Anoxic live-cell imaging shows actin-dependent crawling motility and dynamic protrusions in Asgard archaea, providing insights into cellular innovations that may have contributed to eukaryotic evoluti...

Nature Microbiology, Published online: 25 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41564-026-02455-8HIDEN-SEQ (hidden Acr-enabled transposon-insertion sequencing) is a transposon-insertion sequencing method for phages that systematically links their genes to selectable phenotypes.

Nature Microbiology, Published online: 25 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41564-026-02486-1Phage Tn-seq uses Tn5 transposon mutagenesis with anti-CRISPR-based selection and deep sequencing as a method to generate unbiased, genome-wide mutations across diverse phages

Nature Microbiology, Published online: 17 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41564-026-02449-6In this Perspective, Levin and Wang give a brief history of bacterial growth rate and discuss how it is connected to nutrient availability and macromolecule synthesis, with a focus on (p)ppGpp as a central hub regulating resource allocation and, indirectly, growth rate at the single-cell level.

In a process known as phenotypic heterogeneity or phenotypic variation, bacteria can produce distinct phenotypes within an isogenic population in response to shifting environmental conditions. Noise i...

Abstract. To successfully transfer, conjugative plasmids must overcome a recipient cell’s defence mechanisms. The leading region of many plasmids—the first

In Streptomyces spp., a conserved biosynthetic gene megacluster produces an arsenal of distinct antimicrobials that converge on bacterial biotin biosynthesis as a naturally evolved combination therapy...

Nature Microbiology, Published online: 12 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41564-026-02384-6The activation of an antiphage defence system relies on host factors targeted by phages, a mechanism analogous to the way that eukaryotic innate immune systems detect pathogen-induced perturbations of host cells through effector-triggered immunity.

Because all known living organisms are made from at least 20 canonical amino acids, the feasibility of life using a more simplified alphabet remains unclear. In this work, we leveraged computational d...

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...

The emergence of a chemical system capable of self-replication and evolution is a critical event in the origin of life. RNA polymerase ribozymes can replicate RNA, but their large size and structural ...

The Bikard lab at Institut Pasteur in Paris is seeking to hire postdoctoral researchers. We are investigating bacteria / bacteriophages interactions, and the genetic innovation that happens at this in...

Using RIL-seq, Silverman et al. map the RNA interactome of E. coli during phage lambda infection and uncover a conserved phage-encoded sRNA that activates host replication machinery. Their findings re...

Diverse genomes of lytic phages are found in bacterial assemblies, challenging assumptions about the nature of the lytic lifestyle.

Bacteria and archaea encode on average ten antiphage systems. Quorum sensing, cellular, or transcription factors can regulate specific systems (CRISPR-Cas, CBASS). Yet, a systematic assessment of anti...

Abstract. RNA modifications play a fundamental role in regulating essential cellular processes, including translation fidelity and stress adaptation. While

Abstract. Peptide deformylases (PDFs) are enzymes that are essential for bacterial viability and attractive targets for antibiotic development. Yet, despit

Author summary This study charts the first genome-wide map of transfer RNA (tRNA) modifications in the cholera pathogen, Vibrio cholerae, revealing how chemical marks on tRNAs shape translation and st...

DNA damage can lead to cell death. Here, the authors show that a simple cut on either strand of DNA can inactivate bacterial chromosome replication. Surprisingly, only a core set of recombination prot...

In collaboration with New England Biolabs, the DNA Replication research group led by Ludovic Sauguet at the Institut Pasteur has published in Nucleic Acids Research an innovative approach based on Pac...

DNA replication requires precise coordination between DNA unwinding and DNA synthesis. In all domains of life, protein–protein interactions at the ...

Nature Communications - It is commonly thought that bacterial species borders tend to be fuzzy, due to frequent exchange of DNA. Here, Diop et al. quantify the patterns of gene flow between core...

Author summary Escherichia coli demonstrates a remarkable ability to adapt to diverse environments. This adaptability is in part connected to its ability to recombine incoming DNA in its chromosome, a...

Our understanding of chromosome organization and dynamics in spherical bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus, remains limited. Here, the authors show that chromosome replication and cell division cycles are not synchronized in S. aureus, with cells exhibiting two segregated origins of replication at the start of the cell cycle.

Phages are typically viewed as very rapidly evolving biological entities. Little is known, however, about whether and how phages can establish long-term genetic stability. We addressed this eco-evolut...