Julie Biteen

Stress changes the material state of a bacterial biomolecular condensate and shifts its function from mRNA decay to storage - Nature Communications Bacterial ribonucleoprotein bodies are dynamic biomolecular condensates that play roles in RNA metabolism. Here, Ortiz-Rodríguez et al. show that, under stress, these condensates shift from a liquid s...

Now in print: @lortzrodz.bsky.social with @schraderlab.bsky.social found that the stress-induced transition of the material properties of bacterial ribonucleoprotein bodies repurposes them from sites of mRNA decay to reservoirs for mRNA storage.
@natcomms.nature.com

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

🎃The annual Biteen Lab continues on a beautiful fall afternoon. 🎃

Thrilled to share our multidisiplinary work on how genome-wide DNA bridging by H-NS reshapes the stationary phase bacterial nucleoid and affects the transcriptional landscape. With Xindan Wang and @meyerroc.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Please do! Let me know if you’d like any additional materials or insight.

Supporting Chemistry Graduate Students’ Academic Writing Practice through a Professional Development Course Writing is important for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) graduate students to achieve milestones within their programs and for their future career aspirations. However, although STEM...

One of my proudest achievements from my time as DGS was designing and implementing a mandatory prof. dev. course focused on writing in the discipline. Daisy Haas @dahaas and I wrote up our teaching approaches and course content, now out in J. Chem. Ed. #chemicaleducation pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1...

Dps binds and protects DNA in starved Escherichia coli with minimal effect on chromosome accessibility, dynamics and organisation Dps is the most abundant nucleoid-associated protein in starved Escherichia coli with ∼180, 000 copies per cell. Dps binds DNA and oxidises iron, facilitating survival in harsh environments. Dps-DNA c...

Lauren, Lindsay, Xiaofeng et al. coupled live-cell super-resolution microscopy with ChIPseq and Hi-C in starved E. coli to learn that the abundant protein Dps compacts DNA while only minimally affecting other nucleoid properties. XindanWang Lab & @meyerroc.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

The fall semester is in full swing! Welcome to incoming PhD students Yuhan and Lyn! Looking forward to lots of amazing biophysical chemistry. sites.lsa.umich.edu/biteen-lab/p...

We took a day off to enjoy the sunshine ☀️ and the Huron River! We only made a few 🤓 jokes about phase separation and condensates as we tubed in the Argo Rapids.

Same place, new lab photo! We hope everyone's summer is filled with great science :) 🔬🦠🥼🤓

No, but I need this too! @samjlord.bsky.social ?

A thoughtful Current Opinion from Chris @azaldegui.bsky.social laying out how ParA-type ATPases partition DNA cargos—especially carboxysomes—in bacteria. Fun summer reading for those interested in how bacteria position their contents. @cellforganized.bsky.social
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lWGb4tPFp...

Congratulations to 🎓Dr. David Fuller 🔬🦠on his successful PhD defense!

Lab members enjoyed teaching the WISE GISE campers about fluorescence and microscopy last week—experiments included extracting chlorophyll from spinach and measuring the color with hand-held spectrometers! wise.umich.edu/k-12-familie...

Dan developed two complementary super-resolution fluorescence microscopy approaches (SMLM and SOFI) to visualize curli fibers (the major component of the E. coli biofilm) on living cells! Check out his preprint:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

New energy in the lab! This summer, the lab feels fresh as we welcome incoming PhD student Lyn Wang, and as our three first-year PhD students (Ruochuan, Ulises, and Sam) settle in after the transition from "rotators" to permanent lab members. A lot of exciting #SingleMolecule science is underway :)

Belated congratulations to Sarah El-Mohri: after a year as an undergrad researcher in our lab, she's earned admission to grad school. We'll miss her, but fortunately, she's not going far: congrats, Sarah, on joining the University of Michigan Chemistry PhD program—we know you'll do amazing! #GoBlue

Congrats to Ruochuan for winning the Krimm outstanding 1st year student award in UM Biophysics!! #GoBlue

Congratulations to Dr. Yekaterina (Kate) Fyodorova on her successful PhD defense!🎉🎓

Thrilled to share our collaborative work with the Kearns Lab at Indiana University. Dan Foust quantified patterning and mobility of flagella on the bacterial surface!

Caroline Dunn et al. "Nascent flagellar basal bodies are immobilized by rod assembly in Bacillus subtilis"
doi.org/10.1128/mbio...

Congrats Xiaofeng on a terrific presentation at the Agilent Measurement Science Symposium!

The hooding ceremony was a chance to celebrate these 2024 🎓 graduates all over again!

Congrats to Sam Steen on a great presentation at the @umich.edu CHEMBIO Student Poster Session!

In lighter news, does anyone want to see me get pied in the face for a good cause ❤️? #ProfessorLife

At the Tuesday #bps2025 poster session, Ulises will show how he's implemented HaloTag labeling in one of our favorite microbes: Halothiobacillus neapolitanus. See you at poster B540!

Monday will bring more terrific #BPS2025 content, including Dan's poster and flash talk preview on how he's combining transient-binding microscopy with polarization detection to understand biofilm formation! 10:05am in room 515B and then poster B587!

Get ready for the Sunday #BPS2025 Poster Session: Xiaofeng and Ishika will present their single-particle tracking measurements of bacterial nucleoid geometry, mobility, and rheology. Also, come say hi to *me* 1-3pm Sunday; I'll be at the UMich #Biophysics table at the Education & Career Fair.

Attending #BPS2025? Want to know more about tangible steps you can take to challenge the attacks on science in the U.S.? Please attend an Emergency Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday at 1:30! @biophysicalsoc.bsky.social @blackinbiophys.bsky.social Please spread the word!