Savannah K Bertolli

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.

The paper identifies the Rnf electron transport chain as a susceptibility determinant for Bte2 pore-forming toxins in Bacteroides, showing its role in toxin-mediated membrane depolarization during gut colonization.

The paper shows that Pseudomonas bacteria use a single regulatory pathway to coordinate defense against both bacterial and viral threats across multiple species.

The paper identifies teichuronic acid oligosaccharides as the receptor for umbrella toxins and shows targeting specificity arises from lectin domain recognition of variable TUA-WTA structures.

This study identifies umbrella toxin particles produced by Streptomyces that inhibit the growth of competing bacterial species, distinct from small molecule antibiotics.