Wiep Klaas Smits (ExpBac/CMAT)
@smitslab.bsky.social
Assoc. prof. at LUMC/@unileiden. Cdiff, DNA replication, AMR, microbiome, anaerobes. Clostpath Steering committee. Education officer ESGCD. Previously: @unigroningen and @mitofficial. https://sites.google.com/view/expbac-lumc/homepage
Nice highlight by the LUMC about our recent @natcomms.nature.com publication: www.lumc.nl/en/news/2025...
Promising new antibiotic reveals its secrets | LUMC
Researchers at LUCID (LUMC) have used advanced techniques to demonstrate how a new antibiotic works. The molecule anchors itself with a hook in an important enzyme, thereby blocking the production of ...
www.lumc.nl
November 10, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Nice highlight by the LUMC about our recent @natcomms.nature.com publication: www.lumc.nl/en/news/2025...
Limitations of genomic surveillance: a C. difficile case study in the Netherlands www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... - new manuscript by Joffrey van Prehn et al.
Limitations of genomic surveillance: a C. difficile case study in the Netherlands
www.sciencedirect.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:19 AM
Limitations of genomic surveillance: a C. difficile case study in the Netherlands www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... - new manuscript by Joffrey van Prehn et al.
Reposted by Wiep Klaas Smits (ExpBac/CMAT)
Delighted that our review on resistance to last-resort antibiotics in Enterococci has been published in FEMS Microbiology Reviews
academic.oup.com/femsre/advan... (accepted manuscript version)
TL;DR: the Enterococci are really good at evolving resistance to antibiotics in new and creative ways.
academic.oup.com/femsre/advan... (accepted manuscript version)
TL;DR: the Enterococci are really good at evolving resistance to antibiotics in new and creative ways.
Resistance to last-resort antibiotics in enterococci
Abstract. The genus Enterococcus comprises a diverse group of species, many of which are commensal members of the gut microbiota of humans and animals. The
academic.oup.com
November 8, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Delighted that our review on resistance to last-resort antibiotics in Enterococci has been published in FEMS Microbiology Reviews
academic.oup.com/femsre/advan... (accepted manuscript version)
TL;DR: the Enterococci are really good at evolving resistance to antibiotics in new and creative ways.
academic.oup.com/femsre/advan... (accepted manuscript version)
TL;DR: the Enterococci are really good at evolving resistance to antibiotics in new and creative ways.
Reposted by Wiep Klaas Smits (ExpBac/CMAT)
What Rosalind Franklin truly contributed to the discovery of DNA’s structure. A really informative article, perfect for a weekend coffee read. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
What Rosalind Franklin truly contributed to the discovery of DNA’s structure
Franklin was no victim in how the DNA double helix was solved. An overlooked letter and an unpublished news article, both written in 1953, reveal that she was an equal player.
www.nature.com
November 8, 2025 at 9:21 AM
What Rosalind Franklin truly contributed to the discovery of DNA’s structure. A really informative article, perfect for a weekend coffee read. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Wiep Klaas Smits (ExpBac/CMAT)
🧪Thrilled to share our new study "The monoclonal antibody AZD5148 confers broad protection against TcdB-diverse Clostridioides difficile strains in mice” in PLoS Pathogens! @bordenlacy.bsky.social
➡️We show that this mAb alone protects against infection with strains encoding TcdB variants. 1/20
➡️We show that this mAb alone protects against infection with strains encoding TcdB variants. 1/20
journals.plos.org
November 7, 2025 at 7:11 PM
🧪Thrilled to share our new study "The monoclonal antibody AZD5148 confers broad protection against TcdB-diverse Clostridioides difficile strains in mice” in PLoS Pathogens! @bordenlacy.bsky.social
➡️We show that this mAb alone protects against infection with strains encoding TcdB variants. 1/20
➡️We show that this mAb alone protects against infection with strains encoding TcdB variants. 1/20
Impact of Hanks Kinase-Dependent Phosphorylation of CodY on the Physiology and Virulence in Bacillus cereus - onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Impact of Hanks Kinase‐Dependent Phosphorylation of CodY on the Physiology and Virulence in Bacillus cereus
CodY is a global regulator whose phosphorylation at serine 215 by PrkC/YbdM alters its DNA binding, thereby modulating gene expression and impacting motility, biofilm formation, cytotoxicity, and pat...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Impact of Hanks Kinase-Dependent Phosphorylation of CodY on the Physiology and Virulence in Bacillus cereus - onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Essential and dispensable domains of DivIVA for walled growth in filamentous Actinomycetota | Open Biology royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Conflicts between the DNA replication and repair machineries promote cell death in Gram-positive bacteria
Cellular proliferation relies on the successful coordination and completion of genome replication and segregation. To help achieve this, many bacteria utilize regulatory pathways that ensure DNA repli...
doi.org
November 7, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Essential and dispensable domains of DivIVA for walled growth in filamentous Actinomycetota | Open Biology royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Conflicts between the DNA replication and repair machineries promote cell death in Gram-positive bacteria doi.org/10.1099/mic.... b @winterhalterlab.bsky.social @heathmurraylab.bsky.social et al.
Conflicts between the DNA replication and repair machineries promote cell death in Gram-positive bacteria
Cellular proliferation relies on the successful coordination and completion of genome replication and segregation. To help achieve this, many bacteria utilize regulatory pathways that ensure DNA repli...
doi.org
November 7, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Conflicts between the DNA replication and repair machineries promote cell death in Gram-positive bacteria doi.org/10.1099/mic.... b @winterhalterlab.bsky.social @heathmurraylab.bsky.social et al.
Reposted by Wiep Klaas Smits (ExpBac/CMAT)
𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗗𝗡𝗔 𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲?Excited to share our new study “Repair of DNA double-strand breaks leaves heritable impairment to genome function”, revealing DNA repair’s hidden cost, out now @science.org tinyurl.com/5n6zw3ye. Led by @sbantele.bsky.social and Jiri Lukas.🧵👇1/n
Repair of DNA double-strand breaks leaves heritable impairment to genome function
Upon DNA breakage, a genomic locus undergoes alterations in three-dimensional chromatin architecture to facilitate signaling and repair. Although cells possess mechanisms to repair damaged DNA, it is ...
tinyurl.com
November 6, 2025 at 11:05 PM
𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗗𝗡𝗔 𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲?Excited to share our new study “Repair of DNA double-strand breaks leaves heritable impairment to genome function”, revealing DNA repair’s hidden cost, out now @science.org tinyurl.com/5n6zw3ye. Led by @sbantele.bsky.social and Jiri Lukas.🧵👇1/n
Reposted by Wiep Klaas Smits (ExpBac/CMAT)
An Asgard archaeon with internal membrane compartments
Brilliant study led by @fmacleod.bsky.social and Andriko von Kügelgen. Tight collaboration with @buzzbaum.bsky.social and lab. Congrats to all authors!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Brilliant study led by @fmacleod.bsky.social and Andriko von Kügelgen. Tight collaboration with @buzzbaum.bsky.social and lab. Congrats to all authors!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
November 7, 2025 at 10:44 AM
An Asgard archaeon with internal membrane compartments
Brilliant study led by @fmacleod.bsky.social and Andriko von Kügelgen. Tight collaboration with @buzzbaum.bsky.social and lab. Congrats to all authors!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Brilliant study led by @fmacleod.bsky.social and Andriko von Kügelgen. Tight collaboration with @buzzbaum.bsky.social and lab. Congrats to all authors!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Wiep Klaas Smits (ExpBac/CMAT)
Excited to launch an openRxiv partnership with the scientist-run AI review service qed (@qedscience.bsky.social), the brainchild of @odedrechavi.bsky.social 1/n
openrxiv.org/enabling-rev...
openrxiv.org/enabling-rev...
Enabling options for review: from training and transparency to author-centered AI tools - openRxiv
Peer review is widely viewed as a critical aspect of biomedical communication. Ideally, it provides authors with feedback so they can improve manuscripts and gives readers, particularly nonspecialists...
openrxiv.org
November 6, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Excited to launch an openRxiv partnership with the scientist-run AI review service qed (@qedscience.bsky.social), the brainchild of @odedrechavi.bsky.social 1/n
openrxiv.org/enabling-rev...
openrxiv.org/enabling-rev...
Reposted by Wiep Klaas Smits (ExpBac/CMAT)
To all visionary microbe enthusiasts: @femsmicro.org is looking for an editor-in-chief for their flagship journal FEMS Microbiology Reviews! More details can be found here: fems-microbiology.org/opportunitie...
Editor-in-Chief for FEMS Microbiology Reviews - FEMS
The Federation of European Microbiological Societies (FEMS) is looking for an Editor-in-Chief to join its prestigious journal FEMS Microbiology Reviews for an initial period of three years, starting i...
fems-microbiology.org
November 5, 2025 at 5:38 PM
To all visionary microbe enthusiasts: @femsmicro.org is looking for an editor-in-chief for their flagship journal FEMS Microbiology Reviews! More details can be found here: fems-microbiology.org/opportunitie...
🚨 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...
Bacteria sense virus-induced genome degradation via methylated mononucleotides www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org
November 6, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Bacteria sense virus-induced genome degradation via methylated mononucleotides www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
The rise of ‘nightmare bacteria’: antimicrobial resistance in five charts www.nature.com/articles/d41...
The rise of ‘nightmare bacteria’: antimicrobial resistance in five charts
Data reveal how the global challenge to reduce deaths and infections from drug-resistant bacteria is not going according to plan.
www.nature.com
November 6, 2025 at 8:29 AM
The rise of ‘nightmare bacteria’: antimicrobial resistance in five charts www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Wiep Klaas Smits (ExpBac/CMAT)
Now online! journals.plos.org/plospathogen... #MicroSky
November 5, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Now online! journals.plos.org/plospathogen... #MicroSky
HT Ed Kuijper: a rise in "Letters to the Editor" generated with AI. A potentially big problem! www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/s...
The Editor Got a Letter From ‘Dr. B.S.’ So Did a Lot of Other Editors.
www.nytimes.com
November 5, 2025 at 9:59 AM
HT Ed Kuijper: a rise in "Letters to the Editor" generated with AI. A potentially big problem! www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/s...
Acquired Resistance during Short-Course Treatment for Rifampicin-Resistant Tuberculosis - Clinical Microbiology and Infection www.clinicalmicrobiologyandinfection.org/article/S119...
Acquired Resistance during Short-Course Treatment for Rifampicin-Resistant Tuberculosis
Shorter regimens represent a significant advancement for rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis
(RR-TB) treatment. However, data on acquired drug resistance (ADR) remain limited.
www.clinicalmicrobiologyandinfection.org
November 5, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Acquired Resistance during Short-Course Treatment for Rifampicin-Resistant Tuberculosis - Clinical Microbiology and Infection www.clinicalmicrobiologyandinfection.org/article/S119...
Reposted by Wiep Klaas Smits (ExpBac/CMAT)
So happy to share this! Bacteriocins were first discovered over 100 years ago, but what do they actually do? We look at >1000 bacteriocin plasmids and find links to virulence and antimicrobial resistance, and frequent bacteriocin sharing in Enterobacteriaceae.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Bacterial warfare is associated with virulence and antimicrobial resistance - Nature Communications
Bacteria employ a range of competition systems that deliver toxins to inhibit competing strains. This study shows that these systems are particularly important for the ecology of virulent and antibiot...
www.nature.com
November 5, 2025 at 7:32 AM
So happy to share this! Bacteriocins were first discovered over 100 years ago, but what do they actually do? We look at >1000 bacteriocin plasmids and find links to virulence and antimicrobial resistance, and frequent bacteriocin sharing in Enterobacteriaceae.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
New paper alert! 🚨Work led by Jan Franzen from Horst Posthaus' lab, who spent some time in our group. Amazing collection of C. perfringens isolates, 220 new @pacbio.bsky.social genomes + analyses. doi.org/10.1099/mgen...
Genomic investigations in animal enteric disease-associated Clostridium perfringens
The anaerobic bacterium Clostridium perfringens is commonly found in the intestinal tract of humans and animals. However, there are marked differences in virulence between isolates and toxinotypes, wh...
doi.org
November 5, 2025 at 8:58 AM
New paper alert! 🚨Work led by Jan Franzen from Horst Posthaus' lab, who spent some time in our group. Amazing collection of C. perfringens isolates, 220 new @pacbio.bsky.social genomes + analyses. doi.org/10.1099/mgen...
Reposted by Wiep Klaas Smits (ExpBac/CMAT)
How can we study target engagement and selectivity of covalent inhibitors? Which electrophilic probes are best suited to study a certain amino acid?
Our study on "Profiling the proteome-wide selectivity of diverse electrophiles" is published in Nature Chemistry.(1/7)
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Our study on "Profiling the proteome-wide selectivity of diverse electrophiles" is published in Nature Chemistry.(1/7)
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Profiling the proteome-wide selectivity of diverse electrophiles - Nature Chemistry
Covalent inhibitors are powerful entities in drug discovery. Now the amino acid selectivity and reactivity of a diverse electrophile library have been assessed proteome-wide using an unbiased workflow...
www.nature.com
October 30, 2025 at 10:27 AM
How can we study target engagement and selectivity of covalent inhibitors? Which electrophilic probes are best suited to study a certain amino acid?
Our study on "Profiling the proteome-wide selectivity of diverse electrophiles" is published in Nature Chemistry.(1/7)
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Our study on "Profiling the proteome-wide selectivity of diverse electrophiles" is published in Nature Chemistry.(1/7)
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Wiep Klaas Smits (ExpBac/CMAT)
Our new Nature Chemistry paper is also accompanied by an insightful News and Views article by @jeyunjo.bsky.social and @mbogyo.bsky.social.
Check it out here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Thank you very much for the kind comments on our work!
Check it out here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Thank you very much for the kind comments on our work!
A pipeline for proteome-wide analysis of electrophile selectivity - Nature Chemistry
In the growing field of chemical proteomics, there is a need for general methods to map the reactivity profiles of covalent probes in complex proteomes. Now, a completely unbiased proteomic workflow h...
www.nature.com
October 30, 2025 at 10:43 AM
Our new Nature Chemistry paper is also accompanied by an insightful News and Views article by @jeyunjo.bsky.social and @mbogyo.bsky.social.
Check it out here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Thank you very much for the kind comments on our work!
Check it out here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Thank you very much for the kind comments on our work!
Reposted by Wiep Klaas Smits (ExpBac/CMAT)
Cool 🦠
William Schmidt
Gerard Wong Lab @UCLA
Nature Microbiology
Pseudomonas aeruginosa lays down Psl exopolysaccharide as it crawls
Other cells detect and follow these trails using type IV pili pulling against adhesins like CdrA triggering c-di-GMP & cAMP surges to shift into early biofilm mode
William Schmidt
Gerard Wong Lab @UCLA
Nature Microbiology
Pseudomonas aeruginosa lays down Psl exopolysaccharide as it crawls
Other cells detect and follow these trails using type IV pili pulling against adhesins like CdrA triggering c-di-GMP & cAMP surges to shift into early biofilm mode
Pseudomonas aeruginosa senses exopolysaccharide trails using type IV pili and adhesins during biofilm formation - Nature Microbiology
Opposing forces generated by exopolysaccharide trail binding versus type IV pilus retraction generate a high cyclic diGMP–high cyclic AMP state in Pseudomonas aeruginosa that promotes social motility.
www.nature.com
October 29, 2025 at 3:41 AM
Cool 🦠
William Schmidt
Gerard Wong Lab @UCLA
Nature Microbiology
Pseudomonas aeruginosa lays down Psl exopolysaccharide as it crawls
Other cells detect and follow these trails using type IV pili pulling against adhesins like CdrA triggering c-di-GMP & cAMP surges to shift into early biofilm mode
William Schmidt
Gerard Wong Lab @UCLA
Nature Microbiology
Pseudomonas aeruginosa lays down Psl exopolysaccharide as it crawls
Other cells detect and follow these trails using type IV pili pulling against adhesins like CdrA triggering c-di-GMP & cAMP surges to shift into early biofilm mode
Analysis of essential genes in Clostridioides difficile by CRISPRi and Tn-seq | Journal of Bacteriology journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Analysis of essential genes in Clostridioides difficile by CRISPRi and Tn-seq | Journal of Bacteriology
Clostridioides difficile is an opportunistic pathogen for which better antibiotics are sorely needed. Most
antibiotics target pathways that are essential for viability. Here, we use saturation
transpo...
journals.asm.org
October 29, 2025 at 9:14 AM
Analysis of essential genes in Clostridioides difficile by CRISPRi and Tn-seq | Journal of Bacteriology journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Characterization of two co-regulated response regulators in Clostridioides difficile | Journal of Bacteriology journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Characterization of two co-regulated response regulators in Clostridioides difficile | Journal of Bacteriology
Two-component systems are nearly ubiquitous among bacteria and are one of the primary
ways that bacteria respond to their environment. Atypical two-component proteins and
systems are being identified ...
journals.asm.org
October 29, 2025 at 9:12 AM
Characterization of two co-regulated response regulators in Clostridioides difficile | Journal of Bacteriology journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...