Going virtual: a report from the sixth Young Microbiologists Symposium on ‘Microbe Signalling, Organisation and Pathogenesis’ Open Access

Abstract

The sixth Young Microbiologists Symposium on 'Microbe Signalling, Organisation and Pathogenesis' was scheduled to be held at the University of Southampton, UK, in late August 2020. However, due to the health and safety guidelines and travel restrictions as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the symposium was transitioned to a virtual format, a change embraced enthusiastically as the meeting attracted over 200 microbiologists from 40 countries. The event allowed junior scientists to present their work to a broad audience and was supported by the European Molecular Biology Organization, the Federation of European Microbiological Societies, the Society of Applied Microbiology, the Biochemical Society, the Microbiology Society and the National Biofilms Innovation Centre. Sessions covered recent advances in all areas of microbiology including: Secretion and transport across membranes, Gene regulation and signalling, Host–microbe interactions, and Microbial communities and biofilm formation. This report focuses on several of the highlights and exciting developments communicated during the talks and poster presentations.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.001024
2021-02-02
2024-03-28
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/micro/167/3/micro001024.html?itemId=/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.001024&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

  1. Liao M, Liu Y, Yuan J, Wen Y, Xu G et al. Single-Cell landscape of bronchoalveolar immune cells in patients with COVID-19. Nat Med 2020; 26:842–844 [View Article][PubMed]
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Bost P, Giladi A, Liu Y, Bendjelal Y, Xu G et al. Host-Viral infection maps reveal signatures of severe COVID-19 patients. Cell 2020; 181:e121475–1488 [View Article][PubMed]
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Ju B, Zhang Q, Ge J, Wang R, Sun J et al. Human neutralizing antibodies elicited by SARS-CoV-2 infection. Nature 2020; 584:115–119 [View Article][PubMed]
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Heesterbeek DA, Bardoel BW, Parsons ES, Bennett I, Ruyken M et al. Bacterial killing by complement requires membrane attack complex formation via surface-bound C5 convertases. Embo J 2019; 38:e99852 [View Article][PubMed]
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Doorduijn DJ, Bardoel BW, Heesterbeek DAC, Ruyken M, Benn G et al. Bacterial killing by complement requires direct anchoring of membrane attack complex precursor C5b-7. PLoS Pathog 2020; 16:e1008606 [View Article][PubMed]
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Lariviere PJ, Mahone CR, Santiago-Collazo G, Howell M, Daitch AK et al. An essential regulator of bacterial division links FtsZ to cell wall synthase activation. Curr Biol 2019; 29:1460–1470 [View Article][PubMed]
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Planamente S, Salih O, Manoli E, Albesa-Jové D, Freemont PS et al. TssA forms a gp6-like ring attached to the type VI secretion sheath. Embo J 2016; 35:1613–1627 [View Article][PubMed]
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Santin YG, Doan T, Lebrun R, Espinosa L, Journet L et al. In vivo TssA proximity labelling during type VI secretion biogenesis reveals TagA as a protein that stops and holds the sheath. Nat Microbiol 2018; 3:1304–1313 [View Article][PubMed]
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Santin YG, Doan T, Journet L, Cascales E. Cell width dictates type VI secretion tail length. Curr Biol 2019; 29:3707–3713 [View Article][PubMed]
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Chang Y-W, Rettberg LA, Treuner-Lange A, Iwasa J, Søgaard-Andersen L et al. Architecture of the type IVA pilus machine. Science 2016; 351:aad2001 [View Article][PubMed]
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Treuner-Lange A, Chang Y-W, Glatter T, Herfurth M, Lindow S et al. PilY1 and minor pilins form a complex priming the type IVA pilus in Myxococcus xanthus. Nat Commun 2020; 11:1–14 [View Article]
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Ryu M-H, Gomelsky M. Near-Infrared light responsive synthetic c-di-GMP module for optogenetic applications. ACS Synth Biol 2014; 3:802–810 [View Article][PubMed]
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Ryu M-H, Kang I-H, Nelson MD, Jensen TM, Lyuksyutova AI et al. Engineering adenylate cyclases regulated by near-infrared window light. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2014; 111:10167–10172 [View Article][PubMed]
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Fomicheva A, Zhou C, Sun Q-Q, Gomelsky M. Engineering adenylate cyclase activated by near-infrared window light for mammalian optogenetic applications. ACS Synth Biol 2019; 8:1314–1324 [View Article][PubMed]
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Grenga L, Little RH, Chandra G, Woodcock SD, Saalbach G et al. Control of mRNA translation by dynamic ribosome modification. PLoS Genet 2020; 16:e1008837 [View Article][PubMed]
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Gallego-García A, Monera-Girona AJ, Pajares-Martínez E, Bastida-Martínez E, Pérez-Castaño R et al. A bacterial light response reveals an orphan desaturase for human plasmalogen synthesis. Science 2019; 366:128–132 [View Article][PubMed]
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Fleury OM, McAleer MA, Feuillie C, Formosa-Dague C, Sansevere E et al. Clumping factor B promotes adherence of Staphylococcus aureus to corneocytes in atopic dermatitis. Infect Immun 2017; 85:e00994–16 [View Article][PubMed]
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Feuillie C, Vitry P, McAleer MA, Kezic S, Irvine AD et al. Adhesion of Staphylococcus aureus to corneocytes from atopic dermatitis patients is controlled by natural moisturizing factor levels. mBio 2018; 9:e01184–18 [View Article][PubMed]
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Vitry P, Valotteau C, Feuillie C, Bernard S, Alsteens D et al. Force-induced strengthening of the interaction between Staphylococcus aureus clumping factor B and loricrin. mBio 2017; 8:e01748–17 [View Article][PubMed]
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Lacey KA, Mulcahy ME, Towell AM, Geoghegan JA, McLoughlin RM. Clumping factor B is an important virulence factor during Staphylococcus aureus skin infection and a promising vaccine target. PLoS Pathog 2019; 15:e1007713 [View Article][PubMed]
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Marion E, Song O-R, Christophe T, Babonneau J, Fenistein D et al. Mycobacterial toxin induces analgesia in Buruli ulcer by targeting the angiotensin pathways. Cell 2014; 157:1565–1576 [View Article][PubMed]
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Foster KR, Schluter J, Coyte KZ, Rakoff-Nahoum S. The evolution of the host microbiome as an ecosystem on a leash. Nature 2017; 548:43–51 [View Article][PubMed]
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Lehar SM, Pillow T, Xu M, Staben L, Kajihara KK et al. Novel antibody-antibiotic conjugate eliminates intracellular S. aureus . Nature 2015; 527:323–328 [View Article][PubMed]
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Cheng Y, Yam JKH, Cai Z, Ding Y, Zhang L-H et al. Population dynamics and transcriptomic responses of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in a complex laboratory microbial community. NPJ Biofilms Microbiomes 2019; 5:1–11 [View Article][PubMed]
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Wang T, Qi Y, Wang Z, Zhao J, Ji L et al. Coordinated regulation of anthranilate metabolism and bacterial virulence by the GntR family regulator MpaR in Pseudomonas aeruginosa . Mol Microbiol 2020; 114:857–869 [View Article][PubMed]
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Alkawareek MY, Algwari QT, Laverty G, Gorman SP, Graham WG et al. Eradication of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms by atmospheric pressure non-thermal plasma. PLoS One 2012; 7:e44289 [View Article][PubMed]
    [Google Scholar]
  27. Cornforth DM, Dees JL, Ibberson CB, Huse HK, Mathiesen IH et al. Pseudomonas aeruginosa transcriptome during human infection. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:E5125–E5134 [View Article][PubMed]
    [Google Scholar]
  28. Cornforth DM, Diggle FL, Melvin JA, Bomberger JM, Whiteley M. Quantitative framework for model evaluation in microbiology research using Pseudomonas aeruginosa and cystic fibrosis infection as a test case. mBio 2020; 11:e03042–19 [View Article][PubMed]
    [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.001024
Loading
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.001024
Loading

Data & Media loading...

Most cited Most Cited RSS feed