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ronanmccarthy.bsky.social
Professor at Brunel University of London. Into all things Antibiotic Resistance, Drug Discovery, Biofilms and Signalling
31 posts 890 followers 150 following
Prolific Poster

#MicroSky: A new P. aeruginosa model strain! Martino et al knocked out all 32 diguanylate cyclases in PA14 using a multiplexed cytosine base editor, halting c-di-GMP synthesis. The strain, PA14Δ32, shows major behavioral shifts. doi.org/10.1111/1751...

A strain of bacterium that often causes infections in hospital can break down plastic https://go.nature.com/3SvsiTC

So happy to be able to finally share this story: Can pathogens degrade plastic? Yes (some!) Does this impact virulence? Yes Read the full story below: www.cell.com/cell-reports... #microsky

Yes! @manonjanet.bsky.social preprint is out! We show using BALF transfer that intracelular Acinetobacter baumannii can seed an infection in a susceptible mouse, suggesting that intracellular bacteria may be reservoir for recurrent infections nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...

🧪Delighted our review on the impact of Hypoxia on Chronic infection in Cystic fibrosis is published online FEMS MicroRev @Ciaranjcarey.bsky.social, @NiamhDuggan.bsky.social & @jdrabinska.bsky.social should be proud of it 🙌 🙏 to @researchireland.bsky.social track.smtpsendmail.com/9032119/c?p=...

I’ll be talking about how Galleria mellonella can be a powerful alternative to mice in infection and immunity research at Pint of Science in Exeter at 7.30pm on the 20th of May. 🐛”From pest to pioneering better science”🐛 Tickets: pintofscience.co.uk/event/talkin... #PintOfScience #Exeter #3Rs

We are pleased to announce that registration for 3rd MGE Workshop is now live! If you are interested in giving a talk please register online through our website by Friday 16th May. We look forward to seeing you all in Southampton in June! www.ukmgeworkshop.org

The distribution of subsurface microplastics in the ocean www.nature.com/articles/s41... #jcampubs 🌊

Join the Blokesch lab (@EPFL) as a postdoc in Molecular Microbiology 🤩 Study Vibrio cholerae defense systems (phage/plasmid) in a dynamic, collaborative environment in Lausanne close to Lake Geneva in 🇨🇭! Please visit my lab's webpage for details about the position and how to formally apply.

Latest from the lab! We had previously shown sex differences in A. baumannii pulmonary infection. Here, we show that in human males have worse outcomes compared to females. Mice are not people! @asm.org journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

More than three million children around the world are thought to have died in 2022 as a result of infections that are resistant to antibiotics. That's more than 8000 every day.

Delighted to have been invited to talk about out work exploring the antimicrobial potential of saccharin on @scifri.bsky.social

#Saccharin disrupts bacterial cell envelope stability and interferes with #DNAreplication dynamics By R. de Dios, R. McCarthy & colleagues at Brunel University doi.org/10.1038/s443... see also: www.brunel.ac.uk/news-and-eve...

Collaboration with Paco Perez lab (Seville University), where we characterised the S. fredii solo T6SS cluster. The system is induced in the stationary phase and minimal media, and importantly, in nodules being crucial for symbiosis with legumes.

Excited to share a new preprint, a collaboration with Yicen Lin's group at Kunming University of Science and Technology: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Amazing insights from biofilm enrichment to spatial specialisation and transcriptome on task division during polyethylene degradation by a SynCom

Delighted to share the latest from the lab, where we uncover the impact that the artificial sweetener saccharin has on bacteria www.embopress.org/doi/full/10.... @embomolmed.org

New antibiotic that kills drug-resistant bacteria discovered in technician’s garden www.nature.com/articles/d41...

One week left to apply for this BBSRC funded PhD position in the Duncan lab, cosupervised by @thecopperdoctor.bsky.social and @ruamicro.bsky.social www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

A҉L҉T҉R҉U҉I҉S҉T҉I҉C҉ ҉Z҉O҉M҉B҉I҉E҉ ҉B҉A҉C҉T҉E҉R҉I҉A҉🦠🧟 Fascinating Nat Comm paper Martin Cann Lab Durham UK Dead bacteria encode post-mortem protein catabolism via Lon protease—provides nutrients promoting growth of surviving bacteria No benefit of Lon to live bacteria to account for this www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Super proud to see our startup Omniose involved in these very important studies with several world leaders in the Klebsiella field. This will guide our and other’s efforts to get a vaccine against Klebsiella!

New pre print! We establish an ex vivo blood vessel model to investigate the effect of infection on vascular physiology in real time. We show Klebsiella inhibits vasodilation in a T6SS-dependent manner by targeting eNOs. Superb work by @safimicro.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Last day to apply for this!

Looking for a #Research #Project #Manager with interest in #CF and #infection to work in a multidisciplinary team based out of @imperialnhli.bsky.social @imperialmed.bsky.social funding from @cftrustuk.bsky.social and #LifeArc www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...

#Preprint alert 🚨 Genetic dissection of cyclic di-GMP signaling in #Pseudomonas aeruginosa via diguanylate cyclase disruption―collaboration between our laboratory & Andrea Smania's team in Argentina, led by Roman Martino & Daniel Volke #CRISPR www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

A deep dive into #T6SS effector diversity in #pseudomonas out now in @naturecomms.bsky.social lead by Antonia Habich from the Unterweger lab. Great science and great collaboration. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

We are recruiting for my lab in Warsaw. One postdoc position available for a biochemistry project on superoxide dismutases (of course). ibb.edu.pl/app/uploads/... We're also looking for a technician. ibb.edu.pl/app/uploads/... Get your application in!

Exciting times at npj Antimicrobials and Resistance as we are now officially indexed in PubMed Central! Massive thanks to the whole editorial team whose hard work has made this possible! 🎉🥳 www.nature.com/npjamar/

Really happy to contribute to this fantastic work led by Harman Mehta in collaboration with Rodrigo Ledesma and @gbstan.bsky.social!! Harman demonstrates that a microbial biosynthetic pathway can be more efficient if divided between two strains 👏🎉🎊 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

We have a fully funded PhD studentship to work on engineering bacteria to degrade food associated plastic waste #microsky Deadline: Feb 3rd www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

OUT NOW: Bacteria use exogenous peptidoglycan as a danger signal to trigger biofilm formation by Knut Drescher & co www.nature.com/articles/s41...

🧪Check out post-doc @jdrabinska.bsky.social cool article on @BioRxiv-microbiol.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... We show hypoxia has a role in driving several changes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa that are associated with its adaptation to chronic infection.

The Acinetobacter conference’s preliminary program is out, and registration is open. Looking forward to seeing all the Acinetobacter aficionados in Niagara Falls in 2025. events.faseb.org/event/biolog...

Weak selection for resistance to quorum sensing inhibition during multiple host infection cycles #ISMEJournal from Tom Defoirdt academic.oup.com/ismej/advanc...

At npjAMR we are looking for an early career researcher to take on a dual role of Social Media Editor and Trainee Associate Editor. Lots of training and support provided to develop skills in editing. Details, contact info and how to apply in the link below.Pls repost! www.nature.com/npjamar/edit...

2 biochem postdoc positions available in the new year Initial funding for 1 y (poss. extension for further y) so Europe-based applicants preferred for speed Would be great for those seeking international experience Details TBC but if interested, reach out to discuss informally Share far & wide

Our latest: cooperation and cheating in clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa that use RhlR as the main acyl-homoserine lactone quorum sensing receptor. (Corrected link) journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Resistance to one antibiotic can make bacteria resistant or sensitive to another antibiotic, opening paths for combinatorial treatments. A study in Nature Microbiology presents an approach to systematically discover and understand such antibiotic relationships. https://go.nature.com/49of3Mk 🧪

Engineering biology approaches to modulate bacterial biofilms #TrendsBiotech by Clodagh M. Carr et al from @ronanmccarthy.bsky.social at @ucc.bsky.social www.cell.com/trends/biote...

Delighted to give a seminar today at @maynoothuni.bsky.social and chat with so many great scientists.

Another PhD opportunity in the team! This time its an exciting collaboration with @halllab.bsky.social and @kimhardie.bsky.social looking at why not all bacteria become resistant! www.findaphd.com/phds/project... Deadline 10th Jan and open to Uk and overseas! Pls repost!

🚨 New preprint 🚨 With two excellent students Shalini Choudhary and Jacob Smith, we started looking at how the metabolic microenvironment of the urinary tract might affect uropathogenic E. coli evolution and response to antibiotics. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

The Natural Products Atlas 3.0: extending the database of microbially derived natural products - thanks to the Linington lab for letting the Duncan lab be part of the curation efforts academic.oup.com/nar/advance-... #NaturalProducts #SpecializedMetabolites #microsky #microbialchemistry

Excited to share our latest, "Biofilm dispersal patterns revealed using far-red fluorogenic probes." @plos.bsky.social We developed a cell-labeling strategy using far-red dyes to image dense microbial communities (where fluorescent proteins often do not work well) journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

A huge thank you to @ronanmccarthy.bsky.social and @friendlymicrobe.bsky.social for chairing and organising such a vibrant British Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy 2024 meeting! Diverse speakers, inclusive environment, hugely interactive and engaging and very enjoyable! #AMR #microsky

Fantastic few days at the @bsacandjac.bsky.social ARM workshop, a real honor to co-chair this meeting and congratulations to the fantastic poster winners

Happy to share our last publication. Diclofenac and colistin synergistically act against colistin-resistant A baumannii in mice at low concentration. They repress expression of type IV pili, causing an antivirulence effect! journals.plos.org/plospathogen...