I'm excited that this collaborative work with Alan @acartmell47.bsky.social is finally out. We have developed some powerful tools to study carbohydrate sulfatases (a tricky class of enzyme!) and shown how they can be used with enzymes from host-associated bacteria.
Doing the periodic cleaning of used plasmid miniprep columns and realized in honor of Earth Day it may be worth reminding you molecular biologists:
Plasmid miniprep columns can be cleaned and reused essentially indefinitely! Just add 1 M HCl, soak overnight and wash 3x w/ water. Save $ and plastic
Time for @kateduncan.bsky.social to talk about chemistry and why microbes use it via some interactive questions
We start of the ‘2026 Celebration of Microbiology’ event @newcastleuni.bsky.social @medicalsciencesncl.bsky.social organised by PhD and Postdoc reps from @mhd-newcastle.bsky.social @cbcb-newcastle.bsky.social Chloe, Natalia, Rachel and Jean-Lou
First paper for PhD student in the Bolam / Lowe labs Natalia Łoś on a the characterisation of a new CBM family that binds (beta) mannan! #glycotime @natalia-los.bsky.social 🥳🥳
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Our study on Bacteroides iron piracy is now out in @pnas.org. We show how surface-exposed lipoproteins bind xenosiderophores with different iron-chelating chemistries and propose a mechanism for xenosiderophore import across the outer membrane. Lots of structures (mostly X-ray this time)!
link.springer.com
Iron is an essential element that can be growth-limiting in microbial communities,
particularly those present within host organisms. To acquire iro...
doi.org
β-mannans are plant structural and storage polysaccharides prevalent in the human diet. Their degradation in the gastrointestinal tract is mediated by the human gut microbiota (HGM) through expression...
