Ian Monk
@ianmonknz.bsky.social
Molecular Microbiologist at the Doherty Institute, University of Melbourne. All things Staph, Listeria, Enterococci, Phages and Sport.
Reposted by Ian Monk
Exciting new preprint from @amibhatt.bsky.social group
'A conserved sRNA regulates mucin adhesion and gut colonization across the Enterococcaceae'
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
'A conserved sRNA regulates mucin adhesion and gut colonization across the Enterococcaceae'
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A conserved sRNA regulates mucin adhesion and gut colonization across the Enterococcaceae
Enterococci, particularly E. faecalis , can survive in diverse settings within and outside human hosts. The capacity of E. faecalis to colonize these locations relies on its ability to adapt by alteri...
www.biorxiv.org
November 26, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Exciting new preprint from @amibhatt.bsky.social group
'A conserved sRNA regulates mucin adhesion and gut colonization across the Enterococcaceae'
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
'A conserved sRNA regulates mucin adhesion and gut colonization across the Enterococcaceae'
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Ian Monk
Frikkin amazing stuff.
November 26, 2025 at 8:29 AM
Frikkin amazing stuff.
Reposted by Ian Monk
#OpenCloning is a an Open Source alternative to SnapGene/Benchling that supports automation and integration with other software
✅ Free
🔓 Open Source
🧬 More cloning methods than SnapGene
🤖 Can be automated with python
👨🔬 Built by a researcher — for researchers!
👉 Check it out at opencloning.org
✅ Free
🔓 Open Source
🧬 More cloning methods than SnapGene
🤖 Can be automated with python
👨🔬 Built by a researcher — for researchers!
👉 Check it out at opencloning.org
November 24, 2025 at 4:57 PM
#OpenCloning is a an Open Source alternative to SnapGene/Benchling that supports automation and integration with other software
✅ Free
🔓 Open Source
🧬 More cloning methods than SnapGene
🤖 Can be automated with python
👨🔬 Built by a researcher — for researchers!
👉 Check it out at opencloning.org
✅ Free
🔓 Open Source
🧬 More cloning methods than SnapGene
🤖 Can be automated with python
👨🔬 Built by a researcher — for researchers!
👉 Check it out at opencloning.org
Reposted by Ian Monk
Really happy to see the final version of this published in @isme-microbes.bsky.social. We show that production of and competition for biotin shapes S. aureus fitness in the context of nasal commensals doi.org/10.1093/isme...
Work lead by the amazing Kevser Bilici!
Work lead by the amazing Kevser Bilici!
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
doi.org
November 24, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Really happy to see the final version of this published in @isme-microbes.bsky.social. We show that production of and competition for biotin shapes S. aureus fitness in the context of nasal commensals doi.org/10.1093/isme...
Work lead by the amazing Kevser Bilici!
Work lead by the amazing Kevser Bilici!
Reposted by Ian Monk
Hot off the press! Our latest paper led by @fernpizza.bsky.social, understanding how plasmids evolve inside cells. These small, self-replicating DNA circles live inside bacteria and carry antibiotic resistance genes, but also compete with one another to replicate. 1/
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Intracellular competition shapes plasmid population dynamics
From populations of multicellular organisms to selfish genetic elements, conflicts between levels of biological organization are central to evolution. Plasmids are extrachromosomal, self-replicating g...
www.science.org
November 20, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Hot off the press! Our latest paper led by @fernpizza.bsky.social, understanding how plasmids evolve inside cells. These small, self-replicating DNA circles live inside bacteria and carry antibiotic resistance genes, but also compete with one another to replicate. 1/
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Ian Monk
Bacterial networks #BacNet26 in September 2026 will be chaired by @lalouxlab.bsky.social and co-chaired by @s-lab.bsky.social with @coralietesseur.bsky.social
Sneak peak on invited speakers and preliminary program:
meetings.embo.org/event/26-bac...
Sneak peak on invited speakers and preliminary program:
meetings.embo.org/event/26-bac...
November 20, 2025 at 8:47 AM
Bacterial networks #BacNet26 in September 2026 will be chaired by @lalouxlab.bsky.social and co-chaired by @s-lab.bsky.social with @coralietesseur.bsky.social
Sneak peak on invited speakers and preliminary program:
meetings.embo.org/event/26-bac...
Sneak peak on invited speakers and preliminary program:
meetings.embo.org/event/26-bac...
Reposted by Ian Monk
A preclinical study in Nature Microbiology shows that respiratory immunization with an antibiotic-treated bacterial vaccine is a highly effective approach for inducing tissue-resident memory T cells that protect against whooping cough. #medsky 🧪
Respiratory immunization using antibiotic-inactivated Bordetella pertussis confers T cell-mediated protection against nasal infection in mice - Nature Microbiology
In this preclinical study, the authors find that respiratory immunization with an antibiotic-treated bacterial vaccine is a highly effective approach for inducing tissue-resident memory T cells that protect against lung and nasal infection with Bordetella pertussis.
go.nature.com
November 18, 2025 at 5:34 PM
A preclinical study in Nature Microbiology shows that respiratory immunization with an antibiotic-treated bacterial vaccine is a highly effective approach for inducing tissue-resident memory T cells that protect against whooping cough. #medsky 🧪
Reposted by Ian Monk
📣New preprint alert! We report the alarming finding that stringent response mutations found in clinical isolates increase the frequency of donation of multiresistance plasmids in S. aureus 😱 Great team effort @microclaire.bsky.social @paulrjohnston.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
November 13, 2025 at 12:41 PM
📣New preprint alert! We report the alarming finding that stringent response mutations found in clinical isolates increase the frequency of donation of multiresistance plasmids in S. aureus 😱 Great team effort @microclaire.bsky.social @paulrjohnston.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Ian Monk
Thrilled to share that the final piece of my PhD work is now on bioRxiv! biorxiv.org/content/10.1... With support from @nvidia and the @NSF, we used AlphaFold to screen 1.6M+ protein pairs, revealing thousands of potential novel PPIs. All data can be viewed at predictomes.org/hp
Proteome-wide in silico screening for human protein-protein interactions
Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) drive virtually all biological processes, yet most PPIs have not been identified and even more remain structurally unresolved. We developed a two-step computational...
biorxiv.org
November 12, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Thrilled to share that the final piece of my PhD work is now on bioRxiv! biorxiv.org/content/10.1... With support from @nvidia and the @NSF, we used AlphaFold to screen 1.6M+ protein pairs, revealing thousands of potential novel PPIs. All data can be viewed at predictomes.org/hp
Reposted by Ian Monk
Researchers at Trinity College Dublin have developed a new platform for vaccine delivery they say could revolutionise treatment for respiratory infections.
New whooping cough vaccine could transform respiratory disease treatment
Researchers at Trinity College Dublin have developed a new whooping cough vaccine which they say can be adapted for other respiratory infections.
www.siliconrepublic.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:12 AM
Researchers at Trinity College Dublin have developed a new platform for vaccine delivery they say could revolutionise treatment for respiratory infections.
Reposted by Ian Monk
Delighted that our review on resistance to last-resort antibiotics in Enterococci has been published in FEMS Microbiology Reviews
academic.oup.com/femsre/advan... (accepted manuscript version)
TL;DR: the Enterococci are really good at evolving resistance to antibiotics in new and creative ways.
academic.oup.com/femsre/advan... (accepted manuscript version)
TL;DR: the Enterococci are really good at evolving resistance to antibiotics in new and creative ways.
Resistance to last-resort antibiotics in enterococci
Abstract. The genus Enterococcus comprises a diverse group of species, many of which are commensal members of the gut microbiota of humans and animals. The
academic.oup.com
November 8, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Delighted that our review on resistance to last-resort antibiotics in Enterococci has been published in FEMS Microbiology Reviews
academic.oup.com/femsre/advan... (accepted manuscript version)
TL;DR: the Enterococci are really good at evolving resistance to antibiotics in new and creative ways.
academic.oup.com/femsre/advan... (accepted manuscript version)
TL;DR: the Enterococci are really good at evolving resistance to antibiotics in new and creative ways.
Reposted by Ian Monk
The rise of ‘nightmare bacteria’: antimicrobial resistance in five charts www.nature.com/articles/d41...
The rise of ‘nightmare bacteria’: antimicrobial resistance in five charts
Data reveal how the global challenge to reduce deaths and infections from drug-resistant bacteria is not going according to plan.
www.nature.com
November 6, 2025 at 8:29 AM
The rise of ‘nightmare bacteria’: antimicrobial resistance in five charts www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Ian Monk
Contrast this with the response of a president who was an actual decent human being.
November 6, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Contrast this with the response of a president who was an actual decent human being.
Reposted by Ian Monk
RFK Jr. Admits He Can’t Actually Tie Tylenol to Autism
newrepublic.com/post/202435/...
newrepublic.com/post/202435/...
RFK Jr. Admits He Can’t Actually Tie Tylenol to Autism
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said there isn’t “sufficient” evidence to back up his claims.
newrepublic.com
October 30, 2025 at 3:21 AM
RFK Jr. Admits He Can’t Actually Tie Tylenol to Autism
newrepublic.com/post/202435/...
newrepublic.com/post/202435/...
Reposted by Ian Monk
Is the human microbiome a source for hospital-associated infections (HAI) and are any genetic changes associated with HAI? In our new preprint, we longitudinally reconstruct the evolutionary processes within the human microbiome leading up to HAI: doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Colonization, translocation, and evolution of opportunistic pathogens during hospital-associated infections
Many commensal bacteria that peacefully reside in the human microbiome are also able to cause acute opportunistic infections. Emerging evidence suggests that within-host evolution contributes to infec...
doi.org
October 27, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Is the human microbiome a source for hospital-associated infections (HAI) and are any genetic changes associated with HAI? In our new preprint, we longitudinally reconstruct the evolutionary processes within the human microbiome leading up to HAI: doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Reposted by Ian Monk
NEWS | Professor @jayhinton.bsky.social and an international team have been awarded £4.56M Wellcome Discovery Award to investigate natural human resistance to Salmonella
🔗 bit.ly/4hujsRG
@livuninews.bsky.social | #TeamLivUni
🔗 bit.ly/4hujsRG
@livuninews.bsky.social | #TeamLivUni
October 27, 2025 at 3:17 PM
NEWS | Professor @jayhinton.bsky.social and an international team have been awarded £4.56M Wellcome Discovery Award to investigate natural human resistance to Salmonella
🔗 bit.ly/4hujsRG
@livuninews.bsky.social | #TeamLivUni
🔗 bit.ly/4hujsRG
@livuninews.bsky.social | #TeamLivUni
Reposted by Ian Monk
ARC says Discovery Projects outcomes will be tomorrow (Tuesday). Linkage Projects (2025, round 1) on Wed. Over past ~year, it's often been at about 11am (Canberra).
My bot will pick up the change to RMS & post immediately.
ARC should email outcomes to lead CIs, but might take an 1hr or so for DPs
My bot will pick up the change to RMS & post immediately.
ARC should email outcomes to lead CIs, but might take an 1hr or so for DPs
October 26, 2025 at 11:17 PM
ARC says Discovery Projects outcomes will be tomorrow (Tuesday). Linkage Projects (2025, round 1) on Wed. Over past ~year, it's often been at about 11am (Canberra).
My bot will pick up the change to RMS & post immediately.
ARC should email outcomes to lead CIs, but might take an 1hr or so for DPs
My bot will pick up the change to RMS & post immediately.
ARC should email outcomes to lead CIs, but might take an 1hr or so for DPs
Reposted by Ian Monk
Around 10% of your Nanopore reads (SQK-RBK114) are incorrectly trimmed. Here is why, and how our new tool Barbell solves it:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Want to get started? github.com/rickbeeloo/b...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Want to get started? github.com/rickbeeloo/b...
October 23, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Around 10% of your Nanopore reads (SQK-RBK114) are incorrectly trimmed. Here is why, and how our new tool Barbell solves it:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Want to get started? github.com/rickbeeloo/b...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Want to get started? github.com/rickbeeloo/b...
Reposted by Ian Monk
🦠🔬🤖🧑💻 #mAIcrobe is out! With @pinholab.bsky.social's lab, we launched an open-source framework for high-throughput bacterial image analysis. By rockstars A. Brito & B. Saraiva et al, making #DeepLearning for phenotyping accessible! Easy to use, plus model training
📜 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
📜 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
October 22, 2025 at 11:10 AM
🦠🔬🤖🧑💻 #mAIcrobe is out! With @pinholab.bsky.social's lab, we launched an open-source framework for high-throughput bacterial image analysis. By rockstars A. Brito & B. Saraiva et al, making #DeepLearning for phenotyping accessible! Easy to use, plus model training
📜 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
📜 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Ian Monk
🧪If you are interested in #microbial growth data, you may have have a look at μGrowthDB; an open repository designed to store, visualize, analyze & share quantitative measurements of species abundances and metabolite profiles from monocultures & communities of known composition.
#microsky #mevosky
#microsky #mevosky
October 14, 2025 at 8:59 AM
🧪If you are interested in #microbial growth data, you may have have a look at μGrowthDB; an open repository designed to store, visualize, analyze & share quantitative measurements of species abundances and metabolite profiles from monocultures & communities of known composition.
#microsky #mevosky
#microsky #mevosky
Reposted by Ian Monk
Reposted by Ian Monk
Chromosome replication and cell division cycles are not synchronized in Staphylococcus aureus, with cells exhibiting two segregated origins of replication at the start of the cell cycle
#bacteria #microbiology
#bacteria #microbiology
Chromosome segregation dynamics during the cell cycle of Staphylococcus aureus - Nature Communications
Our understanding of chromosome organization and dynamics in spherical bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus, remains limited. Here, the authors show that chromosome replication and cell division cycles are not synchronized in S. aureus, with cells exhibiting two segregated origins of replication at the start of the cell cycle.
bit.ly
October 21, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Chromosome replication and cell division cycles are not synchronized in Staphylococcus aureus, with cells exhibiting two segregated origins of replication at the start of the cell cycle
#bacteria #microbiology
#bacteria #microbiology
Reposted by Ian Monk
De-DUFing the DUFs 🧩 @franznarberhaus.bsky.social lab uncovers how small DUF1127 proteins regulate #phosphate uptake by binding the sensor kinase PhoR. Their conserved role from Agrobacterium to E. coli highlights how even small DUFs can shape bacterial physiology 🦠
buff.ly/jJd9Eho
buff.ly/jJd9Eho
October 21, 2025 at 7:02 AM
De-DUFing the DUFs 🧩 @franznarberhaus.bsky.social lab uncovers how small DUF1127 proteins regulate #phosphate uptake by binding the sensor kinase PhoR. Their conserved role from Agrobacterium to E. coli highlights how even small DUFs can shape bacterial physiology 🦠
buff.ly/jJd9Eho
buff.ly/jJd9Eho
