Nuria Quiles
@quilesnuria.bsky.social
Microbiologist and phage enthusiast. Researcher at UCH CEU University.
Reposted by Nuria Quiles
A short research stay in 2019 (back in the pre-COVID era) at José R. Penadés lab turned into the third chapter of my PhD and today it finally sees the light.
Targeted elimination of Staphylococcus aureus mastitis infections with synthetic phage-based CRISPR-Cas delivery systems - npj Biofilms and Microbiomes
npj Biofilms and Microbiomes - Targeted elimination of Staphylococcus aureus mastitis infections with synthetic phage-based CRISPR-Cas delivery systems
www.nature.com
February 16, 2026 at 9:14 AM
A short research stay in 2019 (back in the pre-COVID era) at José R. Penadés lab turned into the third chapter of my PhD and today it finally sees the light.
Reposted by Nuria Quiles
On this fabulous day celebrating André Citroën's birthday 🥖🚗, I’m happy to share my main paper from my postdoc in @jrpenades.bsky.social Lab.
If you want to hear about how plasmid evolution is driven by mobile genetic elements, please come and read this preprint!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
If you want to hear about how plasmid evolution is driven by mobile genetic elements, please come and read this preprint!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org
February 5, 2026 at 4:04 PM
On this fabulous day celebrating André Citroën's birthday 🥖🚗, I’m happy to share my main paper from my postdoc in @jrpenades.bsky.social Lab.
If you want to hear about how plasmid evolution is driven by mobile genetic elements, please come and read this preprint!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
If you want to hear about how plasmid evolution is driven by mobile genetic elements, please come and read this preprint!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Nuria Quiles
A new paper from the lab on virus-like particles called eCISs www.nature.com/articles/s41...
How bacteria evolved thousands of precision nanoinjectors?
Some bacteria don’t secrete toxins — they inject them using phage-derived machines called extracellular contractile injection systems (eCISs).
How bacteria evolved thousands of precision nanoinjectors?
Some bacteria don’t secrete toxins — they inject them using phage-derived machines called extracellular contractile injection systems (eCISs).
A comprehensive catalogue of receptor-binding domains in extracellular contractile injection systems - Nature Communications
Extracellular contractile injection systems (eCISs) are bacteriophage tail-derived toxin delivery complexes that are present in many prokaryotes. Here, the authors present an analysis of eCIS tail fib...
www.nature.com
January 26, 2026 at 1:26 PM
A new paper from the lab on virus-like particles called eCISs www.nature.com/articles/s41...
How bacteria evolved thousands of precision nanoinjectors?
Some bacteria don’t secrete toxins — they inject them using phage-derived machines called extracellular contractile injection systems (eCISs).
How bacteria evolved thousands of precision nanoinjectors?
Some bacteria don’t secrete toxins — they inject them using phage-derived machines called extracellular contractile injection systems (eCISs).
Reposted by Nuria Quiles
A prophage-encoded sRNA limits phage infection of adherent-invasive E. coli
#PLoSPathogen from @prsecor.bsky.social
journals.plos.org/plospathogen...
#PLoSPathogen from @prsecor.bsky.social
journals.plos.org/plospathogen...
A prophage-encoded sRNA limits phage infection of adherent-invasive E. coli
Author summary Prophages—viral genomes integrated into bacterial chromosomes—are common in enteric bacteria and can profoundly influence bacterial physiology and ecological fitness. Here we show that ...
journals.plos.org
January 3, 2026 at 11:18 AM
A prophage-encoded sRNA limits phage infection of adherent-invasive E. coli
#PLoSPathogen from @prsecor.bsky.social
journals.plos.org/plospathogen...
#PLoSPathogen from @prsecor.bsky.social
journals.plos.org/plospathogen...
Reposted by Nuria Quiles
[1/3] Is your favorite bacterial isolate hiding a surprise lytic virus with a VERY different lifestyle? Finally I can proudly say that our paper on persistent phages is out in Nature Microbiology. rdcu.be/eWJEp. Well done @peterdoug.bsky.social
Persistent virulent phages exist across bacterial isolates
Nature Microbiology - The long-term existence of diverse virulent phages within cultures of Escherichia coli and others challenges the virulent–temperate dichotomy and points to non-canonical...
rdcu.be
December 29, 2025 at 2:00 PM
[1/3] Is your favorite bacterial isolate hiding a surprise lytic virus with a VERY different lifestyle? Finally I can proudly say that our paper on persistent phages is out in Nature Microbiology. rdcu.be/eWJEp. Well done @peterdoug.bsky.social
Reposted by Nuria Quiles
The final form of my 2nd postdoc paper with the Bassler Lab! Turns out our favorite quorum-sensing phage isn’t a one-off, but rather a member of a globally dispersed family of phages that sense a universal autoinducer.
#phagesky #microsky
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
#phagesky #microsky
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
A family of linear plasmid phages that detect a quorum-sensing autoinducer exists in multiple bacterial species | mBio
The discovery of quorum-sensing responsive linear plasmid phages has transformed understanding
of phage-bacterial interactions by demonstrating inter-domain chemical communication.
To date, however, e...
journals.asm.org
December 21, 2025 at 4:19 PM
The final form of my 2nd postdoc paper with the Bassler Lab! Turns out our favorite quorum-sensing phage isn’t a one-off, but rather a member of a globally dispersed family of phages that sense a universal autoinducer.
#phagesky #microsky
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
#phagesky #microsky
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Reposted by Nuria Quiles
Do viruses use RNA to rewire bacteria?
Yes!
In our paper in @cp-molcell.bsky.social RIL-seq reveals interkingdom RNA interactions during λ infection. Phages don’t just encode proteins, they use small RNAs to hijack bacterial replication and fine-tune infection.
#RNA #Phage
doi.org/10.1016/j.mo...
Yes!
In our paper in @cp-molcell.bsky.social RIL-seq reveals interkingdom RNA interactions during λ infection. Phages don’t just encode proteins, they use small RNAs to hijack bacterial replication and fine-tune infection.
#RNA #Phage
doi.org/10.1016/j.mo...
Phage-encoded small RNA hijacks host replication machinery to support the phage lytic cycle
Using RIL-seq, Silverman et al. map the RNA interactome of E. coli during phage lambda
infection and uncover a conserved phage-encoded sRNA that activates host replication
machinery. Their findings re...
www.cell.com
December 19, 2025 at 6:43 AM
Do viruses use RNA to rewire bacteria?
Yes!
In our paper in @cp-molcell.bsky.social RIL-seq reveals interkingdom RNA interactions during λ infection. Phages don’t just encode proteins, they use small RNAs to hijack bacterial replication and fine-tune infection.
#RNA #Phage
doi.org/10.1016/j.mo...
Yes!
In our paper in @cp-molcell.bsky.social RIL-seq reveals interkingdom RNA interactions during λ infection. Phages don’t just encode proteins, they use small RNAs to hijack bacterial replication and fine-tune infection.
#RNA #Phage
doi.org/10.1016/j.mo...
Reposted by Nuria Quiles
🚨Preprint alert - this is a big one! We transfer the revolutionary power of TnSeq to bacteriophages.
Our HIDEN-SEQ links the "dark matter" genes of your favorite phage to any selectable phenotype, guiding the path from fun observations to molecular mechanisms.
A thread 1/8
Our HIDEN-SEQ links the "dark matter" genes of your favorite phage to any selectable phenotype, guiding the path from fun observations to molecular mechanisms.
A thread 1/8
November 20, 2025 at 8:40 PM
🚨Preprint alert - this is a big one! We transfer the revolutionary power of TnSeq to bacteriophages.
Our HIDEN-SEQ links the "dark matter" genes of your favorite phage to any selectable phenotype, guiding the path from fun observations to molecular mechanisms.
A thread 1/8
Our HIDEN-SEQ links the "dark matter" genes of your favorite phage to any selectable phenotype, guiding the path from fun observations to molecular mechanisms.
A thread 1/8
Reposted by Nuria Quiles
Reposted by Nuria Quiles
Independent research fellowships leading to tenured positions at the John Innes Centre.
Repost = nice. Thank you very much!!!
Repost = nice. Thank you very much!!!
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to give a seminar at the Fellows Conference, which will be held on 10 March 2026.
Candidates who win Fellowships will be offered a Tenure Track Group Leader position from the outset, initially for 5 years.
Find out more: www.jic.ac.uk/training-car...
Candidates who win Fellowships will be offered a Tenure Track Group Leader position from the outset, initially for 5 years.
Find out more: www.jic.ac.uk/training-car...
Independent Research Fellowships Leading to Tenured Faculty Positions | John Innes Centre
The John Innes Centre (JIC), is a world leading centre of excellence in plant and microbial sciences based on the Norwich Research Park, UK. We are inviting applications from outstanding researchers…
www.jic.ac.uk
October 3, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Independent research fellowships leading to tenured positions at the John Innes Centre.
Repost = nice. Thank you very much!!!
Repost = nice. Thank you very much!!!
Reposted by Nuria Quiles
We discovered a new horizontal gene transfer mechanism: tail-less cf-PICIs hijack free phage tails extracellularly, forming infectious chimeric virions that drive both intra- and inter-species transfer among bacteria. @jonaszpatkowski.bsky.social @tcostalab.bsky.social @jrpenades.bsky.social
September 9, 2025 at 9:10 PM
We discovered a new horizontal gene transfer mechanism: tail-less cf-PICIs hijack free phage tails extracellularly, forming infectious chimeric virions that drive both intra- and inter-species transfer among bacteria. @jonaszpatkowski.bsky.social @tcostalab.bsky.social @jrpenades.bsky.social
Reposted by Nuria Quiles
Thrilled to share our two latest papers with the @tcostalab.bsky.social
lab! In the first, we uncover a new mechanism of satellite transfer: cf-PICIs hijack tails from diverse phages to spread across species.
@imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
lab! In the first, we uncover a new mechanism of satellite transfer: cf-PICIs hijack tails from diverse phages to spread across species.
@imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Chimeric infective particles expand species boundaries in phage-inducible chromosomal island mobilization
Capsid-forming PICIs (cf-PICIs) produce their own capsids and exploit phage tails
from unrelated species to transfer their DNA across bacterial hosts. This tail piracy
enables broad dissemination and ...
www.cell.com
September 9, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Thrilled to share our two latest papers with the @tcostalab.bsky.social
lab! In the first, we uncover a new mechanism of satellite transfer: cf-PICIs hijack tails from diverse phages to spread across species.
@imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
lab! In the first, we uncover a new mechanism of satellite transfer: cf-PICIs hijack tails from diverse phages to spread across species.
@imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Reposted by Nuria Quiles
Thrilled to share that two of our papers with @jrpenades.bsky.social & GoogleDeepMind
are now out in @cellpress.bsky.social
1️⃣Microbial piracy: tinyurl.com/yvf6t3b3
2️⃣AI co-scientist mirrors experimental science: tinyurl.com/2dym92kj
@imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social
@imperiallifesci.bsky.social
are now out in @cellpress.bsky.social
1️⃣Microbial piracy: tinyurl.com/yvf6t3b3
2️⃣AI co-scientist mirrors experimental science: tinyurl.com/2dym92kj
@imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social
@imperiallifesci.bsky.social
September 9, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Thrilled to share that two of our papers with @jrpenades.bsky.social & GoogleDeepMind
are now out in @cellpress.bsky.social
1️⃣Microbial piracy: tinyurl.com/yvf6t3b3
2️⃣AI co-scientist mirrors experimental science: tinyurl.com/2dym92kj
@imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social
@imperiallifesci.bsky.social
are now out in @cellpress.bsky.social
1️⃣Microbial piracy: tinyurl.com/yvf6t3b3
2️⃣AI co-scientist mirrors experimental science: tinyurl.com/2dym92kj
@imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social
@imperiallifesci.bsky.social
Reposted by Nuria Quiles
New review 🔥 Single-cell RNA-Seq has been revolutionary for studying eukaryotic cells and now it's time for it to do the same for microbes! We describe the technology for single-bacterium RNA-Seq & the questions now studied using it.🧵⬇️
science.org/doi/10.1126/...
@andrewpountain.bsky.social
science.org/doi/10.1126/...
@andrewpountain.bsky.social
September 4, 2025 at 9:07 PM
New review 🔥 Single-cell RNA-Seq has been revolutionary for studying eukaryotic cells and now it's time for it to do the same for microbes! We describe the technology for single-bacterium RNA-Seq & the questions now studied using it.🧵⬇️
science.org/doi/10.1126/...
@andrewpountain.bsky.social
science.org/doi/10.1126/...
@andrewpountain.bsky.social
Reposted by Nuria Quiles
August 13, 2025 at 6:39 AM
Reposted by Nuria Quiles
Why do some people age more healthily than others? The answer may come, in part, from our guts and the massive community of microbes living in them. Discover how aging shapes—and is shaped by—the gut microbiota: asm.org/Articles/202...
Aging and the Gut: The Microbiome's Second Act | ASM.org
Why do some people age more healthily than others? The answer may come, in part, from our guts and the massive community of microbes living in them.
asm.org
July 30, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Why do some people age more healthily than others? The answer may come, in part, from our guts and the massive community of microbes living in them. Discover how aging shapes—and is shaped by—the gut microbiota: asm.org/Articles/202...
Reposted by Nuria Quiles
Today, Professor Donal Wall, @uofglasgow.bsky.social attended a pitch session as part of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee's 'Under the Microscope' inquiry to explain why they should be interested in microbiomes.
July 1, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Today, Professor Donal Wall, @uofglasgow.bsky.social attended a pitch session as part of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee's 'Under the Microscope' inquiry to explain why they should be interested in microbiomes.
Reposted by Nuria Quiles
Let’s talk about/with/to phage!
Virtual Virology is back - our first ever phage session. Do join us...
May 22, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Let’s talk about/with/to phage!
Reposted by Nuria Quiles
I got hit by some rather sudden and extreme financial hardship so if anyone is in need of remote wetlab contract research, strictly BSL1, do let me know. Currently scrambling for gigs.
Plant, Bacterial, Archaeal Non-model Bioeng
Custom Lab Hardware
Turn Key Genetic Design
Please repost for reach 💚
Plant, Bacterial, Archaeal Non-model Bioeng
Custom Lab Hardware
Turn Key Genetic Design
Please repost for reach 💚
May 2, 2025 at 2:39 PM
I got hit by some rather sudden and extreme financial hardship so if anyone is in need of remote wetlab contract research, strictly BSL1, do let me know. Currently scrambling for gigs.
Plant, Bacterial, Archaeal Non-model Bioeng
Custom Lab Hardware
Turn Key Genetic Design
Please repost for reach 💚
Plant, Bacterial, Archaeal Non-model Bioeng
Custom Lab Hardware
Turn Key Genetic Design
Please repost for reach 💚
Reposted by Nuria Quiles
Gene editing and many other useful biotechnology tools came from studies of bacteria fighting off viral invaders, but scientists have only begun to unlock the secrets of this microbial warfare. Read the Nature feature on what breakthroughs could be next. 🧪
Microbial warfare brought us CRISPR. What big breakthroughs could be next?
Gene editing and many other useful biotechnology tools came from studies of bacteria fighting off viral invaders. But scientists have only begun to unlock the secrets of this ancient arms race.
go.nature.com
April 13, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Gene editing and many other useful biotechnology tools came from studies of bacteria fighting off viral invaders, but scientists have only begun to unlock the secrets of this microbial warfare. Read the Nature feature on what breakthroughs could be next. 🧪
Reposted by Nuria Quiles
I was waiting two years to see this out!! The genomic location of bacterial genes is not random!!! Congratulation on the authors (Martin Lercher and Team!). www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Most bacterial gene families are biased toward specific chromosomal positions
The arrangement of genes along bacterial chromosomes influences their expression through growth rate–dependent gene copy number changes during DNA replication. Although translation- and transcription-...
www.science.org
April 10, 2025 at 7:43 PM
I was waiting two years to see this out!! The genomic location of bacterial genes is not random!!! Congratulation on the authors (Martin Lercher and Team!). www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Nuria Quiles
The BASEL collection of E. coli #phages is limited by its host strain. @humollidorentina.bsky.social @damienpiel.bsky.social @aharms485.bsky.social &co use a modified host to add 36 new phages, revealing roles of O-antigen in recognition & R-M systems in immunity @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4jirGvX
April 8, 2025 at 4:55 PM
The BASEL collection of E. coli #phages is limited by its host strain. @humollidorentina.bsky.social @damienpiel.bsky.social @aharms485.bsky.social &co use a modified host to add 36 new phages, revealing roles of O-antigen in recognition & R-M systems in immunity @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4jirGvX
PhD opportunity in a fantastic topic with great supervisors. Check it out!
🚨 PhD opportunity in my lab with @mfwhite2.bsky.social!
Use bacterial viruses (phages) to take on antibiotic-resistant superbugs 🦠🧫
Join us at St Andrews to explore virus–bacteria battles.
🔬 Apply now: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
#PhD #Microbiology #PhageTherapy #AntibioticResistance
Use bacterial viruses (phages) to take on antibiotic-resistant superbugs 🦠🧫
Join us at St Andrews to explore virus–bacteria battles.
🔬 Apply now: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
#PhD #Microbiology #PhageTherapy #AntibioticResistance
Harnessing Bacterial Viruses to Combat Antibiotic-Resistant Infections at University of St Andrews on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Harnessing Bacterial Viruses to Combat Antibiotic-Resistant Infections at University of St Andrews, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
March 31, 2025 at 2:33 PM
PhD opportunity in a fantastic topic with great supervisors. Check it out!
Reposted by Nuria Quiles
If you are interested in phage satellites, we hope you'll enjoy this. Fun collaboration with the Rocha, Seed, Bikard, and Chen labs! rdcu.be/efkvG
Genetics, ecology and evolution of phage satellites
Nature Reviews Microbiology - In this Review, Penadés et al. explore the genetics, potential origins and life cycle of phage satellites, and they discuss the impact of these elements on the...
rdcu.be
March 27, 2025 at 11:28 AM
If you are interested in phage satellites, we hope you'll enjoy this. Fun collaboration with the Rocha, Seed, Bikard, and Chen labs! rdcu.be/efkvG