An immunity-like system functions as a lysis control hub to promote gene transfer agent particle release from host bacterial cells, suggesting that bacterial immune systems may be co-opted to promote ...

Ahead of the 2026 Outreach and Engagement Prize Lecture, Swathi Sukumar interviewed Dr Lindsay Broadbent to learn more about her career and how it feels to win a Microbiology Society prize.

Bacteriophages are the most abundant life form on earth and can be applied to eliminate or engineer bacteria. Here, authors demonstrate RNA barcoding as a high throughput tool to measure bacteriophage...

The modern antibiotic era began in the early twentieth century, but humans have long used materials from the natural world to attempt to treat the symptoms of infection. In this primer, we will discus...

Plasmids are essential tools in molecular biology and biotechnology. In research laboratories, it is common to use antibiotic selection markers to ensure that plasmids are stably maintained in a cellu...

by Christoph — When I recently wrote about noise in the basement of the lac operon, I stumbled across two papers in said basement, both of which I – and not only I – consider gems of early molecular biology: 'Isolation of the lac repressor' (Gilbert & Müller-Hill, 1966), and 'The nucleotide sequence of the lac operator' (Gilbert & Maxam, 1973). Here in part 1, I will dust off the lac repressor story a bit to make this gem sparkle again...

The constant arms race of bacteriophages and their bacterial hosts has inspired major breakthroughs in biotechnology and shaped phages as fierce predators with great clinical potential to fight multid...

by Elio — Take our word for it. For experiment involving growing cells, bacterial or otherwise, God meant you to pay attention to the conditions of growth. He also meant you to plot the results of a g...

Wheelchair Access, Wheelchair Accessible Toilets

Abstract. Transfer RNA (tRNA) modifications have emerged as critical post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression affecting diverse biological and di

Embleya is a genus within the family Streptomycetaceae, a group of actinobacteria with outstanding capacity for production of specialised metabolites and a strikingly complex life cycle. In this work, we sequenced the complete genome of the new species Embleya australiensis MST-11070 and validated the assembly using optical mapping. The genome of E. australiensis MST-11070 consists of a 7.1 Mb linear chromosome and three additional replicons, including a 4.2 Mb linear replicon, EEC1, significantly larger than all previously described secondary replicons from bacteria. EEC1 is typified by its similar composition to the chromosome in terms of GC-content, codon usage and gene functions. It also carries terminal inverted repeats identical to the chromosome. EEC1 is enriched in biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs), including the only copy of the BGCs for the spore pigment and the surfactant peptide SapB, metabolites essential for the organism's lifecycle. EEC1 contains an origin of replication with at least some chromosomal properties, and its replication is likely to depend on functions provided by chromosomally located genes. Further comparison of Embleya spp. genomes suggests that EEC1-like replicons are conserved across the genus, in contrast to other known large linear extrachromosomal replicons (megaplasmids) in the order. EEC1 is thus a hallmark of the Embleya genus and is central to its evolution within the Streptomycetaceae family. We propose EEC1 as a secondary chromosome, distinct from previously described secondary chromosomes that utilise plasmid-like replication mechanisms (chromids) and the largest secondary replicon reported in bacteria, to date. ### Competing Interest Statement Ernest Lacey is a Founder, Board Member, and the Managing Director of Microbial Screening Technology Pty. Ltd. The authors declare no competing financial interests. Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, https://ror.org/00cwqg982, BB/P021506/1, BBS/E/J/000PR9790, BB/X01097X/1, BB/M011216/1 Novo Nordisk Foundation, https://ror.org/04txyc737, NNF22OC0078997

Gram-negative bacteria assemble an asymmetric outer membrane (OM) that functions as an effective barrier against antibiotics. Building a stable and functional OM requires the assembly and maintenance ...

Nature Communications - Rickettsia species are bacterial pathogens that obligately reside in the host cell cytosol. Here, Sun et al. report that Rickettsia use host glutathione as a nutrient source...

ALT: han solo from star wars is pointing at the camera in a room .

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Regulation of translation initiation is central to bacterial adaptation, but species-specific mechanisms remain poorly understood. We present high-resolution mapping of translation start sites in S. a...

Brogan et al. uncover a signalling pathway in which levels of the nucleotide second messenger c-di-AMP increase in response to defects in cell wall synthesis. This regulatory pathway decreases turgor ...

An upstream open-reading frame in Escherichia coli regulates expression of the downstream genes in response to diverse translation stresses.

Nature Communications - Multiple types of cell elongation have been described in bacteria, but little is known about how these strategies vary across species. Here, the authors use fluorescent...

The never-before-told account of the intersection of some of the most insightful minds of the 20th century, and a fascinating look at how war, resistance, and friendship can catalyze genius.  ...

As the second Trump administration sends U.S. science into upheaval, countless researchers are fighting for their futures

Klebsiella host strains infected with telomere phages can grow to be the dominant lineage in mixed populations.

A Call for Constructive Engagement

Research Associate Genetic and functional analysis of Gram positive secretion systems and substrates

The Tol-Pal complex is important for multiple cellular processes in Gram-negative bacteria, but its molecular functions remain unclear. Here, Tan & Chng provide experimental evidence supporting th...