James Connolly
@ruamicro.bsky.social
MRC Career Development Fellow at Newcastle University. Studying how pathogens control their genes
Pinned
James Connolly
@ruamicro.bsky.social
· Jul 30
Convergent evolution of distinct D-ribulose utilisation pathways in attaching and effacing pathogens - Nature Communications
Cottam et al. identify distinct pathways for D-ribulose utilisation in pathogenic Escherichia coli and Citrobacter rodentium, providing mechanistic details and suggesting convergent evolution towards ...
www.nature.com
Absolutely delighted to share the labs latest work. We identify and characterise two pathways for D-ribulose utilisation in pathogenic EHEC and Citrobacter.
Reposted by James Connolly
Mechanism and reconstitution of circadian transcription in cyanobacteria
in @natsmb.nature.com by Mingxu Fang et al from Sudan Golden @kevincorbett.bsky.social Yulia Yuzenkova
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
in @natsmb.nature.com by Mingxu Fang et al from Sudan Golden @kevincorbett.bsky.social Yulia Yuzenkova
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Mechanism and reconstitution of circadian transcription in cyanobacteria - Nature Structural & Molecular Biology
Fang et al. reveal how a bacterial circadian clock turns genes on and off at the right times of day and use the purified proteins to drive circadian gene transcription in a test tube for days.
www.nature.com
February 16, 2026 at 11:18 AM
Mechanism and reconstitution of circadian transcription in cyanobacteria
in @natsmb.nature.com by Mingxu Fang et al from Sudan Golden @kevincorbett.bsky.social Yulia Yuzenkova
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
in @natsmb.nature.com by Mingxu Fang et al from Sudan Golden @kevincorbett.bsky.social Yulia Yuzenkova
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by James Connolly
@ewarman.bsky.social has followed up on her discovery of bidirectional promoters in bacteria by defining their basic rules for regulation and links to gene expression noise...
academic.oup.com/nar/article/...
academic.oup.com/nar/article/...
Bidirectional promoters in Escherichia coli: regulatory rules and implications for gene expression noise
Abstract. In prokaryotes, bidirectional promoters are pseudo-symmetrical DNA sequences that stimulate divergent transcription. Ubiquitous, and far more lik
academic.oup.com
February 6, 2026 at 3:35 PM
@ewarman.bsky.social has followed up on her discovery of bidirectional promoters in bacteria by defining their basic rules for regulation and links to gene expression noise...
academic.oup.com/nar/article/...
academic.oup.com/nar/article/...
Reposted by James Connolly
In our most recent work David Forrest has discovered a widespread mechanisms linking transcription initiation to DNA supercoiling...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The bacterial RNA polymerase-associated CarD protein couples promoter activity to DNA supercoiling - Nature Communications
The transcription factor CarD facilitates the activation of transcription in many bacteria and in Rhodobacter sphaeroides, CarD compensates for suboptimal promoter DNA sequences. Here, the authors sho...
www.nature.com
February 6, 2026 at 3:36 PM
In our most recent work David Forrest has discovered a widespread mechanisms linking transcription initiation to DNA supercoiling...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by James Connolly
Still lots of time to apply for this exciting project with us. Please share and encourage interested students to get in touch.
PhD position available in our team to study how UPEC exploits metals to successfully colonise the host gut. Cool collaboration with @thecopperdoctor.bsky.social and @banzhaflab.bsky.social Please share and get in touch for more details
Microbial metal-head: the integrated roles of metal homeostasis in host-pathogen interaction at Newcastle University on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Microbial metal-head: the integrated roles of metal homeostasis in host-pathogen interaction at Newcastle University, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
February 2, 2026 at 11:18 AM
Still lots of time to apply for this exciting project with us. Please share and encourage interested students to get in touch.
Reposted by James Connolly
Or this one: how metals influence host-bacteria interactions in the gut, with @ruamicro.bsky.social and @banzhaflab.bsky.social at Newcastle.
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
January 24, 2026 at 2:28 PM
Or this one: how metals influence host-bacteria interactions in the gut, with @ruamicro.bsky.social and @banzhaflab.bsky.social at Newcastle.
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Reposted by James Connolly
Lots of PhD opportunities for UK + international students involving my lab. Topics relate to metals & microbiology.
First up: TonB-dependent receptors in commensal Neisseria in my lab at Durham, with @kjosts.bsky.social and @mattbashton.bsky.social.
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
First up: TonB-dependent receptors in commensal Neisseria in my lab at Durham, with @kjosts.bsky.social and @mattbashton.bsky.social.
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Nutrient uptake in commensal bacteria: exploring uncharacterised TonB-dependent transporters. at Newcastle University on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Nutrient uptake in commensal bacteria: exploring uncharacterised TonB-dependent transporters. at Newcastle University, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
January 24, 2026 at 2:28 PM
Lots of PhD opportunities for UK + international students involving my lab. Topics relate to metals & microbiology.
First up: TonB-dependent receptors in commensal Neisseria in my lab at Durham, with @kjosts.bsky.social and @mattbashton.bsky.social.
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
First up: TonB-dependent receptors in commensal Neisseria in my lab at Durham, with @kjosts.bsky.social and @mattbashton.bsky.social.
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
PhD position available in our team to study how UPEC exploits metals to successfully colonise the host gut. Cool collaboration with @thecopperdoctor.bsky.social and @banzhaflab.bsky.social Please share and get in touch for more details
Microbial metal-head: the integrated roles of metal homeostasis in host-pathogen interaction at Newcastle University on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Microbial metal-head: the integrated roles of metal homeostasis in host-pathogen interaction at Newcastle University, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
January 23, 2026 at 7:38 PM
PhD position available in our team to study how UPEC exploits metals to successfully colonise the host gut. Cool collaboration with @thecopperdoctor.bsky.social and @banzhaflab.bsky.social Please share and get in touch for more details
Reposted by James Connolly
New preprint from my lab (with Arya Kaul, @fernpizza.bsky.social, and @brinda.eu), in which we explore new genes hitchhiking on the beneficial deletion that fused them together, and find them in the LTEE, M. Tb/bovis, and across the bacterial tree of life
Novel genes arise from genomic deletions across the bacterial tree of life https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.05.697752v1
January 6, 2026 at 4:12 PM
New preprint from my lab (with Arya Kaul, @fernpizza.bsky.social, and @brinda.eu), in which we explore new genes hitchhiking on the beneficial deletion that fused them together, and find them in the LTEE, M. Tb/bovis, and across the bacterial tree of life
Reposted by James Connolly
We’re excited to share our latest study that reshapes our understanding of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) lipid composition, with major implications for drug discovery, immunity, and vaccine development.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A thread.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A thread.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis overcomes phosphate starvation by extensively remodelling its lipidome with phosphorus-free lipids - Nature Communications
Here, the authors show that Mycobacterium tuberculosis manipulates lipid metabolism to overcome host restriction, by remodelling its lipidome and utilising host lipids as an alternative phosphate sour...
www.nature.com
December 22, 2025 at 1:11 PM
We’re excited to share our latest study that reshapes our understanding of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) lipid composition, with major implications for drug discovery, immunity, and vaccine development.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A thread.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A thread.
Reposted by James Connolly
#MachineLearning methods are used to predict #AntimicrobialResistance #AMR from genomic data. @lbarquist.bsky.social &co show that sampling biases driven by population structure severely undermine the accuracy of AMR prediction models even with large datasets @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4iZ0zXQ
December 17, 2025 at 5:35 PM
#MachineLearning methods are used to predict #AntimicrobialResistance #AMR from genomic data. @lbarquist.bsky.social &co show that sampling biases driven by population structure severely undermine the accuracy of AMR prediction models even with large datasets @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4iZ0zXQ
There is still Time to submit an abstract for VTEC 2026! Don’t miss out on the opportunity to present your work on any aspect of VTEC at this longstanding meeting!
Registration is now LIVE for the 2026 international symposium on Shiga toxin producing E. coli (VTEC), being held in Aberdeen on the the 10-13th of May 2026.
The early bird deadline is February 27th so don’t miss out and register now.
www.vtec2026.org
The early bird deadline is February 27th so don’t miss out and register now.
www.vtec2026.org
About - (VTEC 2026) International Symposium On Shiga Toxin Producing Escherchia Coli Infections - P&J Live
www.vtec2026.org
December 17, 2025 at 1:27 PM
There is still Time to submit an abstract for VTEC 2026! Don’t miss out on the opportunity to present your work on any aspect of VTEC at this longstanding meeting!
Reposted by James Connolly
Finally out! Right on time for the holidays 🎄🎁
Big thanks to Nick Scott, @giseladivenanzio.bsky.social, Clay and Mario @feldmanlab.bsky.social who made it happen!
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Big thanks to Nick Scott, @giseladivenanzio.bsky.social, Clay and Mario @feldmanlab.bsky.social who made it happen!
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
December 9, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Finally out! Right on time for the holidays 🎄🎁
Big thanks to Nick Scott, @giseladivenanzio.bsky.social, Clay and Mario @feldmanlab.bsky.social who made it happen!
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Big thanks to Nick Scott, @giseladivenanzio.bsky.social, Clay and Mario @feldmanlab.bsky.social who made it happen!
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Join our live webinar today at 16:00 (GMT) to hear more about the VTEC conference, and why you should come. STEC/VTEC continues to be priority pathogen. The aim is to share cutting-edge scientific knowledge, addressing the questions about why the outbreaks occur and how best to manage this pathogen.
About - (VTEC 2026) International Symposium On Shiga Toxin Producing Escherichia Coli Infections - P&J Live
www.vtec2026.org
December 3, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Join our live webinar today at 16:00 (GMT) to hear more about the VTEC conference, and why you should come. STEC/VTEC continues to be priority pathogen. The aim is to share cutting-edge scientific knowledge, addressing the questions about why the outbreaks occur and how best to manage this pathogen.
Reposted by James Connolly
Fantastic to have Prof Matthias Wilmanns from EMBL Hamburg hosted by @kshbeckham.bsky.social to give a @mhd-newcastle.bsky.social seminar on mycobacterial infection #dreamtheme
December 2, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Fantastic to have Prof Matthias Wilmanns from EMBL Hamburg hosted by @kshbeckham.bsky.social to give a @mhd-newcastle.bsky.social seminar on mycobacterial infection #dreamtheme
Reposted by James Connolly
💎MRC AIM PhD advert💎 Uncharted territory - the Akkermansia muciniphila import system.
Liang Wu, David Tourigny, and I are looking for someone to work on how A. muciniphila imports mucin.
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Liang Wu, David Tourigny, and I are looking for someone to work on how A. muciniphila imports mucin.
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Uncharted territory - the Akkermansia muciniphila import system at University of Birmingham on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Uncharted territory - the Akkermansia muciniphila import system at University of Birmingham, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
December 2, 2025 at 7:08 PM
💎MRC AIM PhD advert💎 Uncharted territory - the Akkermansia muciniphila import system.
Liang Wu, David Tourigny, and I are looking for someone to work on how A. muciniphila imports mucin.
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Liang Wu, David Tourigny, and I are looking for someone to work on how A. muciniphila imports mucin.
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Reposted by James Connolly
🔊 Interested in doing a PhD on RNA-binding proteins in an abundant microbiota species and becoming a member of the German Priority Programme “Illuminating Gene Functions in the Human Gut Microbiome”? Apply here: www.uni-wuerzburg.de/karriere/sin...
Job offer for a PhD student position at the Chair of Microbiology
www.uni-wuerzburg.de
December 1, 2025 at 9:20 AM
🔊 Interested in doing a PhD on RNA-binding proteins in an abundant microbiota species and becoming a member of the German Priority Programme “Illuminating Gene Functions in the Human Gut Microbiome”? Apply here: www.uni-wuerzburg.de/karriere/sin...
Reposted by James Connolly
Today, we are lucky to have Imane El Meouche from IAME, France to give a MCM seminar @medicalsciencesncl.bsky.social (chaired by @henrikstrahl.bsky.social) on antibiotics tolerance in E. Coli
December 1, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Today, we are lucky to have Imane El Meouche from IAME, France to give a MCM seminar @medicalsciencesncl.bsky.social (chaired by @henrikstrahl.bsky.social) on antibiotics tolerance in E. Coli
Reposted by James Connolly
Why does daptomycin resistance appear so fast in Enterococcus? We finally have a clue.
DAP resistance in enterococci pops up quickly. What’s been missing is why resistance-associated membrane changes look the way they do, and why the classic path of mutations is so predictable.
DAP resistance in enterococci pops up quickly. What’s been missing is why resistance-associated membrane changes look the way they do, and why the classic path of mutations is so predictable.
A two-component system signaling hub controls enterococcal membrane remodeling in response to daptomycin https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.16.688641v1
November 17, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Why does daptomycin resistance appear so fast in Enterococcus? We finally have a clue.
DAP resistance in enterococci pops up quickly. What’s been missing is why resistance-associated membrane changes look the way they do, and why the classic path of mutations is so predictable.
DAP resistance in enterococci pops up quickly. What’s been missing is why resistance-associated membrane changes look the way they do, and why the classic path of mutations is so predictable.
Fabulous opportunity to study phage biology with Andreas Haag in St Andrews. Don’t miss out.
EASTBIO: When Phages Collide: Understanding How Multiple Prophages Shape Bacterial Behaviour at University of St Andrews on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - EASTBIO: When Phages Collide: Understanding How Multiple Prophages Shape Bacterial Behaviour at University of St Andrews, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
November 17, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Fabulous opportunity to study phage biology with Andreas Haag in St Andrews. Don’t miss out.
Theres still time to apply for our PhD project on UPEC/immune cell interactions. Deadline December 4th
If you are interested in researching how drug resistant bacteria evade killing by our immune system, them this PhD project is for you. Come join the our team at Newcastle, in collaboration with University of Liverpool, and lead research at the interface of microbiology, immunology and metabolomics.
MRC DiMeN Doctoral Training Partnership: Hiding in plain sight: How multi-drug resistant pathogens evade detection and killing by human neutrophils at Newcastle University on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - MRC DiMeN Doctoral Training Partnership: Hiding in plain sight: How multi-drug resistant pathogens evade detection and killing by human neutrophils at Newcastle University, listed on Fin...
www.findaphd.com
November 16, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Theres still time to apply for our PhD project on UPEC/immune cell interactions. Deadline December 4th
Reposted by James Connolly
🚨 Publication alert! We are stoked to report the structural basis for activity of a novel class of antimicrobials targeting Gram positive priority pathogens in @natcomms.nature.com. There is something for everyone on this paper, and I will highlight a few things below 👇 1/9 doi.org/10.1038/s414...
A unique inhibitor conformation selectively targets the DNA polymerase PolC of Gram-positive priority pathogens - Nature Communications
In this work, Urem et al. characterize the mode of action as well as mechanism of reduced susceptibility related to a class of antimicrobials that is in development for the treatment of infections wit...
doi.org
November 6, 2025 at 10:29 AM
🚨 Publication alert! We are stoked to report the structural basis for activity of a novel class of antimicrobials targeting Gram positive priority pathogens in @natcomms.nature.com. There is something for everyone on this paper, and I will highlight a few things below 👇 1/9 doi.org/10.1038/s414...
Reposted by James Connolly
Looks like a great meeting :)
Registration is now LIVE for the 2026 international symposium on Shiga toxin producing E. coli (VTEC), being held in Aberdeen on the the 10-13th of May 2026.
The early bird deadline is February 27th so don’t miss out and register now.
www.vtec2026.org
The early bird deadline is February 27th so don’t miss out and register now.
www.vtec2026.org
About - (VTEC 2026) International Symposium On Shiga Toxin Producing Escherchia Coli Infections - P&J Live
www.vtec2026.org
November 3, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Looks like a great meeting :)
Registration is now LIVE for the 2026 international symposium on Shiga toxin producing E. coli (VTEC), being held in Aberdeen on the the 10-13th of May 2026.
The early bird deadline is February 27th so don’t miss out and register now.
www.vtec2026.org
The early bird deadline is February 27th so don’t miss out and register now.
www.vtec2026.org
About - (VTEC 2026) International Symposium On Shiga Toxin Producing Escherchia Coli Infections - P&J Live
www.vtec2026.org
November 3, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Registration is now LIVE for the 2026 international symposium on Shiga toxin producing E. coli (VTEC), being held in Aberdeen on the the 10-13th of May 2026.
The early bird deadline is February 27th so don’t miss out and register now.
www.vtec2026.org
The early bird deadline is February 27th so don’t miss out and register now.
www.vtec2026.org
Reposted by James Connolly
Fantastic PhD opportunity 👇
If you are interested in researching how drug resistant bacteria evade killing by our immune system, them this PhD project is for you. Come join the our team at Newcastle, in collaboration with University of Liverpool, and lead research at the interface of microbiology, immunology and metabolomics.
MRC DiMeN Doctoral Training Partnership: Hiding in plain sight: How multi-drug resistant pathogens evade detection and killing by human neutrophils at Newcastle University on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - MRC DiMeN Doctoral Training Partnership: Hiding in plain sight: How multi-drug resistant pathogens evade detection and killing by human neutrophils at Newcastle University, listed on Fin...
www.findaphd.com
November 3, 2025 at 8:35 AM
Fantastic PhD opportunity 👇