Brian Stevenson Ph.D. spirochete lab

YouTube video by World Press Photo Arkasha Stevenson (2013 Multimedia Contest)

Interview with World Press Photo at the awards ceremonies in Copenhagen, 2013

m.youtube.com/watch?v=TOq4...

Living With a Secret Amber lives with a secret that most 12-year-old girls cannot fathom. She was born with the body of a boy. At the age of 10, she stopped going by her given name,…

Multimedia photojournalism from my daughter, Arkasha, before she became a big deal film director/writer. This report of a transgender girl and her parents won World Press Photo’s 2nd place in 2013. Produced for the LA Times.

vimeo.com/69513060

Practical microbiology!

Excellent news!

No doubt that the team was comprised of intelligent people, and that they had a clever idea (albeit similar to previously described methods). But a shame that they didn’t receive guidance to apply their skills toward something functional

The article indicates that they used cultured Borrelia spiked into "simulated blood serum".
We routinely see funding applications for similarly naive approaches. It's a shame to see potentially good ideas misdirected toward impossible goals.

The article indicates cultured bacteria spiked into "simulated blood serum".

Graphical abstract for the paper. Tick feeding causes the up-regulation of CCR7 and CXCR4 on human epidermal LCs, which are polarized by tick saliva and emigrate to the lymphatics to mediate immune tolerance. Consequently, tolerogenic T cell priming and lack of effector T cell differentiation results in an inappropriate T cell response to tick-borne pathogens.

"tick bites and tick saliva reprogram Langerhans cells, (which) dampens protective immunity and helps explain how ticks and their pathogens evade host defense and achieve efficient transmission"

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

#MicroSky

There are CRISPR-based methods for detecting Lyme Borrelia already available.
The problem is trying to detect bacteria in patient blood. Lyme Borrelia are in the blood for only a few days after infection, and at very low concentrations.
After a week, direct tests of blood will not work
#MicroSky

There are CRISPR-based methods for detecting Lyme Borrelia already available.
The problem is trying to detect bacteria in patient blood. Lyme Borrelia are in the blood for only a few days after infection, and at very low concentrations.
After a week, direct tests of blood will not work
#MicroSky

If EMSAs show that something binds to a region of DNA, then this can be a practical method to identify it/them. We first did this over 25 years ago, identified 3 proteins, and have been busy with them ever since

Thanks. We’ve identified about a dozen novel DNA-binding proteins from Borrelia, Burkholderia, and Staphylococcus. Many were not previously known to bind nucleic acids

Schematic overview of the process of DNA-affinity / pull down identification of unknown nucleic acid-binding proteins

Identification of Previously Unknown DNA-Binding Proteins Using DNA Affinity/Pull-Down Methods Followed by Mass Spectrometry

Jutras, Babb, Jusufovic, Krusenstjerna, Saylor, Verma, and Stevenson

Current Protocols 2025, 5:e70264
doi: 10.1002/cpz1.70264

#MicroSky

This was after their second “follow up” email.
I wish that everyone will achieve success and happiness, but you gotta put a little effort into life.

a man in a suit and tie is standing in front of a staircase with the bet logo in the corner ALT: a man in a suit and tie is standing in front of a staircase with the bet logo in the corner

Sent a response to a postdoc applicant:
"Your 'Dear Professor' message is generic, and says nothing about why we should work together. I usually trash such messages immediately. Why should I spend time writing a response if you can't be bothered to spend time writing a message directly to me?"

Rare microbial relict sheds light on an ancient eukaryotic supergroup

#MicroSky

a man with a beard is making a funny face and saying ask me anything ALT: a man with a beard is making a funny face and saying ask me anything

I sat next to a women and her 10ish yo daughter on a plane last night. I overheard them talking on the jetway about the daughter's interest in becoming a paleontologist or herpetologist, and the mom saying she always wished to be an entomologist. I introduced myself after sitting down.

the white rabbit from alice in wonderland is crying while holding a clock and saying whew ! right on schedule ! Alt: the white rabbit from alice in wonderland is crying while holding a clock and saying whew ! right on schedule !

NIH study section that was originally scheduled for this coming Tuesday is back on track, will meet on Tuesday. No delay.
Other study sections are being rescheduled for early 2026.

two cartoon characters standing next to each other with the words " we 're back " on the bottom Alt: two cartoon characters standing next to each other with the words " we 're back " on the bottom

NIH study sections are back!
PCMB is probably going to meet in early January.

The diderm cell envelope is not a stack of layers but a unified scaffold of Inner Membrane–Peptidoglycan–Outer Membrane.
We discuss how tethering the OM to the PG in E. coli preserves integrity — and extend the concept across diderm bacteria.
Curr Opin Microbiol: doi.org/10.1016/j.mi...
#microsky 🔬

World War 1 medals superimposed over a field of red poppies

My Granddad, William Robert Fleming Stevenson, received these medals (and shrapnel in his knee) for 4 years in the European trenches, fighting The War to End All Wars.
#VeteransDay
#RemembranceDay

Soooooo, lots of OspA protein in your lab’s floor dust?

Overly honest methods

#MicroSky

The answer may not be at the bottom of a margarita glass, but we should at least check

(A) Electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) of labeled Ip89 ospC operator, without (−) and with (+) cytoplasmic extract from strain B31. The asterisk indicates shifted probe that was present only when borrelial extract was included, indicating presence of a DNA-binding component. Unbound DNA is indicated by “free.” Some labeled DNA probe remained in the wells of the gel. (B) Cytoplasmic extract from strain B31 was incubated with Ip89 ospC operator DNA affixed to beads, eluted with increasing concentrations of NaCl, and eluates were separated by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Lanes are labeled with the concentration of NaCl used for that elution. The arrow indicated a protein band of 30 to 35 kDa that eluted in the 0.3 and 0.5 mM NaCl washes. (C) Amino acid sequence of GyrA and Gac (the two potential initiation methionines of Gac are indicated by boldface and underlining). Mass spectrometry identified nine unique peptides that all mapped to the Gac ORF. Peptides identified with high confidence are shaded green, and those with lower confidence are red. (D) Predicted structures of B. burgdorferi Gac and GyrA proteins, as determined by AlphaFold (https://alphafold.ebi.ac.uk). Both are consistent with the solved structures of B. burgdorferi Gac and the N-terminal domain of E. coli GyrA (https://www.rcsb.org/structure/4ckk).

Gac Is a Transcriptional Repressor of the Lyme Disease Spirochete's OspC Virulence-Associated Surface Protein

Castro-Padovani, Saylor, Husted, Krusenstjerna, Jusufovic, and Stevenson
2023, J Bacteriol, 205:e0044022.
doi: 10.1128/jb.00440-22
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36920207/
#MicroSky

Ribbon diagram of SpoVG dimer structure

Quantitative analyses of interactions between SpoVG and RNA/DNA
Saylor et al, 2023, Biochem Biophys Res Commun, 30:654:40-46.
doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2023.02.044
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36889033/
#MicroSky

Recent graduate with pewter julep cup

Congratulations to Tim Saylor for successfully defending his MS thesis!
After my trainees complete their defense, I give them a custom-engraved julep cup, then we share a drink together 🥃

a man in a suit and tie stands at a podium with the question " the question is moot " written above him Alt: a man in a suit and tie stands at a podium with the question " the question is moot " written above him

Moot point, since study sections don’t currently exist!