André Carvalho
afpcarvalho.bsky.social
André Carvalho
@afpcarvalho.bsky.social
Scientist interested in microbiology, antimicrobial resistance, integrons and bacterial adaptation. Postdoc at ucm.es/mbalab
Reposted by André Carvalho
Do plasmids really move around that much? Well, maybe not always

Thrilled to have contributed to this story with two of my favourite microbiologists: @jrpenades.bsky.social & @sanmillan.bsky.social

This great work was led by Akshay Sabnis & @wfigueroac3.bsky.social

www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Non-conjugative plasmids limit their mobility to persist in nature
Sabnis et al. explain why non-conjugative plasmids move at a low rate in nature. While increased mobility can easily evolve by incorporating phage DNA into plasmids, this is disadvantageous because it...
www.cell.com
October 22, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Reposted by André Carvalho
Happy to share our new review in Royal Society Open Biology 🎉
tRNA-modifying enzymes in bacterial stress adaptation:
How tRNA mods rewire translation under oxidative + antibiotic stress (MoTTs, moonlighting, therapy angles).
Read: doi.org/10.1098/rsob...
#RNAsky #microsky #AMR #RNAmodifications
tRNA-modifying enzymes in bacterial stress adaptation | Open Biology
Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) and their modifications are central to bacterial translation and physiology, yet their roles in stress adaptation remain underexplored. While extensively studied in eukaryotes, a...
doi.org
October 8, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Reposted by André Carvalho
🦠 Launching a bimonthly digest on RNA modifications and related topics in bacteria!🤩 First issue: Summer 2025. Shared here + by email, future ones will be quicker reads! 😅 #rnasky #microsky #ribosome Subscribe and share if you are interested! rnamodifupdates.substack.com/p/rna-modifi...
RNA modifications digest Summer 2025
Bimonthly newsletter: RNA modifications and related topics, mostly in bacteria. Summer 2025, first issue!
rnamodifupdates.substack.com
August 15, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Reposted by André Carvalho
For those who love bacterial replicons, The ultimate review, from our lab, signed by the master of their evolution.
‪@val-meve.bsky.social‬ www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Taming wild replicons: evolution and domestication of large extrachromosomal replicons
Bacterial genomes often contain extrachromosomal replicons (ERs), ranging from small, mobile plasmids to large, stably inherited elements, such as meg…
www.sciencedirect.com
August 20, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Reposted by André Carvalho
This work is finally published! 🥳🧬
Plasmids are associated with very variable fitness costs in their different bacterial hosts. But, what is the contribution of each of the plasmid-genes in these host-specific effects? Study led by
@jorgesastred.bsky.social, @sanmillan.bsky.social and myself! 1/14
Dissecting pOXA-48 fitness effects in clinical Enterobacterales using plasmid-wide CRISPRi screens
Nature Communications - This study investigates the effects of the carbapenem resistance plasmid pOXA-48 in clinical enterobacteria. Using CRISPRi screens, the authors revealed that the...
rdcu.be
August 20, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Reposted by André Carvalho
Our new manuscript is out! A bit of everything cool:

Plasmids ✅
Insertion Sequences ✅
AMR Evolution ✅
Microbial Communities ✅
Databases analyses ✅
Mathematical modeling ✅

See the scientific thread below of Jorge Sastre, who has brilliantly led this work with @palomarodera.bsky.social
New paper out! 🔈🔈📣📣

Plasmids promote antimicrobial resistance through Insertion Sequence-mediated gene inactivation.

Combining experimental and computational approaches, we unveil how two of the most prevalent bacterial MGE accelerate the evolution of AMR. 🧵👇🏻

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Plasmids promote antimicrobial resistance through Insertion Sequence-mediated gene inactivation
Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is a major threat to public health. Plasmids are mobile genetic elements that can rapidly spread across bacterial populations, promoting the dissemination of AMR genes i...
www.biorxiv.org
August 13, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Reposted by André Carvalho
New paper out! 🔈🔈📣📣

Plasmids promote antimicrobial resistance through Insertion Sequence-mediated gene inactivation.

Combining experimental and computational approaches, we unveil how two of the most prevalent bacterial MGE accelerate the evolution of AMR. 🧵👇🏻

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Plasmids promote antimicrobial resistance through Insertion Sequence-mediated gene inactivation
Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is a major threat to public health. Plasmids are mobile genetic elements that can rapidly spread across bacterial populations, promoting the dissemination of AMR genes i...
www.biorxiv.org
August 13, 2025 at 6:26 AM
Reposted by André Carvalho
A 2-year postdoc position in my lab, under the supervision of P-Alex Kaminski, on Z-DNA phages and the benefit given by ZTGC DNA and the replication machinery, with attempt to create a Z based minireplicon
research.pasteur.fr/en/job/a-two...
A two year post-doctoral position at the BacterialGenome Plasticity Unit starting October 1st - Research
research.pasteur.fr
July 28, 2025 at 10:30 AM
Reposted by André Carvalho
🚨🚨 New paper in @narjournal.bsky.social! 🍾

Excludons are pairs of overlapping genes that block each other’s expression (basically, reverse operons).

We built a tool to identify them in bacterial genomes using transcriptomic data, in an awesome collab led by Iñigo Lasa and Álvaro San Martín.

👇
ExcludonFinder: mapping transcriptional overlaps between neighboring genes
Abstract. Bacteria regulate neighboring genes via overlapping transcription in untranslated regions (UTRs), forming excludons. This overlap leads to transc
academic.oup.com
July 25, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Reposted by André Carvalho
New paper alert! 🚨

Plasmids promote bacterial evolution through a copy number-driven increase in mutation rate.

We combine theory, simulations, experimental evolution, and bioinformatics to demonstrate that mutation rates scale with plasmid copy number.

Let's dive in! 🧵👇
Plasmids promote bacterial evolution through a copy number-driven increase in mutation rate
Plasmids are autonomously replicating DNA molecules that stably coexist with chromosomes in bacterial cells. These genetic elements drive horizontal gene transfer and play a fundamental role in bacter...
www.biorxiv.org
July 22, 2025 at 9:38 AM
Reposted by André Carvalho
Our paper “Global dissemination of npmA mediated pan‑aminoglycoside resistance via a mobile element in Gram‑positive bacteria” is now in @natcomms.nature.com. Part of my freshly defended PhD, so doubly happy! 😄🎉

🧵 (1/14)

www.doi.org/10.1038/s414...
Global dissemination of npmA mediated pan-aminoglycoside resistance via a mobile genetic element in Gram-positive bacteria - Nature Communications
The authors investigate the distribution of the aminoglycoside resistance gene npmA in Gram-positive bacteria via a mobile genetic element, highlighting its global presence and cross-species transfer ...
www.doi.org
July 17, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Reposted by André Carvalho
Curious about plasmid biology? Our latest paper is out now in Nature Communications! 🚨

doi.org/10.1038/s414...

We analyzed thousands of diverse bacterial plasmids to shed light for the first time on a key aspect of plasmid biology: plasmid copy number. 1/7 👇
Universal rules govern plasmid copy number - Nature Communications
Plasmids exhibit a broad range of sizes and copies per cell, and these two parameters appear to be negatively correlated. Here, Ramiro-Martínez et al. analyse the copy number of thousands of diverse b...
doi.org
July 2, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Reposted by André Carvalho
🦠 Nuestro #articulodelmes habla sobre cómo los integrones móviles codifican sistemas de defensa contra fagos de la mano del grupo investigador liderado por el Dr. José Antonio Escudero

📄https://f.mtr.cool/qxwueostwp
June 6, 2025 at 7:54 AM
Reposted by André Carvalho
Exciting news!! Our latest paper is out in Nat. Microbiol. @natmicrobiol.nature.com

We show that a sub-lineage of 7th pandemic V. cholerae has acquired mobile genetic elements packed with phage defense systems—rendering it multi-phage resistant 😳 ..... 1/3

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
West African–South American pandemic Vibrio cholerae encodes multiple distinct phage defence systems - Nature Microbiology
The West African–South American lineage of Vibrio cholerae contains multiple distinct anti-phage defence systems that provide resistance to various phage families, including vibriophage ICP1, a key pr...
www.nature.com
May 22, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Reposted by André Carvalho
Marie Curie fellowship, post-doc hosting oppotunity in my lab. MSCA Post-doctoral Fellowship at IBPC Paris on RNA modifications in bacteria (FRANCE) 🦠💫 euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/hosting...
euraxess.ec.europa.eu
May 21, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Reposted by André Carvalho
New preprint led by @brunoluviano.bsky.social & Fernando Santos.

We show that filamentation enhances bacterial survival under toxic stress — not as collateral damage, but as a regulated morphological response.

TL;DR: Filamentation isn’t a symptom, it’s a strategy!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
May 15, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Reposted by André Carvalho
Our paper on how integrons are biobanks of novel minimal defense systems is now out www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Two main conclusions on this excellent work led by @eloilittner.bsky.social @baptistedarracq.bsky.social 1/n
May 9, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Reposted by André Carvalho
🧪
Finally out after peer review, our work showing that "Mobile #Integrons carry Phage Defense Systems" is now published in Science 🎉

Short 🧵
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Mobile integrons encode phage defense systems
Integrons are bacterial genetic elements that capture, stockpile, and modulate the expression of genes encoded in integron cassettes. Mobile integrons (MIs) are borne on plasmids, acting as a vehicle ...
www.science.org
May 8, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Reposted by André Carvalho
Can resistance genes really hold their breath like pros? 🤔🤿

Outstanding work by Laura, Amalia, Nico and Ester from @jaescudero.bsky.social lab in collab with @sanmillan.bsky.social, Fernando Baquero and Rafael Cantón.

Dive into our latest paper to find out! 👇🏼
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Effect of oxygen on antimicrobial resistance genes from a one health perspective
Bacteria must face and adapt to a variety of physicochemical conditions in the environment and during infection. A key condition is the concentration …
www.sciencedirect.com
April 30, 2025 at 10:59 AM
Reposted by André Carvalho
I'm very happy to share the last paper from my previous postdoc with the amazing @epcrocha.bsky.social! Thanks to the reviewers for their feedback, which improved our work!
#Plasmids #AMR #HorizontalGeneTransfer #Evolution
March 31, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Reposted by André Carvalho
What a ride 🥹
Thank you @jaescudero.bsky.social and the whole MBA lab 💖💖💖
February 18, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Reposted by André Carvalho
@stevestuwill.bsky.social you posted on 𝕏 on Dec 5, 2020 this stunning video - why not repeat on 🔵bsky ? (sorry, I did)...
"Time-lapse footage of a vampire amoeba: a microscopic organism that feeds on algal cells by breaking through their cell walls and sucking out their insides."
#ProtistsOnSky
February 5, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Reposted by André Carvalho
New pre-print!!! What types of genes end up on plasmids and why? The take home message of this paper is that beneficial genes move from plasmids to chromosome, causing the ecological value of plasmids to decay over time.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Chromosomal capture of beneficial genes drives plasmids towards ecological redundancy
Plasmids are a ubiquitous feature of bacterial genomes, but the evolutionary forces driving genes to become associated with plasmids are poorly understood. To address this problem, we compared the fit...
www.biorxiv.org
January 24, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Reposted by André Carvalho
Our paper on 🦠queuosine 34 modification of tRNA tyrosine and antibiotic response is finally out in its final form in @eLife ... and quite different from the preprint version. Many thanks to reviewers, editors and kudos to all authors🙏 elifesciences.org/articles/96317
Aminoglycoside tolerance in Vibrio cholerae engages translational reprogramming associated with queuosine tRNA modification
tRNA Q34 modification impacts tyrosine codon decoding and leads to proteome reprogramming in response to antibiotic stress in Vibrio cholerae.
elifesciences.org
January 12, 2025 at 11:07 AM