ActinoBase

I'll be coordinating the efforts along with others on the MIBiG 5.0 Annotathon team including: @marnixmedema.bsky.social, @TilmannWebber, @kblin.bsky.social, @mmzdouc.bsky.social, @jjjvanderhooft.bsky.social, @BarbaraTerlouw, and @ArjanDraisma.

The MIBiG 5.0 Annotathon is coming soon, and registration is now open!

🧬 Does your research involve biosynthetic gene clusters? Do you love natural product biosynthesis? Do you have an interest in rare & exotic enzymes? We can use your help & expertise.

Register here 👉 forms.gle/C1cWcLHtrjT2...

If anyone is interested in working on these bacteria @johninnescentre.bsky.social has protocols, strains, plasmids and a genome database available here: streptomyces.org.uk

If anyone's looking for computational biology collaboration in this area, hit me up ;)

If anyone is interested in working on these bacteria @johninnescentre.bsky.social has protocols, strains, plasmids and a genome database available here: streptomyces.org.uk

Wow - our opening night was amazing!

We can't wait to welcome everyone to the #Microbe #Zoo for Norwich Science Festival.

Here's some of the feedback we've recieved tonight.

#SneakPeek 👀 Step inside the #Microbe Zoo at Norwich Science Festival 🌟🧪

🗓️ 14 - 21 February
📍 @theforumnorwich.bsky.social

Get ready to shrink down to learn some BIG, fascinating facts about microbes 🦠

@norwichmicro.bsky.social @sawtrust.bsky.social

How specific are heritable symbioses?

And what can we learn from swapping obligate symbionts across host species?

We address this in our latest, led by @inespons.bsky.social & in our collaboration w/ @microbiome.bsky.social 🦠🪲 Out today in @natcomms.nature.com!

1/n
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

YouTube video by Asianometry The Great Golden Age of Antibiotics

A short history of antibiotic discovery

#microsky #antibiotics

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJLy...

Activation of the envelope stress-responsive two-component system AmgRS compensates for depletion of the essential lipoprotein signal peptidase LspA in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Bacterial lipoproteins play crucial roles in cell envelope biogenesis, signaling, transport, and virulence, making the enzymes responsible for their m…

Activation of the envelope stress-responsive two-component system AmgRS compensates for depletion of the essential lipoprotein signal peptidase LspA in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

#microsky

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

A novel TetR-type repressor directly modulates precursor supply and utilization for erythromycin biosynthesis Antibiotic biosynthesis in actinomycetes is controlled by various transcription factors, with TetR family regulators (TFRs) serving as important modul…

A novel TetR-type repressor directly modulates precursor supply and utilization for erythromycin biosynthesis

#microsky

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

Bacterial Espresso: Evaluating Accelerated Solvent Extraction for Selected Metabolite Recovery from Streptomyces Biomass Despite numerous advances in compound identification and purification, the extraction techniques for metabolites from Streptomyces biomass have remained relatively unchanged. Accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) has been widely used in plant natural product discovery for the past two decades. Yet, to our knowledge, it has not been applied to Streptomyces biomass despite purported benefits in increasing extract yields. In this study, different ASE parameters were compared against traditional microbial biomass extraction techniques using Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2). Extraction efficacy was evaluated by quantifying the intracellular metabolites ectoine and undecylprodigiosin. In contrast to previous work with botanical metabolites, this study’s findings suggest that ASE does not provide a significant advantage in extraction yield compared to traditional extraction techniques for Streptomyces biomass. The lack of increased metabolite yield per unit of biomass, in tandem with the disadvantages inherent to ASE, such as reduced scalability and potential for thermal degradation, indicates that ASE may lack a distinct advantage over traditional extraction methods for enhanced targeted metabolite recovery from Streptomyces biomass.

Bacterial Espresso: Evaluating Accelerated Solvent Extraction for Selected Metabolite Recovery from Streptomyces Biomass

#microsky #streptomyces

pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1...

Metabologenomic assessment of biosynthetic capabilities in the genus Salinibacterium

#microsky

Preprint www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-8...

A histidine pseudokinase modulates polar growth and cell shape in Streptomyces venezuelae

Article in press (pdf). #microsky #streptomyces

www.nature.com/articles/s42...

Defining the OrrA regulon and its role in development and antibiotic production in Streptomyces venezuelae NRRL B-65442 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.30.702861v1

Stable inheritance of the Streptomyces linear plasmid SCP1 by dual ParABS partition systems Low-copy-number plasmids often rely on dedicated maintenance mechanisms, such as partitioning systems, to ensure stable inheritance across generations. These partition systems actively segregate siste...

📄 Delighted to share that the preprint of my main PhD work is out now!

👏 A huge thank you to everyone involved, @tommclean.bsky.social, Govind Chandra, Ngat Tran (both not on BlueSky) and especially my PhD supervisor @tunglejic.bsky.social 👏

🧵 below!

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

So happy to see Mark recognised for his incredible work. Over a ~40 year career he and his group discovered ECF sigma factors, characterised many key developmental regulators of the Streptomyces lifecycle, and identified new mechanisms of bacterial gene regulation, antibiotic action and resistance.

MtrAB activates ectoine production and triggers sporulation in response to osmotic stress in Streptomyces venezuelae https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.19.695424v1

Microbe-derived aromatic polyketides toward MRSA infection: current advances and perspectives Covering: 2005 to July 2025Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), emerging as one of the most common multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial strains, has posed a serious threat to global heal...

Microbe-derived aromatic polyketides toward MRSA infection: current advances and perspectives

This review classifies all natural aromatic polyketides (discovered 2005-25) with anti-MRSA activity (MIC<10 µg/mL) and summarises SARs, bioactivities and mechanisms.

pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...

Why solutions to antimicrobial resistance are urgently needed Summary: This Editorial discusses the growing global problem of antimicrobial resistance, and new and emerging opportunities for developing real-world solutions, involving both basic science and clini...

‘Why solutions to antimicrobial resistance are urgently needed‘ sergemostowylab.bsky.social & I had the opportunity to write an editorial for @dmmjournal.bsky.social ‘s collection celebrating 100 years of @biologists.bsky.social you can read it here: journals.biologists.com/dmm/article/...

MtrAB activates ectoine production and triggers sporulation in response to osmotic stress in Streptomyces venezuelae The MtrAB two-component system is a master regulator of antibiotic biosynthesis in Streptomyces species. MtrA is also required for sporulation under certain growth conditions, which means that on some...

New preprint. Work led by @ainsley-beaton.bsky.social & Rebecca Devine.

They show the highly conserved Streptomyces MtrAB two component system activates ectoine production and triggers sporulation in response to osmotic stress in Streptomyces venezuelae

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

Very happy to see this remarkable work published. Led by @tommclean.bsky.social and @ainsley-beaton.bsky.social. We show how Streptomyces bacteria sense & respond to misfolded secreted proteins. A great collaboration with @barriewilks.bsky.social

#microsky

1/2

journals.asm.org/doi/epub/10....

Multiple Spectrum Alignment for Molecular Networking Exploration and Discovery Molecular networking is a computational mass spectrometry technique used to visualize and connect tandem mass spectra from putatively related molecules to reveal structural relationships. Despite thei...

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Microbe Zoo | Norwich Science Festival Microscopic adventures await – visit the Microbe Zoo at Norwich Science Festival! Once inside the ‘zoo’, you’ll be transported into a world usually invisible to the naked eye – one inhabited by bacter...

norwichsciencefestival.co.uk/whats-on/mic...

It's official, our latest project with @norwichmicro.bsky.social, Microbe Zoo, will be launched at Norwich Science Festival 2026!

Thanks to our funders, the John Innes Foundation and the Norwich Freemens Charity for making this project possible.
🦠🧫🔎

Feeling sad that we didn't make another science inspired Adventure Activity Book this year? Us too! So we decided to make all our existing books available to purchase on our website.

All proceeds made from these books go directly back into creating more resources for schools.

sawtrust.org/shop/

AdpA, a Global Regulator of Hundreds of Genes, Including Those for Secondary Metabolism, in Streptomyces venezuelae

www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/14...

Enhancement and Mechanism of In-Cluster Two-Component Regulatory Factors on Granaticin Production in Streptomyces vilmorinianum YP1 Granaticins, a class of bioactive benzoisochromanequinones (BIQs), are natural blue pigments with biological activities, including antibacterial prope…

Enhancement and Mechanism of In-Cluster Two-Component Regulatory Factors on Granaticin Production in Streptomyces vilmorinianum YP1
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Great to see @nodwell.bsky.social on Bluesky. Excellent scientist and human. A Streptomyces aficionado!!

A precisely regulated Streptomyces expression system pTZYp facilitated by the strong promoter stnY and cmt operon - Biotechnology Letters One of the characteristics of actinomycetes, especially streptomycetes, is the high GC content in their genome, which often leads to the failure of heterologous expression in E. coli, and thus hinders...

Cumate-inducible, non leaky promoter system for actinomycetes.

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

What happens to the colossal stash of C- and N-rich (but chemically inaccessible) chitin generated by the global insect population? Love this @plosbiology.org paper from Justin Nodwell & co which shows that #Streptomyces have the equipment to exploit it...