Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Randi Guest @randna.bsky.social · Aug 9

A chimeric Mla-Pqi lipid transport system is required for Brucella abortus survival in macrophages

www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

A chimeric Mla-Pqi lipid transport system is required for Brucella abortus survival in macrophages | The EMBO Journal

imageimageSeveral systems, such as the Mla and Pqi pathways, mediate lipid transport between the two membranes of gram-negative bacteria. This study identifies a novel Mla-Pqi chimeric complex in Bruc...

www.embopress.org

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Reposted by Randi Guest

Nature Microbiology @natmicrobiol.nature.com · Jul 30

#NewResearch

Outer membrane attachment to peptidoglycan enables periplasmic pressure to build up and oppose cytoplasmic turgor pressure, preventing lysis during osmotic challenge in Gram-negative bacteria

@michaeldeghelt.bsky.social #MicroSky 🦠

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

Peptidoglycan–outer membrane attachment generates periplasmic pressure to prevent lysis in Gram-negative bacteria - Nature Microbiology

Outer membrane attachment to peptidoglycan enables periplasmic pressure to build up and counter cytoplasmic turgor pressure, preventing lysis during osmotic challenges in Escherichia coli.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Randi Guest

Asaf Levy @asaflevylab.bsky.social · Jul 24

A recent paper reveals that while LPS deficiency shields bacteria from phage infection (they lack receptor), it heightens vulnerability to T6SS contact-dependent antagonism, highlighting a critical evolutionary constraint.

by @seeyeunting.bsky.social
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

www.embopress.org

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Reposted by Randi Guest

STCmicrobeblog @stcmicrobeblog.bsky.social · Jul 23

just like among humans, 𝗺𝗼𝗯bing is rampant in the microbial world.
here 👇 Maria Pilar Garcillán-Barcia , Fernando de la Cruz, and Eduardo Rocha review the extended 𝗺𝗼𝗯ility of plasmids...

#MicroSky

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

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Reposted by Randi Guest

STCmicrobeblog @stcmicrobeblog.bsky.social · Jun 29

#MicroSky

Alex Crits-Christoph @acritschristoph.bsky.social · Jun 29

Cool result: Transposon insertion sequencing reveals novel hypermutator genes in Acinetobacter baumannii

"Exposure of a transposon insertion mutant library to extended weak antibiotic selection ... revealed genes that indirectly increased fitness due to elevated general mutation rates"

Transposon insertion sequencing reveals novel hypermutator genes in Acinetobacter baumannii | mBio

All organisms have the capacity for evolution through mutation. Bacteria with high mutation rates have a survival advantage in some stressful environments because they generate beneficial mutations mo...

journals.asm.org

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Reposted by Randi Guest

Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · Jun 29

Just as our bodies have evolved to defend us against bacterial and viral pathogens, bacteria face the same challenges. They must deter their own viruses, chemically compete with other microbes, and deal with challenges from eukaryotic hosts 1/n 🧪

Cartoon microbe with boxing gloves defending itself against other microbes Adobestock: 299822964

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STCmicrobeblog @stcmicrobeblog.bsky.social · Jun 20

weekend is here! comes with a most welcome recording on youtube 👇

and if you need a less crick-heavy read, from the same author: DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2015.05.032
#MicroSky

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Reposted by Randi Guest

bioRxiv Microbiology @biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · Jun 20

Molecular interplay between peptidoglycan integrity and outer membrane asymmetry in maintaining cell envelope homeostasis https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.06.19.660527v1

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Reposted by Randi Guest

ASM @asm.org · Jun 16

#MicrobiologyMonday: Pseudomonas aeruginosa releases a surfactant that displaces Klebsiella pneumoniae from solid surfaces. By pushing K. pneumoniae away, the detergent allows P. aeruginosa to better compete for limited iron. Learn more in #mBio: asm.social/2sH

Model for the interaction between P. aeruginosa and K. pneumoniae. These bacteria can co-exist in nutrient-replete conditions. Under iron-limiting conditions, siderophore synthesis is induced in both bacteria. Iron limitation can also turn on the synthesis of biosurfactants, rhamnolipids, in P. aeruginosa, allowing it to push away K. pneumoniae.

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Reposted by Randi Guest

Microbiology Society @microbiologysociety.org · Jun 17

Just in case you missed it, watch our video ‘What is AMR?’, which explains the fundamentals of Antimicrobial Resistance and the strategies and solutions to mitigate its threat. Watch the full video now -https://youtu.be/hXr2Rn9OTOg #KnockingOutAMR

What is Antimicrobial Resistance and how can we tackle it?

Captions are available in many other languages: Please press the settings button (gear icon) for more options. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of most ...

youtu.be

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Reposted by Randi Guest

anna brogan @apbrogan.bsky.social · Jun 17

Very happy to share that a large part of my thesis work is out today: B. subtilis uses the second messenger c-di-AMP to modulate its turgor pressure in response to the state of its cell envelope. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Cyclic-di-AMP modulates cellular turgor in response to defects in bacterial cell wall synthesis - Nature Microbiology

Brogan et al. uncover a signalling pathway in which levels of the nucleotide second messenger c-di-AMP increase in response to defects in cell wall synthesis. This regulatory pathway decreases turgor ...

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Randi Guest

bioRxiv Microbiology @biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · Jun 17

A connection between two ancient and essential cellular processes, iron-sulfur protein biogenesis and fatty acid synthesis, in Escherichia coli https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.06.16.659903v1

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Reposted by Randi Guest

bioRxiv Microbiology @biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · Jun 11

Impaired envelope integrity in the absence of SanA is linked to increased Lipid II availability and an imbalance of FtsI and FtsW activities https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.06.10.658892v1

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Reposted by Randi Guest

Science News @scinews.bsky.social · Feb 18

How to read a paper

PDF download
ccr.sigcomm.org/online/files...

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Reposted by Randi Guest

Jyot Antani @antanij.bsky.social · May 8

Latest paper drop from Yale Phage Center @paulturnerlab.bsky.social

INCATE @incate.bsky.social · May 6

Yale researchers have made a breakthrough in fighting drug-resistant infections in cystic fibrosis with inhaled bacteriophage therapy - offering new hope against antimicrobial resistance.

🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Personalized inhaled bacteriophage therapy for treatment of multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis - Nature Medicine

A novel personalized phage therapy strategy that selects phages for a predicted evolutionary trade-off may represent a viable alternative approach for the treatment of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria...

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Randi Guest

Mark O. Martin @markowenmartin.bsky.social · May 1

It's Thursday: Episode 89 of #MattersMicrobial is up, with Dr. Amir Mitchell of University of Masschusetts Medical School! Today, the #QualityQuorum discussed using AI to identify new antibiotics. Please spread the #GoodMicrobialWord? @profvrr

youtu.be/Wa0zd-TRCO8?...

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Reposted by Randi Guest

Trevor Lithgow @trevor-lithgow.bsky.social · May 1

"That telomere phages are so prevalent means that they are a selective force, one that we know little about. We now want to understand how the telomere-toxin is secreted and also understand how this ‘telocin’ wheedles its way into unsuspecting bacterial neighbors”

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

Telomere bacteriophages are widespread and equip their bacterial hosts with potent interbacterial weapons

Klebsiella host strains infected with telomere phages can grow to be the dominant lineage in mixed populations.

www.science.org

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Reposted by Randi Guest

Jeremy Baskin @jeremybaskin.bsky.social · Apr 3

Groundbreaking study in Cell from @leventallab.bsky.social: phospholipid asymmetry is a defining feature of the plasma membrane and cholesterol fills the holes — major implications for how this membrane works. A #lipidtime must-read! www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...

Cell membranes sustain phospholipid imbalance via cholesterol asymmetry

This work challenges a major assumption in cell biology by showing that lipid bilayers can have drastically different phospholipid abundances between their two leaflets. This lipid abundance asymmetry...

www.cell.com

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Reposted by Randi Guest

MicroBites @microbites.bsky.social · Apr 14

📣 New MicroBites!

The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend 🦠

How one bacteria befriended an old foe to take down a thriving competitor 👇

The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend

How one bacteria befriended an old foe to take down a thriving competitor

micro-bites.org

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Reposted by Randi Guest

bioRxiv Microbiology @biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · Apr 12

Overlooked signals: Highly stable quorum sensing molecule in phage lysates induces quorum sensing response https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.04.11.648453v1

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Reposted by Randi Guest

bioRxiv Microbiology @biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · Apr 10

High-throughput LacZ/CPRG screen identifies novel potential antibiotics targeting Gram-negative bacterial envelopes to combat resistance https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.04.09.648071v1

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Reposted by Randi Guest

bioRxiv Microbiology @biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · Apr 11

Structural Basis of Lipopolysaccharide Assembly by the Outer Membrane Translocon Holo-Complex https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.04.10.648201v1

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Reposted by Randi Guest

PLOS Biology @plosbiology.org · Apr 8

The bacterial HflK-HflC membrane complex plays a key role in cell #membrane organization. This study shows that HflK-HflC is important for aerobic #respiration, stabilizing proteins like IspG & TonB; reduced IspG activity impairs respiration & energy production @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/3XPFENO

Top left: Difference in protein levels between ΔhflKC and WT strains. Cultures were grown anaerobically in TB. Proteins with differences in expression that were considered significant are labeled, with respiration-related proteins highlighted in either blue (downregulated) or red (upregulated). Top right: Commonalities and differences between proteins significantly up- or down-regulated in ΔhflKC under different conditions. Colors of protein labels are the same as in other panels. Respiration-related proteins and those affected under more than one condition are shown, and the number of other proteins affected under a particular condition is shown. Bottom: The STRING diagram showing proteins that are significantly up- or down-regulated in the ΔhflKC deletion strain. Links indicate specified types of relationships between proteins, with the interaction score confidence threshold of 0.4. Proteins related to respiration are colored in red (upregulated) or blue (downregulated).

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Randi Guest @randna.bsky.social · Apr 7

Bacillus subtilis MurJ and Amj Lipid II flippases are not essential for growth

journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Bacillus subtilis MurJ and Amj Lipid II flippases are not essential for growth | Journal of Bacteriology

The assembly of peptidoglycan (PG), the typically essential polymer that provides structural integrity to bacterial cells, begins with the synthesis of the Lipid II monomer in the cytoplasm and along ...

journals.asm.org

Reposted by Randi Guest

Thibaut Brunet @thibautbrunet.bsky.social · Apr 3

Striking new study from @archaeon-alex.bsky.social's lab just out in @science.org on multicellular development induced by compression in Archaea: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Tissue-like multicellular development triggered by mechanical compression in archaea

The advent of clonal multicellularity is a critical evolutionary milestone, seen often in eukaryotes, rarely in bacteria, and only once in archaea. We show that uniaxial compression induces clonal mul...

www.science.org

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