Nature Microbiology
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Nature Microbiology
@natmicrobiol.nature.com
Nature Microbiology publishes the latest research and commentary in all areas of microbiology.

https://www.nature.com/nmicrobiol/
Pinned
Our final issue of 2025 has gone live!

🫁pertussis prevention
🏭pollutants and gut bacteria
🕳️porins and resistance in E. coli
🧬many flavours of CRISPR
🦟fatal fungal attraction

...and more 👇
www.nature.com/nmicrobiol/v...
A big thanks to all the authors, reviewers, and readers of Nature Microbiology for their love and support throughout the year.

We are on a break & will be back on Jan 2nd, in what will be a very special year for us!

In the meantime, enjoy a collage made by @francoismayer.bsky.social

#MicroSky 🦠
December 19, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Reposted by Nature Microbiology
My article on aeonophiles (ultra-long lived organisms) came out in Aeon Magazine today!
December 18, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Reposted by Nature Microbiology
"The changing roles of Escherichia coli" -- a short essay by yours truly.

rdcu.be/eVtXT
The changing roles of Escherichia coli
Nature Microbiology - Richard Lenski traces the legacy of Escherichia coli and how science is evolving to use this model organism in new ways.
rdcu.be
December 19, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Oh well, we had to stop adding more papers at one point because the computer memory wasn't able to handle a thread that long!

We would like to hear from our readers about their favourite papers! Do add them in replies.

#MicroSky 🦠
As the year ends, we decided to select our favorite papers of 2025

Turns out, it is impossible as we love them all!

So, we picked 'some' that exhibit the range of microbiology highlighted through the columns of Nature Microbiology.

Here is a glimpse into #EditorPicks of 2025

#MicroSky 🦠
December 19, 2025 at 3:05 PM
As the year ends, we decided to select our favorite papers of 2025

Turns out, it is impossible as we love them all!

So, we picked 'some' that exhibit the range of microbiology highlighted through the columns of Nature Microbiology.

Here is a glimpse into #EditorPicks of 2025

#MicroSky 🦠
December 19, 2025 at 3:03 PM
What is better than one? Two connected papers!

#NewResearch

S protein of Streptococcus pneumoniae activates PBP1a and coordinates with a wider GpsB-associated multi-protein complex to regulate peptidoglycan remodelling and cell division.

#MicroSky 🦠

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
December 19, 2025 at 2:06 PM
#NewResearch

S protein from Streptococcus pneumoniae activates cell wall repair and modification to promote virulence against in vivo antimicrobial pressures including lysozyme and LL-37 @veeninglab.com

#MicroSky 🦠

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Pneumococcal S protein coordinates cell wall modification and repair to resist host antimicrobials - Nature Microbiology
Streptococcal S protein activates a peptidoglycan cell wall repair and modification complex to promote resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae to lysozyme and LL-37, and increase virulence during infec...
www.nature.com
December 19, 2025 at 2:05 PM
#NewResearch

Plasmodium falciparum proteins were engineered to create a nanoparticle vaccine platform capable of displaying multiple antigens at 48 sites

#MicroSky #Malaria 🦠🦟💉

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A Plasmodium-derived nanoparticle vaccine elicits sterile protection against malaria in mice - Nature Microbiology
Plasmodium falciparum proteins were engineered to create a nanoparticle vaccine platform capable of displaying multiple antigens at 48 sites. Displaying a designed malaria circumsporozoite protein imm...
www.nature.com
December 19, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Reposted by Nature Microbiology
December 19, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Reposted by Nature Microbiology
Postdocs in the lab Nick Quinn-Bohmann & Alex Carr, along with @cdiener.com, wrote a Perspective article on the challenges and opportunities posed by the rise of microbial community-scale metabolic models (MCMMs) in @natmicrobiol.nature.com

MCMMs are powerful tools! 💪

doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Moving from genome-scale to community-scale metabolic models for the human gut microbiome - Nature Microbiology
In this Perspective, Deiner, Gibbons and colleagues describe the current strengths and limitations of microbial community-scale metabolic models in microbiome research.
doi.org
December 19, 2025 at 12:06 AM
#NewResearch

Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus imports glucose via the bacterial mannose phosphotransferase system (PTSman), which inhibits stringent response, supports growth in cerebrospinal fluid and promotes brain damage during meningitis.

#MicroSky 🦠

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Zoonotic Streptococcus imports glucose to inhibit stringent response and promote growth during meningitis - Nature Microbiology
Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus imports glucose via the bacterial mannose phosphotransferase system (PTSman), which inhibits stringent response, supports growth in cerebrospinal fluid and prom...
www.nature.com
December 18, 2025 at 3:06 PM
#NewResearch

O-GalNAc transferase 2 (GALNT2) could restrict viral infection through the regulation of the proteolytic processing of viral glycoproteins via its O-linked glycosylation activity, impairing virus–cell fusion.

#MicroSky 🦠

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Interferon-stimulated gene GALNT2 restricts respiratory virus infections - Nature Microbiology
The authors find that O-GalNAc transferase 2 (GALNT2) restricts viral infection, probably through the regulation of the proteolytic processing of viral glycoproteins via its O-linked glycosylation act...
www.nature.com
December 18, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Reposted by Nature Microbiology
Grateful to share our paper on gene-specific selective sweeps in human gut microbiomes, now out in Nature! It has been a joy to work with @rwolff.bsky.social, whose insights and hard work made this possible.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Gene-specific selective sweeps are pervasive across human gut microbiomes - Nature
Development and application of the integrated linkage disequilibrium score (iLDS) reveals both selective pressures impacting the human gut microbiome and the mechanisms by which gut bacteria adapt to ...
www.nature.com
December 17, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Reposted by Nature Microbiology
We are recruiting for a number of PhDs in the HPRU in Public Health Genomics, based at @unibirmingham.bsky.social, in collaboration with UKHSA. 🦠🧬

Apply below to work on cutting-edge science and public health priorities! (NB deadline of 9th January / UK only due to funding restrictions)
(1/7)
December 16, 2025 at 6:50 PM
#NatMicroPicks

Gene drive to drive out Malaria! 🦠🦟💊

locally tailored Anopheles gambiae expressing antimicrobial peptides inhibit diverse Plasmodium falciparum isolates

#MicroSky

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Gene-drive-capable mosquitoes suppress patient-derived malaria in Tanzania - Nature
Engineering of local Anopheles gambiae under containment enables the generation of a transgenic strain equipped with non-autonomous gene drive capabilities that robustly inhibits genetically diverse P...
www.nature.com
December 12, 2025 at 3:42 PM
#NatMicroPicks

AMR plasmid evolution over a century! ⭕🧬🦠💊

Plasmids from 1917–1954 reveal over a century of evolution shaped by antibiotic industrialization

#MicroSky

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Pre- and postantibiotic epoch: The historical spread of antimicrobial resistance
Plasmids are now the primary vectors of antimicrobial resistance, but our understanding of how human industrialization of antibiotics influenced their evolution is limited by a paucity of data predati...
www.science.org
December 12, 2025 at 3:37 PM
#NatMicroPicks

Elusive insights into Colibactin structure! 🦠🧬🧪

Colibactin alkylates the minor groove of AT-rich DNA, explaining its mutational signature in colorectal cancer

#MicroSky

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
The specificity and structure of DNA cross-linking by the gut bacterial genotoxin colibactin
Accumulating evidence has connected the chemically unstable, DNA-damaging gut bacterial natural product colibactin to colorectal cancer, including the identification of mutational signatures that are ...
www.science.org
December 12, 2025 at 3:34 PM
#NatMicroPicks

Cholera and diet! 🦠🍕

Dietary protein sources shape gut microbiota and influence Vibrio cholerae colonization

#MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky 🦠

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Diet modulates Vibrio cholerae colonization and competitive outcomes with the gut microbiota
The amount or type of dietary macronutrients dramatically changes the microbiota and physicochemical environment of the gut. Because the microbiota pl…
www.sciencedirect.com
December 12, 2025 at 3:32 PM
#NatMicroPicks

Fungus exploiting slow defense! 🍄💉

Cryptococcus rapidly enters the brain but triggers delayed immune activation compared to other fungal pathogens

#MicroSky 🦠

www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...
Cryptococcus exploits delayed microglial activation, and microglial osteopontin/Spp1 impairs peripheral host control
Cryptococcal meningoencephalitis (CM) is a leading cause of death in HIV/AIDS. Reyes et al. found that microglial activation is markedly delayed after Cryptococcus invasion compared with Candida. Micr...
www.cell.com
December 12, 2025 at 3:30 PM
#NatMicroPicks

Pathogen Resistance in plants via microbiome! 🦠🌱

Combining metabolic modeling with synthetic community experiments reveals mechanisms of pathogen suppression in plants.

#MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Substrate utilization and cross-feeding synergistically determine microbiome resistance to pathogen invasion - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Combining genome-scale metabolic modelling with in vitro and in planta experiments, the authors show that cross-feeding metabolites and substrate utilization synergistically determine microbial commun...
www.nature.com
December 12, 2025 at 3:27 PM
#NatMicroPicks

Population Dynamics in gut Bacteroides 🦠

Gut commensals create population diversity by producing and responding to secreted effector proteins.

www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...
A commensal bacterium secretes effector proteins to establish population heterogeneity in the gut
Zagieboylo and colleagues demonstrate that the human commensal Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron secretes two self-targeting proteins that induce heterogeneity within its own population. Differential expre...
www.cell.com
December 12, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Reposted by Nature Microbiology
Wonderful collaboration with @robertarkowitz.bsky.social et al! Fascinating result that inhibiting ribosome biogenesis triggers filamentation of C. albicans!
December 11, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Reposted by Nature Microbiology
Very excited to share this latest research in Nature Microbiology led by PhD student @kosmopoulos.bsky.social in collaboration with @ashish-malik.bsky.social.

#phagesky #Microsky
December 12, 2025 at 12:05 AM
Reposted by Nature Microbiology
An essay on the history of the RI Christmas lectures published in nature last week.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
How the Royal Institution made science a seasonal spectacle
From flaming raisins to robots and rockets, the institution’s Christmas Lectures have educated and entertained for two centuries.
www.nature.com
December 11, 2025 at 2:32 PM