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Reyes-Lamothe lab

@reyes-lab.bsky.social

We study DNA replication and genome integrity || live-cell single-molecule microscopy || Bacteria || Budding-yeast || mammalian cells We are at the Department of Biology, @mcgill.ca https://reyes-lamothe.lab.mcgill.ca

334 Followers  |  436 Following  |  5 Posts  |  Joined: 07.01.2025  |  1.9601

Latest posts by reyes-lab.bsky.social on Bluesky

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Selective elimination of donor bacteria enables global profiling of plasmid gene expression at early stages of conjugation Abstract. Conjugative plasmids are a major driving force for the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance. During conjugation, plasmid DNA is transferred

academic.oup.com/nar/article/... Collaboration with Y. Yamaichi. Killing donor bacteria in conjugation mixes using water enables transcriptomic profiling of early plasmid genes ! Superb tool for studying zygotic induction of these early genes, which include anti-SOS and anti-RM factors. #microsky

10.12.2025 18:06 β€” πŸ‘ 30    πŸ” 19    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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How DNA secondary structures drive replication fork instability DNA secondary structures, such as hairpins, cruciforms, triplexes, G-quadruplexes and iMotifs, are common, dynamic features that replication forks rou…

Our @costerlab.bsky.social review is out!

It’s a great read on the impact of DNA secondary structures on eukaryotic replication fork progression - a totally unbiased opinion, of course!

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

@adityasethi.bsky.social @billiedelpino.bsky.social

10.12.2025 11:53 β€” πŸ‘ 16    πŸ” 8    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
Comparative analysis of the Caulobacter SOS response under mitomycin-C damage. Top left: Schematic summarizing the RNA-sequencing experiment. Caulobacter cells were treated with 0.25 ΞΌg/ml mitomycin-C for 20 and 40 min (Created in BioRender). Samples were collected for transcriptomic analysis before (0 min, control), and at 20 and 40 min post damage induction. Top right: Venn diagram representing the genes that meet the listed criteria: 1. Genes induced in wild type cells under MMC damage at 40 min (white circle). 2. Genes induced in Ξ”lexA in the absence of damage (blue circle). 3. Genes not induced in Ξ”recA background under MMC damage at 40 min (gray circle). Genes fulfilling all three criteria are in the gray circle. Number of genes in each category is indicated. Bottom left: Bar graph indicating whether promoters of the shortlisted genes exhibit binding by the LexA protein as assessed from ChIP-seq analysis [10]. Bottom right: LexA ChIP-seq profile for genes belonging to the SOS response. Normalized reads (in rpm) are represented for 500 bp upstream and downstream of the gene CDS.

Comparative analysis of the Caulobacter SOS response under mitomycin-C damage. Top left: Schematic summarizing the RNA-sequencing experiment. Caulobacter cells were treated with 0.25 ΞΌg/ml mitomycin-C for 20 and 40 min (Created in BioRender). Samples were collected for transcriptomic analysis before (0 min, control), and at 20 and 40 min post damage induction. Top right: Venn diagram representing the genes that meet the listed criteria: 1. Genes induced in wild type cells under MMC damage at 40 min (white circle). 2. Genes induced in Ξ”lexA in the absence of damage (blue circle). 3. Genes not induced in Ξ”recA background under MMC damage at 40 min (gray circle). Genes fulfilling all three criteria are in the gray circle. Number of genes in each category is indicated. Bottom left: Bar graph indicating whether promoters of the shortlisted genes exhibit binding by the LexA protein as assessed from ChIP-seq analysis [10]. Bottom right: LexA ChIP-seq profile for genes belonging to the SOS response. Normalized reads (in rpm) are represented for 500 bp upstream and downstream of the gene CDS.

The bacterial #SOSresponse unfolds in a defined temporal order, but how does this arise? @adityakamat.bsky.social @anjbadri.bsky.social &co show that intrinsic #promoter strength, modulated by #SigmaFactor usage, governs timing of SOS gene activation in Caulobacter @plosbiology.org πŸ§ͺ plos.io/4oAKf0Q

05.12.2025 10:03 β€” πŸ‘ 20    πŸ” 8    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Cohesin drives chromatin scanning during the RAD51-mediated homology search Cohesin folds genomes into chromatin loops, the roles of which are under debate. We found that double-strand breaks (DSBs) induce de novo formation of chromatin loops in human cells, with the loop bas...

Thrilled to share that my postdoc research is published today in @science.org! We found that DNA repair uses cohesin complexes to build new chromatin loops that guide the homology search and boost accurate repair! 1/n
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

04.12.2025 21:50 β€” πŸ‘ 128    πŸ” 38    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 4
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Versatile NTP recognition and domain fusions expand the functional repertoire of the ParB-CTPase fold beyond chromosome segregation | PNAS Nucleotide triphosphate (NTP)-dependent molecular switches regulate essential cellular processes by cycling between active and inactive states thro...

Our preprint is now published in PNAS! This came together thanks to a great collaboration with Antoine Hocher and a strong team effort from the Le Lab. Thank you to the reviewers and to everyone who helped improve it. I hope ParB aficionados will enjoy it.

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

04.12.2025 20:10 β€” πŸ‘ 32    πŸ” 18    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 1
Rescuing the bacterial replisome at a nick requires recombinational repair and helicase reloading - Nature Communications DNA damage can lead to cell death. Here, the authors show that a simple cut on either strand of DNA can inactivate bacterial chromosome replication. Surprisingly, only a core set of recombination prot...

Cool work from Heath Murray's lab where they use Cas9 nickase to study how ssDNA breaks are repaired in Bacillus subtilis #MicroSky www.nature.com/articles/s41...

28.11.2025 14:25 β€” πŸ‘ 16    πŸ” 8    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
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Congrats to Viri, who successfully defended her PhD thesis yesterday. Well done Dr. Lopez Jauregui! πŸŽ‰πŸŽ‰πŸ’―

28.11.2025 15:38 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Postdoctoral Fellow - H Yardimci Lab

We are recruiting a postdoctoral fellow to study mechanisms of DNA replication stress using single-molecule imaging tools. If you are excited about microscopy, replisome dynamics, and genome stability, we’d love to hear from you.

Application deadline: 24 December

www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...

25.11.2025 11:55 β€” πŸ‘ 31    πŸ” 26    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Chromosomal Topological Domain Formation Modulates Transcription and the Coupling of Neighboring Genes in Escherichia coli Chromosomal topology and transcription are tightly coupled, yet the quantitative impact of topological constraints on transcription, supercoiling, and the potential coupling between neighboring genes ...

β€˜Chromosomal Topological Domain Formation Modulates Transcription and the Coupling of Neighboring Genes in Escherichia coliβ€˜ by Drs. Nico Yehya, Christopher Bohrer, and collaborators, is now available on bioRxiv. Check it out! doi: doi.org/10.1101/2025...

25.11.2025 14:04 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 7    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Thanks Nitin

20.11.2025 23:40 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Thanks Stephan.

20.11.2025 17:04 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Genome integrity relies on rapid recycling of DNA Pol III in bacteria | PNAS DNA replication requires precise coordination between DNA unwinding and DNA synthesis. In all domains of life, protein–protein interactions at the ...

Happy to share our most recent work www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/.... Here we describe how efficient DNA replication in E. coli is dependent on an interaction between SSB-ssDNA and the DNA polymerase (Pol III). Thanks to all the co-authors for their hard work!

20.11.2025 16:54 β€” πŸ‘ 38    πŸ” 17    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 2
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Check out our new biosensor technology to study DDR kinase signaling: ProKAS.

We combine:
-proteomics
-engineered peptide sensors
-a new concept of amino acid barcodes

ProKAS tracks kinase signaling with spatial resolution and produces highly quantitative data.

Just published today: rdcu.be/ePNo0

13.11.2025 18:22 β€” πŸ‘ 21    πŸ” 8    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 1
Diagram of an E. coli cell showing polysomes pushing sister chromosomes apart.  Bottom heatmaps show cell-cycle-dependent
changes in DNA and ribosome density distributions, and constriction  formation. The top right corner shows normalized mid cell amounts from these heatmaps (integrated between the dashed horizontal lines).

Diagram of an E. coli cell showing polysomes pushing sister chromosomes apart. Bottom heatmaps show cell-cycle-dependent changes in DNA and ribosome density distributions, and constriction formation. The top right corner shows normalized mid cell amounts from these heatmaps (integrated between the dashed horizontal lines).

Our latest work is out in PNAS!πŸŽ‰
We show that nonequilibrium polysome dynamics help drive sister chromosomes apart. The closing division septum also contributes via steric interactions.πŸ‘‡
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

#MicroSky #Microbiology #Biophysics #CellBiology

09.11.2025 02:05 β€” πŸ‘ 25    πŸ” 10    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1
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Modulation of archaeal hypernucleosome structure and stability by Mg2+ DNA-wrapping histone proteins play a central role in chromatin organization, gene expression and regulation in most eukaryotes and archaea. While the …

New article online: Modulation of archaeal hypernucleosome structure and stability by Mg2+

In this work, we dissect the effects of Mg2+ on hypernucleosomes formed by the canonical histones from M. fervidus (HMfA and HMfB) and T. kodakarensis (HTkA and HTkB).

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

06.11.2025 07:53 β€” πŸ‘ 15    πŸ” 9    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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A unique inhibitor conformation selectively targets the DNA polymerase PolC of Gram-positive priority pathogens - Nature Communications In this work, Urem et al. characterize the mode of action as well as mechanism of reduced susceptibility related to a class of antimicrobials that is in development for the treatment of infections wit...

🚨 Publication alert! We are stoked to report the structural basis for activity of a novel class of antimicrobials targeting Gram positive priority pathogens in @natcomms.nature.com. There is something for everyone on this paper, and I will highlight a few things below πŸ‘‡ 1/9 doi.org/10.1038/s414...

06.11.2025 10:29 β€” πŸ‘ 36    πŸ” 18    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 1
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πŸ“’ Excited to share that our study has just been published in Nature Communications! We uncover how CRL4-DCAF12 regulates the cellular levels of MCMBP, a chaperone essential for assembling nascent MCM2-7 complexes, to ensure accurate and error-free genome duplication.

28.10.2025 15:04 β€” πŸ‘ 20    πŸ” 8    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 0
PNAS Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...

A new, nerdy paper. We figured out (some) of the rules underlying cell-permeability of probes and designed ligands that light up, grab, and move proteins around. Awesome @hhmijanelia.bsky.social x @uwmadison.bsky.social x @stjuderesearch.bsky.social collaboration! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

27.10.2025 21:43 β€” πŸ‘ 87    πŸ” 30    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
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A Photoswitchable HaloTag for Spatiotemporal Control of Fluorescence in Living Cells Photoswitchable fluorophores are critical for advanced bioimaging. Here, we develop a photoswitchable self-labeling HaloTag that can reversibly modulate the emission of a bound fluorogenic dye via a ....

Our photoswitchable HaloTag is out in Angewandte Chemie @angewandtechemie.bsky.social ! We now also show that this system can be used to control emitter density in SMLM. Congrats to Franzi, Bego, and our amazing collaborators. Check it out: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

25.10.2025 08:56 β€” πŸ‘ 113    πŸ” 34    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 1
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Serial innovations by Asgard archaea shaped the DNA replication machinery of the early eukaryotic ancestor - Nature Ecology & Evolution Phylogenetic and biochemical analyses show a diversity of components of the DNA replication machinery in different Asgard archaea that contributed to the eukaryotic DNA replication machinery.

Glad to share our paper out today @NatureEcoEvo: β€œSerial innovations by Asgard archaea shaped the DNA replication machinery of the early eukaryotic ancestor”. www.nature.com/articles/s41... #microsky #archaeasky

21.10.2025 15:05 β€” πŸ‘ 65    πŸ” 29    πŸ’¬ 5    πŸ“Œ 4

Hello! The Jacobs-Wagner lab is finally on Bluesky. We’re excited to celebrate science (and scientists!), share our research, and interact with the community. We look forward to connecting with friends and colleagues across the world.

19.10.2025 20:06 β€” πŸ‘ 45    πŸ” 13    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

This was a fun collaboration between OphΓ©lie & the @seegerlab.bsky.social using sybody libraries to target the SMC complex in living bacteria. With a suprising finding: the 14 isolated sybodies bind to the middle of the SMC coiled coil rather than the more conserved ATPase heads.

20.10.2025 08:15 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Now in @mdpiopenaccess.bsky.social Bacillus subtilis DinG/XPD-like paralogues, DinG and YpvA, have been implicated in overcoming replication stress. DinG possesses a DEDD exonuclease and DNA helicase domains, whereas YpvA lacks the DEDD exonuclease domain

www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/26...

04.10.2025 10:51 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Dynamics and interplay of gene expression and chromosome organization across a predatory lifecycle The obligate predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus alternates between a motile attack phase and a growth phase inside another bacterium, during which it undergoes multiple rounds of DNA repli...

πŸ“New preprint! #MicroSky

πŸ•°οΈWe chart the full, synchronized lifecycle of a predatory bacterium using Hi-C, RNA-seq, ChIP-seq & microscopy.

🧬We uncover dramatic shifts in nucleoid architecture & transcription, tightly coordinated with predation.

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

25.09.2025 07:12 β€” πŸ‘ 63    πŸ” 38    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1
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Engineering Spatial Control of Bacterial Organelles Bacteria were once thought to lack organelles, but it is now clear they confine cellular reactions using an array of membrane- and protein-based compartments. A central question, however, is how bacte...

New PrePrint from the Vecchiarelli and Mosalaganti (@shyamalm.bsky.social) labs! 🧡

Collaboration with the Giessen and Pi labs

Congratulations to co-first authors Y Hoang (@hoanghamyy.bsky.social) and Pankaj Jadhav!

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

23.09.2025 17:38 β€” πŸ‘ 40    πŸ” 23    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 2
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The eukaryotic replisome intrinsically generates asymmetric daughter chromatin fibers DNA replication is molecularly asymmetric, due to distinct mechanisms for lagging and leading strand DNA synthesis. Whether chromatin assembly on newly replicated strands is also asymmetric remains un...

Some (+)ve news to lighten another heavy weekend: our latest preprint (c/o Mattiroli + Ramani labs) is up!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A tour-de-force by 1st authors Bruna Eckhardt & @palindromephd.bsky.social, focusing on chromatin replication. RTs welcome; tweetorial in 3,2...(1/n)

20.09.2025 16:10 β€” πŸ‘ 76    πŸ” 40    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 2
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A guide to single-particle tracking - Nature Reviews Methods Primers Single-particle tracking is a method for analysing different motion behaviours of individual proteins and protein complexes in live cells. This Primer outlines the experimental setup and labelling tec...

Really enjoying reading this primer on single particle tracking #microscopy by @svanteeffelen.bsky.social and colleagues www.nature.com/articles/s43... (pdf on Sven's website)

11.09.2025 08:03 β€” πŸ‘ 37    πŸ” 14    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 2
PNAS Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...

New paper out! We show that RecBC remodels single-stranded DNA gaps to protect them from ExoI (sbcB) 3β€²-5β€² exonuclease degradation during replication of damaged DNA.

doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

12.09.2025 07:26 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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TheΒ B. subtilis replicative polymerases bind the sliding clamp with different strengths to tune their activity in DNA replication Abstract. Ring-shaped sliding clamp proteins are essential components of the replication machinery across all domains of life. DNA polymerases bind the cla

Excited to share another study from my lab @fordhamchem now out @narjournal.bsky.social‬: doi.org/10.1093/nar/.... Most bacterial DNA polymerases must interact with the sliding clamp DnaN for their function, but we show that it’s more complicated in B. subtilis DNA replication. (1/4)

05.08.2025 16:57 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Postdoctoral Fellow - Costa Lab Salary for this Role: From Β£45,500 with benefits, subject to skills and experience. Job Title: Postdoctoral Fellow - Costa Lab Reports to: Alessandro Costa Closing Date: 03/Aug/2025 23.59 GMT Job Desc...

Less than two weeks left to apply!

Postdoc positions in my lab to study

1. initiation of DNA replication.

2. chromatin replication/epigenetic inheritance.

Great for biochemists, biophysicists & structural biologists.

Deadline 3 August 2025.

crick.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/External/job...

21.07.2025 14:57 β€” πŸ‘ 25    πŸ” 31    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

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