Prof Cynthia Whitchurch FAA🏳️‍🌈

Co-occurrence is associated with horizontal gene transfer across marine bacteria independent of phylogeny Abstract. Understanding the drivers and consequences of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is a key goal of microbial evolution research. Although co-occurring

Now out & nicely formatted in @isme-microbes.bsky.social

A big analysis of ocean genomes & metagenomes co-led by former postdocs, now PIs, @gmdouglas.bsky.social & @cyanophage.bsky.social along with co-PIs @lbobay.bsky.social & Samuel Chaffron.

A few highlights... 🧵 (1/n)

doi.org/10.1093/isme...

In case you missed it: our review titled "Spatial structure: shaping the ecology and evolution of microbial communities" is out! 🚨

Let me hit you with some highlights on why spatial structure matters. (and why you should care!)

Sharing is appreciated 🙏 🧵👇

doi.org/10.1093/fems...

Loss of Fsr quorum sensing promotes biofilm formation and worsens outcomes in enterococcal infective endocarditis - Nature Communications Infective endocarditis (IE) is an understudied biofilm-associated infection. Here, analyses of preclinical and clinical data reveal that the Fsr quorum sensing (QS) system of Enterococcus faecalis is ...

What if quorum sensing doesn’t promote biofilms - but restrains it? 🤔

New work from @harisantypas.bsky.social shows that the Fsr QS system in Enterococcus faecalis acts as a brake on biofilm formation and pathogenesis during infective endocarditis (IE).

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

#microsky #antimicrobialresistance

A major takeaway from Day 1 of #AMR2026 is that we need to increase public and investor awareness. I like the suggestion to reframe AMR in accessible language (without acronyms) that conveys the enormity of the problem:
“Deadly infections for which there is no cure” has immediate impact!

Excited for Day 2 #AMR2026. @Fleming_Initiative and @csiro.bsky.social have put together an informative 3day program delivered by panels of international experts from across One Health sectors, stakeholders and policymakers.

Science works best when more voices are at the table. At SCELSE, 56% of our researchers are women — above the global average of 33.3%. Kudos to all the women researchers at SCELSE driving scientific excellence & impact!
@cwhitch.bsky.social #WomenInScience #WomenInSTEM #SCELSEImpact

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The 5 stages of the ‘enshittification’ of academic publishing Academic publishing now shows the same decline that has hit social media and online marketplaces.

theconversation.com/the-5-stages...

#Sciencesky

The Truth Physics Can No Longer Ignore The fundamental nature of living things challenges assumptions that physicists have held for centuries.

New vistas to explore. I like it!

#chances2learn #complexity #sayNotoReductionism

#Microsky #Sciencesky 🧪🧫

We are a Molecular Microbiology laboratory at the Andalusian Center of Developmental Biology (CABD) in Sevilla, Spain. Our main interests are gene regulation and signal transduction in the lifestyle switch between planktonic and biofilm growth. Also see us at baclifestyle.es

Pseudomonas aeruginosa, my model for research on quorum sensing, biofilms, and opportunistic infections | Journal of Bacteriology With encouragement from the Journal of Bacteriology Editor in Chief, George O’Toole, I have written this short essay in a style different than Journal of Bacteriology articles on model organisms. It i...

I have just read Prof E. Peter Greenberg latest editorial paper, explaining why he has been working on P. aeruginosa.

That is very refreshing to hear how research is also impacted by interpersonal relationships and personal events.

We should hear more about it.

doi.org/10.1128/jb.0...

Prof Cynthia Whitchurch @cwhitch.bsky.social, SCELSE Research Director, is a keynote speaker at the Asia-Pacific Biofilm Conference 2026, presenting “When death becomes a biofilm”. Registration and abstract submissions are now open — join the region’s biofilm community in Melbourne.

Antimicrobial peptide delivery to lung as peptibody mRNA in anti-inflammatory lipids treats multidrug-resistant bacterial pneumonia - Nature Biotechnology Antimicrobial peptides delivered to mouse lung as mRNA peptibodies eradicate multidrug-resistant pneumonia.

#NatMicroPicks

Peptibody mRNA therapy for AMR infections! 💉🧬

mRNA-delivered peptibody AMPs eradicate MDR pneumonia and outperform FDA-approved antibiotics while reducing inflammation

#SynBio #MicroSky 🦠 @natbiotech.nature.com

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

Nutrient competition predicts gut microbiome restructuring under drug perturbations Systematic profiling of 707 drugs on their impact on stool-derived microbial communities shows that nutrient competition explains and predicts species shifts under drug treatment and that post-drug re...

#NatMicroPicks

How drugs reshape the gut microbiome? 💊🦠

Screening 707 drugs in gut microbial communities reveals nutrient competition as the key driver of compositional and metabolic shifts.

#MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky 🦠

www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Metagenomic editing of commensal bacteria in vivo using CRISPR-associated transposases Although metagenomic sequencing has revealed a rich microbial biodiversity in the mammalian gut, methods to genetically alter specific species in the microbiome are highly limited. Here, we introduce ...

#NatMicroPicks

Editing gut microbiota in vivo! 🔧🧬🦠

MetaEdit enables precise in vivo CRISPR-based editing of native gut bacteria, integrating new pathways at single-nucleotide resolution

#MicroSky #SynBio

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

I believe that by understanding how and why bacteria adopt different lifestyles we will identify opportunities for developing innovative approaches to outsmart superbugs and help tackle AMR.

Woman standing in front of a slide describing why antimicrobial resistance and antibiotic access is an urgent threat to human sustainability

Fortuitous timing for my NTU-SBS seminar to land in World Antimicrobial Awareness Week #WAAW. I took the opportunity to showcase our research into alternate bacterial lifestyles and how we are leveraging this understanding to develop innovative approaches to combat AMR
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@scelse.bsky.social

It’s World AMR Awareness Week — themed Act Now: Protect Our Present, Secure Our Future. SCELSE is doing exactly that with this week’s sharing on exploiting cell wall-deficient Pseudomonas aeruginosa for new AMR solutions. Presented at the SCELSE Scientific Retreat, Alicia P. — a SCELSE PhD student under the supervision of Prof Cynthia Whitchurch FAA Whitchurch — highlighted a promising vulnerability in this highly drug-resistant pathogen. When exposed to very high beta-lactam levels, P. aeruginosa can enter a temporary cell wall-deficient state that increases drug influx and weakens efflux. In this window, the bacterium becomes far more sensitive to antibiotics and even FDA-approved non-antibiotic compounds. From a 1,443-compound screen, 81 showed potentiated activity, including 41 non-antibiotics that worked only in this weakened state. This opens new opportunities to repurpose existing drugs against Gram-negative infections. Next steps: To uncover mechanisms of action and explore how this vulnerability can be harnessed for therapeutic strategies.

World AMR Awareness Week calls us to act now. At the SCELSE retreat, PhD student Alicia Pek, supervised by Prof Cynthia Whitchurch, showed how cell wall-deficient P. aeruginosa reveals a vulnerability that boosts antibiotic & non-antibiotic activity.
#WorldAMRWeek #AMR #SCELSE @cwhitch.bsky.social

Two intense days underscored SCELSE’s strength in true multi-disciplinarity — broad enough to collaborate, deep enough to push boundaries. A retreat filled with ideas across health, climate, and food. Kudos to Prof Whitchurch @cwhitch.bsky.social for organising a strong event.

Beyond Antibiotics: Emerging Strategies for Combating Bacterial Infection | Keystone Symposia Join us at the Keystone Symposia on Beyond Antibiotics: Emerging Strategies for Combating Bacterial Infection, May 2026, in Breckenridge, with field leaders!

Registration is now open for @keystonesymposia.bsky.social "Beyond #Antibiotics: Emerging Strategies Combating #BacterialInfection." Deadline for scholarships and abstract selected short talks is Jan 7! Join us this May for an amazing meeting! keysym.us/KSBeyondAntibiotics26 #KSBeyondAntibiotics26

SCELSE’s annual Scientific Retreat begins tomorrow. Two days of presentations, posters, and breakout discussions will sharpen the next phase of our biofilm and microbiome research aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. @cwhitch.bsky.social @fillouxlab.bsky.social

That wasn’t me- I’m back home in Singapore!

To know about Fecal Microbiota Transplantation #FMT is one thing — but to speak directly with the experts pioneering its application is another. Prof Cynthia Whitchurch, SCELSE Research Director, had the opportunity to meet experts on microbiome at the Microbiome Research Centre (MRC) in Sydney, as she explored potential collaboration opportunities in gut microbiome research. She was impressed by MRC’s laser focus on advancing microbiome science — from uncovering how microbial communities influence disease to translating these insights into evidence-based guidance for clinicians, patients, and the public, while training the next generation of microbiome researchers. Her discussions with Prof Georgina Hold, Dr Howard Yim, Dr Xiato Jiang, and Dr Michelle Fitzmaurice explored the connection between the gut microbiome, mental health, and FMT — a promising avenue for addressing chronic and complex diseases. “Understanding how we can harness the microbiome to prevent and treat disease is one of the most exciting challenges in modern science,” said Prof Whitchurch. “I look forward to continuing this conversation when MRC Director Prof Emad El-Omar visits SCELSE in Singapore.” 📍 Microbiome Research Centre, Sydney, Australia, 31 Oct 2025 Pix(L-R): Dr Howard Yim (MRC), Prof Cynthia Whitchurch (SCELSE), Prof Georgina Hold (MRC), Dr Xiaotao Jiang (MRC), Dr Michelle Fitzmaurice (MRC)

To know about #FMT is one thing — but to speak with experts pioneering it is another. SCELSE's Prof Cynthia Whitchurch @cwhitch.bsky.social visited Sydney's Microbiome Research Centre, to explore gut microbiome links to mental health and disease for future collaborations.

Text reads “Antibiotic resistance is rising,” with an upward arrow and a “40%” warning icon. Below, a text box says: “Between 2018 and 2023, resistance increased in over 40% of the monitored pathogen–antibiotic combinations, with an annual rise of 5–15%.”

Between 2018–2023, antibiotic resistance increased in over 40% of the pathogen–antibiotic combinations monitored, with an average annual rise of 5–15%.

Resistance is highest in the WHO South-East Asian & Eastern Mediterranean Regions, where 1 in 3 reported infections were resistant 👉 bit.ly/438Ta1u

Tronnet et al., Cell Rep. 2025 graphical abstract: Extracellular ATP is an environmental cue in bacteria

Our first effort exploring gut bacteria-extracellular ATP interactions is published! We show that eATP rewires gene expression and physiology in harmless and pathogenic bacteria, impacting production of bioactive metabolites, antimicrobial sensitivity, and virulence. A 🧵
www.cell.com/cell-reports...

Antibiotic resistance is accelerating.

Beyond Immunity: Uncovering the Hidden Diversity of Bacterial NLRs (SCHLIMPERT_J26DTP) | Doctoral Training Partnership Join us in exploring the hidden functions of ancient immune proteins in bacteria. Bacteria, like plants and animals, have evolved sophisticated systems to detect and respond to threats.

We have a PhD opportunity available in our group @johninnescentre.bsky.social through the NRP Doctoral Training Partnership. Help us uncover the Hidden Diversity of Bacterial NLRs.

Start date: October 2026. For more information and how to apply👉 biodtp.norwichresearchpark.ac.uk/projects/bey...