Wiep Klaas Smits (ExpBac/CMAT)

How to set up and manage a microbiome research facility The increasing number of therapeutic intervention studies in the microbiome field has sparked broad interest among clinicians and scientists to incorp…

Paper 🚨: in this Narrative Review we describe the challenges and opportunity of a microbiome research facility, based on our experiences at LUMC with Center for Microbiome Analyses and Therapeutics (CMAT) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... #ESGHAMI @escmid.bsky.social @cmijournal.bsky.social

After >10 years of our lab studying bacterial cGAS-like enzymes, @hobbslabutah.bsky.social finally reconstitutes viral sensing in vitro and discovers how these ancient receptors sense phage protease enzymes to detect virion assembly and activate antiviral immunity

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

The work was a collaborative effort with many colleagues from the USA, that provided crucial input for this work.

One of these is cfr(B), which is increasingly seen in #cdiff. We showed for the first time a causal role for this gene in resistance to #PhLOPSa ##antibiotics, including #linezolid and #clindamycin.

The strain is susceptible to #metronidazole, #vancomycin and fidaxomicin, but the #PacBio -generated complete genome shows it harbors different #AMR genes (as is the case for other NTCD).

Strain L-NTCD03 is a clade 4 strain; this clade harbors many different NTCDs. It belongs to ST39 and has an uncommon PCR #ribotype (RT416).

Not all #cdiff are toxigenic, but most research focuses on toxigenic strains for obvious reasons (#disease). Non-toxigenic strains are interesting as model, possible intervention and as a reservoir for genetic traits like ARGs.

Characterization of the clade 4 non-toxigenic C. difficile isolate L-NTCD03 carrying the cfr(B) gene This manuscript describes characteristics of the clade 4 non-toxigenic Clostridioides difficile isolate L-NTCD03.

🚨Publication alert! In this manuscript we describe the characterization of the non-toxigenic C. difficile (#NTCD) strain L-NTCD03 that we have used in our controlled human colonization experiments. academic.oup.com/femsmicrobes...

Clinical prevalence of collateral sensitivity: a systematic exploration of multicentre antimicrobial surveillance data Collateral effects arise when resistance to one antibiotic alters the susceptibility of a bacterial strain to another antibiotic, resulting in either …

📢Publication alert: Clinical prevalence of collateral sensitivity: a systematic exploration of multicentre antimicrobial surveillance data 💊wonderful work from Coen van Hasselt's lab, with a minor contribution from yours truly - www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Finally out in @natmicrobiol.nature.com: Prediction of eukaryotic cellular complexity in Asgard archaea using structural modelling. Great work by @stephkoe.bsky.social @kassipan.bsky.social @jvhooff.bsky.social

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

A Potent Quinone Reductase Encoded by ywqN (Qnr1) Protects Bacillus subtilis from Oxygen Radical Genotoxicity www.mdpi.com/3733756 #mdpimolecules via @Molecules_MDPI

Biological Laboratory | LEGO® Ideas This is a two-floor realistic Biological Laboratory building. In this design, I try to tell stories about biologists, introduce biology concepts to general publ…

I just made an account and voted for this biology laboratory made of LEGO to "promote biological research and inspire more people into the world of biology". They need 10K votes. Reposting and/or voting below would be helpful. 🤗
beta.ideas.lego.com/product-idea...

Convergent MurJ flippase inhibition by phage lysis proteins - Nature A common mechanism of inhibition of the essential lipid II flippase MurJ by three distinct phage-encoded single-gene lysis proteins provides insights into potential new targets for antimicrobial development.

Nature research paper: Convergent MurJ flippase inhibition by phage lysis proteins

go.nature.com/4aAWHKb

Clonal relatedness and emerging linezolid resistance in Clostridioides difficile ribotypes 001 and 176 in the Czech Republichttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1201971226000792

A protein adaptor mediating Ap4A-dependent control of protein acetylation www.nature.com/articles/s41... #diadenosinetetraphosphate

Aerocavin is an antibiotic with potent and specific anti-Neisserial activity www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Mechanistic basis of teichoic acid transport by a gatekeeper flippase www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Relaxase Asymmetry Drives Initiation of Bacterial Conjugation www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Genome size and nucleotide skews as predictors of bacterial growth rate www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

A short-acting psychedelic intervention for major depressive disorder: a phase IIa randomized placebo-controlled trial - Nature Medicine A single intravenous dose of the psychedelic dimethyltryptamine, combined with psychological support, produces rapid and lasting reductions in depressive symptoms in adults with major depressive disorder.

A single dose of the psychedelic drug dimethyltryptamine (DMT), given with psychological support, rapidly reduced depressive symptoms in 34 adults with major depressive disorder, according to a clinical trial published in Nature Medicine. 🧪#mentalhealthsci

New preprint: Identification of novel cellular intermediates unveils unique enzymes for flagellar glycan biosynthesis in Clostridioides difficile www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

The CspC:CspA heterodimer transduces germinant and co-germinant signals during Clostridioides difficile spore germination Unlike other bacteria, C. difficile must detect both a germinant signal and a co-germinant signal to trigger spore germination, but how these cues are sensed is unknown. This study finds that the CspC...

The CspC:CspA heterodimer transduces germinant and co-germinant signals during Clostridioides difficile spore germination dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...

#MicroSky

Excited that our article is out in
@cmijournal.bsky.social
this month: A roadmap to clinical translation of #microbiome research 🦠🧫
Check it out now: 10.1016/j.cmi.2026.01.021

Preprint on the permeability of Gram+ bacterial cell wall from a few months ago. Intriguing findings, elegant methodology. Cell wall is largely impermeable to molecule sizes of mNeonGreen (27kDa) and above. How do larger secreted proteins get through? www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #microsky

How do bacterial pangenomes evolve, what controls their dynamics, why do they exist?
Fitting a mechanistic model to 450 species from allthebacteria.org suggesting fast vs slow gene exchange (i.e. amount of MGEs) is a major differentiating factor, correlated with phylogeny rather than lifestyle

The emergence and biological characteristics of linezolid-resistant Clostridioides difficile isolates in the Asia-Pacific Region Linezolid-resistant Clostridioides difficile, conferred by the acquisition of cfr-like genes, has been reported in Europe and America. However, the emergence of linezolid resistance in C. difficile...

The emergence and biological characteristics of linezolid-resistant Clostridioides difficile isolates in the Asia-Pacific Region www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Phase 1 and preclinical studies reveal safety, pharmacokinetics, and efficacy of intranasal delivery of the influenza antibody CR9114 Intranasal CR9114 is safe in humans, and twice-daily dosing confers protection against influenza virus challenge in macaques.

Phase 1 and preclinical studies reveal safety, pharmacokinetics, and efficacy of intranasal delivery of the influenza antibody CR9114 | Science Translational Medicine www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Commensal human gut microbes produce species specific neuroactive compounds The gut microbiota communicates with multiple organs through neuroactive molecules, but the specific compounds produced remain unclear. We investigate…

Commensal human gut microbes produce species specific neuroactive compounds - www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...