Barrie Wilkinson

If anyone is interested in working on these bacteria @johninnescentre.bsky.social has protocols, strains, plasmids and a genome database available here: streptomyces.org.uk

Revitalizing actinobacteria research: an urgent response to the antimicrobial resistance crisis - Natural Products and Bioprospecting Abstract The crisis of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is escalating while the antibiotic pipeline remains stagnant. Our bibliometric analysis of eight decades of literature reveals a critical imbalanc...

Research into filamentous actinomycetes, the antibiotic producers, is in steep decline. Loads of natural products chemistry research worldwide but not much aimed at understanding their biology and ecology. The latter is key to unlocking their specialised metabolism

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Good to see this out - new CRISPRi work from the
@ryanfseipke.bsky.social lab/ #microsky #streptomyces

A platform for CRISPRi-seq in Streptomyces albidoflavus

journals.asm.org/doi/pdf/10.1...

Delighted to see the main work from my PhD finally published in @mbio.bsky.social! It all started with the observation that deleting the cutRS two-component system in S. venezuelae caused this amazing explorer phenotype in the presence of glucose. But what was going on?! (1/n)

Very happy to see this remarkable work published. Led by @tommclean.bsky.social and @ainsley-beaton.bsky.social. We show how Streptomyces bacteria sense & respond to misfolded secreted proteins. A great collaboration with @barriewilks.bsky.social

#microsky

1/2

journals.asm.org/doi/epub/10....

Stable inheritance of the Streptomyces linear plasmid SCP1 by dual ParABS partition systems Low-copy-number plasmids often rely on dedicated maintenance mechanisms, such as partitioning systems, to ensure stable inheritance across generations. These partition systems actively segregate siste...

📄 Delighted to share that the preprint of my main PhD work is out now!

👏 A huge thank you to everyone involved, @tommclean.bsky.social, Govind Chandra, Ngat Tran (both not on BlueSky) and especially my PhD supervisor @tunglejic.bsky.social 👏

🧵 below!

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Mark was an inspirational colleague and a wonderful mentor who helped immensely when I was setting up my new lab.

Congratulations Dmitry!

Need a winter warmer? Groundbreaking gene-edited tomato soup trial with higher levels of 'Sunshine' vitamin recruiting now - Quadram Institute Human trial of gene edited food, to understand whether biofortifying tomatoes in this way leads to higher levels of vitamin D in the blood

If successful, the ViTaL-D Study would be a step towards using biofortified tomatoes to overcome a growing global problem of vitamin D deficiency 🌎

This step forward is of particular interest to people who follow a plant-based diet because vegan sources of vitamin D are nearly non-existent 🌿

We are hiring‼️ Two cool projects in my group for a PhD student in plant immunity and for a Postdoc in plant microbiota research 🌿🧫🚀🚀

Beyond Immunity: Uncovering the Hidden Diversity of Bacterial NLRs (SCHLIMPERT_J26DTP) | Doctoral Training Partnership Join us in exploring the hidden functions of ancient immune proteins in bacteria. Bacteria, like plants and animals, have evolved sophisticated systems to detect and respond to threats.

We have a PhD opportunity available in our group @johninnescentre.bsky.social through the NRP Doctoral Training Partnership. Help us uncover the Hidden Diversity of Bacterial NLRs.

Start date: October 2026. For more information and how to apply👉 biodtp.norwichresearchpark.ac.uk/projects/bey...

Independent research fellowships leading to tenured positions at the John Innes Centre.

Repost = nice. Thank you very much!!!

Start independent research at the JIC with us 👇.

Really interested in finding those with an interest in structural biology and biochemistry of plants and microbes.

Please do get in touch by email if you'd like to know more 👍

🤣

There is still some time left to apply for these two Group Leader positions in Plant Biology and Microbe-Plant Interactions. Spread the word, apply & become our colleague @johninnescentre.bsky.social

Interested in host-associated microbiomes? Attending @eseb2025.bsky.social? Then come check out Symposium S07 on Monday August 18th and hear all about how microbiomes contribute to adaptation. Gut microbiomes, climate change, thermal physiology, behaviour, invasion biology, blood-feeding, and more!

🤣

VACANCY - We’re recruiting for a visionary group leader to lead fundamental research on Discovery Plant Science as part of our vibrant research community

Successful candidate will be offered a six-year tenure-track position with the opportunity to apply for tenure:

www.jic.ac.uk/vacancies/gr...

Ever wondered why some antibiotics are made by Streptomyces on agar plates but not in liquid cultures? Read this work on redox control of antibiotic biosynthesis. Led by katienoble241.bsky.social and Rebecca Devine, and in collaboration with @barriewilks.bsky.social

journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Here we go 🇬🇧🦁🇮🇪🏉

Major funding boost to bring world leading researchers to the John Innes Centre | John Innes Centre The John Innes Centre has been awarded an equal share of the new £54 million Global Talent Fund, to attract and support leading researchers and their teams to relocate to the UK. The new Global Talent...

Exciting times to be at @johninnescentre.bsky.social !

www.jic.ac.uk/press-releas...

We’re pleased to announce two new vacancies for senior roles at our institute:

Group Leader in Discovery Plant Sciences: www.jic.ac.uk/vacancies/gr...

🗓️ Closes 25 August

Independent Fellowship in Plant-Associated Microbial Interactions: www.jic.ac.uk/vacancies/in...

🗓️ Closes 5 September

Congrats, great to see this out in full!

A great story begun by Siobhan Dorai-Raj and taken over the line by @thombooth.bsky.social and Juan Pablo Gomez-Escribano. It's been tremendous fun and wonderful to watch old lab members become collaborators and leaders!

Congratulations Tung and team, great to see this fab story out in full!

Delighted to be speaking on "A platform for lantibiotic diversification" at SynBioAustralasia 2025 this November in Wellington.
If you’re working at the intersection of biology and engineering — don’t miss it.
🔗 synbioaustralasia.org/upcoming-conference
#SBA2025 #SyntheticBiology #SynBioCommunity

Super happy to see our work on lydiamycin biosynthesis, structure and function published in @pnas.org 😀
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

The work is described in the thread below, where we use BGC info to guide the discovery of multiple key features of this antibiotic.
@johninnescentre.bsky.social

Early Career Microbiologists Mini-Symposium 2025 | John Innes Centre The Department of Molecular Microbiology is organising a one and a half day Early Career Microbiologists Mini-Symposium. The symposium will be held from Monday 15 – Tuesday 16 September 2025.

EVENT - Early Career Microbiologists Mini-Symposium

Join our Department of Molecular #Microbiology Early Career Microbiologists Mini-Symposium.

Application deadline: 9 June 2025.

Event: 15 - 16 September 2025.
The John Innes Centre, NR4 7UH

Find out more and apply: www.jic.ac.uk/event/early-...

“Measles: A Dangerous Illness” — a letter by Roald Dahl — Superbugs - The microbial world in, on and around us Originally published in a pamphlet for the Sandwell Health Authority in the West Midlands in 1986

Happy International Day of Immunology! 🧬🔬💉

“Measles: A Dangerous Illness” — a letter by Roald Dahl

'It is not yet generally accepted that measles can be a dangerous illness. Believe me, it is.'

Cover of new issue of Science Translational Medicine, showing an Ixodes scapularis tick

Identification of a specific, pre-existing beta-lactam antibiotic for treating Lyme disease Borrelia infections. Cool new report from @jutraslab.bsky.social Brandon Jutras & colleagues.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40267215/

#MicroSky 🦠🧫🔬