Out in @natcomms.nature.com! We show that while most MGEs are blocked by RM systems🛡️, the chromosome is still mobile! 🧬And that cells with defective systems act as "gateways" for HGT.
Can you find the hidden Easter egg🐇🥚? Hint: There's a nod to my 🇲🇽 heritage in one of the figures!
rdcu.be/fbUC8
Many thanks to @pbernalt6ss.eurosky.social for the kind invitation, the hospitality, and the stimulating discussions. Always a pleasure to exchange ideas with a true T6SS aficionada! Looking forward to future collaborations 🙂
rdcu.be
Nature Communications - The efficiency of horizontal gene transfer between different bacterial lineages is often unclear. Here, Figueroa et al. show that lateral transduction is the primary driver...
Delighted to host @joaoftsbotelho.bsky.social at the University of Seville. He gave a fantastic talk on mobile genetic elements. Thank you so much for your visit, great to have you here.
Patricia Bernal
Very happy to share our Druantia III–Zorya II synergy story, now on bioRxiv: www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2026.05.12.724681v1
It appears alongside several Druantia III papers from excellent colleagues, each telling a different part of the story. (links below)
www.biorxiv.org
Franklin Nobrega
When is an antiphage mechanism an evolved defence adaptation? This question has been on my mind for so long, because despite the field’s rapid progress there is currently no widely agreed framework in place to answer it. So @brownlab.bsky.social and I wrote this, and I'm happy to share the preprint!
📣 Whelan lab is hiring 📣
We are looking for an entry level technician to help us with our culturing and DNA sequencing prep of cystic fibrosis lung microbiome samples.
Applications close 20 May 2026.
www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...
📣 The Whelan lab is hiring a bioinformatics postdoc 📣
Together with @fabricejpierre.bsky.social, we are offering a 1-year bioinformatic PDRA position in comparative genomics of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. To find out more please visit whelanlab.co.uk/contact/. Applications close 3 April 2026!
Excited to share our new paper out today in @science.org 🎉
We show that HGT via natural competence drives diversification of chromosomal integrons in V. cholerae 🤩
Below a 🧵 on key findings incl. background on natural competence in V. cholerae 1/
#microsky #phagesky
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk
This postdoctoral research position is part of a Cystic Fibrosis Canada Early Career Investigator Award funded for 3-years led by Dr. Fabrice Jean-Pierre and Dr. Fiona Whelan. The aim of this project is to identify the genetic changes that arise in the Pseudomonas aeruginosa genome following perturbations – such as antibiotic treatment – in an in vitro system. The PDRA will use a large dataset of P. aeruginosa genomes and experimental metadata to predict key mutationsto the organism.
My lab at Pitt is looking for a Research Scientist to help us make phage therapy for patients with antibiotic-resistant infections. Please share and apply! cfopitt.taleo.net/careersectio...
Click the link provided to see the complete job description.
I'm looking for an enthusiastic student to join my team as a PhD candidate on archaeal genome evolution 🦠💻
Work in beautiful Utrecht, at @binfutrecht.bsky.social, an international group full of caring, amazing scientists, and with frequent cake breaks!
www.uu.nl/en/organisat...
Please share! 🙏
Melanie Blokesch
www.uu.nl
This one means a lot. Our paper, “Large extrachromosomal replicons are widespread across bacterial lineages and show coordinated replication termination and spatial coupling with the chromosome,” is out!
doi.org/10.1038/s414...
Bacterial genomes often include extrachromosomal replicons, ranging from small plasmids to chromosome-scale replicons. Here, Czarnecki et al. analyse more than 40,000 complete bacterial genomes and sh...
