Debnath Ghosal

Great stuff @joshuamhardy.bsky.social ! Congratulations.

A Protein Antibiotic Inhibits the BAM Complex to Kill Without Cell Entry Many antibiotics are ineffective against Gram-negative pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa because they cannot penetrate the bacterial outer membrane. Here, we show that protein antibiotics calle...

This is an amazing paper led by the Grinter lab on bacterial protein antibiotics called pyocins and the mechanism by which they inhibit the BAM outer membrane complex. @rhyswg.bsky.social, @knottrna.bsky.social, @debnathghosal.bsky.social, @doylemt1.bsky.social, @fabianmunder.bsky.social

Incredible!

We recently discovered a brand-new (and unique!) anti-phage defense system in bacteria. Check out this Pursuit article from @Melbourne University featuring our recent work. Terrific effort from our PhD student Somavally!

lnkd.in/geXUApmK

3 months, 3 thesis orations: a hat-trick moment for the lab!! 🎓🥳.
This time, Bindusmita in the spotlight! ✨ She delivered a fantastic thesis oration, packed with fascinating data and insights 🦠 ❄️ 🔬. It has been an absolute joy mentoring her. Huge congratulations @bindusmitapaul.bsky.social

Insights into type IX secretion from PorKN cogwheel structure bound to PorG and attachment complexes - Nature Communications Type IX secretion system (T9SS) is required for protein export in the Bacteroidota. Here, the authors obtain structure of T9SS PorKN ring which resembles a cogwheel that may have a rotational movement...

My longest ever running project, all the stars finally aligned after 13 years! Thank you to Eric Reynolds group for sharing the journey. #bio21-institute, #university-of-melbourne. @sepidehv.bsky.social @craigmorton.bsky.social @debnathghosal.bsky.social

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

Super cool work! Congratulations!

Our collaborative work on the T9SS is just out in Nature Communications! Fantastic work led by Dhana Gorasia and Eric Hanssen. This paper reveals the structure of the T9SS outer membrane PorKN ring complex and mechanistic insights into protein secretion. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Terrific news! Congratulations

Thanks Ariane :-)

Indeed, thanks

Wonderful collaboration with Sigal Ben-Yehuda lab! Our PhD student Somavally Dalvi, who just had her superb thesis oration drove the high-resolution imaging part of the project.
@unimelb, @FMDHS, @ccemmp-outreach.bsky.social

In this system, bacteria detect phage infection through a sensor protein (YjbH) and respond by severing the infected part of the cell via aberrant division. The rest of the cell survives and continues growing happily, essentially, bacterial autotomy!

Just as doctors may amputate an infected limb to save a patient’s life, or lizards drop their tails to escape predators, despite being single-celled organisms, bacteria can do a similar escape act. How cool is that?

📣 New paper alert! Just out in Cell Reports! pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40644298/
Thrilled to share that we have discovered a brand-new anti-phage defense system! Bacteria have evolved various defense strategies (CRISPR etc) to counter phage attacks. We found a new one - fascinating and dramatic
⚔️🦠❄️🔬

Of course! Let’s catch up

Very interesting work!

Amazing structure and insights! Congratulations.

“Revolutionary Science Comes from Unexpected Angles”

Thoughts from our own Tom Rapoport on the role of basic science in curing disease. magazine.hms.harvard.edu/articles/rev...

Amazing insights!

Great team of grad students and post docs and led together with an awesome group of PIs @debnathghosal.bsky.social @kmichie.bsky.social @iduggin.bsky.social. As something different here be a cool AI-generated artistic impression of our #Asgards hanging in their microbial mat 'ancient home'....⚔️

Thanks much Harry!

Thanks Martin @pilhoferlab.bsky.social

Massive Team effort! Thanks to all for bringing this together! @brendanburns999.bsky.social
@iduggin.bsky.social @kmichie.bsky.social
@snobsi.bsky.social , @juliameltzer.bsky.social, @xabivc.bsky.social, @tiltedscientist.bsky.social @bindusmitapaul.bsky.social @dcshepherd.bsky.social and others.

This offers the first glimpse into how complex eukaryotic cells may have evolved from archaeal ancestors — one of the biggest open questions in biology.
As ‪@brendanburns999.bsky.social‬ says: “Stromatolites may represent the ‘microbial village’ that helped raise a eukaryote.” Exciting times ahead!

Popular theory of eukaryogenesis suggests an Asgard archaeon once engulfed a bacterium, giving rise to the first eukaryotic cell. The bacterium became the mitochondrion. We show direct physical interaction between an Asgard archaeon and a bacterium via nanotubes! Maybe that's how it all started? 👀

Our CryoET imaging revealed N. marumarumayae possesses unique cell features that appear to reflect their ancestry as progenitors for the earliest eukaryotic cells. ❄️🦠 🔬

Did we see any secrets of eukaryotic life in these organisms? Extensive genomic analysis revealed metabolic capacities and many eukaryotic signature proteins, including ESCRTs, Sec23/24-like proteins etc and some completely novel folds!

“Nerearchaeum” in Greek means 'Old Man of the Sea' and “marumarumayae”, derived from the Indigenous language of the Malgana people of Shark Bay, refers to ‘ancient home’.  Nerearchaeum marumarumayae means 'Old Man of the Sea' from the ‘ancient home’! Cool name, right?

In this study, we report ~ 90% (possibly highest to date!) enrichment of a new Asgard archaeon, “Nerearchaeum marumarumayae”, isolated from a microbial mat in Shark Bay, Australia, similar to what might’ve existed billions of years ago. Just the 4th member enriched from the Asgard superphylum!