This is great! Conjugation without pili was always an annoying paradox, and this finding shows that things finally make sense.
31.12.2025 09:15
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This is great! Conjugation without pili was always an annoying paradox, and this finding shows that things finally make sense.
🧵6/6 🙋♀️Why this matters:
🔁 Conjugative pili fuel the spread of #AMR & other virulence factors.
🎯 Pili-forming proteins now emerge as drug targets!
🗞️Check our preprint for all details ⬇️
🙏Thanks also to the other coauthors: @endymiomatic.bsky.social and @andrenmateus.bsky.social 🤗
Bioinformatics analysis show that VirB2-like proteins are widespread in G+ T4SSs, see our preprint for all info!
🧵5/6 The outcome:
VirB2-like pili-forming proteins are widespread, not rare exceptions! This means that Gram-positive bacteria likely rely on conjugative pili to drive horizontal gene transfer as their Gram-negative counterparts. 🦠
🧵4/6 But are VirB2-like proteins found in other Gram-positive conjugative plasmids or is pCF10 unique?
Using machine-learning powered bioinformatics, Dennis Svedberg screened >1000 Gram-positive conjugative plasmids across diverse species, including various major pathogens...🥁
PrgFB2 is essential for conjugation and as in other VirB2-like proteins its charged loop is important for function. See our preprint for all info!
🧵3/6 Structural modeling with #AlphaFold confidently predicts a pilus-like assembly for PrgF(VirB2).
To test this, I👩🔬 combined:
🧬 mutagenesis
🧫 conjugation assays
🧪 targeted chemical labeling
→ Together confirming PrgF(VirB2) forms a functional conjugative pilus. ✅
Overview of VirB2-like pili forming proteins. A) Cartoon of VirB2-like proteins visualizing their membrane insertion and assembly into a pilus (slice-through) on top of VirB6, a central protein of the inner-membrane complex. Figure adapted from Paillard et al, 2025 1. B) AlphaFold model of PrgF alongside characterized VirB2-like proteins from R388 (PDB ID: 8S6H) and pTi (PDB ID: 8CUE). Dotted lines indicate the approximate location of the membrane. C) Overview of the PrgFB2-PrgHB6 AlphaFold model, with 5 PrgHB6 in black, 4 PrgFB2 from one helical rise in pink and the remaining 16 PrgFB2 in grey. The dotted lines indicate the approximate location of the membrane. D) Comparison of the PrgFB2 pili model (as in C) with the determined structures of the pili from R388 and pTi (PDB codes as in B).
🧵2/6 How?
We identified a VirB2-like protein in the Enterococcus faecalis 🦠 #T4SS plasmid pCF10, which was long thought to lack such pili components. We found that this protein is essential for conjugation 🧫, which spreads #antibioticresistance and other virulence factors.
📣New preprint with @rberntsson.bsky.social👇We overturn the long-standing view that Gram-positive bacteria lack conjugative pili! We identify pili-forming proteins in a wide range of bacteria and show they're essential for the spread of #antibioticresistance #AMR 🧵1/6
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
”Så istället för att flytta kommunikationsavdelningarna längre bort från forskarna, genom att till exempel centralisera kommunikationen, borde motsatsen ske. Ge kommunikatörerna möjlighet att fördjupa sig i områden de är intresserade av” www.tidningencurie.se/kronikor/jag...
We're not changing department or university, just downsizing to safe money as renting costs are high! Swedish universities are not allowed to own buildings and rent from @akademiskahus.bsky.social that has to charge market rates! All their profit goes to the state WITHOUT being kept for research. 😱💰
my corner of the office
The lab as it is now
Still have to reinstall the Äkta + SEC-MALLS but it seems to have survived the trip
Lab as it is now from other side, some chaos left but getting there!
We've been moving the lab this week and it's been so much work as we're combining stuff from 3 smaller labs into 1 big one, but we're getting there and I think it will be good in the end. Unfortunately I lost my own office as well, but managed to make a cosy corner in the 6 person one... #Lab #Move
It's beginning to look a lot like...
Microbial Christmas!
🦠🧫🔬🎄🎅🏻🛷🦌☃️
👉🏻 www.superbugs.online/superblog/microbial-christmas
@sbgrid.bsky.social is looking for a Research Associate to provide support to our community of users. This position is for a computationally-minded PhD structural biologist, see their website for more info: academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/15185.
I can really recommend @lizahaart.bsky.social
✨Last chance to submit to our #BiofilmCreate #competition, which closes tomorrow (17 October 2025)!
🎨 📷 Showcase your talent in photography/art whilst highlighting the impact of #biofilms
🏆Gift cards will be awarded in both categories
🗳️biofilms.ac.uk/create
#scicomm #AMR #MicroSky #biofilm
‘Alternative medicine’ is not harmless
The rise of anti-science has been happening for more than a decade but was turbocharged by conspiracy theorists and alternative medicine ‘practitioners’ during the pandemic
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Screenshot av Curies artikeln
👏lärosätena borde upphöra att vara statliga myndigheter och omvandlas till självständiga lärosäten. Utredningen föreslog också att ägandet av Akademiska hus skulle överföras till lärosätena, med motivet att en egen kapitalbas är viktig för reell självständighet.👏👍 www.tidningencurie.se/7655.html
After some more awesome science from amongst others @greening.bsky.social, Simon Newstead & @martinsteinegger.bsky.social and unfortunately a long drive back home, we made it back to Umeå! Thank you #Sweprot and all participants for the great company and hopefully see you next year!
Enjoying #Sweprot conference with good food and company & great science! #Sweprot2025 sweprot.se #Tällberg
Don't go the U.S. if you can at all avoid it, and hold your international conferences elsewhere.
I feel bad for orgs with venues booked for this year, but for 2026- conferences, holding it in the US is a decision that says something to your global membership.
Please spread the word! We have an opening in the Atkinson lab for a post-doc with a focus on the molecular mechanisms of microbial immune systems. Can be a fully computational or experimental or hybrid project.
Read more and apply here:
lu.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
#phage #bioinformatics
The Dutch Research Council is funding 5 projects with €4.53 million to develop new antibiotics and tackle #AMR. These initiatives use AI-driven discovery, safer drug formulations, and alternative therapies, uniting universities, hospitals, and industry.
www.innovationnewsnetwork.com/nwo-funds-5-...
Something to take into account next time I submit an article 🤔: "‘tripartite phrases’ enhance clarity by breaking down complex ideas into interconnected parts, create rhythmic patterns that are memorable and aim to communicate multiple aspects of research concisely." www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Vi är tillbaka i Väven (och online) nu på lördag med gofika och följande inspirerande forskare; Daniel Öhlund: Kan vi få cancer att läka ut? Anna Lövgren: Ansiktssmärta, en orättvis börda. Sophia Harlid: Miljö och bröstcancerrisk - spelar tidpunkten roll? Se www.umu.se/fika för all info! #forskom
Postdoc opportunity, please share!
We are looking for a #postdoc to join our international team* in our quest to understand how Type 4 Secretion Systems facilitate the transfer of #antibioticresistance genes and other virulence factors in Gram-positive #bacteria.🧫👇
*5 people & 5 nationalities 🇸🇪🇳🇱🇳🇿🇺🇸🇪🇬
Please repost: Postdoc position in antibiotic discovery in a large multidisciplinary project combining high-throughput approaches, microscopy, AI, and hit-to-lead optimization at @umontreal.ca and @mila-quebec.bsky.social. Apply to ML.Antibiotics@gmail.com. See
lnkd.in/dVVk4N3s. #microsky
In UK, antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections in humans have INCREASED by 13% since 2018…
Despite a target to reduce them by 10%.
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Om du har missat något går det fortfarande att se alla korta populärvetenskapliga föreläsningar (8 minuter) efteråt på www.umu.se/fika
Vi bjuder på två omgångar (plats & fika för 150 personer i varje runda):
🔹 Första omgången (kl. 13.00) kan också följas live på umu.se/live.
🔹 Andra omgången (kl. 14.00) är bara på plats och då är det lättare att komma in.
#forskom #SciComm #outreach #FikaefterenForskare
🌟 Imorgon är vi tillbaka i Väven med Fika efter en forskare! 🔬Kom och ta del av spännande forskning och njut av gofika! ☕️🍰
Den här gången får vi möta följande forskare:
👨🔬 Gustav Andersson
👩🔬 Anna-Clara Rullander
👨🔬 Andreas Josefsson
Se nedan för mer info eller gå till www.umu.se/fika👇
