Ákos T Kovács
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evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social
Ákos T Kovács
@evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social
6K followers 2.3K following 3.7K posts
Professor of Microbiome Ecology at Institute of Biology, Leiden University
Bacillus subtilis, biofilms, plant microbiome, bacteria-fungi interactions and circadian clock within @microclockerc.bsky.social #ERCSyG
https://linktr.ee/atkovacs
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evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social
Ákos T Kovács @evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social · May 27
Glad to share our newest publication in Nature Communications 🎉🎉🎉… summarizing about a decade of work how Bacillus subtilis adapt when challenged with Aspergillus niger
Enhanced surface colonisation and competition during bacterial adaptation to a fungus
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Ákos T Kovács
selimlab.bsky.social
We cracked the mystery: Pteridines are the natural ligands of CutA, a widespread protein in nature @pnas.org
@hhu.de @cmfi.bsky.social

CutA is one of #PII signaling family, but it's function remained unknown coz we didn't know what it binds....
🧵Thread below👇
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Native metabolomics identifies pteridines as CutA ligands and modulators of copper binding | PNAS
CutA, a conserved protein across all domains of life, has been suggested to be involved in copper tolerance in bacteria, though recent studies have...
www.pnas.org
December 1, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Reposted by Ákos T Kovács
plosbiology.org
How do root #microbes respond to drought? This study finds that #Streptomyces responses are strain-specific & functionally diverse, with traits & #plant effects varying independently of phylogeny, stressing the need to resolve functional traits at the strain level @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4owtjIT
Pangenomic visualization of the genomic organization of all 12 Streptomyces isolates representing each of the four AC groups. Hierarchical clustering is based on orthogroup presence/absence using Euclidean distance and Ward’s linkage method. Colored rings show orthogroup presence/absence per isolate, the outer ring shows the number of contributing genomes, and the second outer ring shows the number of genes present in each orthogroup. The metadata table shows 1) experimental phenotype data (orange) of total siderophore production (SP, halo size on CAS-LB media), growth under osmotic stress (OST, 1.0M sorbitol), and the relative production of four individual siderophores in response to media supplemented with drought- vs. well-watered root tissue (EF1 and EF2, ferrioxamine EF; H, O-methyl desferrioxamine H, D4, derrioxamine D4), and 2) genome analysis data (dark blue), showing the number of gene copies that match with specific COG function search terms related to iron acquisition (iron and Sid, siderophores), carbon resource utilization (G-3-P, glycerol-3-phosphate), and osmotic stress response (ProP, FabG, OmpR, Kdp, Trk). Scale values represent Z-scores, where darker blue indicates more gene copies, and darker orange indicates more siderophore production, more growth under osmotic stress, or a larger halo.
December 1, 2025 at 9:20 AM
Reposted by Ákos T Kovács
francoismayer.bsky.social
Our December issue is out!

www.nature.com/nmicrobiol/v...

The image shows a female Asian tiger mosquito cadaver covered by mycelium (white) following infection with spores of an engineered Metarhizium strain. Parts of the mycelium produce spores (green) that can again attract and kill mosquitoes.
December 1, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Reposted by Ákos T Kovács
gathomas12.bsky.social
New publication in @currentbiology.bsky.social !

We show how volatile organic compounds (VOCs) mediate interactions in acute oak decline (AOD), linking oak trees, bacteria, and Agrilus biguttatus beetles.

🔗 www.cell.com/current-biol...
The role of volatile cues in mediating tree host-bacteria-insect interactions in acute oak decline
Thomas et al. provide evidence that volatile semiochemicals govern biotic interactions between a wood-boring beetle and its associated bacteria in acute oak decline. The authors propose that Agrilus b...
www.cell.com
December 1, 2025 at 9:13 AM
evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social
Antibiotic production reduces the cost of resource cheaters in Streptomyces coelicolor

#Streptomycescoelicolor vs. #Bacillussubtilis - starch vs maltose

bioRxiv by Linus Theinert, David Norte et al from Danny Rozen at #LeidenBiology @leidenscience.bsky.social

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Antibiotic production reduces the cost of resource cheaters in Streptomyces coelicolor
Soil is a competitive environment containing a variety of resources used for bacterial growth. Complex polysaccharides, like chitin or starch, require the secretion of enzymes that degrade these resou...
www.biorxiv.org
December 1, 2025 at 1:40 PM
evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social
Regulatory Rewiring Drives Intraspecies Competition in Bacillus subtilis

bioRxiv from @bacteriacities.bsky.social

#competition #rapP #comP

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Regulatory Rewiring Drives Intraspecies Competition in Bacillus subtilis
Intraspecies interactions shapes microbial community structure and evolution, yet the mechanisms determining competitive outcomes among closely related strains remain unclear. The soil bacterium Bacil...
www.biorxiv.org
December 1, 2025 at 1:33 PM
evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social
Phenotypic Switches Induce Fractal Morphology of Bacillus subtilis Biofilm

-in #EnvironMicrobiol

enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Phenotypic Switches Induce Fractal Morphology of Bacillus subtilis Biofilm
Nutrient-driven phenotypic switches regulate Bacillus subtilis biofilm fractal complexity (D) and heterogeneity (Ra). Matrix-producing cells enhance anisotropic growth, increasing surface irregularit....
enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
December 1, 2025 at 1:31 PM
evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social
Enrichment of root-associated Streptomyces strains in response to drought is driven by diverse functional traits and does not predict beneficial effects on plant growth

-in @plosbiology.org from Devin Coleman-Derr

journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Enrichment of root-associated Streptomyces strains in response to drought is driven by diverse functional traits and does not predict beneficial effects on plant growth
Understanding how root microbes respond to drought is crucial for improving crop resilience. This study finds that Streptomyces responses are strain-specific and functionally diverse, with traits and ...
journals.plos.org
November 30, 2025 at 4:34 PM
evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social
PanBGC: A pangenome-inspired framework for comparative analysis of biosynthetic gene clusters

#ISMEComms from @nadineziemert.bsky.social

academic.oup.com/ismecommun/a...
PanBGC: A pangenome-inspired framework for comparative analysis of biosynthetic gene clusters
Abstract. Bacterial secondary metabolites are a major source of therapeutics and play key roles in microbial ecology. These compounds are encoded by biosyn
academic.oup.com
November 30, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Reposted by Ákos T Kovács
aribidopsis.bsky.social
First episode of Season 4 of #No_Time_To_Read_podcast is online! 🎙️🍀

In this episode, @natanellae.bsky.social Natanella told us about her recent @natcomms.nature.com paper on drought stress recovery.

Podcast: tinyurl.com/mudf23je
Article: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 29, 2025 at 7:10 PM
evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social
Study on the Impact of Glutamate Domain Swapping on Plipastatin Production

-in ACS Synthetic Biology

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
Study on the Impact of Glutamate Domain Swapping on Plipastatin Production
Cyclic lipopeptides from Bacillus subtilis are potent antimicrobial agents with promising applications in sustainable agriculture and postharvest preservation. While surfactin and plipastatin share gl...
pubs.acs.org
November 29, 2025 at 11:57 AM
evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social
Spatial and functional differentiation of microbial biofilms in a traditional cheese ripening environment

Scientific Reports

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Spatial and functional differentiation of microbial biofilms in a traditional cheese ripening environment - Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports - Spatial and functional differentiation of microbial biofilms in a traditional cheese ripening environment
www.nature.com
November 29, 2025 at 11:56 AM
evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social
I like the Bacillus-based biocontrol/biostimulant products for agriculture listed in the review, it will be a good resource to refer 🤩
November 29, 2025 at 11:49 AM
evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social
Bacillus and related genera in sustainable agriculture and their effectiveness for soil health

review in Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry from Ivica Dimkić

academic.oup.com/bbb/advance-...
Bacillus and related genera in sustainable agriculture and their effectiveness for soil health
Abstract. Rising global demand for food has led to excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, increasing yields but damaging soils, biodiversity
academic.oup.com
November 29, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Reposted by Ákos T Kovács
gavinhthomas.bsky.social
Very nice work from Simon Heilbronner's lab in Munich, which we heard at the Staph GRC this summer. Plenty more of these kinds of interactions going on in these communities I think.
academic.oup.com/ismej/articl...
Competitive fitness of Staphylococcus aureus against nasal commensals depends on biotin biosynthesis and acquisition
Abstract. The human nasal microbiome can serve as a reservoir for pathogens. In particular, the opportunistic pathogen Staphylococcus aureus can be a membe
academic.oup.com
November 28, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Reposted by Ákos T Kovács
physicsoflifelmu.bsky.social
🧪 Geometry beats chemistry: we show that self-assembly can be controlled by tuning large-scale geometric parameters rather than molecular binding energies.
PNAS: doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
Video summary: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FS3...
#SelfAssembly #Biophysics #PhysicsOfLife
November 27, 2025 at 4:49 PM
evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social
One of my favourites from our lab for #SpatialMetabolomicsFriday in Dinesen et al 2025 #MALDI_MSI
November 28, 2025 at 5:50 PM
evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social
By @manuelliebeke.bsky.social ➡️ #SpatialMetabolomicsFriday
November 28, 2025 at 5:48 PM
evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social
Induced endosymbiosis between a fungus and bacterium reveals a shift from antagonism to commensalism

@natcomms.nature.com by Thomas Gassler et al from Julia Vorholt

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

Ralstonia pickettii in the fungus Rhizopus microsporus

#Endofungal
Induced endosymbiosis between a fungus and bacterium reveals a shift from antagonism to commensalism - Nature Communications
Gassler et al. implant a free-living bacterium into fungal cells to study early steps in the establishment of an endosymbiosis. They observe vertical transmission of the bacteria despite initial host ...
www.nature.com
November 28, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Reposted by Ákos T Kovács
pedrobeltrao.bsky.social
ERC Plus Grants
• No career limit, current ERCs are not eligible
• Major challenge, transformative research
• Up to 7 million euros, up to 7 years
• 30 grants per year, 2 years, only once per lifetime
• Same application format, plus vision statement
• Deadline in September 2026, 2 stage evaluation
November 28, 2025 at 2:19 PM
evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social
Bartje in Groningen for a day of Host-Microbe Genetics meeting
#BartjeAroundTheWorld #HMG2025
November 28, 2025 at 3:02 PM
evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social
Qiqi Pan (Hermie Harmsen group at @umcgroningen.bsky.social) on Evolutionary Adaptations Driving Faecalibacterium Competitiveness in the Gut Environment
#HMG2025
November 28, 2025 at 2:13 PM
evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social
Liam Jones (Sahar El Aidy group at UvA) on genetic signatures of extracellular electron transfer in the gut microbiome
#EET
#HMG2025
November 28, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Reposted by Ákos T Kovács
cwmsoils.bsky.social
PhD position in #SoilScience - join my research group and work together with me on the project: ‘CINCA - Climate change Impacts on Nutrient and Carbon Allocation in soils of maritime Antarctica’ at @tuberlin.bsky.social #biocrust #POM #MAOM #Antarctica #SOC
stellenticket.tu-berlin.de/en/job-offer...
November 28, 2025 at 1:42 PM
evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social
Lisanne Braams (from Jan Maarten van Dijk group at @umcgroningen.bsky.social @rug.nl) on Lighting up infection: Bacteria-targeted molecular imaging of orthopaedic implant infections with vancomycin-based PET tracers
#HMG2025
November 28, 2025 at 1:41 PM