Christopher D. Johnston

The type VI secretion system governs strain maintenance in a wild mammalian gut microbiome

This study shows the type VI secretion system (T6SS) in Bacteroides acidifaciens helps maintain its presence in a wild mouse gut microbiome by antagonizing other Bacteroidales, but its effect depends on ecological context.

PSMε controls skin commensal CD8+ T cell activation

This study identifies PSMε as a key molecular component that drives CD8+ T cell activation by commensal bacteria, offering a mechanism for immunotherapy without live bacterial colonization.

Genetic engineering of Staphylococcus haemolyticus: Overcoming Restriction-Modification Barriers and Targeting Virulence Genes

This paper develops molecular tools to overcome restriction-modification barriers in Staphylococcus haemolyticus, enabling genome editing and virulence gene targeting.

A Syntenic Pangenome of Gardnerella Reveals Novel Plasmids and Phage, Taxonomic Boundaries, and Species-Level Stratification of Metabolic and Virulence Potential

This study constructs a syntenic pangenome of Gardnerella, revealing new plasmids, taxonomic boundaries, and species-level differences in metabolic and virulence traits.

Complete genome sequences of Fusobacterium watanabei sp. isolates

The paper reports the complete genome sequences of eight clinical isolates of Fusobacterium watanabei and classifies them within the 'Fusobacterium nucleatum_J' group.

Biosensor libraries harness large classes of binding domains for allosteric transcription regulators

The paper presents a strategy to construct and test chimeric transcription factor libraries using periplasmic binding proteins and DNA-binding domains to create biosensors for small molecule sensing.