Jan-Willem Veening
@veeninglab.com
Professor and director at the Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, https://veeninglab.com/. Interested in antibiotic resistance, bacterial cell biology, host-microbe interactions.
Reposted by Jan-Willem Veening
Bacterial networks #BacNet26 in September 2026 will be chaired by @lalouxlab.bsky.social and co-chaired by @s-lab.bsky.social with @coralietesseur.bsky.social
Sneak peak on invited speakers and preliminary program:
meetings.embo.org/event/26-bac...
Sneak peak on invited speakers and preliminary program:
meetings.embo.org/event/26-bac...
November 20, 2025 at 8:47 AM
Bacterial networks #BacNet26 in September 2026 will be chaired by @lalouxlab.bsky.social and co-chaired by @s-lab.bsky.social with @coralietesseur.bsky.social
Sneak peak on invited speakers and preliminary program:
meetings.embo.org/event/26-bac...
Sneak peak on invited speakers and preliminary program:
meetings.embo.org/event/26-bac...
Cool paper from @smitslab.bsky.social Structural insights into how PolC-inhibitors work and can open up the road to a new suite of antibiotics www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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...
www.nature.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Cool paper from @smitslab.bsky.social Structural insights into how PolC-inhibitors work and can open up the road to a new suite of antibiotics www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Now online! journals.plos.org/plospathogen... #MicroSky
November 5, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Now online! journals.plos.org/plospathogen... #MicroSky
Reposted by Jan-Willem Veening
This was a fun collaboration between Ophélie & the @seegerlab.bsky.social using sybody libraries to target the SMC complex in living bacteria. With a suprising finding: the 14 isolated sybodies bind to the middle of the SMC coiled coil rather than the more conserved ATPase heads.
Single Domain Antibody Inhibitors Target the Coiled Coil Arms of the Bacillus subtilis SMC complex https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.16.682983v1
October 20, 2025 at 8:15 AM
This was a fun collaboration between Ophélie & the @seegerlab.bsky.social using sybody libraries to target the SMC complex in living bacteria. With a suprising finding: the 14 isolated sybodies bind to the middle of the SMC coiled coil rather than the more conserved ATPase heads.
Reposted by Jan-Willem Veening
Sign up for our annual Impromptu Symposium on Nov. 21 in the Biophore @unil.bsky.social organized by Christophe Keel and Jordan Vacheron, which will explore the fascinating world of microbe–plant interactions with an exciting speaker line up!
Registration (lunch included): forms.gle/t4fC8uQV5HQF...
Registration (lunch included): forms.gle/t4fC8uQV5HQF...
October 20, 2025 at 9:36 AM
Sign up for our annual Impromptu Symposium on Nov. 21 in the Biophore @unil.bsky.social organized by Christophe Keel and Jordan Vacheron, which will explore the fascinating world of microbe–plant interactions with an exciting speaker line up!
Registration (lunch included): forms.gle/t4fC8uQV5HQF...
Registration (lunch included): forms.gle/t4fC8uQV5HQF...
News article in English: www.unil.ch/news/en/1760...
October 14, 2025 at 6:28 PM
News article in English: www.unil.ch/news/en/1760...
The @nccr-antiresist.bsky.social PhD fellowship call is now open! Apply now (deadline 15 January) for a unique PhD Fellowship in Antibiotic Discovery. Our lab will also offer a project that a selected candidate can choose!
www.nccr-antiresist.ch/join-us/
www.nccr-antiresist.ch/join-us/
NCCR AntiResist | 2025 Fellowships in Infection Biology | Join Us
Open PhD Fellowship position in Infection Biology, and Fellowship for Clinicians, both now open
www.nccr-antiresist.ch
October 14, 2025 at 6:27 PM
The @nccr-antiresist.bsky.social PhD fellowship call is now open! Apply now (deadline 15 January) for a unique PhD Fellowship in Antibiotic Discovery. Our lab will also offer a project that a selected candidate can choose!
www.nccr-antiresist.ch/join-us/
www.nccr-antiresist.ch/join-us/
Reposted by Jan-Willem Veening
💉 News recherche
Des microbiologistes de @unil.bsky.social ont développé une technologie qui ouvre la voie à de nouveaux vaccins contre des maladies pour lesquelles il n’existe encore aucune protection.
www.unil.ch/news/fr/1759...
Des microbiologistes de @unil.bsky.social ont développé une technologie qui ouvre la voie à de nouveaux vaccins contre des maladies pour lesquelles il n’existe encore aucune protection.
www.unil.ch/news/fr/1759...
Une découverte Unil pour développer des vaccins se transforme en start-up
La technologie CRISPRi-seq, issue des recherches fondamentales au sein de l’équipe du Pr Jan-Willem Veening à l’Université de Lausanne, a franchi une étape décisive: elle a été licenciée à la start-up...
www.unil.ch
October 13, 2025 at 1:27 PM
💉 News recherche
Des microbiologistes de @unil.bsky.social ont développé une technologie qui ouvre la voie à de nouveaux vaccins contre des maladies pour lesquelles il n’existe encore aucune protection.
www.unil.ch/news/fr/1759...
Des microbiologistes de @unil.bsky.social ont développé une technologie qui ouvre la voie à de nouveaux vaccins contre des maladies pour lesquelles il n’existe encore aucune protection.
www.unil.ch/news/fr/1759...
Reposted by Jan-Willem Veening
Independent research fellowships leading to tenured positions at the John Innes Centre.
Repost = nice. Thank you very much!!!
Repost = nice. Thank you very much!!!
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to give a seminar at the Fellows Conference, which will be held on 10 March 2026.
Candidates who win Fellowships will be offered a Tenure Track Group Leader position from the outset, initially for 5 years.
Find out more: www.jic.ac.uk/training-car...
Candidates who win Fellowships will be offered a Tenure Track Group Leader position from the outset, initially for 5 years.
Find out more: www.jic.ac.uk/training-car...
Independent Research Fellowships Leading to Tenured Faculty Positions | John Innes Centre
The John Innes Centre (JIC), is a world leading centre of excellence in plant and microbial sciences based on the Norwich Research Park, UK. We are inviting applications from outstanding researchers…
www.jic.ac.uk
October 3, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Independent research fellowships leading to tenured positions at the John Innes Centre.
Repost = nice. Thank you very much!!!
Repost = nice. Thank you very much!!!
Reposted by Jan-Willem Veening
Amazing work by @hueihsuantsai.bsky.social and colleagues from @nikogeldner.bsky.social, Feng Zhou @tonnigrubeandersen.bsky.social labs in Science
Localized glutamine leakage drives the spatial structure of root microbial colonization
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#chemotaxis #MicroSky
Localized glutamine leakage drives the spatial structure of root microbial colonization
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#chemotaxis #MicroSky
Localized glutamine leakage drives the spatial structure of root microbial colonization
Plant roots release exudates to encourage microbiome assembly, which influences the function and stress resilience of plants. How specific exudates drive spatial colonization patterns remains largely ...
www.science.org
October 3, 2025 at 5:55 AM
Amazing work by @hueihsuantsai.bsky.social and colleagues from @nikogeldner.bsky.social, Feng Zhou @tonnigrubeandersen.bsky.social labs in Science
Localized glutamine leakage drives the spatial structure of root microbial colonization
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#chemotaxis #MicroSky
Localized glutamine leakage drives the spatial structure of root microbial colonization
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#chemotaxis #MicroSky
Finally out, such an awesome piece of work, very proud of this one: www.cell.com/cell-systems... #MicroSky
October 4, 2025 at 8:48 AM
Finally out, such an awesome piece of work, very proud of this one: www.cell.com/cell-systems... #MicroSky
Reposted by Jan-Willem Veening
Identification of optimal fluorophores for use in the Drosophila embryo by Timothy E Saunders and team: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
September 30, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Identification of optimal fluorophores for use in the Drosophila embryo by Timothy E Saunders and team: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Jan-Willem Veening
It is not only antibiotics but also certain viruses – known as bacteriophages – that can kill off pathogenic bacteria. However, Switzerland lacks the legal framework for the use of these viruses in therapy. What would need to change? Researcher Alexander Harms explains.
ethz.ch/en/news-and-...
ethz.ch/en/news-and-...
“Treatment with bacteriophages can combat antibiotic-resistant infections, but Swiss patients lack access”
It is not only antibiotics but also certain viruses – known as bacteriophages – that can kill off pathogenic bacteria. However, Switzerland lacks the legal framework for the use of these viruses in th...
ethz.ch
September 26, 2025 at 6:42 AM
It is not only antibiotics but also certain viruses – known as bacteriophages – that can kill off pathogenic bacteria. However, Switzerland lacks the legal framework for the use of these viruses in therapy. What would need to change? Researcher Alexander Harms explains.
ethz.ch/en/news-and-...
ethz.ch/en/news-and-...
Nice work on tackling genetic interactions in the pneumococcus! If you like this, you will also like our work doing the same thing using dual CRISPRi. Coming soon in @cp-cellsystems.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
September 26, 2025 at 7:07 AM
Nice work on tackling genetic interactions in the pneumococcus! If you like this, you will also like our work doing the same thing using dual CRISPRi. Coming soon in @cp-cellsystems.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Jan-Willem Veening
🎓 Today, I successfully defended my PhD!
It’s been a long journey and I’m incredibly grateful for all the support, lessons, and growth along the way. A huge thank you to my committee members — Nina Khanna, Dirk Bumann, @veeninglab.com , and @mkjos.bsky.social — for their guidance and encouragement.
It’s been a long journey and I’m incredibly grateful for all the support, lessons, and growth along the way. A huge thank you to my committee members — Nina Khanna, Dirk Bumann, @veeninglab.com , and @mkjos.bsky.social — for their guidance and encouragement.
September 24, 2025 at 11:04 PM
🎓 Today, I successfully defended my PhD!
It’s been a long journey and I’m incredibly grateful for all the support, lessons, and growth along the way. A huge thank you to my committee members — Nina Khanna, Dirk Bumann, @veeninglab.com , and @mkjos.bsky.social — for their guidance and encouragement.
It’s been a long journey and I’m incredibly grateful for all the support, lessons, and growth along the way. A huge thank you to my committee members — Nina Khanna, Dirk Bumann, @veeninglab.com , and @mkjos.bsky.social — for their guidance and encouragement.
Reposted by Jan-Willem Veening
Looking for a new approach to studying or eliminating phages? Check out our study introducing anti-phage ASOs (antisense oligos) out in @Nature today. nature.com/articles/s4158…
September 10, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Looking for a new approach to studying or eliminating phages? Check out our study introducing anti-phage ASOs (antisense oligos) out in @Nature today. nature.com/articles/s4158…
Reposted by Jan-Willem Veening
Deciphering microbial spatial organization: insights from synthetic and engineered communities url: academic.oup.com/ismecommun/a...
Deciphering microbial spatial organization: insights from synthetic and engineered communities
Abstract. Microbial communities are frequently organized into complex spatial structures, shaped by intrinsic cellular traits, interactions between communi
academic.oup.com
September 10, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Deciphering microbial spatial organization: insights from synthetic and engineered communities url: academic.oup.com/ismecommun/a...
It's finally here: PneumoWiki! A great complement to PneumoBrowse 2.0. Essential tools for pneumococcal research, congrats to the Greifswald team! #MicroSky
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
PneumoWiki: A pan-genome-based database for the pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae
The Gram-positive bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major human pathogen that exhibits more than 100 different capsular serotypes and considerable genomic variation. S. pneumoniae is also an imp...
www.biorxiv.org
September 8, 2025 at 7:33 AM
It's finally here: PneumoWiki! A great complement to PneumoBrowse 2.0. Essential tools for pneumococcal research, congrats to the Greifswald team! #MicroSky
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Cool work by @mkjos.bsky.social Daniel Straume showing that the competence-induced peptidoglycan hydrolase LytF promotes pilus extrusion, thereby enhancing the efficiency of DNA uptake in S, sanguinis. Is this also a major function of the pneumococcal CbpD fratricide?
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
LytF contributes to pilus extrusion during natural competence in Streptococcus sanguinis SK36.
Streptococci may enter a physiological state called competence, during which they express a specific set of genes required for exogenous DNA uptake and its subsequent integration into the genome throu...
www.biorxiv.org
September 8, 2025 at 7:24 AM
Cool work by @mkjos.bsky.social Daniel Straume showing that the competence-induced peptidoglycan hydrolase LytF promotes pilus extrusion, thereby enhancing the efficiency of DNA uptake in S, sanguinis. Is this also a major function of the pneumococcal CbpD fratricide?
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Jan-Willem Veening
Insanity! 🐜❤️🔥👇🏻
Look at this crazy thing!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
One mother for two species via obligate cross-species cloning in ants - Nature
In a case of obligate cross-species cloning, female ants of Messor ibericus need to clone males of Messor structor to obtain sperm for producing the worker caste, resulting in males from the same moth...
www.nature.com
September 3, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Insanity! 🐜❤️🔥👇🏻
Cool preprint by Mathieu Berge @polardlab.bsky.social showing that the Spr1630 toxin (RipA) toxin targets the replication sliding-clamp (DnaN) and that this induces competence in Streptococcus pneumoniae. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A toxin/antitoxin system targeting the replication sliding-clamp induces competence in Streptococcus pneumoniae.
Streptococcus pneumoniae is a pathogenic bacterium capable of entering a cellular differentiation state, called competence, which enables it to acquire new genetic functions by natural transformation,...
www.biorxiv.org
September 3, 2025 at 7:01 AM
Cool preprint by Mathieu Berge @polardlab.bsky.social showing that the Spr1630 toxin (RipA) toxin targets the replication sliding-clamp (DnaN) and that this induces competence in Streptococcus pneumoniae. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Jan-Willem Veening
Preprint: De-novo design of proteins that inhibit bacterial defenses
Our approach allows silencing defense systems of choice. We show how this approach enables programming of “untransformable” bacteria, and how it can enhance phage therapy applications
Congrats Jeremy Garb!
tinyurl.com/Syttt
🧵
Our approach allows silencing defense systems of choice. We show how this approach enables programming of “untransformable” bacteria, and how it can enhance phage therapy applications
Congrats Jeremy Garb!
tinyurl.com/Syttt
🧵
Synthetically designed anti-defense proteins overcome barriers to bacterial transformation and phage infection
Bacterial defense systems present considerable barriers to both phage infection and plasmid transformation. These systems target mobile genetic elements, limiting the efficacy of bacteriophage-based t...
www.biorxiv.org
September 2, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Preprint: De-novo design of proteins that inhibit bacterial defenses
Our approach allows silencing defense systems of choice. We show how this approach enables programming of “untransformable” bacteria, and how it can enhance phage therapy applications
Congrats Jeremy Garb!
tinyurl.com/Syttt
🧵
Our approach allows silencing defense systems of choice. We show how this approach enables programming of “untransformable” bacteria, and how it can enhance phage therapy applications
Congrats Jeremy Garb!
tinyurl.com/Syttt
🧵
Reposted by Jan-Willem Veening
🚨 Imagine a bacterium that refuses to follow the textbook:
It grows as tangled filaments, divides unevenly, reshapes its own membranes… and even builds grappling hooks.
Meet Litorilinea aerophila — and here’s why it blew our minds.
It grows as tangled filaments, divides unevenly, reshapes its own membranes… and even builds grappling hooks.
Meet Litorilinea aerophila — and here’s why it blew our minds.
August 20, 2025 at 10:34 AM
🚨 Imagine a bacterium that refuses to follow the textbook:
It grows as tangled filaments, divides unevenly, reshapes its own membranes… and even builds grappling hooks.
Meet Litorilinea aerophila — and here’s why it blew our minds.
It grows as tangled filaments, divides unevenly, reshapes its own membranes… and even builds grappling hooks.
Meet Litorilinea aerophila — and here’s why it blew our minds.
Our website had a small update. BlueSky feed is now integrated. If you want to know how to do this, you can reach out to website guru Doran Pauka (under contact on our site) veeninglab.com
Veening Lab
veeninglab.com
August 19, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Our website had a small update. BlueSky feed is now integrated. If you want to know how to do this, you can reach out to website guru Doran Pauka (under contact on our site) veeninglab.com
Tour de force paper by Jingren Zhang's group @tsinghuauniversity.bsky.social showing a complex link between peptidoglycan acetylation and phase variation through nutrient sensing #MicroSky journals.plos.org/plospathogen...
August 8, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Tour de force paper by Jingren Zhang's group @tsinghuauniversity.bsky.social showing a complex link between peptidoglycan acetylation and phase variation through nutrient sensing #MicroSky journals.plos.org/plospathogen...