Raphael Laurenceau
Microbiologist
- www.nature.com/articles/d41... I tried, and I'm impressed. Just input a general claim, it will return an expanded version backed by multiple experimental studies. link to the Asta tool here openscilm.allen.ai
- Reposted by Raphael LaurenceauPassioned by #bioenergetics? Do not miss our new article on the evolutionary history of oxidoreductases with G. Borrel and @sgribaldo.bsky.social @archaeal.bsky.social @valdeanda.bsky.social @pasteur.fr @cnrs.fr @cnrsbiologie.bsky.social @natecoevo.nature.com (www.nature.com/articles/s41...).
- I had never heard of this ABS... Some E. coli can apparently ferment sugars into alcohol within the gut www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- I couldn’t agree more! Help support Wikipedia. It has been a pillar of high-quality knowledge sharing since the early web, and it’s more relevant than ever in the fuzzy age of AI www.nature.com/articles/d41...
- The fact that Musk is deliberately trying to replace it confirms its unique role in resisting the wave of AI disinformation edition.cnn.com/2025/10/28/t...
- Wow.. 😔 www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
- Reposted by Raphael LaurenceauNeisseria gonorrhoeae carries an unusually large number of restriction–modification systems (up to 16!), many of which are phase-variable. How does this affect plasmid transmission in gonococci? doi.org/10.64898/202...
- A great paper. Perfect for non-experts like myself. So, can we definitively say that bacterial species follow the BSC model? Homologous recombination DOES "play a crucial role in maintaining species cohesiveness, much like sexual reproduction does in eukaryotes" www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Reposted by Raphael LaurenceauNew preprint from my lab (with Arya Kaul, @fernpizza.bsky.social, and @brinda.eu), in which we explore new genes hitchhiking on the beneficial deletion that fused them together, and find them in the LTEE, M. Tb/bovis, and across the bacterial tree of life
- Novel genes arise from genomic deletions across the bacterial tree of life biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20…
- Reposted by Raphael Laurenceau🚨 New paper from our lab in Cell Reports @cp-cellreports.bsky.social, led by Clara Douadi! We show that bacteriophages can cross the intestinal barrier, with increased translocation in Crohn's disease. 🔗 www.cell.com/cell-reports... Many thanks to all the authors!
- Reposted by Raphael LaurenceauHappy to share that our work on HLp, a bacterial histone from Leptospira perolatii, is now published in Nature Communications 🎉 In this study, we show that HLp forms stable tetramers that wrap ~60 bp of DNA, revealing a distinct histone–DNA organization in bacteria. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Reposted by Raphael LaurenceauWe've come full circle! I began my postdoctoral career by identifying the peptidyl deformylase gene. Today, we show that half of bacterial species harbor multiple PDF genes (up to 7, for always a single Met-tRNA transformylase), and while the role of these PDFs ... academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...
- Reposted by Raphael Laurenceauacademic.oup.com/nar/article/... Collaboration with Y. Yamaichi. Killing donor bacteria in conjugation mixes using water enables transcriptomic profiling of early plasmid genes ! Superb tool for studying zygotic induction of these early genes, which include anti-SOS and anti-RM factors. #microsky
- A membrane-sheathed flagellum! I had never heard of that www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Reposted by Raphael LaurenceauNice move @cnrs.fr From 2026, no more Web of Science. But is the community truly ready for qualitative evaluation? Hiring, promotions, grants… we’ve all been shaped by the metrics we grew up with. Changing the mindset is the real challenge and will take time.
- Reposted by Raphael LaurenceauA newly discovered archaeal cell has a tiny genome and can’t metabolize biomolecules. It’s upending biologists’ definition of a living thing. “These types of organisms have been found before, but not as extreme as this,” said microbiologist Thijs Ettema.
- Reposted by Raphael Laurenceau🧬🛡️How are new immune mechanisms created? We show how Lamassu antiphage system, originated from a DNA-repair complex and evolved into a compact and modular immune machine, wt Dinshaw Patel lab in @pnas.org. 👏 @matthieu-haudiquet.bsky.social, Arpita Chakravarti & all authors! doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
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- www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... A clever metabolic engineering framework in P. putida
- www.nature.com/articles/s41... Nice phage host-range work with useful application
- Reposted by Raphael LaurenceauOur latest paper is out with @adiop.bsky.social and @gmdouglas.bsky.social. We analyzed the extent of homologous recombination between bacterial species (introgression) and how it affects species borders (it can vary a lot depending on the approach used to classify species!). rdcu.be/eQAMf
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- Reposted by Raphael LaurenceauCool work from our neighbors at @cultivarium.bsky.social using components from the POSSUM Toolkit! What will they (or you!) find next? Check out the toolkit here: www.addgene.org/kits/cultiva...
- Very happy to share our recent work @cultivarium.bsky.social on genetic tools for Ideonella sakaiensis, a (Betaproteo-)bacterium that degrades PET plastic. We identified a plasmid vector for the strain and generated a large RB-TnSeq library, screening for genes impacting plastic degradation.
- Reposted by Raphael Laurenceau🚨New preprint out! We present a foundational genomic resource of human gut microbiome viruses. It delivers high-quality, deeply curated data spanning taxonomy, predicted hosts, structures, and functions, providing a reference for gut virome research. (1/8) www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
- The impressive molecular details of the retroelement Eco8 defense activation, a protein-RNA-DNA complex in which all three play a part www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
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- Reposted by Raphael Laurenceau@prczhaoyansong.bsky.social’s deep dive into the dark matter of compost communities is now out 🎉 Genomic islands hijack jumbo phages—whose capsids enable transfer of large tracts of DNA—shedding new light on the scale & scope of phage-mediated gene flow 😎 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
- Reposted by Raphael LaurenceauOur work on viruses and virus satellites of haloarchaea and their DPANN symbionts is out today in Nature Microbiology! @mkrupovic.bsky.social @deemteam.bsky.social @anagtz.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Phage defense is sometimes so convoluted 🙃
- Reposted by Raphael LaurenceauExcited to share our preprint led by Carlos Voogdt et al We developed new genetic tools & genome-wide libraries for species of the Bacteroidales order; constructed saturated barcoded transposon libraries in key representatives of three genera. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
- Reposted by Raphael LaurenceauPhages evolve fast, or do they? In oysters, some stay identical for years. With >1,200 phages & 600 Vibrio genomes, we reveal long-term stability and new mobile elements. Proud of this collaborative work across our teams (Roscoff-UdeM and @epcrocha.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
- www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Another breakthrough work on the fascinating biology of Diversity Generating Retroelements by Jeff Miller’s team
- Reposted by Raphael LaurenceauCan we exploit past phage infection events (prophages) to decipher the specificity of phage receptor-binding proteins such as depolymerases?🔎 Happy to share our recent work at @natcomms.nature.com 🔽 #microsky #phagesky www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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- Reposted by Raphael LaurenceauType IV secretion systems: from structures to mechanisms Kévin Macé and colleagues summarize recent structural insights into the assembly and function of bacterial type IV secretion systems www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
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- Biofilm formation mediated by a Type IV secretion system pilus www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Reposted by Raphael LaurenceauToday in @nature.com , we highlight how a cousin of CRISPR-Cas10, mCpol, establishes an evolutionary trap in anti-phage immune systems. Check out @erinedoherty.bsky.social and my work from @doudna-lab.bsky.social lab here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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- Reposted by Raphael LaurenceauI get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA 10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)
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- Reposted by Raphael LaurenceauDelighted to share our recently published work! Ever wondered how Klebsiella (and others) deals with capsule production’s costs ? The paper: journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/... Thread👇
- Reposted by Raphael Laurenceau🚨New Review Out🚨 We explore how phage-antibiotic synergy can dismantle efflux-driven resistance in multidrug-resistant ESKAPEE pathogens. By reprogramming bacterial defences, phages offer a precision strategy to restore antibiotic efficacy. journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
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- OMG this is it?! The final piece in the puzzle?!😲 tRNAs are the key, because archaic tRNAs sit at the core of all ribosomes. If aminoacyl-tRNAs could form on early Earth, you have a plausible route for the first self-replicators, the bridge from chemistry to biology www.nature.com/articles/d41...
- Reposted by Raphael LaurenceauEver wondered why some bacteria have multiple CRISPR-Cas systems? Our new study led by Leah Smith shows how type I CRISPR systems can promote the acquisition and retention of new spacers into a co-occuring type III system. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
- Reposted by Raphael Laurenceau1/16 New pre-print from the Sternberg Lab! We uncover how temperate phages can use RNA-guided transcription factors to remodel the flagellar composition of their bacterial host and enhance their fitness. Find the preprint and full story here: tinyurl.com/mshwjd77
- What a cool way to sort out massive information!
- New pre-print from my group - project led by PhD student Michael Hoffert. We set out on a daunting mission to generate a 'periodic table' of bacterial diversity (1/6) www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
- Reposted by Raphael LaurenceauSeriously cool Microbiome Engineering work! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
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- Reposted by Raphael LaurenceauHow may theoretical ecology & evolutionary theory push microbiology forward? At Environmental Microbiology, I am commissioning a series of Perspectives exploring that question. Excited to share them in the 🧵 below The series is open, so do get in touch if you'd like to propose a new contribution!
- Reposted by Raphael LaurenceauProphages block cell surface receptors to preserve their viral progeny www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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- Reposted by Raphael LaurenceauNow published, congrats Bevika, Kinki, Vincent, Florian and Paddy! #MicroSky www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Checkout this preprint from Bevika Sewgoolam! She used CRISPRi-seq to determine antibiotic-stress signatures, specifically of pneumococci treated with fluoroquinolone antibiotics. It's a really powerful approach revealing a surprising antibiotic combination therapy. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
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- Reposted by Raphael LaurenceauOur paper demonstrating that within-species warfare interactions are ecologically important on human skin is now published in Nature Micro! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Why don’t people who live together have the same strains of microbes? Tami Lieberman (@contaminatedsci.bsky.social) and I put forward one underexplored reason in our new preprint: Intraspecies warfare restricts strain coexistence in human skin microbiomes
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- It's about time we asked this question www.nature.com/articles/d41...
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- Reposted by Raphael LaurenceauNew Preprint!! Alejandro González-Delgado accomplished a major feat on this one: ported retron recombineering, which we love so much in E. coli, into 14 new bacterial species via a massive collaborative effort involving 9 labs! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
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