Genomic clues to the origin of eukaryotic cells How did eukaryotic cells with complex architecture evolve from simpler prokaryotic cells? DNA analyses offer possible answers.

Genomic clues to the origin of eukaryotic cells www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Institut Pasteur (@pasteur.fr) is recruiting new young PIs to open new groups in the Institute. Deadline is February 9th! Don't miss the opportunity!

New lab preprint! Andrew Frando, Bobby Parsek, and Graham Roberts describe how components of the quinolone quorum sensing circuit of P. aeruginosa interact in competition with another Gram-negative bacterium, S. maltophilia -- it's a three-component AND logic gate.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Every American needs to see this. Each of the people murdered by ICE had a place in their community, and those kidnapped and imprisoned also were people with lives that touched many others

This line graph illustrates the percentage change in agency staff levels from the previous year for nine major U.S. federal scientific and health organizations between the fiscal years 2016 and 2025. The agencies tracked include the CDC, Department of Energy, EPA, FDA, NASA, NIH, NIST, NOAA, and NSF. For the majority of the timeline between 2016 and 2023, the agencies show relatively stable fluctuations, generally staying within a range of +5% to -5% change per year. However, there is a dramatic and uniform plummet starting in the 2024–25 period. Every agency depicted shows a sharp downward trajectory, with staffing losses ranging from approximately -15% to over -25%. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows the most significant decline, dropping to roughly -26%, while the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) shows the least severe but still substantial drop at approximately -15%.

This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.

www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

Very clever

CDFD is elated to announce a Distinguished Lecture by Dr.
@harmitmalik.bsky.social , a noted Evolutionary Biologist, who has been selected as the INSA Overseas Chair 2025 for Molecular and Cellular Biology.
Do join us!

Looking for a paid summer research experience? Apply to MSU’s Extreme Biofilms REU and work on cutting-edge biofilm science in extreme environments. No prior research experience needed.

#MicroSky
#PhageSky

Screenshot from GRC portal confirming microbial population biology meeting June 27, 2027 in Andover, New Hampshire.

It’s officially happening folks! The Microbial Population Biology Gordon Research Conference is back in Andover, New Hampshire starting June 27th of 2027!
See you there!!

@wcratcliff.bsky.social @ksbakes.bsky.social @surtlab.bsky.social

#microsky #mevosky

Intracellular interactions shape antiviral resistance outcomes in poliovirus via eco-evolutionary feedback - Nature Ecology & Evolution A model of intrahost poliovirus replication shows that, after several rounds of replication, pocapavir, a poliovirus capsid inhibitor, collapses viral density, preventing intracellular interactions th...

My first lead author paper is out with Ben Kerr and @alisonfeder.bsky.social! We found that making an antiviral too strong can sometimes make resistance easier to evolve. This has implications for how we design drugs, choose doses, and think about viral evolution in the face of treatment. (1/n)

Confused by all the histones that are cropping up in organisms that are decidedly NOT eukaryotes? check out our review - fantastic work by team NucEvo in the #Lugerlab
The Expanding Histone Universe: Histone-Based DNA Organization in Noneukaryotic Organisms - www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...

Transcriptional and metabolic modeling analyses of developing Aspergillus fumigatus biofilms reveal metabolic shifts required for biofilm maturation | mSphere Aspergillus fumigatus is the most common etiological agent of a collection of diseases termed aspergillosis. Chronic and invasive manifestations of aspergillosis are highlighted by the development of biofilm-like structures on and in tissue. These biofilm structures are resistant to contemporary antifungal drugs, even for strains that are susceptible by standard antimicrobial susceptibility testing methods. Consequently, understanding the mechanisms by which A. fumigatus induces, develops, and maintains biofilms to evade antifungal therapies is expected to illuminate biofilm-specific therapeutic targets. Here, we identify genes involved in fungal fermentation and regulation of transcription as important mediators of A. fumigatus biofilm development.

“Transcriptional and metabolic modeling analyses of developing Aspergillus fumigatus biofilms reveal metabolic shifts required for biofilm maturation”

#microsky

Bobblehead of Aida de la Cruz

Aida de la Cruz receiving the Hutchison award.

Congratulations to Aida de la Cruz, lab manager in the @harmitmalik.bsky.social Lab, on receiving the Hutchison Award! The award, presented by @fredhutch.org SPAC and named for Dr. Nancy Hutchison, recognizes phenomenal mentorship. It also comes with an awesome personalized bobblehead.

Creation of new junior research groups at the Institut Pasteur - Call for applications 2026 - Research The Institut Pasteur is launching an international call to recruit new junior research group leaders leveraging cutting-edge transdisciplinary approaches to exploring infectious diseases, host-microbe...

🔬 Call to create junior research groups at the Institut Pasteur

Focus: Infectious diseases, host-microbe interactions, vaccines
Special interest: AI methodologies

📅 Deadline: Feb 9, 2026
👥 2-12 years post-PhD

Apply now 📝 research.pasteur.fr/en/call/crea...

#JobOpportunity #Research

A wonderful commentary by @asherleeks.bsky.social and @sociovirology.bsky.social on our recent work with P. aeruginosa filamentous cheater miniphages!

@vscooper.micropopbio.org @shellyscrib.bsky.social

The microbial metabolite imidazole propionate modulates hypothalamic activity and stress-induced behaviors Agirman et al. find that imidazole propionate, a microbiome-derived metabolite, reaches the brain, dampens hypothalamic activity, and promotes stress-related behaviors. Human data show that higher ImP...

Microbe-mediated stress?

Microbial metabolite Imidazole propionate reaches brain, dampens hypothalamic activity & promotes stress-related behaviors. In humans, higher ImP is associated w/reduced hypothalamic responses & emotional eating
@pipethero.bsky.social
www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...

Rapid compensatory evolution within a multiprotein complex preserves telomere integrity Intragenomic conflict with selfish genetic elements spurs adaptive changes in subunits of essential multiprotein complexes. Whether and how these adaptive changes disrupt interactions within such comp...

How to keep in step when your (protein) partner speeds up…

Here we investigated the adaptive remodeling of a protein-protein interaction surface essential for telomere protection.

Congrats to whole team!

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Our annual PhD call is closing at the end of this week on 30 November. If you're interested in carrying out world-class scientific research in Barcelona, you still have a few days left to submit your application! www.crg.eu/en/content/t...

Multi-omics profiling reveals atypical sugar utilization and a key membrane composition regulator in Streptococcus pneumoniae - Nature Communications The pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae can adapt to diverse microenvironments in the human body. Here, De Bakker et al. study these adaptation responses, showing unusual sugar utilization and identifyi...

Really cool paper from @vincentdebakker.bsky.social @jonbakerlab.bsky.social now published @natcomms.nature.com #MicroSky www.nature.com/articles/s41...

High frequency body site translocation of nosocomial Pseudomonas aeruginosa - Nature Communications Here, the authors report within-host diversity and body site translocation dynamics in hospital samples of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and reveal that body site sharing was likely due to within-patient tra...

Really pleased to share the first paper to come out of the lab.
We found that hospital patients were frequently colonised with P. aeruginosa and that the same clone was shared between the gut and the lung.
The phylogenies indicate that the clones moved from lung->gut

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

Bacterial immune systems as causes and consequences of microbiome structure Bacterial immune systems have evolved in response to diverse molecular "parasites", yet their ecological roles remain poorly understood. This Essay explores how interactions between mobile genetic…

The ecological roles of bacterial #immune systems are poorly understood. Rafael Custodio @ellinoralseth.bsky.social @brockhurstlab.bsky.social @brownlab.bsky.social & Edze Westra explore how mobile genetic elements and bacterial defenses shape #microbiome structure and function 🧪

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/...

Bacteria export alarmone synthetases that produce (p)ppApp and (p)ppGpp | mBio Alarmone synthetases are intracellular enzymes that promote bacterial survival by responding to environmental stress. Although extracellular alarmone production has been reported in Streptomyces, the ...

Bacteria export alarmone synthetases that produce (p)ppApp and (p)ppGpp 🦠🤯

From Boyuan Wang and John Whitney

journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

We're hiring! My dept. is looking for a candidate with a research program focusing on plant systems. All areas of molecular and cellular biology research will be considered. Not sure if you'd fit? Reach out to me. Please share! #microsky

Meng-Chao Yao Obituary | 1949 - 2025 | Seattle Times View Meng-Chao Yao's complete obituary, share memories, and explore 1 tribute posts from the community.

Deeply saddened by the passing of my colleague, Prof. Meng-Chao Yao, a remarkable scientist and mentor. He left an indelible mark on all of us fortunate enough to know him. His legacy in molecular and ciliate biology will endure. Rest well, my friend. 1/

obituaries.seattletimes.com/obituary/men...

New in JB: Black and Wakeman review the challenges of treating polymicrobial infections in various body sites, a topic near and dear to my heart.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
@asm.org #JBacteriology

Modulation of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum sensing cascade by MexT-regulated factors | mBio Bacteria interact with both abiotic and biotic factors in their environment. Quorum sensing (QS) is one mechanism that bacteria use to communicate with other bacteria and coordinate behaviors in the p...

New lab paper!

Andrew Frando describes how MexT alters the quorum sensing cascade in P. aeruginosa. /1

With Nicole Smalley; two undergraduates, Jamal Omar and Bobby Parsek; and @dezieleric.bsky.social, @mariecg.bsky.social, and Mylène Trottier at INRS in Montreal

journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Photo of book “Thriving as an International Scientist” written by Sonali Majumdar

This book has never been more timely. Thanks to @sonali-m-19.bsky.social for writing it and for sending me a copy.

I hard co-sign this one.

Finally out, such an awesome piece of work, very proud of this one: www.cell.com/cell-systems... #MicroSky