Kumaran Ramamurthi

⭐️ REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN! ⭐️

Visit bostonbacterial.org/registration to register and for more information!
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💫 REGISTRATION SCHOLARSHIPS are available for trainees from underrepresented minority groups and undergraduate researchers. More info on our website!
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See you all in June! 😊

JB Editor's Choice: As part of our History of Microbial Model Systems series, Snow, Hatzios & Salama discuss the first bacteria designated a class I carcinogen, Helicobacter pylori.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
@asm.org #JBacteriology

⭐️ REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN! ⭐️

Visit bostonbacterial.org/registration to register and for more information!
-
💫 REGISTRATION SCHOLARSHIPS are available for trainees from underrepresented minority groups and undergraduate researchers. More info on our website!
-
See you all in June! 😊

A set of genetic tools for use in Clostridioides difficile and related species The Clostridia are a phylogenetically diverse group of anaerobic, spore-forming bacteria that include species of medical, veterinary and industrial importance. The last two decades have seen major adv...

New paper from us.

If you're interested in genetic manipulation of Clostridia, we have a few new tools for you! 36 new plasmids - all available from @addgene.bsky.social

www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour...

#microsky

rince & JB Editor's Choice: Lin, Prince & Feaga identified sporulation genes via analyzing almost 1500 genomes. They show that that an unusual membrane-localized variant of Spo0B is found throughout Paenibacillaceae.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
@asm.org #JBacteriology

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/...

Registration is open for the 2026 Gordon Research Conference on Microbial Stress Response to be held on July 19-24 2026!! Submit your abstract by February 15th to be considered for a short talk. Apply now before it fills up!! Hope to see you there!! www.grc.org/microbial-st...

Peptidoglycan architecture dictates protein interactions, tissue tropism, and arthritis in the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi Author summary Many of the pathogenic mechanisms by which Borrelia burgdorferi causes disease involve cell envelope interactions with host components. To further elucidate the role of peptidoglycan in...

Check out our exciting new paper out now in @plos.org where Dr Ahmad manipulated #peptidoglycan chemistry to understand Lyme disease and arthritis 👇👏
#Microsky
#glycotime

journals.plos.org/plospathogen...

ALERT: Abstract submission deadline is tomorrow (21 January) for the ASM Applied & Environmental Microbiology Meeting within ASM Microbe 2026 in Washington, D.C. (4-7 June). @asm.org

asm.org/events/asm-m...

🧵 for more information including themes for Contributed Abstracts for In-Depth Sessions:

graphical abstract. Left is a fungal cell surrounded by bacteria, and the Hog1 cascade is turned on. Right is a fungal cell covered in mannan fibrils that prevent IgA and caspofungin and increase CLR recognition by macrophages

Candida albicans is usually hanging out with bacterial neighbors, so what happens to the fungus during co-culture?
The bacteria secrete metabolites that induce massive cell wall remodeling that change immune recognition and drug resistance. Read more in our new paper: www.cell.com/current-biol...

Defining the order of assembly of the Clostridioides difficile divisome complex https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.19.700290v1

Enterococcus faecalis redox metabolism activates the unfolded protein response to impair wound healing E. faecalis EET generates ROS, which induces the UPR in keratinocytes, inhibiting in vitro migration.

We’ve discovered how the superbug E. faecalis prevents chronic wounds from healing.

It’s not a toxin. It’s metabolism.

The bacteria use extracellular electron transport (EET) to electrochemically generate ROS, effectively "freezing" skin cells in place.

doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aeb5297

My first first-author paper is posted! Glad to have this out! 🦠🚨🕺

We show that pGpp production depletes GTP, inhibits translation, and remodels the transcriptome faster than (p)ppGpp.

...and more!

While everyone is hustling for the holidays, hopefully folks will have time to submit abstracts or register for #ASMMicrobe2026 in DC! Please repost!

A major challenge in RNA delivery is overcoming poor loading efficiency into nanoparticles. F. Machinandiarena solves this by using "SSHELs", our particles inspired by bacterial spores, to deliver RNA specifically to HER2+ ovarian cancer cells.
kwnsfk27.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F...

YouTube video by American Society for Microbiology ASM Mechanism Discovery Meeting

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sdI...

Accepted!
Stay tuned to read about what (large) molecule Federico Machinandiarena was able to deliver to specific tumor cells using our SSHEL nanoparticle technology (inspired by the construction of bacterial spores)...

Reposting because it’s Sunday and maybe people have time for a podcast today. It was really fun to with @markowenmartin.bsky.social about my group’s concrete project! (with bonus road salt content)
@sunyesf.bsky.social #microsky #concrete #builtenvironment

ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20...
Pretty cool high school project

A fake spider in a web, with text: That’s no spider! It’s a decoy

For the first time, scientists have documented an unusual defense: Some species of arachnids build giant doppelgängers on their webs, creating a frightening deception that scares off would-be killers. https://scim.ag/487Myn0

Propulsion-independent surface migration in S. enterica LT2 and E. coli.

#MicrobiologyMonday: Bacteria swarm, but DYK they also "swash"? This flagella-independent movement is tied to fermentation: as cells ferment sugars, they create local osmolarity gradients, which generate a wave of fluid driving expansion. #JBacteriology: asm.social/2Gh

My reviewing style has changed over time. Rather than litigate every little thing, and pushing my own ideas, I focus only on 2 things:
(1) Are the claims interesting/important?
(2) Does the evidence support the claims?

Most of my reviews these days are short and focused.

"Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives."

― Carl Sagan, born 9 November 1934

Video Credit: @planetarysociety.bsky.social

#PaleBlueDot 🔭 🧪 #CarlSagan

smallthingsconsidered.blog

Ray: Just a note to say STC is officially back up and running!! You can view our new home via smallthingsconsidered.blog

both are right: the best is marine microbiology

The stringent response does not influence ribosome pausing in Bacillus subtilis Abstract. The stringent response represses translation and is activated when cells enter the stationary phase and intracellular amino acid levels drop. Bac

The stringent response does not influence ribosome pausing in Bacillus subtilis

@narjournal.bsky.social from Leendert Hamoen

academic.oup.com/nar/article/...

These were the dinosaurs that faced the asteroid.

Some of the last survivors. They lived in New Mexico, 66 million years ago. Among them was Alamosaurus, the size of a jetplane.

We unveiled them, and their true age, today in a new paper in
@science.org !

Come be my chair at The University of Arizona! We have great bike riding, hiking, and of course, science! arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...

With the functional link!
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Mandatory viewing for microbiologists...