Ina Attrée

Strain-specific variation in the complement resistome of Pseudomonas aeruginosa | Infection and Immunity Bacterial bloodstream infections (BSIs) represent a huge burden for modern healthcare. BSIs caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa exhibit the highest mortality rate (1, 2). This leading nosocomial pathogen causes various primary infections, such as burn wounds, pulmonary and urinary tract infections (3). Using its arsenal of virulence factors, it is able to breach both epithelial and endothelial barriers ([4–7], reviewed in [8]). Once in the bloodstream, P. aeruginosa faces the host immune response. In a previous study, we showed the complement system to be the main innate immune component responsible for the elimination of P. aeruginosa in the blood (9). The complement system is an enzymatic cascade of more than 30 proteins, whose activation results in the formation of the membrane attack complex (MAC) in the outer membrane of the target pathogen. Complement-mediated killing happens through three main steps including complement activation, assembly of the C5b-9 MAC on the outer membrane, and penetration of the MAC into the bilayer, eventually leading to bacterial lysis (10, 11). P. aeruginosa evolved strategies to evade those three steps. The secretion of proteases including AprA and LasB, cleaving C1, C2, and C3 or the secretion of ecotin, a protease inhibitor, leads to the blockade of complement activation (12–14). P. aeruginosa can also recruit host complement inhibitors to its surface, notably through the exposure of the elongation factor Tuf or the dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase Lpd ([15, 16], reviewed in [8]). These immune evasion proteins can recruit the Factor H family of complement regulators, resulting in C3b degradation and preventing downstream proteolysis cascade. Finally, P. aeruginosa can modify its surface by producing exopolysaccharides (EPSs) such as alginate. When acylated, alginates decrease bacterial opsonization by the C3b molecule (17, 18).

Happy to share that our paper on the complement resistome of Pseudomonas aeruginosa is finally out in I&I! This work was done during my PhD in the lab of @inaattree.bsky.social and made possible by my amazing co-authors and colleagues 🥳
You can check it out here: journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Thank you Akos for posting our publication! I was kind of out from social media….👍

We have two new positions, a PhD and a Post doc at #InstituteofBiologyLeiden within our @microclockerc.bsky.social #ERCSyG project to discover interaction of #circadianclocks between Bacillus subtilis and Arabidopsis

please share these with your network! 🙏

links below👇
[1/3]

Bacteria encode post-mortem protein catabolism that enables altruistic nutrient recycling - Nature Communications Processes that occur after death have not received the same level of attention as the mechanisms of life. In this study, the authors show that bacteria have potentially evolved an altruistic trait to auto-degrade after death, thus permitting population nutrient recycling.

Some bacteria auto-degrade after death, thus permitting population nutrient recycling

🦠 💀 🦠

#microbiology #MicrobialEcology #BacteriaAreAwesome

Yes! @manonjanet.bsky.social preprint is out! We show using BALF transfer that intracelular Acinetobacter baumannii can seed an infection in a susceptible mouse, suggesting that intracellular bacteria may be reservoir for recurrent infections
nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...

Super work Manon and @feldmanlab.bsky.social !

Good work, Dr. Hotez!

Co-zorbs: Motile, multispecies biofilms aid transport of diverse bacterial species | PNAS Biofilms are three-dimensional structures containing one or more bacterial species embedded in extracellular polymeric substances. Although most bi...

Co-zorbs: Motile, multispecies biofilms aid transport of diverse bacterial species | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

A fanciful depiction of BASEL phages on a roadmap. Credit: Fabienne Estermann

The BASEL collection of E. coli #phages is limited by its host strain. @humollidorentina.bsky.social @damienpiel.bsky.social @aharms485.bsky.social &co use a modified host to add 36 new phages, revealing roles of O-antigen in recognition & R-M systems in immunity @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4jirGvX

A chemical radar allows bacteria to detect and kill predators Pseudomonas syringae can detect and kill microbial predators via a chemical radar (Cra), which also allows the bacterium to infect plants despite predation pressure.

A chemical radar allows bacteria to detect and kill predators www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Great work ! Congrats

Pseudomonas syringae subpopulations cooperate by coordinating flagellar and type III secretion spatiotemporal dynamics to facilitate plant infection - Nature Microbiology Single-cell gene expression analysis reveals phenotypic heterogeneity to enable bacterial specialization over the course of plant colonization.

Pseudomonas syringae subpopulations cooperate by coordinating flagellar and type III secretion spatiotemporal dynamics to facilitate plant infection
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

We are looking for a postdoc with microbiology background for #superresolution #singlemolecule #ERC tracking project. Apply by 27.4.2025. 🦠🔬🧫
Pls share!

www.aalto.fi/en/open-posi...

Postdoc in Human Bacterial Infections (100%), Group Dirk Bumann, Biozentrum
www.biozentrum.unibas.ch/open-positio...

@biozentrum @unibas.ch #Biozentrum #Basel #research #science #joboffer #hiring #human #infection

Inducible transposon mutagenesis identifies bacterial fitness determinants during infection in mice - Nature Microbiology InducTn-seq, a method for inducible mutagenesis followed by transposon insertion site sequencing, enables temporal control of transposition to bypass population bottlenecks and enable the quantificati...

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

We have 3 positions for students who want to start a PhD in the next 12 months. If you like advanced fluorescence microscopy techniques and S. aureus cell biology, check links and apply(April 4)

euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/325394

euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/325395

euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/325396

New antibiotic that kills drug-resistant bacteria discovered in technician’s garden The molecule targets bacteria in a way that other drugs don’t.

New antibiotic that kills drug-resistant bacteria discovered in technician’s garden www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Avirulent Pseudomonas aeruginosa T3SS-negative strains belonging to Clade 5 produce variable quantities of secondary metabolites Pseudomonas species are ubiquitous in the environment and serve as valuable source of enzymes and secondary metabolites for industrial applications. P. aeruginosa secretes metalloproteases such as ela...

Our work on T3SS- negative P. aeruginosa collection is now available. We found that the strains belong to two clades. Several strains avirulent in Galleria produce sec. metabolites, including rhamnolipids and pyo. Thanks to all contributors - three labs two countries!

Excellent! Merci

The Journées Sécrétion are back!

2nd and 3rd October in Marseille

Keynote lecture by: @archaellum.bsky.social

Registration is open until May 15: forms.gle/2qxHntTktoxw...

Organized by Romé Voulhoux @lcbofficiel.bsky.social, @cascaleslab.bsky.social, Thierry Doan, @juliengiraud.bsky.social

#MicroSky #AMR

Please repost: Postdoc position in antibiotic discovery in a large multidisciplinary project combining high-throughput approaches, microscopy, AI, and hit-to-lead optimization at @umontreal.ca and @mila-quebec.bsky.social. Apply to ML.Antibiotics@gmail.com. See
lnkd.in/dVVk4N3s. #microsky

Any1 is a phospholipid scramblase involved in #endosome biogenesis, say Jieqiong Gao, Christian Ungermann and colleagues (Osnabrück University): rupress.org/jcb/article/...

#Membrane #lipid #Organelles #Biochemistry

Happy to share our first paper on functional neutralizing antibodies against T3SS, isolated from CF patients. Great collaboration between three groups at IBS and CHU Grenoble. Others to come….

Our Team PB&RC stands up for Science with IBS members!

Call for applications 2025 - Creation of new research groups at the Institut Pasteur - Research The Institut Pasteur launches an international call to recruit new junior research group leaders in the application of cutting-edge transdisciplinary approaches to the exploration of host-microbe, tis...

🌟 Join Institut Pasteur as a Junior Research Group Leader 🌟
Explore host-microbe interactions in key areas like vaccinology, infectious diseases, neuro-immunology, and maternal health.

📅 Deadline: Feb 28, 2025 (few weeks left!)

Apply now ⬇️

I agree! Thanks for sharing

Antibody responses in Klebsiella pneumoniae bloodstream infection: a prospective cohort study O-specific polysaccharide was immunogenic in patients with K pneumoniae bloodstream infection, supporting its potential as a candidate vaccine antigen. The cross-reactivity observed between similar O-...

Great work by Dr. Jason Harris and colleagues at Harvard. First true in-depth evaluation of immune response to Klebsiella bacteremia in humans!

Antibody responses in Klebsiella pneumoniae bloodstream infection: a prospective cohort study - The Lancet Microbe www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Klebsiella pneumoniae disrupts vasodilation by targeting eNOS post translational modifications via the type VI secretion system and the capsule polysaccharide Vasodilation is a crucial protective response to inflammation and infection. Endothelial cells control vasodilation through the bioavailability of eNOS-produced nitric oxide (NO), and the generation o...

New pre print! We establish an ex vivo blood vessel model to investigate the effect of infection on vascular physiology in real time. We show Klebsiella inhibits vasodilation in a T6SS-dependent manner by targeting eNOs. Superb work by @safimicro.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

The mechanics of a continuous self-assembling surface-layer aids cell division in an archaeon

Tight collaboration with @buzzbaum.bsky.social, Sulfolobus cryo-ET from @idocaspy.bsky.social

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