Hoong Chuin Lim
hclim.bsky.social
Hoong Chuin Lim
@hclim.bsky.social
Pinned
First paper from my lab is now published! academic.oup.com/nar/article-... P2-lambda interference was first reported in the 1950's, but how a P2 lysogen restricts lambda replication has remained murky. We uncovered tRNA cleavage by P2-OLD as a key mechanism behind this interference.
academic.oup.com
Reposted by Hoong Chuin Lim
Are you interested in studying RNA phages? We are looking for a PhD student and a postdoc to join the lab!

For more information and how to apply, see below 👇

Please RT!
October 17, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Reposted by Hoong Chuin Lim
One week left to apply!!
Hiring! 🧬🔬

Ever wondered how bacteria fight off viruses? We’re looking for a PhD student to dive into the molecular basis of newly discovered microbial immune systems, an area of biology where much remains to be uncovered.

RT/share to help us find our next team member!
www.lumc.nl/en/about-lum...
PhD-positie Bacteriële Verdedigingssystemen tegen Virussen | LUMC
Wij zoeken een getalenteerde en gemotiveerde PhD-kandidaat om het onderzoeksteam van Luuk Loeff te versterken. In dit project maak je gebruik van geavanceerde technologieën om te ontrafelen hoe bacter...
www.lumc.nl
October 10, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Reposted by Hoong Chuin Lim
A recent cool preprint by John Whitney's lab on a new family of antibacterial proteins secreted by Gram-positive bacteria that enter and kill a broad spectrum of bacteria. Cell entry is receptor-independent and relies on cleavage by a co-secreted protease and the PMF.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Proteolytically activated antibacterial toxins inhibit the growth of diverse Gram-positive bacteria
Many species of bacteria produce small-molecule antibiotics that enter and kill a wide range of competitor microbes. However, diffusible antibacterial proteins that share this broad-spectrum activity ...
www.biorxiv.org
September 23, 2025 at 8:28 PM
This is insanely cool!!
The outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria blocks many antibiotics. Our latest work reveals that L-type pyocins bypass this barrier by inactivating the BAM complex, killing Pseudomonas aeruginosa without entering the cell, providing a new blueprint for beating antibiotic resistance.
A Protein Antibiotic Inhibits the BAM Complex to Kill Without Cell Entry
Many antibiotics are ineffective against Gram-negative pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa because they cannot penetrate the bacterial outer membrane. Here, we show that protein antibiotics calle...
www.biorxiv.org
September 21, 2025 at 2:22 AM
Reposted by Hoong Chuin Lim
The outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria blocks many antibiotics. Our latest work reveals that L-type pyocins bypass this barrier by inactivating the BAM complex, killing Pseudomonas aeruginosa without entering the cell, providing a new blueprint for beating antibiotic resistance.
A Protein Antibiotic Inhibits the BAM Complex to Kill Without Cell Entry
Many antibiotics are ineffective against Gram-negative pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa because they cannot penetrate the bacterial outer membrane. Here, we show that protein antibiotics calle...
www.biorxiv.org
September 20, 2025 at 9:29 AM
Diversity-generating retroelements are a fascinating class of targeted gene editing system. How DGRs function within cells remains incompletely understood. In this preprint (www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
), we report identification of factors influencing DGR activity in E. coli.
#MicroSky
Massively Parallel Screens Reveal Factors Influencing the Activity of a Diversity-Generating Retroelement Reconstituted in Escherichia coli
Certain phages and microbes use Diversity-Generating Retroelements (DGRs) for rapid, targeted adaptation. This process, called mutagenic retrohoming, uses a reverse transcriptase to specifically intro...
www.biorxiv.org
September 18, 2025 at 2:02 AM
Reposted by Hoong Chuin Lim
🚨👉 Please check our recent work on bacterial cell division. In situ Cryo-ET reveals the cellular function of the penicillin binding protein 1b supported by AFM, live-cell imaging, in silico AlphaFold proteome screen and TIRFM. Hope you enjoy the read! #teamtomo #cryo-ET ❄️🔬🐎 big thanks to the team!
The aPBP-type cell wall synthase PBP1b plays a specialized role in fortifying the Escherichia coli division site against osmotic rupture https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.04.02.646830v1
April 3, 2025 at 9:08 AM
Reposted by Hoong Chuin Lim
🚨New paper out! #MicroSky
Studying obligate predators like Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus is tricky—essential genes for predation are also essential for survival.
We expanded its genetic toolbox:
🧬promoters to fine-tune expression
🧬IPTG-inducible system
🧬CRISPRi for rapid knockdown
bit.ly/46GUn2c
1/4
Expanding the genetic toolbox of the obligate predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus with inducible gene expression and CRISPR interference
Inducible gene expression and CRISPR interference-mediated depletion in the predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus.
academic.oup.com
September 17, 2025 at 7:27 AM
Reposted by Hoong Chuin Lim
How do cells sort which RNAs to keep or destroy? New preprint from THJ, Brenneke and Plaschka labs shows that export and decay machineries (TREX2/PAXT) both recognise UAP56-bound RNAs. Whether they’re exported or degraded depends on where in the nucleus this happens.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Molecular basis of polyadenylated RNA fate determination in the nucleus
Eukaryotic genomes generate a plethora of polyadenylated (pA+) RNAs, that are packaged into ribonucleoprotein particles (RNPs). To ensure faithful gene expression, functional pA+ RNPs, including prote...
www.biorxiv.org
September 17, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Reposted by Hoong Chuin Lim
PIWI clade Argonautes are essential for transposon silencing. Without them, animals are sterile due to massive transposon activity.

But how does piRNA-guided target interaction translate into silencing?

PhD student Júlia Portell Montserrat has an intriguing answer

www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
September 17, 2025 at 10:39 AM
First paper from my lab is now published! academic.oup.com/nar/article-... P2-lambda interference was first reported in the 1950's, but how a P2 lysogen restricts lambda replication has remained murky. We uncovered tRNA cleavage by P2-OLD as a key mechanism behind this interference.
academic.oup.com
September 15, 2025 at 12:56 AM
Reposted by Hoong Chuin Lim
We're looking for a technician at Institut Pasteur for experimental work on satellite-phage-bacteria interactions, working directly with @jmouradesousa.bsky.social and myself in the lab of @epcrocha.bsky.social ! ANR funded.

Link to the job emploi.pasteur.fr/offre-de-emp...
Thx for sharing!
INSTITUT PASTEUR - Technicien de recherche Microbiologie H/F
emploi.pasteur.fr
September 12, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Reposted by Hoong Chuin Lim
Bacterial cell wall & periplasm paradigm shift - important read #MicroSky

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
July 29, 2025 at 4:01 PM