M. M. Pires

Identification of a new family of peptidoglycan transpeptidases reveals atypical crosslinking is essential for viability in Clostridioides difficile

This study identifies a new family of LDTs in C. difficile that catalyze 3-3 peptidoglycan crosslinking, essential for viability and distinct from previously known YkuD domain LDTs.

Targeting Iron - Respiratory Reciprocity Promotes Bacterial Death

The paper identifies a non-lytic bactericidal mechanism in P. aeruginosa by targeting multiple transporters and transcription, leading to respiratory suppression and bacterial death.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae scavenges host sialic acid for Siglec-mediated, complement-independent suppression of neutrophil activation

This paper shows that Neisseria gonorrhoeae uses sialic acid from the host to modify its surface, which helps it avoid neutrophil activation without needing the complement system.

Climate change should drive mammal defaunation in tropical dry forests

This study projects that climate change will cause significant mammal defaunation in the Caatinga drylands, with 85% of species losing suitable habitats by 2060.

Compartment-Specific Measurement of Small Molecule Accumulation into Diderm Bacteria

The paper develops BaCAPA, a method to measure small molecule accumulation in specific bacterial compartments, showing its utility for both model and pathogenic bacteria.

Non-invasive Fluorescence Imaging of Gut Commensal Bacteria in Live Mice

This paper describes a non-invasive method to image gut commensal bacteria in live mice using metabolic labeling of bacterial cell walls.

Metabolic Processing of Selenium-based Bioisostere of meso-diaminopimelic Acid in Live Bacteria

The paper synthesizes and demonstrates the metabolic processing of a selenium-based bioisostere of m-DAP in live bacteria, showing its incorporation into the peptidoglycan layer.

Selective Display of a Chemoattractant Agonist on Cancer Cells Activates the Formyl Peptide Receptor 1 on Immune Cells

The paper designs a bifunctional agent using pHLIP to selectively display a chemoattractant agonist on cancer cells, activating formyl peptide receptors on immune cells to initiate an immune response.

Transposon Screen of Surface Accessibility in S. aureus

The paper uses a transposon screen to identify genes affecting peptidoglycan accessibility in S. aureus, revealing genes that modulate sensitivity to lysostaphin.

Combined impacts of climate and land use change and the future of Neotropical bat biodiversity

This study projects the impacts of climate and land-use change on Neotropical bat biodiversity, finding that habitat specialists face greater range contraction and community homogenization is expected across the region.

Remodeling of Crossbridges Controls Peptidoglycan Crosslinking Levels in Bacterial Cell Walls

The paper develops acyl-acceptor probes to study PG crosslinking in bacteria, revealing structural variations' physiological roles.

pH-Dependent Grafting of Cancer Cells with Antigenic Epitopes Promotes Selective Antibody-Mediated Cytotoxicity

This study develops pH-dependent conjugates that graft antigenic epitopes onto cancer cells to enhance antibody-mediated cytotoxicity.

Revealing biases in the sampling of ecological interaction networks

This paper develops EcoNetGen to study sampling biases in ecological interaction networks and finds that sampling by species degree is most accurate for estimating network structure.