Brian Stevenson Ph.D. spirochete lab
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bstevensonlab.bsky.social
Brian Stevenson Ph.D. spirochete lab
@bstevensonlab.bsky.social
3K followers 2K following 740 posts
Mostly about bacterial gene/protein regulation & function, esp. with Borrelia burgdorferi and Lyme disease. Professor at U Kentucky, views are my own. He/him
Lab= http://microscopist.net/Stevenson_Lab.html
UK= https://medicine.uky.edu/users/bstev0
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Brian Stevenson Ph.D. spirochete lab @bstevensonlab.bsky.social · Mar 14
Recently interviewed by Mark Martin for his “Matters Microbial” podcast!

m.youtube.com/watch?si=O6w...
Matters Microbial #31: Spirochetes do things...differently
Today, Dr. Brian Stevenson of the University of Kentucky College of Medicine joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss a twisty twirling form of life, spirochetes,...
m.youtube.com
bstevensonlab.bsky.social
Overly honest methods

#MicroSky
brissettelab.bsky.social Catherine Brissette @brissettelab.bsky.social · 14h
“Overly honest methods”
November 10, 2025 at 7:56 PM
bstevensonlab.bsky.social
Congratulations to Tim Saylor for successfully defending his MS thesis!
After my trainees complete their defense, I give them a custom-engraved julep cup, then we share a drink together 🥃
Recent graduate with pewter julep cup
November 7, 2025 at 3:42 PM
bstevensonlab.bsky.social
On interactions between Midichloria and Borrelia in Ixodes ricinus ticks: a multifaceted phenomenon likely driven by molecular mechanisms that regulate tick feeding, modulate host immunity, and provide nutritional support.

www.clinicalkey.com#!/content/pl...

#MicroSky
#TickSky
Figure from article: An overview of the shikimate pathway and genomic distribution of genes encoding enzymes required for chorismate biosynthesis among vertically and horizontally transmitted tick-associated symbionts and pathogens. The shikimate pathway comprises seven enzymatic reactions that convert PEP and E4P into chorismate, a key metabolic intermediate that serves as the precursor for the aromatic amino acids tryptophan, tyrosine, and phenylalanine. This pathway is found in various bacteria, archaea, fungi, algae, protozoans, and plants, but is absent in animals. Genes encoding the enzymes required for chorismate biosynthesis are indicated in brackets in the left panel. Among vertically and horizontally transmitted bacteria associated with ticks, only the genomes of Coxiella and Francisella endosymbionts contain a complete or nearly complete set of shikimate pathway genes necessary for chorismate production. Whole-genome sequences of the most important symbiotic and pathogenic bacteria associated with ticks were retrieved from the NCBI database i and included in the analysis. Abbreviations: CS, chorismate synthase; DAHP, 3-deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonate-7-phosphate; DAHPS, DAHP synthase; DHQD, 3-dehydroquinate dehydratase; DHQS, 3-dehydroquinate synthase; E4P, erythrose-4-phosphate; EPSP, 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate; EPSPS, EPSP synthase; LB, Lyme borreliosis; PEP, phosphoenolpyruvate; RF, relapsing fever; SDH, shikimate dehydrogenase; SK, shikimate kinase.
October 31, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Reposted by Brian Stevenson Ph.D. spirochete lab
kaylinchong.bsky.social
🎃🕷️Tick or treat?

Just in time for spooky season... I found a tick on an electric eel in the MCZ collections.

Not even the fish are safe!

Check it out here: doi.org/10.1093/jme/...
An eclectic encounter: ticks feeding on an electric eel and the untapped potential of natural history collections
Abstract. Parasites are quite likely the most diverse guild of species on earth. Nevertheless, they remain under-documented despite their impact on the hea
doi.org
October 29, 2025 at 5:05 PM
bstevensonlab.bsky.social
“No -canonical” cell division machinery
#MicroSky
October 28, 2025 at 11:34 PM
bstevensonlab.bsky.social
Beautiful painting of a Dermacentor variabilis
@petrathepostdoc.bsky.social
petrathepostdoc.bsky.social Petra Korlević @petrathepostdoc.bsky.social · 15d
Day 27 #Invertober2025 - American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis) 🐕

#SciArt #invertebrates
semi-realistic drawing of an american dog tick, a bright red tick with prominent yellow thorax region and red and black stripes on the rest of the body, with 8 legs with hooks and spikes, on a black background. semi-realistic drawing of an american dog tick, a bright red tick with prominent yellow thorax region and red and black stripes on the rest of the body, with 8 legs with hooks and spikes, on a white background.
October 27, 2025 at 9:39 AM
bstevensonlab.bsky.social
#MicroSky
bachynski.bsky.social Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 16d
“It was not wounds of battle that killed most of these men…
“The attrition of the army is extraordinary,” Dr. Harper said, “and underscores how much prior to the 20th century what we think of as wars are primarily medical events.”
The infections, he added, “are diseases that exploit human suffering”
DNA Identifies 2 Bacterial Killers That Stalked Napoleon’s Army
www.nytimes.com
October 25, 2025 at 2:08 PM
bstevensonlab.bsky.social
Nice insights on a function of EbfC in Bacillus.
EbfC is a nucleoid-associated protein/"histone-like" protein that is produced by almost all species of Eubacteria. Functions vary between species, probably correlating with presence of other NAPs. It is an essential protein in Lyme Borrelia.
#MicroSky
October 25, 2025 at 1:18 PM
bstevensonlab.bsky.social
Louse-borne Relapsing Fever contributed to the demise of Napoleon's army during the retreat from Russia in 1812.
Borrelia recurrentis Relapsing Fever has been an important problem in many situations of crowding and poor hygiene, including the trenches of WW1
www.cell.com/current-biol...

#MicroSky
Paratyphoid fever and relapsing fever in 1812 Napoleon's devastated army
By implementing a phylogeny-driven approach for authenticating ultra-low-coverage pathogen aDNA, Barbieri et al. detect Salmonella enterica Paratyphi C and Borrelia recurrentis, agents of paratyphoid ...
www.cell.com
October 25, 2025 at 1:08 PM
bstevensonlab.bsky.social
Beautiful imaging of Lyme Borrelia spirochetes disseminating in skin.
#MicroSky
🔬🦠
October 22, 2025 at 5:50 PM
bstevensonlab.bsky.social
For those who are wondering about grant proposal reviews in the USA
Dear NIH Peer Reviewer, You are receiving this email because you are listed on an NIH peer-review meeting roster scheduled to begin in the coming weeks. As you surely know, NIH has not been appropriated funds with which to operate. SROs cannot work, cannot prepare for meetings, respond to your emails, etc. However, the NIH computer systems that support review functions are still available to reviewers (though without technical support) and we ask that you continue your preparations for upcoming review meetings as best you can. If it becomes clear that your meeting must be postponed, you will receive an email to that effect. Please do not join any meeting if it is scheduled to start on a day when the government is shutdown. After funding is appropriated and NIH operations resume, we will be in touch. CSR will make every effort to review all applications originally slated to be reviewed this round. Thank you for your contributions to the NIH peer review process. Regards,
October 21, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Reposted by Brian Stevenson Ph.D. spirochete lab
wolfzueckert.bsky.social
We’re hiring! KUMC's Dept. of Microbiol., Mol. Genet. & Immunol. seeks a new Asst. Professor in Immunology. Be part of a vibrant department and benefit from association with the NCI-designated KU Cancer Center. Come join us in Kansas City! Apply here: kumc.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/kumc-j...
October 20, 2025 at 8:57 PM
bstevensonlab.bsky.social
Petra Levin with Mark Martin on "Matters Microbial" !

#MicroSky
microbetv.bsky.social Microbetv @microbetv.bsky.social · 24d
Dr. Petra Levin, the George and Irene Freiberg Professor of Biology at Washington University in St. Louis (and of TWiM!) joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss her work with bacterial cell size, environmental stress on bacteria, and antibiotic resistance

📺👇
Matters Microbial #112: Bacterial Size, Stress, and Antibiotic Resistance
YouTube video by MicrobeTV
youtu.be
October 17, 2025 at 6:59 PM
bstevensonlab.bsky.social
We were visited a couple of weeks ago by Dr. Tomasz Bykowski and his family, on vacation around the US from their home in Warsaw, Poland.
Tomek was a postdoc in our lab from 2004-2007, and is currently Director of Strategy and Development of Horus and Member of the Supervisory Board of Genomed SA
Brian Stevenson and Tomasz Bykowski
October 14, 2025 at 4:32 PM
bstevensonlab.bsky.social
Lab alumna Dr. Jen Miller, presenting today at ILADS conference. Jen is currently Vice President of Clinical and Scientific Operations at Galaxy Diagnostics. She was my second PhD student.
Photograph of projector screen, showing photograph of Dr Jen Miller and title of her talk: "Survival of the fittest - how vector-borne pathogens evade teh immune system (and what to do about it)"
October 13, 2025 at 1:57 PM
bstevensonlab.bsky.social
On the way to Midwest Microbial Pathogenesis Conference 2025, in St Charles, Illinois!
Hosted by Loyola University Chicago
#MMPC2025
#MicroSky

www.mmpconference2025.com
Announcing MMPC 2025
October 3, 2025 at 4:01 PM
bstevensonlab.bsky.social
Freakin’ cool anti-anti-phage mechanism!
#MicroSky
erinedoherty.bsky.social Erin Doherty @erinedoherty.bsky.social · Oct 2
Now online at @nature.com we show how the Panoptes defense system protects against viruses that attempt immune evasion - and expands our understanding of the role of oligonucleotides in immunity.

Check out this work co-led with @benadler.bsky.social here:

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A miniature CRISPR–Cas10 enzyme confers immunity by inhibitory signalling - Nature
Panoptes, an anti-phage defence system against virus-mediated immune suppression, is revealed.
www.nature.com
October 2, 2025 at 2:35 PM
bstevensonlab.bsky.social
#MicroSky
October 1, 2025 at 3:30 PM
bstevensonlab.bsky.social
Antigenic variation is caused by long plasmid segment conversion in a hard tick-borne relapsing fever Borrelia miyamotoi

important new paper by Takeuchi, Gotoh, Hayashi, Kawabata, and Takano

journals.plos.org/plospathogen...

#MicroSky
From the publication: Fig 7. The mechanism to change the expression vmp cassette in B. miyamotoi. The expression vmp cassette on the lp4 plasmid is altered by the conversion of the expression locus segment, in which the expression locus segment is replaced by a duplicated segment of other plasmids carrying the cluster of archival silent cassettes (lp5, lp6, and lp10.1). The replacing segment starts from one of the silent cassette and ends at the right end of the plasmid; thus the first silent cassette on the replacing segment is expressed after conversion. As the lengths of the replacing segment are variable (ranged from 6.9 kb to 15.3 kb in the reisolates analyzed in this study), leading to the change in the length of lp4. Although the molecular mechanism underlying the conversion of the expression locus segment is not known, it appears that the clustering of vmp cassettes and their tail-to-head cassette organization in each cluster allow the effective switching of the expression vmp cassette by the conversion of long plasmid segment. Notable structural features of vmp-encoding plasmids and vmp cassettes on these plasmids are the sequence conservation of the right ends of the lp4, lp5, lp6, and lp10.1 plasmids and the presence of UHS-like sequences around the start codon of vmp genes. To understand the molecular mechanism underlying the conversion of the expression locus segment, it will be necessary to analyze the roles of these elements as well as identify the enzyme(s) involving the conversion.
October 1, 2025 at 2:13 PM
bstevensonlab.bsky.social
Restoration of the genus name "Borrelia" to Lyme spirochetes, while creating subgenera Borreliella subgen. nov. and Borrelia subgen. nov.

#MicroSky

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
(open access)
Proposing a subgenus Borreliella
In 2014, it was proposed (validly published in 2015) that the genus Borrelia be divided into two genera, with a new genus Borreliella holding species …
www.sciencedirect.com
September 30, 2025 at 5:02 PM
bstevensonlab.bsky.social
Sept. 29, 2010
Gala Dinner of the International Conference on Lyme Borreliosis and other Tick-Borne Diseases, Ljubljana, Slovenia
with collaborators Peter Kraiczy & Claudia Hammerschmidt, and lab members Amy Bowman, Brandon Jutras & Cat Brissette
@brissettelab.bsky.social
@jutraslab.bsky.social
At the Gala Dinner of the International Conference on Lyme Borreliosis and other Tick-Borne Diseases, Ljubljana, Slovenia with collaborators Peter Kraiczy & Claudia Hammerschmidt, and lab members Amy Bowman, Brandon Jutras & Cat Brissette
September 29, 2025 at 3:56 PM
bstevensonlab.bsky.social
Submitted yet another grant proposal today, for a foundation, to be reviewed next month.
That’s 5 grant proposals in play for review before year’s end.
Pair of rolling dice Source unknown
September 29, 2025 at 3:24 PM
bstevensonlab.bsky.social
Cutter's 1878 patented "Box for Vaccine Matter".
For carrying and protecting smallpox scabs, which were to be used for vaccinations.
#MicroSky

images from my collection
Top view of a Cutter's Box for Vaccine Material Bottom view of a Cutter's Box for Vaccine Material Cutter's Box for Vaccine Material measures approximately 7/8 inches , 2.2 cm, in diameter Inside of a Cutter's Box for Vaccine Material
September 28, 2025 at 6:45 PM
bstevensonlab.bsky.social
A reminder that levels of intracellular signals are controlled by both synthesis and degradation

#MicroSky
September 28, 2025 at 2:38 PM
bstevensonlab.bsky.social
A break from my usual science posts.
Brilliant rugby today, England dominated Canada 33-13.
Poster of the England Women’s Rugby World Cup team
September 27, 2025 at 5:42 PM