Paprapach Wongdontree

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...

The outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria blocks many antibiotics. Our latest work reveals that L-type pyocins bypass this barrier by inactivating the BAM complex, killing Pseudomonas aeruginosa without entering the cell, providing a new blueprint for beating antibiotic resistance.

Comprehensive genetic interaction analysis of the Bacillus subtilis envelope using double-CRISPRi Koo et al. apply genome-scale double-CRISPRi to map cell envelope gene interactions in Bacillus subtilis, revealing >1,000 genetic interactions and uncovering gene networks in envelope biogenesis and ...

Also see the accompanying paper from Carol Gross' lab that used a similar approach for Bacillus subtilis: www.cell.com/cell-systems...

How nutrient starvation impacts the gut microbiome - Nature Microbiology In this Perspective, Estrela and Huang discuss nutrient starvation in the context of the gut microbiome, outlining what is known and highlighting key questions for future research to address knowledge gaps.

#Perspective

Estrela and Huang discuss nutrient starvation in the context of the gut microbiome, outlining what is known and highlighting key questions for future research to address knowledge gaps.

#MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky 🦠

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

Peptidoglycan remodelling improves salt resilience of Zymomonas mobilis https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.04.680478v1

A photo of a Nobel medal

BREAKING: The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded jointly to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi "for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance"

Stay tuned for more.
#NobelPrize

Inorganic sulfate is critical for Mycobacterium tuberculosis lung tissue colonization and redox balance | PNAS Tuberculosis remains the deadliest infectious disease caused by a single pathogen, highlighting the urgent need for novel therapies. A deeper under...

Excited to share Wendy Le Mouëllic’s PhD work, now published in @pnas.org!
It reveals that M. tuberculosis depends on inorganic sulfate import to survive inside host cells—fueling essential processes such as redox balance and stress resistance.
Huge congrats to Wendy & colleagues!
shorturl.at/WbFQC

Architecture of a peptidoglycan peptidase complex involved in morphological transition in Helicobacter pylori. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.29.672660v1

Divisome dynamics in intracellular UPEC cells during infection. Left: Representative confocal image of intracellular UTI89 expressing a division marker (FtsZ-mCitrine; pseudo coloured green) with mCherry (pseudo coloured magenta) as cytoplasmic marker, bladder cell membranes shown in blue (CellBrite Steady Membrane 405) and nuclei shown in gold (NucSpot Live Cell 650). Right: Still images of a time-lapse sequence showing FtsZ-mCitrine (pseudo coloured green) driven coccobacilli divisions imaged using HiLo illumination.

Uropathogenic #Ecoli #UPEC proliferate as round coccoid cells during intracellular infection; @alaskapokhrel.bsky.social @bill-lab.bsky.social &co show that accelerated division via FtsZ constriction drives this, the coccobacillus form persisting for generations @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4gdx97i

Conservation of sporulation genes and a transmembrane-containing Spo0B variant in Paenibacillus Sporulation is a strategy employed by many bacteria to survive harsh environmental conditions. The genus Paenibacillus includes spore-forming species notorious for spoiling pasteurized dairy products ...

Here we show that >90% of Paenibacillus encode a unique Spo0B with a transmembrane domain! TM domain helps it interact with its phosphorelay partners. Congrats to @isabellalin.bsky.social who left for grad school this week and her mentor @cassidyprints.bsky.social! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

MCDB Opens Search for Faculty | U-M LSA Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology (MCDB) MCDB welcomes applications at the Assistant Professor level from outstanding biological scientists in all areas of physiology and neuroscience, spanning molecular, cellular, systems, and organismal le...

My MCDB dept is accepting applications for a faculty position at the Assistant Professor level!

Applications Due by October 15, 2025

We welcome applications from all areas of physiology and neuroscience, spanning molecular, cellular, systems, and organismal levels.

lsa.umich.edu/mcdb/news-ev...

Staphylococcus aureus exploits lipoic acid salvage to combat host oxidative stress Acosta et al. find that ADP-ribosylation of the lipoic acid carrier protein GcvH-L promotes Staphylococcus aureus resistance to oxidative burst and facilitates infection. ADP-ribosylation leads to a s...

Happy to share Iván’s first-author pub from the lab! www.cell.com/cell-reports...

Good opportunity here to work with a super talented new PI.

"What makes S. aureus such a difficult vaccination candidate?" Here are some answers:

Engineering non-exponential proliferation in Escherichia coli using functionalized protein aggregates https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.23.671898v1

new paper: analyzing FRAP experiments in synapses in collaboration with the Rizzoli group - doi.org/10.1016/j.bp...

Small molecule inhibitors of the NorA multidrug efflux pump potentiate antibiotic activity by binding the outward-open conformation Antibiotic resistance is among the greatest threats of the modern era. Multidrug efflux pumps expel antibiotics from bacterial cells and present a particular challenge by conferring resistance to a br...

New preprint from the lab, in collaboration with Ed Tate, Nate Traaseth and many others!

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

Check out the first preprint from our lab describing a direct molecular cross-talk between (p)ppGpp and c-di-GMP nucleotide messengers! Great work from first-author Corentin Jaboulay who was a postdoc in our lab, and great collaborations! @mmsb-lyon.bsky.social @cnrsbiologie.bsky.social

Very cool, congrats! #microsky

Dear Bluesky, some good news to brighten your day! We are recruiting for the Director of the Centre for Population and Disease Genomics!! I would be grateful if you could share across your networks! uq.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/uqcareers/jo...

SimUrine: A Novel, Fully Defined Artificial Urinary Media for Enhanced Microbiological Research of Urinary Bacteria Urinary tract infections represent one of the most prevalent bacterial diseases, yet current diagnostic and research methodologies are hampered by inadequate culture media that fail to replicate the b...

As part of the ENW-XL UTIr project we have developed a novel fully defined synthetic artificial urine medium for urinary bacteria.

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

#UTISky #AMR #MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky #InfectiousDiseases #ClinMicro

Description Please note that job descriptions are not exhaustive, and you may be asked to take on additional duties that align with the key responsibilities ment...

We're hiring for a Head of Department to lead one of Europe’s largest and most impactful centres for infectious disease research — right here at @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social.

We're looking for a strategic leader with vision and drive.

Apply by 15 September👇

Evolution of polyamine resistance in Staphylococcus aureus through modulation of potassium transport | mSphere Staphylococcus aureus is a leading cause of infectious disease-related deaths globally. Understanding factors that govern adaptation and survival of S. aureus and other pathogens in the host environme...

Evolution of polyamine resistance in Staphylococcus aureus through modulation of potassium transport

#mSphere from @biobarber.bsky.social

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

(p)ppGpp-dependent activation of gene expression during nutrient limitation | mBio Bacteria often experience nutrient limitation and, in response, attenuate energetically costly metabolic processes like protein synthesis. At the same time, however, they stimulate the expression of a subset of proteins that facilitate survival under ...

(p)ppGpp-dependent activation of gene expression during nutrient limitation

#mBio from Jonathan Dworkin

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

See how phi3T phage shifts Bacillus subtilis cell shape in the absence of SPbeta prophage and alters its fitness - our new publication in @commsbio.nature.com from group of @annadragos.bsky.social together with @bramkamplab.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s42...

Phosphate limitation triggers Fe3+-dependent polymyxin resistance in Enterobacteriaceae https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.18.670855v1

📢 For all HaloTag lovers💙💚💛❤️💜🩶 we are excited to share that our work, in which we developed a new biotin-HaloTag ligand, is now published in @jcb.org! Full link here: rupress.org/jcb/article-...

Cryo-EM identifies F-ENA of Bacillus thuringiensis as a widespread family of endospore appendages across Firmicutes - Nature Communications B. thuringiensis spores contain uncharacterized protein filaments that extend from the surface of the exosporium. Here, the authors show that these filaments feature conserved β-barrel neck domains an...

Many spores from the Firmicutes group are decorated with hair-like structures. Since the 60s, they remained a mystery. @remaut-lab.bsky.social named these fibres ENdospore Appendages (ENAs). Using Cryo-ID, we report the identity, structure and function of F-ENA.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#MicroSky

Who couldn’t use a little OUTSIDE ASSISTANCE 🦠 ???

Intracellular 𝘗𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘦𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘴𝘢 cells can only escape vacuoles with help from extracellular cells via type III secretion–driven Ca²⁺ influx, ultimately promoting pathogen spread in vivo.

Suzanne Fleiszig Lab @UCBerkeley in Nature Comm

De Novo Design of Miniprotein Inhibitors of Bacterial Adhesins https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.18.670751v1