Liz Ortiz de Ora

Congratulations to Ben Morehouse @benmorehouse.bsky.social and the other 2026 Michelson Prize Awardees. All five newly funded projects are incredibly exciting areas of immunology!

www.michelsonmedicalresearch.org/news/michels...

When viral infection is not an excuse to stop moving!

Now published in PLoS Pathogens! #microsky #phagesky
journals.plos.org/plospathogen...

A prophage-encoded sRNA limits phage infection of adherent-invasive E. coli Author summary Prophages—viral genomes integrated into bacterial chromosomes—are common in enteric bacteria and can profoundly influence bacterial physiology and ecological fitness. Here we show that ...

A prophage-encoded sRNA limits phage infection of adherent-invasive E. coli

#PLoSPathogen from @prsecor.bsky.social

journals.plos.org/plospathogen...

Sometimes the tick rectal sac looks astral

What a beautiful paper! Congrats!!

Phollow reveals in situ phage transmission dynamics in the zebrafish gut microbiome at single-virion resolution - Nature Microbiology ‘Phollow’ is a live imaging-based fluorescence tagging approach that can track phage replication and spread in situ with single-virion resolution.

Live microscopy to 'phollow' phage outbreaks 🔬✳️

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

As the year ends, we decided to select our favorite papers of 2025

Turns out, it is impossible as we love them all!

So, we picked 'some' that exhibit the range of microbiology highlighted through the columns of Nature Microbiology.

Here is a glimpse into #EditorPicks of 2025

#MicroSky 🦠

Oh sorry, I am at MSU in the Secor lab.

Any in-person slots ?

Expression level of anti-phage defence systems controls a trade-off between protection range and autoimmunity - Nature Microbiology The authors examine several defense systems and find that increased expression enhances their protection range, albeit at a cost of autoimmunity.

Expression level of anti-phage defence systems controls a trade-off between protection range and autoimmunity
By Nitzan Aframian and Avigdor Eldar.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

1/16 New pre-print from the Sternberg Lab!
We uncover how temperate phages can use RNA-guided transcription factors to remodel the flagellar composition of their bacterial host and enhance their fitness.
Find the preprint and full story here: tinyurl.com/mshwjd77

We took the day off from the lab and spent all day in Paradise Valley, Montana on the Yellowstone River

E. coli prophages encode an arsenal of defense systems to protect against temperate phages Bacteria contain an array of immune systems, with many yet to be discovered. Brenes and Laub isolate temperate phages from diverse E. coli strains, enabling identification of 17 conserved, prophage-en...

E. coli prophages encode an arsenal of defense systems to protect against temperate phages: Cell Host & Microbe www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...

🤯

We’re thrilled to be featured on the May cover of Nature Microbiology... And our Research Briefing is out now—check it out, it’s 🔥! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Congrats!!! That's so awesome 🚀

Phollow reveals in situ phage transmission dynamics in the zebrafish gut microbiome at single-virion resolution - Nature Microbiology ‘Phollow’ is a live imaging-based fluorescence tagging approach that can track phage replication and spread in situ with single-virion resolution.

🚨OUT NOW 🚨

Phollow Reveals In Situ Phage Transmission Dynamics in the Zebrafish Gut Microbiome at Single-Virion Resolution 🦠🐟

#MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky

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

Thank you!

Thank you. So nice to hear from you!

Phollow provides a platform to unravel the hidden lives of phages, capturing their nanoscopic dynamics within microscopic bacterial communities and macroscopic animal hosts. Check all the details in our manuscript!

We also found that antibiotics induce phage outbreaks and viral transmission that ultimately remodels the composition of gut microbial communities.

and more strikingly, virions disseminating to extraintestinal tissues including the liver and brain. magenta = DNA, white= phage particles.

phages (in white) being internalized by gut-lining cells, including enteroendocrine cells (in green). pink = nuclei of intestinal tissues.

virions closely associating with the intestinal mucosa and tissue...

The following videos reveals the aftermath of a phage outbreak: virions dispersed throughout the lumen...

We then brought Phollow into the gut of live zebrafish, taking advantage of their transparency and small size to visualize microbial communities across the entire intestine —capturing their dynamic interactions with the host in real time! pink = DNA, purple = actin, green = E. coli

Phollow enables tracking chains of interbacterial transmission. As phages infect new bacterial hosts, they’re re-tagged with a new fluorescent color. Here, green virions from green-labeled cells infect pink- and cyan-labeled targets, generating vibrant confetti bursts of differently colored phages.

One of my favorite experiments with Phollow are time lapses that allow us to illuminate the secret lives of phages. Here, we captured P2 temperate phages undergoing lytic replication in E. coli, leading to explosive host cell lysis and rapid virion dispersal into the environment.

Phollow reveals in situ phage transmission dynamics in the zebrafish gut microbiome at single-virion resolution Nature Microbiology - ‘Phollow’ is a live imaging-based fluorescence tagging approach that can track phage replication and spread in situ with single-virion resolution.

I am thrilled to share the first manuscript from the Wiles lab! We present "Phollow", an in vivo phage-tagging approach that enables direct observation of phage outbreaks with single-virion resolution by live imaging. Here some highlights 👇 www.nature.com/articles/s41...