Pilhofer Lab

Captain Aureispira - a bacterial pirate ship🦜🏴‍☠️🪝- boarded @ScienceMagazine. Check out the manuscript here: science.org/doi/10.1126/sc… and have a look on our extended thread below ⬇️We provide new insights on bacterial predation from molecules ⚛️to ocean samples 🌊

In a collaboration between the @PilhoferLab and the Albers Lab from the University of Freiburg, the researchers show that haloarchaea express contractile injection systems – or “molecular daggers”, which influence the microbial communities they inhabit. biol.ethz.ch/en/news-and-ev…

Bye bye X/Twitter! Please come visit us on Bluesky @pilhoferlab.bsky.social bsky.app/profile/pilhof… for future lab news, including a new paper on an Archaeal Type 6 Secretion System!

Researchers at ETH Zurich have analysed down to the smallest detail the unusual arsenal of weapons that a predatory marine bacterium has at its disposal. Perhaps one day these weapons could also be put to use in medicine. ethz.ch/en/news-and-ev…

The peer-reviewed version of the manuscript can be found here: science.org/doi/10.1126/sc… 🙏 We thank the reviewers for their constructive feedback!

But does this happen in the environment? 🌍 With the help of @NBartlau and @MartinPolz, we analyzed a time-resolved metagenomic dataset from the ocean 🌊 and indeed found coupled dynamics indicating a predator-prey relationship between Vibrionaceae and ixotrophic predators 🧵6/6

Bacteria can be pirates too... 🏴‍☠️ Let us introduce you to Captain Aureispira ⛵️ A bacterial pirate ship loaded with canons 💉 and grappling hooks 🪝🌴predating on other bacteria 🦠 Check the preprint: biorxiv.org/content/10.110… #predation #T6SS #T9SS #cryoEM #cryoET #teamtomo 🧵1/6

Fly-fishing for flagella... Check out the lovely perspective by Andrew Lovering and @SimonCaulton 🙏🙏 about our findings on bacterial predation via ixotrophy. science.org/doi/10.1126/sc…

Read the preprint here: biorxiv.org/cgi/content/sh… to see how we used multidisciplinary approaches like #genetics 🧬, #cryoET ❄️🔬, single-particle #cryoEM, #lightmicroscopy 💡, and functional assays to unravel the secrets of this fascinating antibiotic-producing bacterium. 💊 🧵2/2

Exciting news!🚀 We have a new follow-up on the cytoplasmic Contractile Injection System from #Streptomyces!💉@casub1, in a wonderful collaboration with @JWSallmenII & @SusanSchlimpert, unveils the critical role of CisA in Streptomyces CIS functionality. ☠️🧵 1/2

An accompanying paper from the Matos lab in collaboration 👯‍♀️👯 with us and the @pedrobeltrao lab and Aebersold lab at @Dev_Cell unveils coordinated waves 🌊🌊🌊 of protein expression and phosphorylation in yeast gametogenesis. cell.com/developmental-…

What are the functions of these filaments? Structural characterization and functional assays suggest that Acs1 filaments facilitates the recovery of chronologically aged spores 😴and, more generally, the cell cycle re-entry of starved cells. 🥳🧵(5/5)

Using #FilamentID, we found that the conserved aldehyde dehydrogenase 4 (Ald4) forms filaments in the mitochondria, whereas acetyl-CoA synthetase 1 (Acs1) polymerizes into nuclear and cytoplasmic filaments 🔍 🧵(4/5)

To #TeamTomo ❄️🔬: Do you also sometimes see strange filaments in your #cryoET data and don’t know what they are? 🤔 Try #FilamentID! 🪄🤓 Check out our new paper at @CellCellPress by @HugenerJannik and @xujw_thu together with the Matos lab cell.com/cell/fulltext/… 🧵(1/5)

Free DPANNs are motile, but ectosymbiotic cells are linked with the host via an elaborate attachment organelle, making them the potentially first microorganisms using a straw 🥤 Also have a look at the beautifully complementing story from @DebnathGhosal: biorxiv.org/content/10.110…

#cryoET as discovery tool ❄️🔬: DPANN archaea are enigmatic, hard to cultivate, and rely on an ectosymbiotic lifestyle. Check out our new paper @ISMEJournal from Vasil Gaisin in collaboration with @Archaellum where we describe two DPANN lifecycle stages: academic.oup.com/ismej/advance-…

Have you ever had nightmares of killer archaea? 🔪☠️😱 stop dreaming! Have a look at our latest preprint on how Halogeometricum borinquense uses it type 6 secretion system to kill Haloferax volcanii: biorxiv.org/content/10.110…

It's out! It's out! 📢The bacterial Tc Toxins are out😱☠️ (and our paper 📜😉)! But how did these huge complexes get out? Where did they assemble? 🧐 Check out Tc Toxins' great escape from Yersina 🦠 @NatureMicrobiol: nature.com/articles/s4156… #cryoET #toxins #microbiology 🧵1/4

See also the associated paper: Yersinia entomophaga Tc toxin is released by T10SS-dependent lysis of specialized cell subpopulations By Oleg Sitsel, Stefan Raunser & colleagues @oleg_sitsel @Intein nature.com/articles/s4156…

Congrats to @miki_hannah and to all collaboration partners.