Manuel Ares-Arroyo
@aresarroyom.bsky.social
Postdoctoral researcher at Intistut Pasteur | MSCActions | Vet | Plasmid Biology, Bacterial Evolution & Antimicrobial Resistance
Pinned
www.biorxiv.org
Bacteria chromosomes contain Genomic Islands that provide virulence, antibiotic resistance, MGE-defence,... They transfer between cells, but the mechanism of most remains elusive.
Here we explore the conjugative capacity of these mysterious Genomic Islands.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Here we explore the conjugative capacity of these mysterious Genomic Islands.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Manuel Ares-Arroyo
Un poste de Maître de Conférence est ouvert pour rejoindre notre unité à Lyon !
Possibilité de rejoindre mon équipe pour travailler sur:
- caractérisation des mécanismes de défense anti-phage
- transfert horizontal et interactions entre éléments génétiques mobiles
N'hésitez pas à me contacter
Possibilité de rejoindre mon équipe pour travailler sur:
- caractérisation des mécanismes de défense anti-phage
- transfert horizontal et interactions entre éléments génétiques mobiles
N'hésitez pas à me contacter
📢 Recrutement d’un(e) Maître(sses) de conférence en Biochimie générale, spécialité bactériologie moléculaire à MMSB
🔬Recherche
*Immunité anti-phages
*Réponse au stress, modulation de la croissance bactérienne
✉️ christophe.grangeasse@cnrs.fr
📚Enseignement : Université Lyon I
✉️ patrice.gouet@ibcp.fr
🔬Recherche
*Immunité anti-phages
*Réponse au stress, modulation de la croissance bactérienne
✉️ christophe.grangeasse@cnrs.fr
📚Enseignement : Université Lyon I
✉️ patrice.gouet@ibcp.fr
January 29, 2026 at 8:39 PM
Un poste de Maître de Conférence est ouvert pour rejoindre notre unité à Lyon !
Possibilité de rejoindre mon équipe pour travailler sur:
- caractérisation des mécanismes de défense anti-phage
- transfert horizontal et interactions entre éléments génétiques mobiles
N'hésitez pas à me contacter
Possibilité de rejoindre mon équipe pour travailler sur:
- caractérisation des mécanismes de défense anti-phage
- transfert horizontal et interactions entre éléments génétiques mobiles
N'hésitez pas à me contacter
Reposted by Manuel Ares-Arroyo
🚨 Hiring Alert! 🚨My lab at Institut Pasteur is recruiting several Postdocs! We have exciting open projects in: 🦠 Synthetic Biology and🛡️ Bacterial Immunity. Come do great science with us in the middle of Paris! 🇫🇷🥐 research.pasteur.fr/en/job/postd...
Postdoctoral position - Synthetic Biology / Bacterial Immunity - Research
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...
research.pasteur.fr
January 28, 2026 at 11:19 AM
🚨 Hiring Alert! 🚨My lab at Institut Pasteur is recruiting several Postdocs! We have exciting open projects in: 🦠 Synthetic Biology and🛡️ Bacterial Immunity. Come do great science with us in the middle of Paris! 🇫🇷🥐 research.pasteur.fr/en/job/postd...
Reposted by Manuel Ares-Arroyo
Big week: welcomed a new baby boy Harris Lopatkin, AND our PlasAnn paper is finally out: academic.oup.com/nar/article/... (obviously the first more important than the second 🥰). Currently on leave but if anyone has the need to annotate large plasmids, go check it out!
PlasAnn: a curated plasmid-specific database and annotation pipeline for standardized gene and function analysis
Abstract. Conjugative plasmids are key drivers of bacterial adaptation, enabling the horizontal transfer of accessory genes within and across diverse micro
academic.oup.com
January 27, 2026 at 4:59 PM
Big week: welcomed a new baby boy Harris Lopatkin, AND our PlasAnn paper is finally out: academic.oup.com/nar/article/... (obviously the first more important than the second 🥰). Currently on leave but if anyone has the need to annotate large plasmids, go check it out!
Reposted by Manuel Ares-Arroyo
New paper out in PNAS!!! 🎉
Do more plasmid copies mean faster evolution?
🧵 Dive into the story
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Do more plasmid copies mean faster evolution?
🧵 Dive into the story
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Plasmid mutation rates scale with copy number | PNAS
Plasmids are extrachromosomal DNA molecules that spread by horizontal transfer and
shape bacterial evolution. Plasmids are typically present at mul...
www.pnas.org
January 27, 2026 at 12:02 PM
New paper out in PNAS!!! 🎉
Do more plasmid copies mean faster evolution?
🧵 Dive into the story
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Do more plasmid copies mean faster evolution?
🧵 Dive into the story
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Manuel Ares-Arroyo
Reposted by Manuel Ares-Arroyo
My team at @cbitoulouse.bsky.social is recruiting a postdoc #bioinformatics with solid experience in metagenomic analyses.
Interest in evolution, ecology & MGEs is important.
The offer stands until the perfect candidate is found, and it could be you 🫵
🔁 🙏
#microSky #phagesky #UTIsky
@cnrs.fr
Interest in evolution, ecology & MGEs is important.
The offer stands until the perfect candidate is found, and it could be you 🫵
🔁 🙏
#microSky #phagesky #UTIsky
@cnrs.fr
January 15, 2026 at 11:19 AM
My team at @cbitoulouse.bsky.social is recruiting a postdoc #bioinformatics with solid experience in metagenomic analyses.
Interest in evolution, ecology & MGEs is important.
The offer stands until the perfect candidate is found, and it could be you 🫵
🔁 🙏
#microSky #phagesky #UTIsky
@cnrs.fr
Interest in evolution, ecology & MGEs is important.
The offer stands until the perfect candidate is found, and it could be you 🫵
🔁 🙏
#microSky #phagesky #UTIsky
@cnrs.fr
Reposted by Manuel Ares-Arroyo
Here, we find that many Genomic islands have origins of transfer (oriT) mobilisable by conjugation, incl. known Pathogenicity & defense islands. iOriT use only an oriT for transfer by hitching on conjugative elements: they make abundant, diverse, ancient families of mobile genetic elements. See🧵
Bacteria chromosomes contain Genomic Islands that provide virulence, antibiotic resistance, MGE-defence,... They transfer between cells, but the mechanism of most remains elusive.
Here we explore the conjugative capacity of these mysterious Genomic Islands.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Here we explore the conjugative capacity of these mysterious Genomic Islands.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org
January 14, 2026 at 11:26 AM
Here, we find that many Genomic islands have origins of transfer (oriT) mobilisable by conjugation, incl. known Pathogenicity & defense islands. iOriT use only an oriT for transfer by hitching on conjugative elements: they make abundant, diverse, ancient families of mobile genetic elements. See🧵
Bacteria chromosomes contain Genomic Islands that provide virulence, antibiotic resistance, MGE-defence,... They transfer between cells, but the mechanism of most remains elusive.
Here we explore the conjugative capacity of these mysterious Genomic Islands.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Here we explore the conjugative capacity of these mysterious Genomic Islands.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org
January 14, 2026 at 10:14 AM
Bacteria chromosomes contain Genomic Islands that provide virulence, antibiotic resistance, MGE-defence,... They transfer between cells, but the mechanism of most remains elusive.
Here we explore the conjugative capacity of these mysterious Genomic Islands.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Here we explore the conjugative capacity of these mysterious Genomic Islands.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Manuel Ares-Arroyo
Neisseria gonorrhoeae carries an unusually large number of restriction–modification systems (up to 16!), many of which are phase-variable. How does this affect plasmid transmission in gonococci? doi.org/10.64898/202...
doi.org
January 13, 2026 at 1:40 PM
Neisseria gonorrhoeae carries an unusually large number of restriction–modification systems (up to 16!), many of which are phase-variable. How does this affect plasmid transmission in gonococci? doi.org/10.64898/202...
Reposted by Manuel Ares-Arroyo
It has been a long road, but our paper on Klebsiella plasmids is finally out in Lancet Microbe. Thanks to all co authors but especially Marjorie Gibbon and Natacha Couto www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Convergence and global molecular epidemiology of Klebsiella pneumoniae plasmids harbouring the iuc3 virulence locus: a population genomic analysis
Klebsiella pneumoniae is an important pathogen of humans and animals. In the past five years, increasing reports of convergent strains that carry both…
www.sciencedirect.com
January 7, 2026 at 2:13 PM
It has been a long road, but our paper on Klebsiella plasmids is finally out in Lancet Microbe. Thanks to all co authors but especially Marjorie Gibbon and Natacha Couto www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Manuel Ares-Arroyo
The distinction between virulent & temperate phages gets fuzzier if one can find so many virulent phages in the sequences of bacterial genomes coming from standard lab "pure" cultures. Check Peter's thread on our work and the N&V by Carson & Hynes: doi.org/10.1038/s415...
#phagesky #microsky
#phagesky #microsky
January 5, 2026 at 4:41 PM
The distinction between virulent & temperate phages gets fuzzier if one can find so many virulent phages in the sequences of bacterial genomes coming from standard lab "pure" cultures. Check Peter's thread on our work and the N&V by Carson & Hynes: doi.org/10.1038/s415...
#phagesky #microsky
#phagesky #microsky
Reposted by Manuel Ares-Arroyo
📣 preprint alert!
We sampled #klebsiella isolates from💩 patients when they entered the hospital & 🩸 after development of infection.
🎯 We tracked phenotypic changes & correlate them w genotypic changes.
@klebclub.bsky.social
-in collab with Clermont-Ferrand lab
#microsky
🧵
doi.org/10.64898/202...
We sampled #klebsiella isolates from💩 patients when they entered the hospital & 🩸 after development of infection.
🎯 We tracked phenotypic changes & correlate them w genotypic changes.
@klebclub.bsky.social
-in collab with Clermont-Ferrand lab
#microsky
🧵
doi.org/10.64898/202...
Within-host evolution of Klebsiella spp. from intestinal carriage to bacteremia
Gut colonization by the Gram-negative bacillus Klebsiella pneumoniae is a significant risk factor for extra-intestinal infections. However, the mechanisms by which this opportunistic pathogen causes d...
doi.org
January 6, 2026 at 10:29 AM
📣 preprint alert!
We sampled #klebsiella isolates from💩 patients when they entered the hospital & 🩸 after development of infection.
🎯 We tracked phenotypic changes & correlate them w genotypic changes.
@klebclub.bsky.social
-in collab with Clermont-Ferrand lab
#microsky
🧵
doi.org/10.64898/202...
We sampled #klebsiella isolates from💩 patients when they entered the hospital & 🩸 after development of infection.
🎯 We tracked phenotypic changes & correlate them w genotypic changes.
@klebclub.bsky.social
-in collab with Clermont-Ferrand lab
#microsky
🧵
doi.org/10.64898/202...
Reposted by Manuel Ares-Arroyo
📣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...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Pili are essential for conjugation also in many Gram-positive bacteria
Type IV secretion systems (T4SS) enable the spread of antibiotic resistance and other virulence factors. In Gram-positive bacteria, T4SSs have long been thought to lack VirB2-like proteins that form c...
www.biorxiv.org
December 30, 2025 at 6:03 PM
📣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...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Manuel Ares-Arroyo
Born #OnThisDay in 1922, Esther Lederberg was the first to isolate the lambda phage in 1951. She characterised the lysogenic phase, whereby the phage are able to integrate into the bacterial genome, staying dormant. This discovery made them a model tool of study, leading to many more breakthroughs.
December 18, 2025 at 10:21 AM
Born #OnThisDay in 1922, Esther Lederberg was the first to isolate the lambda phage in 1951. She characterised the lysogenic phase, whereby the phage are able to integrate into the bacterial genome, staying dormant. This discovery made them a model tool of study, leading to many more breakthroughs.
Reposted by Manuel Ares-Arroyo
Preprint alert📢!
Ever wondered how much bacterial parasites influence evolutionary outcomes of their host?
➡️ We co-evolved two bacterial strains in conditions in which the costs and benefits of prophage carriage varied
Here is what we found. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
#MicroSky #PhageSky
🧵
➡️ We co-evolved two bacterial strains in conditions in which the costs and benefits of prophage carriage varied
Here is what we found. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
#MicroSky #PhageSky
🧵
Environment-dependent evolution drives divergent adaptive strategies and parasite dynamics in a minimal community
Prophages, phage genomes integrated into bacterial chromosomes, are widespread, yet, the extent to which these resident parasites contribute to host fitness and shape evolutionary trajectories, partic...
www.biorxiv.org
December 18, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Preprint alert📢!
Ever wondered how much bacterial parasites influence evolutionary outcomes of their host?
➡️ We co-evolved two bacterial strains in conditions in which the costs and benefits of prophage carriage varied
Here is what we found. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
#MicroSky #PhageSky
🧵
➡️ We co-evolved two bacterial strains in conditions in which the costs and benefits of prophage carriage varied
Here is what we found. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
#MicroSky #PhageSky
🧵
Reposted by Manuel Ares-Arroyo
What drives the K. pneumoniae species complex (KpSC) to thrive from hospitals to soils? In this study, we investigate how pangenome structure and functional diversity shape KpSC adaptability across phylogenetic and ecological contexts. (Thread)
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
December 16, 2025 at 12:00 PM
What drives the K. pneumoniae species complex (KpSC) to thrive from hospitals to soils? In this study, we investigate how pangenome structure and functional diversity shape KpSC adaptability across phylogenetic and ecological contexts. (Thread)
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Manuel Ares-Arroyo
Bacterial genomes encode a rich repertoire of antiphage systems, but we still know surprisingly little about when these systems are actually expressed.
In this preprint, Lucas Paoli et al, ask what shapes antiphage systems expression in native contexts.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
In this preprint, Lucas Paoli et al, ask what shapes antiphage systems expression in native contexts.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Environment and physiology shape antiphage system expression
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...
www.biorxiv.org
December 15, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Bacterial genomes encode a rich repertoire of antiphage systems, but we still know surprisingly little about when these systems are actually expressed.
In this preprint, Lucas Paoli et al, ask what shapes antiphage systems expression in native contexts.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
In this preprint, Lucas Paoli et al, ask what shapes antiphage systems expression in native contexts.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Manuel Ares-Arroyo
🔬 Call to create junior research groups at the Institut Pasteur
Focus: Infectious diseases, host-microbe interactions, vaccines
Special interest: AI methodologies
📅 Deadline: Feb 9, 2026
👥 2-12 years post-PhD
Apply now 📝 research.pasteur.fr/en/call/crea...
#JobOpportunity #Research
Focus: Infectious diseases, host-microbe interactions, vaccines
Special interest: AI methodologies
📅 Deadline: Feb 9, 2026
👥 2-12 years post-PhD
Apply now 📝 research.pasteur.fr/en/call/crea...
#JobOpportunity #Research
Creation of new junior research groups at the Institut Pasteur - Call for applications 2026 - Research
The Institut Pasteur is launching an international call to recruit new junior research group leaders leveraging cutting-edge transdisciplinary approaches to exploring infectious diseases, host-microbe...
research.pasteur.fr
December 8, 2025 at 8:53 AM
🔬 Call to create junior research groups at the Institut Pasteur
Focus: Infectious diseases, host-microbe interactions, vaccines
Special interest: AI methodologies
📅 Deadline: Feb 9, 2026
👥 2-12 years post-PhD
Apply now 📝 research.pasteur.fr/en/call/crea...
#JobOpportunity #Research
Focus: Infectious diseases, host-microbe interactions, vaccines
Special interest: AI methodologies
📅 Deadline: Feb 9, 2026
👥 2-12 years post-PhD
Apply now 📝 research.pasteur.fr/en/call/crea...
#JobOpportunity #Research
Reposted by Manuel Ares-Arroyo
We've come full circle! I began my postdoctoral career by identifying the peptidyl deformylase gene. Today, we show that half of bacterial species harbor multiple PDF genes (up to 7, for always a single Met-tRNA transformylase), and while the role of these PDFs ... academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...
Unraveling the Prevalence and Multifaceted Roles of Accessory Peptide Deformylases in Bacterial Adaptation and Resistance
Abstract. Peptide deformylases (PDFs) are enzymes that are essential for bacterial viability and attractive targets for antibiotic development. Yet, despit
academic.oup.com
December 12, 2025 at 8:57 AM
We've come full circle! I began my postdoctoral career by identifying the peptidyl deformylase gene. Today, we show that half of bacterial species harbor multiple PDF genes (up to 7, for always a single Met-tRNA transformylase), and while the role of these PDFs ... academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...
Reposted by Manuel Ares-Arroyo
Our story on plasmid streamlining is now published in PLoS Biology! With @andrewmatthews.bsky.social and @sonjalehtinen.bsky.social
#MicroSky #Mevosky
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
#MicroSky #Mevosky
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Plasmid streamlining drives the extinction of antibiotic resistance plasmids under selection for horizontal transmission
Conjugative plasmids play an important role in the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes among pathogenic bacteria. This study shows that AMR loss in evolving populations is associated with t...
journals.plos.org
December 12, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Our story on plasmid streamlining is now published in PLoS Biology! With @andrewmatthews.bsky.social and @sonjalehtinen.bsky.social
#MicroSky #Mevosky
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
#MicroSky #Mevosky
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Reposted by Manuel Ares-Arroyo
academic.oup.com/nar/article/... Collaboration with Y. Yamaichi. Killing donor bacteria in conjugation mixes using water enables transcriptomic profiling of early plasmid genes ! Superb tool for studying zygotic induction of these early genes, which include anti-SOS and anti-RM factors. #microsky
Selective elimination of donor bacteria enables global profiling of plasmid gene expression at early stages of conjugation
Abstract. Conjugative plasmids are a major driving force for the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance. During conjugation, plasmid DNA is transferred
academic.oup.com
December 10, 2025 at 6:06 PM
academic.oup.com/nar/article/... Collaboration with Y. Yamaichi. Killing donor bacteria in conjugation mixes using water enables transcriptomic profiling of early plasmid genes ! Superb tool for studying zygotic induction of these early genes, which include anti-SOS and anti-RM factors. #microsky
Reposted by Manuel Ares-Arroyo
🧬 How do we evaluate structural variations in plasmids?
Find out in the final ESGMAP webinar in 2025.
💥Dr. Daria Frolova presents "Studying plasmid relatedness and evolution through structural variation"
📅15 December, 12:00 CET
🔗Registration required (link in comments)
#ESCMID #ESGMAP #plasmids
Find out in the final ESGMAP webinar in 2025.
💥Dr. Daria Frolova presents "Studying plasmid relatedness and evolution through structural variation"
📅15 December, 12:00 CET
🔗Registration required (link in comments)
#ESCMID #ESGMAP #plasmids
December 9, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Reposted by Manuel Ares-Arroyo
Taming wild replicons: evolution and domestication of large extrachromosomal replicons
#MicroSky
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#MicroSky
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Taming wild replicons: evolution and domestication of large extrachromosomal replicons
Bacterial genomes often contain extrachromosomal replicons (ERs), ranging from small, mobile plasmids to large, stably inherited elements, such as meg…
www.sciencedirect.com
December 2, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Taming wild replicons: evolution and domestication of large extrachromosomal replicons
#MicroSky
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#MicroSky
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Manuel Ares-Arroyo
Huge preprint if you are interested in bacterial strain taxonomy! The why and how of cgMLST LIN codes: An extensively revised and expanded version doi.org/10.1101/2024... I will summarize it for you in this thread 👇
Life Identification Numbers: A bacterial strain nomenclature approach
Unified strain taxonomies are needed for the epidemiological surveillance of bacterial pathogens and international communication in microbiological research. Core genome multilocus sequence typing (cg...
doi.org
November 30, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Huge preprint if you are interested in bacterial strain taxonomy! The why and how of cgMLST LIN codes: An extensively revised and expanded version doi.org/10.1101/2024... I will summarize it for you in this thread 👇
Reposted by Manuel Ares-Arroyo
🧬Are we getting closer to understanding plasmid evolution?
Join this exciting talk, as the @escmid.bsky.social ESGMAP web symposium series continues.
💥 Dr. William Matlock presents "Models of plasmid evolution"
📅 Dec 3, 12:00-13:00 CET
🔗 Registration required (link in comments)
#ESGMAP #Plasmid
Join this exciting talk, as the @escmid.bsky.social ESGMAP web symposium series continues.
💥 Dr. William Matlock presents "Models of plasmid evolution"
📅 Dec 3, 12:00-13:00 CET
🔗 Registration required (link in comments)
#ESGMAP #Plasmid
November 26, 2025 at 10:07 AM
🧬Are we getting closer to understanding plasmid evolution?
Join this exciting talk, as the @escmid.bsky.social ESGMAP web symposium series continues.
💥 Dr. William Matlock presents "Models of plasmid evolution"
📅 Dec 3, 12:00-13:00 CET
🔗 Registration required (link in comments)
#ESGMAP #Plasmid
Join this exciting talk, as the @escmid.bsky.social ESGMAP web symposium series continues.
💥 Dr. William Matlock presents "Models of plasmid evolution"
📅 Dec 3, 12:00-13:00 CET
🔗 Registration required (link in comments)
#ESGMAP #Plasmid