Matthew A. B. Baker

Evolutionary Coupling of Flagellar Motility and Type VI Secretion Systems Across Bacteria

The paper investigates the evolutionary relationship between flagellar motility and bacterial secretion systems, finding strong coupling with T6SS but not bacteriocins.

A Specific Ancestral Sequence Reconstruction of Flagellin Can Drive Motility in Salmonella enterica but not Escherichia coli

This study uses ancestral sequence reconstruction to generate flagellin sequences and tests their ability to restore motility in E. coli and S. Typhimurium, finding limited sequence tolerance and species-specific differences.

CetZ1-dependent polar assembly of the archaeal motility machinery

This study shows that CetZ1 is essential for the polar assembly of the archaeal motility machinery, with distinct roles from its paralog CetZ2.

Phage-encoded sRNA counteracts xenogenic silencing in pathogenic E. coli

The paper identifies a prophage-encoded sRNA, HnrS, that counteracts xenogenic silencing by repressing Hha, enabling virulence gene expression in E. coli.

The effect of PEGylation on surface tethering of liposomes via DNA nanotechnology.

This study investigates how varying PEG content in liposomes affects DNA-mediated surface tethering, finding that PEG can either block or enhance binding depending on membrane composition and PEG concentration.

Insertion of fluorescent proteins near the plug domain of MotB generates functional stator complex.

The paper inserts fluorescent proteins near the plug domain of MotB to study proton flow regulation without affecting motility, but finds limited fluorescence and the need for further optimization.

Molecular and structural innovations of the stator motor complex at the dawn of flagellar motility

This study classifies and characterizes MotAB stator complexes across bacterial phyla, identifying structural innovations linked to flagellar motility.

Rescue of bacterial motility using two and three-species FliC chimeras

The paper engineers FliC chimeras from multiple bacterial species to restore motility in E. coli, finding that two chimeras containing the S. Typhimurium D2 domain successfully rescue motility.

A compact vector for scarless gene editing in E. coli

The paper introduces pCASKD, a single-plasmid system for scarless gene editing in E. coli, demonstrating efficient knock-in and knock-out edits with reduced false positives and faster workflow.

The architecture, assembly, and evolution of a complex flagellar motor

This study builds a near-complete model of the complex flagellar motor in Campylobacter jejuni, revealing its architecture, composition, and evolutionary origins.

Mapping the loss of flagellar motility across the tree of life

The paper maps the evolution of flagellar motility across bacterial species by analyzing genome data and developing a classifier to predict motility based on protein homology.

Hybrid Exb/Mot stators require substitutions distant from the chimeric pore to power flagellar rotation

The paper designs and tests chimeric ion-powered rotary motors (IRMs) by combining components from different bacterial systems, showing that functional improvements require substitutions outside the hybrid pore region.

DIB-BOT: An open-source hardware approach for high throughput droplet interface bilayer deposition

DIB-BOT is an open-source hardware system for rapid, reproducible DIB fabrication, reducing errors and increasing yield compared to manual methods.

Building programmable multicompartment artificial cells incorporating remotely activated protein channels using microfluidics and acoustic levitation

This paper develops a droplet-based platform for creating multicompartment artificial cells with remotely controllable protein channels using microfluidics and acoustic levitation.

Computer-aided diagnosis of reflectance confocal images to differentiate between lentigo maligna (LM) and atypical intraepidermal melanocytic proliferation (AIMP)

This paper develops machine learning models to classify lentigo maligna and atypical intraepidermal melanocytic proliferation using reflectance confocal microscopy images.

Fluorescence Microscopy of Piezo1 in Droplet Hydrogel Bilayers

This study uses droplet-hydrogel bilayers to simultaneously record electrical activity and visualize fluorescently labeled Piezo1 channels, demonstrating their insertion and activation.