Jozef Nissimov

(9/9) Overall this preprint and the discoveries in it blur the line between viral and cellular systems as never before, making it truly legitimate to ask the question: What is a virus?

(8/9) This suggests that #selection has particularly favoured the acquisition of RP-coding genes in certain viruses, and that, in some cases, such viral genes have been transferred to cells, likely becoming essential for the survival of the host.

(7/9) Interestingly, we find that these PhiMa05 #phage RPs are the only copies of those proteins that some Vampirovibrio strains possess.

(6/9) We discover that these viral RP-coding genes were horizontally transferred to certain members of the Vampirovibrionia, an ancestral non-photosynthetic lineage of cyanobacteria, via the integration of the viral genome.

(5/9) In this manuscript we dive into the #evolutionary trajectory of the RPs encoded by PhiMa05, elaborating on the ultimate causes and consequences of this fascinating set of viral proteins.

(4/9) This makes PhiMa05 the first cyanophage reported to encode RPs, as well as the virus with the most complete RP-coding set of the known #virosphere.

(3/9) However, when they do, viruses usually harbor a single RP-coding gene. In this study, we revisit the genome of the jumbo #cyanophage PhiMa05 and show that it encodes six RPs (bS1, bL21, bL27, bL33, uL11and uL1), an RP acetyltransferase, and a ribosome biogenesis protein.

(2/9) The ultimate divide between #viruses and cells has been proposed to be the absence and presence of ribosomal genes, respectively. This view was recently challenged by the discovery that viral #genomes occasionally encode ribosomal #proteins (RPs).

(1/9) Latest preprint from our lab at
@uwaterloo.ca conceived predominantly by our very talented #PhD #student Isaac Meza-Padilla:

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

Cyanobacteriochrome-like GAF folds in phages revealed via AlphaFold proteomic modelling Accurate protein structure prediction followed by structural homology detection enable the functional annotation of otherwise obscure viral protein-co…

Great read. Looks like #viruses also code for some of these same GAF domains: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Inside Canada’s largest freshwater algal culture collection | Waterloo News Algae may call to mind discoloured pool water or the green film floating to the top of your rain barrel, but they’re much more than a summertime nuisance. Algae have applications from carbon sequestra...

#algae matters. This is why:

uwaterloo.ca/news/science...

Latest work from my lab at @uwaterloo.ca by PhD student Isaac Meza-Padilla on using #Alphafold for #proteome modelling in #cyanophages:

doi.org/10.1016/j.cs...

Join the creators of @alltooclearfilm.bsky.social for a historic real-time dive to Superior Shoal, a towering underwater mountain in the heart of Lake Superior.

Explore the Freshwater Everest on Sunday, September 14 at 3 PM ET.

Learn more: inspiredplanet.ca/live

Congratulations!

Sounds very interesting. Haven't read yet but I am surprised that the authors use the name E. huxleyi given that the taxonomy of this species has changed to Gephyrocapsa huxleyi

It was an honour meeting and talking to, and snorkeling with the pioneer marine biologist, oceanographer, aquanaut and National Geographic explorer Sylvia Earle at the @psaalgae.bsky.social meeting in #PuertoRico. An incredible ambassador for #Science and the #Ocean. A truly inspiring individual.

Wow. Also beautiful TEM images!!!

Join marine researchers @UBC (ubcoceans.ubc.ca). CERC in Ocean Ecological Modeling (research.ubc.ca/media/file/c...). $8M to work at the intersection of oceanography, fisheries, ecology, biodiversity, etc, in the context of environmental change, ecosystems, biogeochemistry & living marine resources.

Fantastic efforts from my @uwaterloo.ca graduate students at this year's Canadian Society for Microbiology meeting in #Montreal. What a great event and an amazing city!

How a discovery in Yellowstone National Park led to the development of PCR - Richmond Scientific A discovery in Yellowstone National Park led to the development of PCR, the gold-standard COVID-19 tests used to fight the global pandemic.

Reminder: Nobel-prize winning PCR (1983), used in basically all genetic tech today, was only possible because of extremophile bacterium discovered in 1964 in Yellowstone funded by a small ~$80k NSF grant with no obvious application at the time. #science 🧪
www.richmondscientific.com/how-a-discov...

Great to be on the #water again today for some #microbial sampling in lake #belwood. What a way to start the #summer.

Functional biogeography of marine microbial heterotrophs Heterotrophic bacteria and archaea (“heteroprokaryotes”) drive global carbon cycling, but how to quantitatively organize their functional complexity remains unclear. We generated a global-scale unders...

Out in Science! Zakem et al. mechanistically modeled global marine prokaryotic functional diversity, grounded with field data. Shifts in community composition drive respiration and thus biological C storage. This facilitates C cycle projections in a warming ocean
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Congratulations to all our co-authors on publishing this great work, led by our own @uwaterloo.ca gradate student Delaney Nash.
rdcu.be/emvgP

Clear waters, hidden toxins: Viruses that combat algal blooms may actually increase risks for people and ecosystems New laboratory research shows that when viruses attack a species that forms toxic algal blooms, those thick, blue-green slicks that choke waterways and that threaten ecosystems, drinking water, and public health, what results might be even worse than before the infection.

When viruses infect toxic algal blooms, they can trigger the release of high levels of harmful microcystin-LR, leaving clear water that may still pose risks to health and ecosystems. doi.org/g9h7s9

Many data sets held by NOAA are being "retired" in may, including datasets relevant to ocean sciences and climate. If you have need for these data, or are an archivist, it would be good to download this now. PLEASE SHARE WIDELY. www.nesdis.noaa.gov/about/docume...

Mitomycin C eliminates cyanobacterial transcription without detectable prophage induction in a Microcystis-dominated harmful algal bloom in Lake Erie | Microbiology Spectrum Harmful algal blooms dominated by Microcystis spp. occur throughout the world’s freshwater ecosystems, leading to detrimental effects on ecosystem services that are well documented. After decades of r...

What happens when you do a deep-dive on a classic technique that returns strange results? You might find the technique does not work - at least in your system. 🤔

Kudos to Robbie, Lena et al.

On mitomycin-c for inducing lysogens in a harmful cyanobacterial bloom.

journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Had the privilege of teaching #marine #biology this year @uwaterloo.ca, the same subject I studied as a BSc student 2 decades ago @plymuni.bsky.social During the course I had wonderful recollections of my own #professors I had at the time and the diversity of subjects they passionately covered...

Watched the whole thing. It was a horror show...

Can I be added please?