Tao Zuo

Gut DNA virome enterotype dictates inflammation heterogeneity through tuning the phage-bacteria-sphingosine-intestine axis in Crohn's disease Wen et al. identify two gut mucosal virome enterotypes that influence intestinal inflammation susceptibility. They reveal that a bacteriophage alters sphingosine production in B. thetaiotaomicron and ...

Our paper on the function of the #gut #phageome is finally out at Cell Host & Microbe @CellPress.
We find that gut bacteriophage can dictate disease susceptibility by regulating metabolism of the commensal bacteria, downstream affecting the health of the mammalian host.

www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...

Congratulations on the new chapter, Cheri! All the best!

Three of our lab’s #gut #microbiome-related articles were recently out at Nature Metabolism, Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology, and Cell Metabolism.
We respectively focused on mycobiome, non-bacterial microbiome, and diet-microbiome interactions.
Kudos to my students and collaborators🎉

#NewResearch

Infecting phages co-opt a bacterial protein to potentially faciliate genome degradation of competing phages

#microsky

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

#NewResearch

Gut microbes can produce ethanol and contribute to auto-brewery syndrome. FMT can potentially treat individuals with this syndrome and improve symptoms.

#microsky

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

I am delighted to share our #gut mucosal #mycobiome paper #IBD is finally out at @natmetabolism.nature.com ! kudos to my talented students, postdocs and collaborators #microbiome

I like this study👍

I’ve jotted down a few general points about paper rejection, if it’s of interest to anyone

open.substack.com/pub/onisillo...

Mucosal glycans: key drivers of the development of inflammatory bowel disease and a potential new therapeutic target Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Published online: 02 January 2026; doi:10.1038/s41575-025-01164-7Glycans are essential components of the gut mucosa that modulate epithelial barrier integrity, host–microbiota interactions and gut immune response. This Review discusses the role of mucosal glycans in gut homeostasis, in intestinal inflammation and their therapeutic potential for inflammatory bowel disease.

New online! Mucosal glycans: key drivers of the development of inflammatory bowel disease and a potential new therapeutic target

Review @science.org @harvardmed.bsky.social
Quantifying host-microbe interactions with bacterial lineage tracing
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Mycobacterial protein MPT53 prompts lung epithelial cells release of lncRNA TRCR1-enriched exosomes that enhance monocyte antimicrobial activity via CLOCK-mediated epigenetic reprogramming @cp-cellhostmicrobe.bsky.social
www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...

Some of your cells are not genetically yours — what can they tell us about life and death? A tiny population of cells that are passed across the placenta between mother and baby challenge basic tenets of human immunology.

A tiny population of cells that are passed across the placenta between mother and baby challenge basic tenets of human immunology.

go.nature.com/4aXjG2T

Say it louder for those at the back…

#NOhep

As a virome and phageome scientist, I highly recommend this article. Happy holiday season, everyone!🎉

One of the things I love about my job is the range of cool papers I get to read and researchers I get to work with to highlight the most interesting microbiological advances

This thread is just a preview of the diversity of microbiology that came out in @natmicrobiol.nature.com in 2025

#MicroSky 🦠

SOS: RNA-processing mechanism rescues genes from invasive DNA Transposable elements can insert into genes, disrupting protein-coding potential. Researchers discover a mode of RNA processing, ‘SOS splicing’, that provides a quick fix.

All living organisms face the problem of parasites - but what happens when DNA has invaded the genome?

go.nature.com/3MDiJCq

David Baltimore obituary: virologist whose enzyme discovery transformed understanding of cancer and HIV/AIDS The protein, reverse transcriptase, has become an essential tool for making DNA copies of RNA.

The world has lost a giant of virology, molecular biology and science advocacy

David Baltimore’s obituary by Stephen Goff www.nature.com/articles/d41...

‘They don’t have symptoms’: CAR-T therapies send autoimmune diseases into remission Engineered T cells that have been used to treat ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus show promising results.

Engineered T cells that have been used to treat ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus show promising results

go.nature.com/3MaSKC9

Pushing the frontier of gut microbiome health cross-kingdom and cross-organ Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Published online: 03 November 2025; doi:10.1038/s41575-025-01140-1The gut microbiome presents in a multi-kingdom form and tunes host health in various ways. Studies published in 2025 have further pushed this frontier by unveiling the enigmatic roles of the gut fungi and bacteria in cross-organ regulations of host homeostasis through metabolite and immune cell-mediated pathways.

ICYMI: New online! Pushing the frontier of gut microbiome health cross-kingdom and cross-organ

Our invited Year in Review piece on the topic of gut microbiome is out at Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology @natrevgastrohep.nature.com 🌟
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Engineered Metarhizium fungi produce longifolene to attract and kill mosquitoes - Nature Microbiology Insects colonized with Metarhizium fungi emit longifolene to lure new hosts for infection to disperse spores. A fungal strain was engineered to emit longifolene to attract and eliminate mosquitoes.

OUT NOW! - Engineered Metarhizium fungi produce longifolene to attract and kill mosquitoes 🍄🧲🦟☠️

By Dan Tang, Jun Cao, Raymond Leger, Jianhua Huang, Weiguo Fang & colleagues.

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

Dietary urbanization destabilizes host-gut microbiome homeostasis and informs precision nutrition for human health Since the industrial revolution, human dietary habits have invariably trended toward dietary urbanization, during which the human gut microbiota has r…

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

Our diet-microbiome interaction and informed precision nutrition article is finally out at Cell Metabolism. @Cell Thank you to all of our collaborators!

However, using them to treat a non-infectious disease or studying the mechanisms behind bacteriophages regulating Commensal bacteria are promising and interesting area of research in future

Using bacteriophages to diagnose a disease is infeasible presently as bacteriophages are highly individualized and ever-evolving.

New research article

Evaluation of bacteriophages as a signature of #microbiome health: a systematic review and meta-analysis

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

#IDSky #ClinMicro #ViroSky #Phage #OpenAccess #OA

SOOOOO excited to see this online IN REAL-LIFE!!

Here, we review the latest in hepatic tissue-resident #Tcell biology. We draw on a metaphor proposed by Robert Louis Stevenson [1886] to highlight the fact a cell can manifest different behaviours & actions depending on environmental context 🧪

A timetree of Fungi dated with fossils and horizontal gene transfers - Nature Ecology & Evolution Combining fossil-based and molecular calibrations with data on horizontal gene transfer events, the authors develop a time-calibrated phylogeny of Fungi. This timescale, which integrates analytic uncertainties, suggests an older age of crown Fungi (1,401–896 million years ago), as well as a minimum age for ancient interactions involving fungi and the algal ancestors of embryophytes in terrestrial ecosystems (1,253–797 Ma).

A paper in Nature Ecology & Evolution presents a time-calibrated phylogeny of Fungi. This timescale suggests an older age of crown Fungi, as well as a minimum age for ancient interactions involving fungi and the algal ancestors of embryophytes in terrestrial ecosystems. #phylo 🧪

Commensal yeast promotes Salmonella Typhimurium virulence - Nature Commensal Candida albicans enhances the virulence and dissemination of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium.

Nature research paper: Commensal yeast promotes Salmonella Typhimurium virulence

go.nature.com/4mTnRzG