Molecular Microbiology

Bacterial Schlafen proteins mediate phage defence Nature Microbiology, Published online: 09 March 2026; doi:10.1038/s41564-026-02277-8This study highlights that Schlafens are ancient, mechanistically conserved immune effectors that mediate antiviral immunity in organisms ranging from humans to bacteria.

Out Now! Bacterial Schlafen proteins mediate phage defence #MicroSky

the solution to the riddle

The metabolome of an E. coli CRISPRi library identifies benefits of minimal metabolite levels and targets for engineering Rapp et al. combine genome-scale CRISPRi and metabolomics in E. coli. CRISPRi of enzymes enforces metabolite accumulation, which leads to regulatory crosstalk and side reactions. This suggests that ma...

🫳 The metabolome of an E. coli CRISPRi library identifies benefits of minimal metabolite levels and targets for engineering:

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Cell Systems www.cell.com/cell-systems...

@johnhelmann.bsky.social

Lower right — definitely Linc Sonenshein: this is correct!
Upper right — Rich Losick... (I think): this is correct!
Lower left... maybe? Jeff Errington: Unfortunately, this is wrong.
Upper left...?

correct!

For Bacillus subtilis aficionados: Who recognizes the people in the photos?

#subtiwiki #subtilis #MIT

Structural and functional diversity of toxin-antitoxin-chaperone systems Toxin-antitoxin-chaperone (TAC) systems are three-part gene clusters encoding a toxin, antitoxin, and specialized SecB-like chaperone (SecBTA) with em…

👉 Structural and functional diversity of toxin-antitoxin-chaperone systems:

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www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

The next International Conference on Gram-Positive Bacteria will take place between 29 June – 2 July 2027 in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

#subtiwiki

🫴 The dynamic distribution of genetic tandem amplifications in a heteroresistant Escherichia coli population revealed by ultra-deep long read sequencing:

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

@natcomms.nature.com #amplification

🫴 Stress-induced iron-sulfur cluster damage as a conserved trigger of the bacterial stringent response:

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

#(p)ppGpp #stress @natcomms.nature.com

Structural mechanism and inhibitor discovery for DhhP, a Borrelia burgdorferi cyclic di-AMP phosphodiesterase with an Fe/Mn bimetallic center Klima et al. report the crystal structure of DhhP, a cyclic di-AMP phosphodiesterase of Borrelia. The structure reveals atomic details of the heterobimetallic active site and the overall asymmetry of ...

🫳 For c-di-AMP aficionados: Structural mechanism and inhibitor discovery for DhhP, a Borrelia burgdorferi cyclic di-AMP phosphodiesterase with an Fe/Mn bimetallic center!

In

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Structure www.cell.com/structure/fu...

@structure

Regulatory rewiring drives intraspecies competition in Bacillus subtilis Author summary Microbial competition and cooperation are key in shaping the structure and evolution of microbial communities. Our study on Bacillus subtilis, a model for microbial social interactions,...

Checkout this article we found at PLOS:

👉 Regulatory rewiring drives intraspecies competition in Bacillus subtilis!

dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...

#subtiwiki

🥸 Super interesting: Approaches for accelerating microbial gene function discovery using artificial intelligence!

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

@natmicrobiol.nature.com

👉 Glycosylation of glyphosate drives residue reduction and herbicide tolerance in rice!

Where: in PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

@pnas.org #glyphosate

👉 Diversity and distribution of bacterial DNA polymerases:

academic.oup.com/nar/article/...

#subtiwiki

@narjournal.bsky.social

👉 A protein adaptor mediating Ap4A-dependent control of protein acetylation:

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

@natcomms.nature.com #subtiwiki

Giant DNA viruses encode a hallmark translation initiation complex of eukaryotic life Giant DNA viruses encode a cap-binding complex homologous to eIF4F, the defining translation-initiation complex of eukaryotes. The viral cap-binding complex is required for viral protein synthesis and...

🫳 Giant DNA viruses encode a hallmark translation initiation complex of eukaryotic life!

In Cell: www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

@spp2330.bsky.social

Oligomerization of fbaA Is Essential for Nonclassical Protein Export in Bacillus subtilis Bacillus subtilis is a widely used microbial host for both fundamental research and the industrial production of enzymes and biopharmaceuticals. However, its four known signal peptide–dependent secret...

Wow: Oligomerization of the glykolytic enzyme FbaA Is Essential for Nonclassical Protein Export in Bacillus subtilis:

| ACS Synthetic Biology pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

#subtiwiki

🫴 Mycobacterial RadA Functions in Cyclic Di-AMP Mediated Homologous Recombination in Addition to Supporting RecA Activity:

Molecular Microbiology | Microbiology Journal | Wiley Online Library onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

#cdiAMP

Bacillus velezensis as a model for plant-associated beneficial bacilli | Journal of Bacteriology Today, plant-associated bacilli are widely applied in the biocontrol of plant diseases and promoting plant growth. Bacillus strains are advantageous due to their ability to form resistant endospores a...

Bacillus velezensis as a model for plant-associated beneficial bacilli | Journal of Bacteriology

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

Phage infection fronts trigger early sporulation and viral entrapment in bacterial populations Abstract. Bacteriophage (phage) infect, lyse, and propagate within bacterial populations. However, physiological changes in bacterial cell state can protec

👉 Phage infection fronts trigger early sporulation and viral entrapment in bacterial populations:

academic.oup.com/ismej/articl...

#subtiwiki @spp2330.bsky.social

Warum Israel im Libanon Pflanzengift versprüht Die israelische Armee versprüht anscheinend in hohen Konzentrationen Glyphosat im Süden des Libanon. Die Empörung dort ist groß, denn die Folgen dürften dramatisch sein. Doch was soll das bezwecken? V...

www.tagesschau.de/ausland/asie...

#glyphosate

The redox driven Na+-pumping mechanism in Vibrio cholerae NADH-quinone oxidoreductase relies on dynamic conformational changes - Nature Communications The Na+ -pumping NADH-quinone oxidoreductase is a redox-driven sodium pump often found in pathogenic bacteria. Here, the authors demonstrate how enzyme structural changes efficiently couple electron t...

🫴 The redox driven Na+-pumping mechanism NQR in Vibrio cholerae NADH-quinone oxidoreductase relies on dynamic conformational changes:

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

@nature.com #vibrio

🫴 Cell wall hydrolysis promotes a second wave of transpeptidation to achieve cell separation following septation in Bacillus subtilis:

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

#subtiwiki

Bacterial iron acquisition by Escherichia coli is facilitated by amino acid complexation in a rapid-renewal environment | PNAS In natural environments, bacteria often encounter low concentrations of nutrient mixtures that are continuously replenished by physical processes s...

👉 A previously unrecognized mechanism of iron acquisition via soluble ferrous iron–amino acid complexes. :

Bacterial iron acquisition by Escherichia coli is facilitated by amino acid complexation in a rapid-renewal environment:

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

@pnas.org

Microgravity reshapes bacteriophage–host coevolution aboard the International Space Station Phage-host interactions have a role shaping microbial ecosystems, but their behavior in microgravity remains largely unexplored. In this study, experiments aboard the ISS reveal distinct evolutionary ...

👇 Microgravity reshapes bacteriophage–host coevolution aboard the International Space Station:

dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...

Staphylococcus species infected by a bacteriophage with a tail that is both curved and contractile | mBio Past work has seen over-representation of Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolates in genome and biology studies on staphylococci. Here, we show by a selective plating analysis of municipal wastewater ...

🫴 Staphylococcus species infected by a bacteriophage with a tail that is both curved and contractile:

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| mBio journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

@mbio.bsky.social @spp2330.bsky.social

c-di-AMP–DasR signaling axis mediates mycobacterial acid resistance | mBio The findings identified a regulatory axis central to mycobacterial acid adaptation, and DasR was found to be a conserved c-di-AMP receptor in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. A key feature is its highly pH-sensitive binding to c-di-AMP, which exhibits a 20-fold increase in affinity under acidic conditions, indicating that environmental cues are linked to the transcriptional response. DasR directly targets genes governing (p)ppGpp, cyclic AMP (cAMP), c-di-AMP metabolism, and acid adaptation, creating a feedback loop that dynamically balances stress signaling pathways. The concurrent upregulation of the chaperone HtpG stabilizes the DasR complex, increasing signal output under stress. This integrated system, which combines allosteric enhancement of DNA binding with chaperone-mediated stabilization, constitutes an evolutionarily refined strategy for acid resistance. The c-di-AMP–DasR pathway is therefore a promising target that could enable researchers to address the persistence of M. tuberculosis.

🫴 c-di-AMP–DasR signaling axis mediates mycobacterial acid resistance:

| mBio journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Efficient detection and typing of phage-plasmids | mBio Mobile genetic elements, such as phages and plasmids, are diverse and drive bacterial evolution through horizontal gene transfer. Phage-plasmids, of which many carry antibiotic resistance genes or vir...

🫴 Efficient detection and typing of phage-plasmids:

| mBio journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

@mbio.bsky.social @spp2330.bsky.social