩 🩸 🧫 💊 Check out our latest in @lancetmicrobe.bsky.social doi.org/10.1016/j.la... and the 🧵 below to find out more 1/n

6 6

Reposted by Malaka De Silva

Jamie Hall @jpjhall.bsky.social · Jul 31

It was great fun writing this review with @gemccallum.bsky.social , even if our conclusions are rather scary. Lots of important pathogen evolution must be occurring outside of the infection context...

Greg McCallum @gemccallum.bsky.social · Jul 30

Delighted to have this review out with @jpjhall.bsky.social!

We discuss the risk of transmission of antimicrobial resistance in the hospital sink drain microbiome, highlight studies providing evidence of transfer, and consider strategies to mitigate these risks 🪠🦠

doi.org/10.1038/s442...

The hospital sink drain microbiome as a melting pot for AMR transmission to nosocomial pathogens - npj Antimicrobials and Resistance

npj Antimicrobials and Resistance - The hospital sink drain microbiome as a melting pot for AMR transmission to nosocomial pathogens

doi.org

2 14 27

Reposted by Malaka De Silva

Jane Hawkey @yekwah.bsky.social · Jul 30

Huge amount of work in this paper, very proud of Hugh getting through all these benchmarking tests. We’re much more confident now using ONT-only data for our clinical questions

Hugh Cottingham @hughcottingham.bsky.social · Jul 30

Pleased to say that our preprint benchmarking Nanopore data for MLST, cgMLST, cgSNP & AMR typing from bacterial isolates is out! TL;DR you can get almost perfect results from 50x depth using live SUP basecalling with a GPU in under 20 hours #microsky#IDsky 🦠🧬🖥️ /1
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...

1 6

Reposted by Malaka De Silva

Greg McCallum @gemccallum.bsky.social · Jul 30

Delighted to have this review out with @jpjhall.bsky.social!

We discuss the risk of transmission of antimicrobial resistance in the hospital sink drain microbiome, highlight studies providing evidence of transfer, and consider strategies to mitigate these risks 🪠🦠

doi.org/10.1038/s442...

The hospital sink drain microbiome as a melting pot for AMR transmission to nosocomial pathogens - npj Antimicrobials and Resistance

npj Antimicrobials and Resistance - The hospital sink drain microbiome as a melting pot for AMR transmission to nosocomial pathogens

doi.org

2 16 51

Reposted by Malaka De Silva

Kate Baker @ksbakes.bsky.social · Jul 27

There are half a million cases of invasive non-Typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) every year and while you might know S. Typhimurim and Enteritidis, you may not have heard of S. Panama 💩 🩸 🧫 💊 Check out our latest in @lancetmicrobe.bsky.social doi.org/10.1016/j.la... and the 🧵 below to find out more 1/n

2 27 57

Reposted by Malaka De Silva

David Sünderhauf @davvi36.bsky.social · Jul 22

Please share! 🦠
Workshop on Phage Therapy in Liverpool on 25th November organised by Stineke van Houte, @jojofoth.bsky.social, @brockhurstlab.bsky.social, & Edze Westra.

Limited FREE tickets & more info here: sites.exeter.ac.uk/vanhoutelab/...

#MicroSky

Conference flyer, all info is on link too

2 14 15

Reposted by Malaka De Silva

Eduardo Rocha @epcrocha.bsky.social · Jul 23

Here's our new broad review on the extended mobility of plasmids, about all mechanisms driving and limiting their transfer. From conjugation to conduction, phage-plasmids to hitchers, molecular to evolutionary dynamics, ecology to biotech. The state of affairs. 1/9 academic.oup.com/nar/article/...

graphical abstract of the article the extended mobility of plasmids

4 94 190

Reposted by Malaka De Silva

Pathogen Dynamics Unit @pducambridge.bsky.social · Jul 6

@ksbakes.bsky.social is representing PDU at the GRC Microbial Population Biology conference this week introducing the AMR through time and space session - check out the work of the other attendees here:

Mike Blazanin @mikeblazanin.bsky.social · Jul 3

Looking forward to seeing everyone, new and old, at the Microbial Population Biology GRS + GRC in just a couple days!

go.bsky.app/GGxRjzC

2 6

Reposted by Malaka De Silva

Nature Genetics @natgenet.nature.com · Jun 23

💫Don't miss the N&V💫

📰Organoid models advance dysentery control.

By Sydney L. Miles & Serge Mostowy.

⬇️

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

Organoid models advance dysentery control - Nature Genetics

Shigella is a major human pathogen with a stark lack of pipelines linking genome content to clinical pathogenesis. An innovative study using large-scale organoid models, combined with genome-wide muta...

www.nature.com

3 3

Reposted by Malaka De Silva

Franklin Nobrega @fnobrega.bsky.social · Jun 19

Thank you to everyone who attended the 3rd UK MGE workshop. What an incredible few days of science and community building! Next stop: York 2026, hosted by @pcmfogg.bsky.social. See you all next year! #UKMGE

3 7 21

Reposted by Malaka De Silva

Jamie Hall @jpjhall.bsky.social · Jun 20

🚨 Reminder! You have just over two weeks to submit an abstract, if you want to present at the @microbiologysociety.org meeting "Understanding and predicting microbial evolutionary dynamics" in Liverpool in November! #microsky 🦠🧫🔬

Jamie Hall @jpjhall.bsky.social · May 2

‼️Update! Abstract submission is now open for the 2025 Liverpool UK @microbiologysociety.org meeting on "Understanding and predicting microbial evolutionary dynamics”! Deadline July 7th #microsky 🧪🧫🦠 microbiologysociety.org/event/societ...

14 14