Craig MacLean

Unraveling the Prevalence and Multifaceted Roles of Accessory Peptide Deformylases in Bacterial Adaptation and Resistance Abstract. Peptide deformylases (PDFs) are enzymes that are essential for bacterial viability and attractive targets for antibiotic development. Yet, despit

We've come full circle! I began my postdoctoral career by identifying the peptidyl deformylase gene. Today, we show that half of bacterial species harbor multiple PDF genes (up to 7, for always a single Met-tRNA transformylase), and while the role of these PDFs ... academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...

The NSERC model is outdated, underfunded, and completely unfair. I would replace it with a more competitive model that rewards outstanding researchers and strongly incentivises PIs and institutions to do research that creates societal benefits and drives economic growth.

Finally, I hope that this investment is the start of a major overhaul of science in Canada, and just a time-limited shot in the arm. Canada needs to invest more in its domestic researchers and research programs.

. The only thing that I question is whether more money should be invested in ECRs as opposed to chairs. Innovation is about playing the long game, and my view is that ECRs offer better long-term value for money.

Good news for Canada and Canadian science. It is the right time to aggressively target top international and expatriate scientific talent. Although I am a blue skies scientist, I think that it is right to focus on research with societal and economic impact ... www.canada.ca/en/innovatio...

Just wrote my last grant review of 2025. UKRI: if you ask me to review another grant next week I will give it a 0 out of principle!

Back in Oxford, but still buzzing with excitement from #MicroEvo25 ! Great science, friendly and relaxed atmosphere, and a brilliant opportunity to catch up with friends and colleagues.

Liverpool is a good place for scientific meetings.

Thanks Alan!

Next up: Chance and Necessity by Jacques Monod.

What would Jacob make of the reductionist approaches that have come to dominate microbiology?

Just finished reading this amazing history of biology by #massivelegendofscience Francois Jacob. Some of the evolutionary biology and microbiology is outdated, but the perspective is compelling and the breadth of scientific scholarship is amazing.

Intracellular competition shapes plasmid population dynamics From populations of multicellular organisms to selfish genetic elements, conflicts between levels of biological organization are central to evolution. Plasmids are extrachromosomal, self-replicating g...

Hot off the press! Our latest paper led by @fernpizza.bsky.social, understanding how plasmids evolve inside cells. These small, self-replicating DNA circles live inside bacteria and carry antibiotic resistance genes, but also compete with one another to replicate. 1/
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

MRC DiMeN Doctoral Training Partnership: Resistant zombies: how drug-resistance plasmids manipulate the behaviour of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa at University of Liverpool on Fin... PhD Project - MRC DiMeN Doctoral Training Partnership: Resistant zombies: how drug-resistance plasmids manipulate the behaviour of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa at University of Li...

🚨#PhD studentship opportunity! Plasmids provide bacteria with antimicrobial resistance, but do they have more fundamental effects on behaviour? 🧫🦠💫🧟‍♂️

Apply for a 4y funded MRC DiMeN position with me and Jamie Wheeler @livuni-ives.bsky.social www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

This paper gives an interesting example of in vivo fitness effects of resistance and helps to explain why mgrB mutation is the dominant mechanism of Colistin resistance in Klebs!

mgrB inactivation confers enhanced pathogenicity and immune evasion over mcr-1 expression in colistin-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae Colistin is one of the last treatment options against human infections caused by multi-drug resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae. Colistin resistant K. pne…

New paper: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Klebs can evolve resistance to Colistin through mgrB mutation or by acquiring the mcr-1 gene. Both routes have similar fitness costs against a bacterial competitor, but mgrB mutations are associated with enhanced virulence.

Can't believe that paper made it into PNAS. Another potential follow up is "Dog shit in parks as a major source of one health AMR".

I can't wait for the day that I see a paper entitled "One health papers on AMR are a major source of AMR"

A phylogenetic approach to comparative genomics Nature Reviews Genetics - Controlling for phylogeny is essential in comparative genomics studies, because species, genomes and genes are not independent data points within statistical tests. The...

Our review is out in Nature Reviews Genetics! rdcu.be/d5AY2

We show how phylogeny-based methods can resolve the problem of non-independence in genomic datasets.

These methods must be considered an essential part of the comparative genomics toolkit.

@lauriebelch.bsky.social @stuwest.bsky.social

Thank you

I also enjoy this ritual. The sound of the coffee machine and the ticking of the clock...

Plasmid dependent phage eliminate pathogenic bacteria and antibiotic resistance plasmids from the chicken gut microbiome Conjugative plasmids are a key reservoir of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in commensal and pathogenic bacteria within the gut microbiome. Plasmid-dependent phage (PDPs) are a promising therapeutic op...

New pre-print: Plasmid dependent phage effectively eliminate AMR bacteria and block plasmid transmission in the chicken gut microbiome

Fun collaboration with Tao He lab (JAAS) and @brockhurstlab.bsky.social lab (Manchester)
#phagesky#microsky

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

Napoleon's retreat from Moscow CREDIT Barbieri et al., Current Biology

DNA from Napoleon’s 1812 army identifies the pathogens likely responsible for the army’s demise during their Russian retreat. www.cell.com/current-biol...

Nicolás Rascovan & colleagues
@currentbiology.bsky.social

Three Bicentenary research fellowships on offer at @officialuom.bsky.social @fbmh-uom.bsky.social for exceptional ECRs with <3y postdoc experience

3yrs salary + £30k pa research expenses

Do you have a great idea & want to join @mermanchester.bsky.social?

www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/research/sup...

Diverse and abundant phages exploit conjugative plasmids - Nature Communications Some phages use plasmid-encoded conjugation proteins as receptors to infect their bacterial hosts, making their host range dependent on horizontal transfer of the plasmid. Here, the authors present a method for identification of new plasmid-dependent phages, and find that they are common and abundant in wastewater and their genetic diversity is largely unexplored.

This is first paper from a new line of research in my lab, with more to come soon. If interested in PDPs I highly recommend this @baym.lol paper www.nature.com/articles/s41... and this classic from Matti Jalasvuori royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

Our key finding is that complex trade-offs between conjugative ability and PDP resistance shape the response of the RP4 plasmid to the PRD1 phage. The mutations that drive PRD1 adaptation in the lab are common in IncP plasmids, suggesting that PDBs impose an important constraint on plasmid transfer

Trade-offs between phage resistance and conjugative ability shape the ecological and evolutionary response of a multidrug resistance plasmid to plasmid-dependent phage Phage therapy is a promising alternative to antibiotics to treat multidrug resistant infections. Plasmid dependent phages (PDPs) are particularly attractive as therapeutics because they can both kill ...

New pre-print www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Plasmid-dependent phage (PDPs) are ubiquitous, but the selective pressures that they impose on plasmids are not well understood. Project led by Daniel Cazares in collaboration with @brockhurstlab.bsky.social!
#phagesky#microsky

VOM-UK Conferences - NU-OMICS Viruses of Microbes UK (VoM-UK) Conference The Virus of Microbes UK (VoM-UK) Conference is hosted by Microbiome Excellence Peak of Excellence at Northumbria University. This two-day conference takes place annually at the end of January/beginning of February and is a chance for researchers to gather and share their knowledge. The VoM-UK conference is designed to […]

hosting.northumbria.ac.uk/nu-omics/vom...

#phagesky #phage #microsky

Come and join us for Viruses of Microbes UK 2026 at @northumbriauni.bsky.social ! Fantastic chance for ECRs to showcase their work 🙂

Professor or Associate professor (Tenure Track/Full) in Microbial Genetics of Health - Turun yliopisto - Työpaikat - Duunitori Avoin työpaikka: Professor or Associate professor (Tenure Track/Full) in Microbial Genetics of Health - Turun yliopisto, Turku. Duunitorilla lisäksi yli 30 000 muuta avointa työpaikkaa. Lue lisää nyt!

Interesting job opportunity:
duunitori.fi/tyopaikat/ty...

Now published in @natcomms.nature.com 🎉

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

With Gillian Rodger, @nstoesser.bsky.social, @samlipworth.bsky.social, @stat-sarah.bsky.social, and many others!

Evolutionary rescue accelerates competitive exclusion in a parasite community Environmental stress drives biodiversity loss by altering competitive hierarchies and pushing taxa towards extinction. Parasites and their communities are particularly vulnerable to stress due to envi...

Builds on pre-print posted earlier this week and gratuitously reposted here

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#Phagesky