Great new story from Sophie Helaine and Molly Sargen!
www.helainelab.com
28.01.2026 23:01 โ ๐ 34 ๐ 18 ๐ฌ 0 ๐ 0
Another cool finding of nucleotides activating antiphage defense ๐๐ฝ
5โฒ-phosphorylated deoxydinucleotides arising during host genome degradation activate the doughnut shaped ApeA oligomer, to cleave host
tRNAs and abort infection
โ๏ธ๐งฌโก๏ธ๐ฉโจโก๏ธโ๏ธโ ๏ธ๐ฆ
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
27.01.2026 13:13 โ ๐ 25 ๐ 7 ๐ฌ 0 ๐ 0
New paper out in @pnas.org, and it made the cover! ๐๏ธ
We represent plasmids as circles and mutations as dots, resembling an eye, because in this paper we literally ๐ค๐๐ก๐โ plasmids evolve.
โผ๏ธCheck Paulaโs ๐งต and the paper๐
๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐๐บ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐บ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ ๐ป๐๐บ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
27.01.2026 20:23 โ ๐ 95 ๐ 44 ๐ฌ 3 ๐ 3
Our latest CRISPR ring nuclease paper focusses on Csx15 - which seems to act as of a sponge as well as a canonical phosphodiesterase. Great work led by @haotianchi.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
22.01.2026 08:57 โ ๐ 36 ๐ 20 ๐ฌ 0 ๐ 0
A methylome-derived m6-dAMP trigger assembles a PUA-Cal-HAD immune filament that depletes dNTPs to abort phage infection
Bacteria must distinguish phage attack from normal homeostatic processes, yet the danger signals that trigger many defence systems remain unknown. Here, we show that a PUA-Calcineurin-CE-HAD module from Escherichia coli ECOR28 confers broad anti-phage protection by binding Dam-methylated deoxyadenosine monophosphate (m6-dAMP) generated during phage-induced chromosome degradation. Ligand binding converts a preassembled PUA-Calcineurin-CE hexamer loaded with six HAD phosphatases into a polymerising filament. The filament acts as a high-flux dNTP sink through a two-enzyme cascade: HAD first dephosphorylates dATP to dADP, and Calcineurin-CE then converts dADP to dAMP. dNTP collapse halts phage replication and enforces abortive infection. Multiple mobile-element DNA mimic proteins block filament assembly, revealing a direct phage counter-defence. More broadly, our findings extend a conserved, cross-kingdom paradigm of immune filament assembly to nucleotide-depletion antiviral defence and suggest modified-nucleotide sensing by related PUA-Calcineurin-CE modules as a widespread, underappreciated bacterial strategy. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, https://ror.org/01qqpzg67, Postdoctoral Bridging Fellowship F.L.N. is supported by a Wessex Health Partners (WHP) and National Institute for Health and Care Research Wessex Experimental Medicine Network (NIHR WEMN), Seed fund National Institutes of Health, GM145888, U24 GM129539) Maloris Foundation Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, P30-CA008748 Simons Foundation, SF349247 New York State Assembly
Preprint out: We characterise PUA-Cal-HAD, a widespread bacterial antiphage defence family. An infection cue switches a preassembled complex into an immune filament that drains dNTPs via a coupled two-enzyme cascade, and phage DNA mimics can block filament assembly (anti-polymerisation).
17.01.2026 14:52 โ ๐ 34 ๐ 19 ๐ฌ 1 ๐ 0
Save the date, please RT:
Looking forward to an exciting International Symposium @spp2330.bsky.social "New concepts in prokaryotic virus-host interactions".
October 5-7, 2026; Harnack-Haus Berlin (Germany).
@dfg.de @hhu.de @fz-juelich.de
14.01.2026 14:41 โ ๐ 28 ๐ 19 ๐ฌ 1 ๐ 0
Happy to share our recent preprint:
"DNA-intercalating antiphage molecules trigger abortive infection through mutual destruction and synergize with bacterial immunity"
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
@spp2330.bsky.social, @mibinet.bsky.social, @dfg.de @hhu.de @fzj.bsky.social
14.01.2026 08:57 โ ๐ 43 ๐ 26 ๐ฌ 2 ๐ 0
Bacteria chromosomes contain Genomic Islands that provide virulence, antibiotic resistance, MGE-defence,... They transfer between cells, but the mechanism of most remains elusive.
Here we explore the conjugative capacity of these mysterious Genomic Islands.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
14.01.2026 10:14 โ ๐ 81 ๐ 52 ๐ฌ 4 ๐ 2
Coupling DNA processing to early gene expression drives antibiotic resistance plasmid dissemination https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.09.698686v1
10.01.2026 02:16 โ ๐ 6 ๐ 3 ๐ฌ 0 ๐ 0
Interplay between mobile genetic elements drives a fusion-deletion life cycle of plasmids to fuel antimicrobial resistance https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.09.696371v1
10.01.2026 02:16 โ ๐ 7 ๐ 2 ๐ฌ 0 ๐ 0
DDLS Research School Postdoc call 2026
Call for Academic and Industrial Postdoctoral Fellowships in Data-Driven Life Science 2026 Generic Description of the DDLS Postdoc Program The SciLifeLab and Wallenberg National Program for Data-Drive...
Iโm looking to host a postdoc in our lab to use proteomics to discover and characterize phage receptors.
Strong fit if you have experience in MS based proteomics and an interest in infection biology.
Call info: www.scilifelab.se/data-driven/...
#postdoc #proteomics #phage #infectionbiology
09.01.2026 08:18 โ ๐ 7 ๐ 3 ๐ฌ 0 ๐ 0
RNA-triggered Cas12a3 cleaves tRNA tails to execute bacterial immunity - Nature
Cas12a3 nucleases constitute a distinct clade of type V CRISPRโCas bacterial immune systems that preferentially cleave the 3โฒ tails of tRNAs after recognition of target RNA to induce growth arres...
Our paper is out! Hiding in plain sight among Cas12a nucleases, Cas12a3 cleaves not its RNA target but the 3โฒ ends of tRNA. Huge thanks to all who made this possible, especially the Beisel lab, Biao & Dirk for the structure, & @sebastianglatt.bsky.social for all things tRNA. doi.org/10.1038/s415...
07.01.2026 16:15 โ ๐ 34 ๐ 20 ๐ฌ 1 ๐ 0
New preprint from my lab (with Arya Kaul, @fernpizza.bsky.social, and @brinda.eu), in which we explore new genes hitchhiking on the beneficial deletion that fused them together, and find them in the LTEE, M. Tb/bovis, and across the bacterial tree of life
06.01.2026 16:12 โ ๐ 87 ๐ 36 ๐ฌ 5 ๐ 3
Pili are essential for conjugation also in many Gram-positive bacteria
Type IV secretion systems (T4SS) enable the spread of antibiotic resistance and other virulence factors. In Gram-positive bacteria, T4SSs have long been thought to lack VirB2-like proteins that form c...
๐ฃNew preprint with @rberntsson.bsky.social๐We overturn the long-standing view that Gram-positive bacteria lack conjugative pili! We identify pili-forming proteins in a wide range of bacteria and show they're essential for the spread of #antibioticresistance #AMR ๐งต1/6
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
30.12.2025 18:03 โ ๐ 33 ๐ 16 ๐ฌ 1 ๐ 2
Bacteriophages are normally classified as either virulent or temperate. Reality is, of course, more complicated!
Here we show many bacterial isolates contain non-temperate phages that can persist through restreaking.
Thanks to all co-authors for such a great collaboration!
29.12.2025 15:18 โ ๐ 32 ๐ 13 ๐ฌ 0 ๐ 0
Microbiologist, CRISPR imposter, Helmholtz (HIRI)
๐ฑ๐น Biochemist, PhD. Biochemical catalysis, anti-phage response, Cryo-EM, membranes.
MSCA postdoc at N.Taylor lab in CPH ๐ฉ๐ฐ
PhD student @soreklab.bsky.social at Weizmann Institute of Science
Evolution of immune systems ๐ฑ๐ฆ
PhD in Microbiology. Post-doctoral position at ETH Zurich
Scientific interest :To explore mechanistic foundations of phage-bacteria interactions
CSIC Professor and Principal Investigator of the Quantitative Biology group at IBFG in Salamanca. Previously at Yale EEB, CNB-CSIC. Our group works on building predictive models of biological teams. More information at www.sanchezlaboratory.weebly.com
๐งช Bacteria & Mobile Genetic Elements ๐ป Synthetic Biology Group @institutpasteur ๐ฉโ๐ฌ PhD @GVAfisabio @i2sysbio
Ph.D., Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences;
CRISPR-Cas system, defense system, TA system, phage and microbes.
Assistant Professor at University of Utah studying host-virus interactions
http://hobbs.biochem.utah.edu/
Postdoc with Aude Bernheim (@mdmlab.bsky.social) and Enzo Poirier studying the conservation of immunity across the tree of life | Institut Curie & Institut Pasteur | Former PhD student @epcrocha.bsky.social
Post doc at Swarts lab, wageningen university, netherlands.
Argonaute systems, anti plasmid systems ๐งฌ
Scientist at KU-Leuven VIB Center for Microbiology ๐ง๐ช, Previously co-PI at DTU Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability ๐ฉ๐ฐ
Microbial ecology | CRISPR | Synthetic biology | Fermented foods | Biosustainability
www.rvuribe.com
Microbe lover, Assistant professor @Uni_Tue @CoE_CMFI
working on system biology of bacteria & antibiotics.
@EMBL alumni, @Uni_WUE alumni
www.brochadolab.com
Our lab @uniwuerzburg.bsky.social focuses on gene regulation & virulence control in bacterial pathogens.
Post-doc at TacC team / CNRS / Lyon 1- Catching bacteria on tape right in the act !
The official account for Imperial College London
A global top-ten university, where scientific imagination leads to world-changing impact. Science | Engineering | Medicine | Business
#OurImperial ๐
https://linktr.ee/imperialcoll
Predoctoral researcher at evodynamics lab in Madrid.
Bacterial and plasmid evolution ๐ซง๐งฌ๐ป
PhD University of Alicante. Postdoc at @tum.de studying phage-host interactions in the gut. Phages, microbial ecology, cycling, beer and more.
We determine the structure and function of newly discovered bacterial immune systems to uncover novel biotechnologies.
