Duerkop Lab

Proteolytically activated antibacterial toxins inhibit the growth of diverse gram-positive bacteria | PNAS Many species of bacteria produce small-molecule antibiotics that enter and kill a wide range of competitor microbes. However, diffusible antibacter...

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

#microsky

Excited to share some new work from the lab, led by @shelbyeandersen.bsky.social where we developed a method and computational pipeline to identify antiphage defenses across diverse bacterial phyla.

Phages communicate across species to shape microbial ecosystems Arbitrium is a communication system that helps bacteriophages decide between lysis and lysogeny via secreted peptides. In arbitrium, the AimP peptide binds its cognate AimR receptor to repress aimX ex...

Our latest work reveals that arbitrium phages cross-communicate across species! These tiny viruses “listen” to signals from others, coordinating lysis-lysogeny decisions across species.
Original idea from @albertomarina.bsky.social and, as usual, he was right.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

I’m extremely honored to be included with this amazing group of scientists as a recipient of the 2025 BWF PDEP award!

My latest in @plosbiology.org Look I get it, it seems really dark, but there are opportunities. My paper explores some ideas and tries to guide ways of thinking through the anticipated challenges. An emphasis on America’s “biohubs” and entrepreneurship

journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

NSF, NASA and NIH budgets per year, inflation adjusted from 2000-2025 along with the proposed cuts. NSF includes research component only. Massive cuts across all sectors, well below support spanning 25 years.

How bad will it be? Catastrophic.

Proposed cuts to #NSF, #NIH, and #NASA will set the US R&D landscape back 25 yrs+, cause economic and job loss now, and undermine innovations to come.

But, this is the WH's *proposed* budget.

Speak up now before it is too late.

(inflation adjusted $-s below)

10/ And to reiterate a key point:

CONGRESS 👏 SETS 👏 BUDGET 👏 LEVELS

Today's update is called a **request** for a reason.

And Congress should reject it. History provides optimism:

Great meeting coming up next May
www.keystonesymposia.org/conferences/...

White House Health Report Included Fake Citations

Gold standard science

RFK Jr's COVID-19 vaccine rollback will kill people — including kids. Revoking vaccine guidance is a public health failure with deadly, costly, and avoidable consequences.

RFK Jr’s COVID vaccine rollback will kill people—including kids.

Read my latest:
news.immunologic.org/p/rfk-jrs-co...

Unlike RFK Jr., my citations are not only real, they are relevant and rigorous data.

You are not alone in this NIH grant game Many years ago I started blogging about the NIH system of extramural grant award because of my own frustrations with the system, as it appeared to be to me. Over time, I realized that there were a …

You are not alone in this NIH grant game drugmonkey.wordpress.com/2025/05/21/y...

😢
No words. ☹️

We really like Silo, if you like sci-fi/dystopian - Black Bird was amazing, with a sweet score by Mogwai - Ted Lasso if you just want to laugh and feel good about life.

#phage #phagesky

Whoa... This resignation should alarm scientists, leaders, and elected officials across the aisles. For over 70 years, NSF has promoted science, advanced an innovation economy, and supported the national defense. America's future depends on federal investment in NSF, NIH + beyond.

Let’s get you out to CO for a visit! We can discuss in San Diego. :)

I had a nice time recording a podcast session with @manuelkleiner.bsky.social today for next week's #MattersMicrobial. I learned so much about how the microbiome responds to dietary changes. Plus thoughts about mucus farming by microbiota... Such fun! Heard about VIM @nicoledubilier.bsky.social!

A chemical radar allows bacteria to detect and kill predators Pseudomonas syringae can detect and kill microbial predators via a chemical radar (Cra), which also allows the bacterium to infect plants despite predation pressure.

Biology is so cool

- P. syringae produces syringafactin, which is deacylated by amoebae

- Deacylated syringafactin binds to CraR, triggering amoebicidal pyrofactin synthesis

- Cra allows P. syringae to infect Arabidopsis thaliana in the presence of amoebae

#MicroSky

Filamentous cheater phages drive bacterial and phage populations to lower fitness Many bacteria carry phage genome(s) in their chromosome (i.e., prophage), and this intertwines the fitness of the bacterium and the phage. Most Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains carry filamentous phages ...

Preprint out! Bacteria w/ hyper-replicative filamentous phage lead to overnight emergence of cheater phages. Bacteria w/ both phages can outcompete wildtype, then rapidly lose phage via a phage Tragedy of the Commons
@shellyscrib.bsky.social @vscooper.micropopbio.org www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Postdoctoral research fellow with a focus on the molecular mechanisms of bacteriophage-host interactions Description of the Workplace In the Atkinson lab we are interested in making discoveries about protein function and structure, with a focus on bacterial immune system components that protect against b

Please spread the word! We have an opening in the Atkinson lab for a post-doc with a focus on the molecular mechanisms of microbial immune systems. Can be a fully computational or experimental or hybrid project.

Read more and apply here:
lu.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
#phage #bioinformatics

Legitmately thrilled to share our latest work, in which @fernpizza.bsky.social solved an experimental challenge in plasmid biology as old as the field: measuring how plasmids compete and evolve within individual cells!

Sustained in situ protein production and release in the mammalian gut by an engineered bacteriophage - Nature Biotechnology Biologics are delivered to the gut using phage that infects resident commensal bacteria.

Fascinating paper about the potential of phage for local drug delivery by Brian Hsu (Va Tech) and colleagues.

(also nice acknowledgment for SeqCoast Genomics @seqcoast.bsky.social!)

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

Word! 😞

We must have an unprecedented amount of grace, collaboration, and support for our colleagues and trainees right now.

We will get out of this mile one. It won’t make the run easier, but we will settle in and we will finish.

I wrote this because I needed to hear it. I hope it was helpful to you.

To start the year on the good path. Our preprint on plasmid-chromosome cross-talk and how it may favour MDR bacteria, is now out. Work led by @sanmillan.bsky.social Laura Toribio-Celestino et al.

A complete list of 150 bacteriophage researchers.

go.bsky.app/Lkm6xoN

Hey Enterococcus lovers: go.bsky.app/T24bCrJ. Who are we missing here?