Rodrigues Lab

✨ New postdoctoral opportunity in #cell biology at UNIGE!
@sophiemartinlab.bsky.social is looking for a postdoc to study cell–cell fusion.
Spread the word and see details below 👇@mocel.bsky.social @sciencesunige.bsky.socia

#MicroSky

Save the date for the next International Conference on Gram-Positive Bacteria which will take place between 29 June–2 July 2027. The organizers (@annadragos.bsky.social, @polonca32.bsky.social, and Ines Mandic-Mulec) look forward to welcoming you to Ljubljana, Slovenia

Join us as Assistant/Associate/Full Professor Computational Biology at Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL) / @leidenscience.bsky.social / @unileiden.bsky.social

Application deadline on 15 March 2026
👇
careers.universiteitleiden.nl/job/Assistan...

SNIPE is a widespread bacterial defence system that exploits the spatial organization of phage genome injection to specifically target viral DNA, distinguishing self from non-self in prokaryotic immune systems @nature.com @mitpress.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Convergent MurJ flippase inhibition by phage lysis proteins - Nature A common mechanism of inhibition of the essential lipid II flippase MurJ by three distinct phage-encoded single-gene lysis proteins provides insights into potential new targets for antimicrobial devel...

Convergent MurJ flippase inhibition by phage lysis proteins www.nature.com/articles/s41...

How was the sleeper train to Glasgow? I love sleeper trains but only if they are smooth rides. Did Osaka to Tokyo and that was a dream. Sydney to Melbourne was horrible!

The Origins of Agar First introduced into laboratories in 1881, agar remains indispensable as a culture medium.

The origins of agar
www.asimov.press/p/agar

PhD & Postdoc Positions at the Dept of Microbial Population Biology of the MPI for Evolutionary Biology (Plön, Germany) to work on jumbo phages & HGT of genomic islands. An amazing research team led by the one and only Paul Rainey, one of the most hard-core evolutionary micro/biologists of our time!

In recognition of International Day of Women and Girls in Science, @plosone.org brings together perspectives from Section Editors and an insightful conversation with @clairebrockett.bsky.social from @sheffielduni.bsky.social on why inclusion matters ⬇️

#IDWGS2026 #WomenInScience

The NUBee lab @Newcastle University have an exciting, fully funded opportunity to study Varroa, a major driver of honey bee colony losses.

The PhD complements ongoing work.
For more info (lnkd.in/eXKTNFcN) or contact Prof. Giles Budge.

Dynamic DnaA–DnaB interactions at oriC coordinate the loading and coupled translocation of two DnaB helicases for bidirectional replication Abstract. Bidirectional replication is a conserved principle requiring coordinated translocation of the two replicative helicases loaded at the origin. In

Dynamic DnaA–DnaB interactions at oriC coordinate the loading and coupled translocation of two DnaB helicases for bidirectional replication url: academic.oup.com/nar/article/...

Institut Pasteur (@pasteur.fr) is recruiting new young PIs to open new groups in the Institute. Deadline is February 9th! Don't miss the opportunity!

Check out these tools to detect co-evolution in protein-protein interactions developed by postdoc @chrislbgraham.bsky.social

Very useful as a hypothesis generator, complementing protein interaction prediction from Alphafold.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Identification of sporulation genes in Bacillus anthracis highlights similarities and significant differences with Bacillus subtilis How good is Bacillus subtilis as a model for the spore-forming pathogen Bacillus anthracis? Using high throughput genetics to identify B. anthracis sporulation genes and cytological analysis of the mu...

Fer’s tour de force in B. anthracis is out! Fer got Tn-seq running, built an ordered knockout library, defined all essential sporulation genes, and found a peptidoglycan deacetylase inhibitor critical for engulfment. Including our first one-by-all Alphafold screen! journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

@poojag96.bsky.social work on the bioenergetics of spore germination is now published- Pooja had a really nice summary that I've put below but essentially we think the role of bioenergetics in spore germination has been completely overlooked!

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

I would love to attend this, but as things stand in the USA, I will have to miss it. Shocking incidents in the last couple of days...

Just got word that we are a go for the Bacterial Cell Biology and Development GRS and GRC at Southern New Hampshire University!

GRS will be on June 5-6, 2027

GRC will be from June 6-11, 2027

Block off your calendars Prokaryotic Cell Biologists!

More details to come! Please repost!

📢 Postdoc position: Biochemistry & Bacterial cell biology

in our group at Marburg University, Germany, funded by the ERC Advanced Grant "C-SWITCH"

🔗More information at shorturl.at/OlvlL
📅Deadline: Nov 30, 2025

Please repost. #Postdoc

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!🎉
We show that nonequilibrium polysome dynamics help drive sister chromosomes apart. The closing division septum also contributes via steric interactions.👇
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

#MicroSky #Microbiology #Biophysics #CellBiology

Archaeal cells whose DNA has been stained with a blue dye. Zoomed-in images of mutant cells that display chromosome segregation defects.

High-resolution images of DNA-protein complexes obtained with atomic force microscopy. Upon binding, the protein bridges distant sites, forming loops.

📢 Interested in #chromosomes 🧬 & #archaea thriving at the edge of life? PhD project in York,UK on how archaea pass on their genome to daughter cells.Friendly supervisors: me, @steve-quinn-lab.bsky.social & @georgerheath.bsky.social

www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
📅 January 7, 2026
Please RP🙏thx!

Comprehensive genetic interaction analysis of the Bacillus subtilis envelope using double-CRISPRi Koo et al. apply genome-scale double-CRISPRi to map cell envelope gene interactions in Bacillus subtilis, revealing >1,000 genetic interactions and uncovering gene networks in envelope biogenesis and ...

Identification of genetic interactions in Bacillus subtilis cell division. Congratulations, Byoung-Mo Koo, Carol Gross, and all involved!
@cp-cellsystems.bsky.social #subtiwiki

www.cell.com/cell-systems...

Engineering non-exponential proliferation in Escherichia coli using functionalized protein aggregates Uncurbed exponential proliferation might not always be required for genetically modified microorganisms, and might even cause unpredictable liabilities in their behavior and impact. We therefore const...

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

Cryo-EM identifies F-ENA of Bacillus thuringiensis as a widespread family of endospore appendages across Firmicutes - Nature Communications B. thuringiensis spores contain uncharacterized protein filaments that extend from the surface of the exosporium. Here, the authors show that these filaments feature conserved β-barrel neck domains an...

Cryo-EM identifies F-ENA of Bacillus thuringiensis as a widespread family of endospore appendages across Firmicutes

@natcomms.nature.com Mike Sleutel et al from Han Remaut
w/ Marina Aspholm @jerryknowsnothing.bsky.social @mkrupovic.bsky.social @dbaquero.bsky.social

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

Microbial metal physiology: ions to ecosystems - Nature Reviews Microbiology Metal ions are required for all cells, and their homeostasis relies on ancient mechanisms that facilitate their import, distribution and storage. In this Review, Helmann discusses the key chemical con...

Metals are essential for life, but they can also be toxic. Here, @johnhelmann.bsky.social gives an excellent overview on bacterial metal physiology!
@natrevmicro.nature.com #SubtiWiki

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

once upon a time "...the bacterial ribosome was thought to be composed of a fixed set of ribosomal proteins (RPs) and ribosomal RNA (rRNA), ensuring precise translation"

ribosomologists take note: the role of heterogeneity of the ribosomes in the bacterial stress response 👇

#RNASky #MicroSky

Compartmentalization during bacterial spore formation Here, we explore the recent advancements in understanding cellular compartmentalization during bacterial spore formation, primarily focusing on the mo…

Nice to see many aspects of my team's research in this review.

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

Function and firing of the Streptomyces coelicolor contractile injection system requires the membrane protein CisA CryoEM, genetic, and cell biological analyses reveal that the conserved membrane protein CisA mediates membrane recruitment of contractile injection systems Streptomyces coelicolor, enabling their act...

Happy to see our collaborative work on the contractile injection system (CIS) in Streptomyces published. We show that the membrane protein CisA gives Streptomyces CIS a licence to kill.
@pilhoferlab.bsky.social & Bastien Casu, @joesallmen.bsky.social #MicroSky

elifesciences.org/articles/104...

Thanks Jörg.

Thanks Dirk!