D. Bikard

In vivo delivery of functional Cas:DNA nucleoprotein complexes into recipient bacteria through a Type IV Secretion System

This paper demonstrates the delivery of functional Cas:DNA nucleoprotein complexes into recipient bacteria via a Type IV Secretion System, enabling targeted genetic modification without requiring nuclease expression in target cells.

Viral proteins activate PARIS-mediated tRNA degradation and viral tRNAs rescue infection

The paper shows that viral proteins activate PARIS-mediated tRNA degradation, and viral tRNAs rescue infection by preventing cleavage.

Type IV-A3 CRISPR-Cas systems drive inter-plasmid conflicts by acquiring spacers in trans

This study shows type IV-A3 CRISPR-Cas systems use host adaptation machinery to update their CRISPR arrays and interfere with plasmid and phage transfer, supporting their role in plasmid competition.

Within-patient evolution of plasmid-mediated antimicrobial resistance

This study tracks the evolution of plasmid-mediated antimicrobial resistance in hospitalized patients, revealing trade-offs between resistance levels and bacterial fitness.

Genetic determinism of phage-bacteria coevolution in natural populations

The paper investigates phage-bacteria coevolution in natural populations, finding that phage and host genomes exhibit gene content variation and that negative-frequency dependent selection drives coevolutionary dynamics.

Prophage-encoded hotspots of bacterial immune systems

The paper identifies prophage-encoded hotspots as a source of novel anti-phage systems and validates their defense activity across bacterial species.

Outer membrane lipoprotein DolP interacts with the BAM complex and promotes fitness during envelope stress response

The paper identifies DolP as an interactor of the BAM complex that enhances bacterial fitness during envelope stress by counteracting excessive BAM accumulation.

Cell-wall synthases contribute to bacterial cell-envelope integrity by actively repairing defects

The paper shows class-A penicillin-binding proteins (aPBPs), specifically PBP1b, repair cell-wall defects in E. coli to maintain integrity, independent of the Rod complex.

Genome-wide CRISPR-dCas9 screens in E. coli identify essential genes and phage host factors

This study uses genome-wide CRISPR-dCas9 screens in E. coli to identify essential genes and phage host factors, revealing colanic acid capsule as a barrier to phages.

Inhibition of NHEJ repair by type II-A CRISPR-Cas systems

The paper investigates the interaction between NHEJ repair and type II-A CRISPR-Cas systems, finding that Csn2 inhibits NHEJ while NHEJ does not affect CRISPR-Cas.

PhageTerm: a Fast and User-friendly Software to Determine Bacteriophage Termini and Packaging Mode using randomly fragmented NGS data

PhageTerm determines bacteriophage DNA termini and packaging modes using NGS data, validated on known phages and new isolates.