V. K. Mutalik

Geochemical constraints on bacteriophage infectivity in terrestrial environments

This study measures ion thresholds for phage infection and shows that phage impact on terrestrial microbiomes is strongest in high-ion environments with simple carbon sources.

Genome-wide Characterization of Diverse Bacteriophages Enabled by RNA-Binding CRISPRi

The paper develops a CRISPRi-ART system to knock down protein expression in diverse bacteriophages and identifies essential genes, including many with unknown functions.

Genome-wide CRISPRi knockdown to map gene essentiality landscape in coliphages {lambda} and P1

The paper uses CRISPRi to identify essential genes in coliphages λ and P1, revealing insights into gene essentiality and highlighting potential false positives in less studied phages.

RNA-targeting CRISPR-Cas13 Provides Broad-spectrum Phage Immunity

This paper demonstrates that LbuCas13a can broadly inhibit diverse E. coli phages and enable efficient, markerless phage genome editing.

Parallel multicopy-suppressor screens reveal convergent evolution of phage-encoded single gene lysis proteins

The paper identifies host suppressors of phage-encoded single gene lysis proteins, revealing convergent evolution and common mechanisms across diverse phages.

The Genetic Basis of phage susceptibility, cross-resistance and host-range in Salmonella

This study identifies 301 host factors in Salmonella involved in phage resistance, reveals cross-resistance mechanisms between RpoS and RpoN, and shows additional constraints define phage host range.

Systematic Discovery of Pseudomonad Genetic Factors Involved in Sensitivity to Tailocins

This study identifies genetic factors in pseudomonads that influence sensitivity to tailocins using transposon libraries and genomics.

High-throughput mapping of the phage resistance landscape in E. coli

This study maps host genetic determinants of phage resistance in E. coli using high-throughput genetic screens, identifying both known and novel resistance factors across 14 phages.

Dub-seq: dual-barcoded shotgun expression library sequencing for high-throughput characterization of functional traits

Dub-seq enables high-throughput overexpression screens in E. coli by combining shotgun expression libraries with DNA barcode sequencing to identify genes with gain-of-function phenotypes.