Contrasting drivers of abundant phage and prokaryotic communities revealed in diverse coastal ecosystems

https://www.nature.com/articles/s43705-023-00333-6

#marine #viruses #phages #ocean #microbiology #virology

Contrasting drivers of abundant phage and prokaryotic communities revealed in diverse coastal ecosystems - ISME Communications

ISME Communications - Contrasting drivers of abundant phage and prokaryotic communities revealed in diverse coastal ecosystems

^Nature

Awesome work from Rotem Sorek lab in our department:
Rotem's lab & others found this past decade >150 bacterial defense mechanisms against phages.
This new work, led by Erez Yirmiya, explores phage *anti-defense* mechanisms, and it's really cool!
#bacteria #bacteriophage #phages

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06869-w

Ongoing shuffling of protein fragments diversifies core viral functions linked to interactions with bacterial hosts

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-43236-9

#phages #viruses #evolution #genomics

Ongoing shuffling of protein fragments diversifies core viral functions linked to interactions with bacterial hosts - Nature Communications

Proteins are composed of distinct functional domains, each serving a specific role. Here, Smug et al. show that phages are able to shuffle fragments of their proteins and this predominantly occurs in proteins involved in bacterial host interactions.

^Nature

Vampire viruses prey on other #viruses to replicate themselves

#phages

A virus that latches onto the neck of another virus

https://flip.it/MazmGp

Vampire viruses prey on other viruses to replicate themselves − and may hold the key to new antiviral therapies

Researchers discovered a satellite virus latching onto the neck of another virus called MindFlayer. Studying the viral arms race between similar viruses could lead to new ways to fight infections.

^{The Conversation}

Characterization of crAss-like phage isolates highlights Crassvirales genetic heterogeneity and worldwide distribution

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-40098-z

#phages #bacteriophage #viruses

Characterization of crAss-like phage isolates highlights Crassvirales genetic heterogeneity and worldwide distribution - Nature Communications

Here, the authors report the isolation and genetic characterization of 25 unique crAss-like phages (termed “crAssBcn”) infecting Bacteroides intestinalis, and show that CrAssBcn phages are commonly found in fecal samples from people around the globe,…

^Nature

Scientists discover how parasites of #viruses drive #superbug #evolution.

#phages #gene_transfer #lateral_transduction

https://phys.org/news/2023-08-scientists-parasites-viruses-superbug-evolution.html

Scientists discover how parasites of viruses drive superbug evolution

In a study published in Cell, scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Imperial College London have discovered a new way by which bacteria transmit their genes, enabling them to evolve much faster than previously understood.

^{Science X (Phys.org)}

Happy to say I defended my dissertation "Methods and complexity in phage-bacteria ecology and evolution"!

Much thanks to all those who supported me throughout my PhD.

I'm glad to be sticking around the Turner Lab for another year as a post-doc to continue my work on multispecies phage-bacteria communities

#PhDone #AcademicChatter #AcademicMastodon #Academia #PhD #Ecology #Evolution #Phage #Phages

'#Bioprospecting' technique uncovers #viruses that can kill deadly superbugs.

#phages #antimicrobial #epitopes #porin

https://phys.org/news/2023-05-bioprospecting-technique-uncovers-viruses-deadly.html

'Bioprospecting' technique uncovers viruses that can kill deadly superbugs

In a modern take on the Victorian gold rush, a Monash University-led project is successfully "bioprospecting" for viruses known as phages that can kill deadly superbugs.

^{Cheryl Critchley (Phys.org)}

Happy to see the first experimental project I led finally out in the world! With Jeremy Moore, Sydney Olsen, and Mike Travisano

We combined experimental evolution and mathematical modeling to ask: do bacteria evolve to swim away from phages?

1/n

https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.04.29.538831

#microbiology #evolution #ecology #phages #phage #bacteria #MicrobialEvolution #MicrobialEcology

Fight not flight: parasites drive the bacterial evolution of resistance, not avoidance

In the face of ubiquitous threats from parasites, hosts often evolve strategies to resist infection or to altogether avoid contact with parasites. At the microbial scale, bacteria frequently encounter viral parasites, bacteriophages.

^bioRxiv

Hijacking strategy mapped for hundreds of #viruses.

#infection #protein #motif #phages

https://phys.org/news/2023-05-hijacking-strategy-hundreds-viruses.html

Hijacking strategy mapped for hundreds of viruses

One strategy that viruses use to take over a host cell is to mimic small parts of the cell's proteins called motifs.

^{Science X (Phys.org)}