Kevin England

Exapted CRISPR–Cas12f homologues drive RNA-guided transcription - Nature Specialized σ factors interact with nuclease-dead, CRISPR–Cas12f proteins to form potent, RNA-guided gene activation systems that function independently of fixed promoter motifs.

Just amazing what evolution can come up with. Naturally occurring nuclease deficient Cas12 family members use gRNAs to bind DNA and recruit sigmaE family members that drive txn initiation proximally. 2 papers! 1- describes 2- structure!
www.nature.com/articles/s41... www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Rifampicin-induced Staphylococcus aureus persister formation is driven by CodY regulon and oxidative stress level https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.03.03.709237v1

Ribosome is everything! Everything else just there for ribosome.

Mike Cashel: magic spot magician | Journal of Bacteriology In July 2025, we lost Mike Cashel, a gifted scientist and critical contributor to the bacterial research community, after a long illness. Through his studies on (p)ppGpp and its modes of action, Mike ...

"Mike Cashel: magic spot magician"

journals.asm.org/doi/full/10....

AP4A functions as a regulatory switch of protein acetylation, connecting stress signaling to central metabolism.

@synmikro.bsky.social @unimarburg.bsky.social @mpimicrobiomarburg.bsky.social

Enjoy the reading:

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

In our most recent work David Forrest has discovered a widespread mechanisms linking transcription initiation to DNA supercoiling...

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Yeast elongation factor homolog New1 protects a subset of mRNAs from degradation by no-go decay Abstract. New1 is a homologue of the essential yeast translation elongation factor eEF3. Lack of New1 has been shown to induce ribosome queuing upstream of

4 - Still lots to learn about this mysterious factor.
🔗 Read the paper: academic.oup.com/nar/article/...
Funded by @dfg.de via SFB TRR319-RMaP 🙏
#RibosomeBiology #TranslationQC #RNA #Nanopore #Yeast #PhDPosition #DFG #RMaP #New1

Contrasting effects of glutamate and branched-chain amino acid metabolism on acid tolerance in a Castellaniella isolate from acidic groundwater | Applied and Environmental Microbiology Nitrate pollution in groundwater is a major threat to both environmental and human health. This nitrate pollution can come from a variety of sources, including farm fertilizers, sewage, animal waste, ...

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

We have a new paper out that looks at metabolic adaptations to mildly acidic conditions in a denitrifier isolated from acidic, nitrate-contaminated groundwater. 🧵

Prevalence and mechanisms of high-level carbapenem antibiotic tolerance in clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae Author summary Bacteria can survive exposure to antibiotics by constantly repairing cellular damage induced by the drug. This “antibiotic tolerance” enables diverse bacteria to survive long enough to ...

First paper of my PhD @doerrlab.bsky.social is up! We characterized meropenem tolerance in Enterobacterales species, and then further dissected tolerance mechanisms in Klebsiella pneumoniae. journals.plos.org/plospathogen...

Phage Portal Proteins Suppress Bacterial Stringent Response to Promote Infection https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.27.700999v1

If you're living somewhere outside the USA, one thing you can do is pressure your leaders to boycott World Cup and Olympic events here.

How do bacteria sense the antibiotic rifampicin? They employ a widespread dual-promoter based alarm system!

academic.oup.com/nar/article/...

@narjournal.bsky.social #subtiwiki

Excited to announce the re-establishment of the Central New York Branch of the American Society for Microbiology (CNY ASM)! Founded in 1921, revived in 2025 to support collaboration, inclusive programming, and microbiologists at all career stages! This is our official BlueSky account!

Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) | Biofilm Research Center | Binghamton University

Summer REU in biofilms! Pls share.
www.binghamton.edu/centers/biof...

Regulatory divergence and functional diversification of a c-di-GMP-controlled sigma factor in Actinomycetota https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.14.699351v1

N1-Methylpseudouridine directly modulates translation dynamics Nature - N1-Methylpseudouridine enhances the translation of synthetic mRNAs, independently of innate immunity.

Our new paper is out in Nature 🎉. We show that m1Ψ in mRNA vaccines doesn’t just quiet immunity, it also directly enhance translation by reshaping ribosome dynamics in a sequence-dependent way 🧬
Full paper : rdcu.be/eY5gx

Thanks for the endorsement! pGpp is a special alarmone, as you know!

My first first-author paper is posted! Glad to have this out! 🦠🚨🕺

We show that pGpp production depletes GTP, inhibits translation, and remodels the transcriptome faster than (p)ppGpp.

...and more!

The Bacillus subtilis class A penicillin-binding protein 4 (PBP4) requires an accessory protein RpdA Peptidoglycan (PG) synthesis is essential to maintain cell integrity during bacterial growth and division. In Bacillus subtilis, PG synthesis involves class A PBPs that act independently and class B P...

The Bacillus subtilis class A penicillin-binding protein 4 (PBP4) requires an accessory protein RpdA www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

"Single dumb quote" it is!

Does anyone know how to make the ′ symbol on Mac? As in guanosine 5′-diphosphate 3′-diphosphate.

Just learned that "prime" is its own symbol (′)...and not just an apostrophe (') ‼️

Latest work on the Diadema pathogen and its seasonal occurrence at a time series site

The sporulation phosphorelay protein Spo0B is membrane localized in Paenibacillus! The transmembrane domain appears to increase interaction with relay partners. Congrats to former lab undergrad @isabellalin.bsky.social and her grad mentor @cassidyprints.bsky.social

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

Metastable folding of Bacillus subtilis glmS ribozyme modulates turnover by RNase J1 Rapid turnover of glmS mRNA in Bacillus subtilis by 5′-3’ exoribonuclease RNase J is essential for feedback regulation of glucosamine-6-phosphate (Glc…

🫳 Metastable folding of Bacillus subtilis glmS ribozyme modulates turnover by RNase J1:

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

#subtiwiki

In this study, we highlight the importance of the base composition of the first codons for protein expression. An increased abundance of adenine (A) and a decrease in guanine (G) enhance expression and improve mRNA stability. The mediator of this effect is the ribosome.

The Bacillus subtilis class A penicillin-binding protein 4 (PBP4) requires an accessory protein RpdA https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.21.695826v1

Persister Cells Form Based on Low Ribosome Content https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.18.695105v1

The FsrA‐Mediated Iron‐Sparing Response Regulates the Biosynthesis of the Epipeptide EPE in Bacillus subtilis Under iron-limited conditions, FsrA base-pairs with the intergenic region between epeX and epeE, enhancing epeE translation and triggering EPE production. Toxin-mediated cell lysis releases nutrients....

The FsrA-Mediated Iron-Sparing Response Regulates the Biosynthesis of the Epipeptide EPE in Bacillus subtilis

#MolMicrobiol by Sarah Miercke, Rabea Ghandour, Kai Papenfort and Thorsten Mascher

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Identification of sporulation genes in Bacillus anthracis highlights similarities and significant differences with Bacillus subtilis How good is Bacillus subtilis as a model for the spore-forming pathogen Bacillus anthracis? Using high throughput genetics to identify B. anthracis sporulation genes and cytological analysis of the mu...

Fer’s tour de force in B. anthracis is out! Fer got Tn-seq running, built an ordered knockout library, defined all essential sporulation genes, and found a peptidoglycan deacetylase inhibitor critical for engulfment. Including our first one-by-all Alphafold screen! journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...