Jan-Willem Veening

Jan-Willem Veening

@veeninglab.com

Professor and director at the Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, https://veeninglab.com/. Interested in antibiotic resistance, bacterial cell biology, host-microbe interactions.

2.2K followers1.6K following166 posts

Jan-Willem Veening reposted

Lars Dietrich
@laahrs.bsky.social

Incredibly excited about our latest work on R-bodies, 5+ years in the making! These coiled protein ribbons extend into ~10 µm needles in a pH-dependent manner & we caught them springing open inside amoebae after P. aeruginosa gets eaten. (animation: Jegg Yoon)🧵1/2 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Jan-Willem Veening reposted

Kate Baker
@ksbakes.bsky.social

We have an open Assistant/Associate Professor position in Pathogen Biology at the Department of Genetics - come and join us! 🦠 🧫 🧬https://www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/assistantassociate-professor-in-pathogen-genetics-pc51175

cam.ac.ukAssistant/Associate Professor in Pathogen GeneticsApplications are invited for an Assistant or Associate Professorship in Pathogen Genetics to be held in the Department of Genetics. We are searching for a talented individual with a track record of fu...

Jan-Willem Veening reposted

Brian D. Wade
@astrobrian.bsky.social

Bacterial chromosomal gene positioning is likely shaped by selection on both mean and growth-dependent expression #genomes #genetics #genes #evolution #evoSky #scienceSky journals.plos.org/plosgenetics...

journals.plos.orgBacterial chromosomal gene positioning is likely shaped by selection on both mean and growth-dependent expressionAuthor summary Bacterial gene positioning affects gene expression because genes near the origin of chromosomal replication are replicated earlier than those near the terminus and thus have higher gene...

Jan-Willem Veening reposted

Ákos T Kovács
@evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social

Here it is online, a week after the teaser talk at #EMBOBacNet... @natmicrobiol.nature.com by @humollidorentina.bsky.social et al from @aharms485.bsky.social with @veeninglab.com Systematic mapping of bacteriophage gene essentiality with HIDEN-SEQ www.nature.com/articles/s41...

nature.comSystematic mapping of bacteriophage gene essentiality with HIDEN-SEQ - Nature MicrobiologyHIDEN-SEQ (hidden Acr-enabled transposon-insertion sequencing) is a transposon-insertion sequencing method for phages that systematically links their genes to selectable phenotypes.
Ákos T Kovács@evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social

Alex aims to identify essential genes within the phage genomes, see details in their bioRxiv (coming soon in @natmicrobiol.nature.com) www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #EMBOBacNet

biorxiv.orgSystematic mapping of bacteriophage gene essentiality with HIDEN-SEQThe constant arms race of bacteriophages and their bacterial hosts has inspired major breakthroughs in biotechnology and shaped phages as fierce predators with great clinical potential to fight multid...

Jan-Willem Veening reposted

Thomas Ipoutcha
@tomipou.bsky.social

Finally out! 🎉 After 3 years of postdoc in London, here is my main work, now published in Nature Comm. (and as co-corresponding author!) Using a combination of bioinformatic and experimental approaches, we propose a model of plasmid evolution in Staphylococcus. www.nature.com/articles/s41... ⬇️ 1/4

nature.comMobile genetic elements drive a plasmid fusion and deletion lifecycle shaping evolution and antimicrobial resistance - Nature CommunicationsPlasmids drive bacterial adaptation, but how their diversity arises has remained unclear. Here, they show that in Staphylococcus aureus, mobile genetic elements repeatedly fuse and delete plasmids, re...

Jan-Willem Veening reposted

Nature Microbiology
@natmicrobiol.nature.com

Out Now! Bacterial growth rate in populations and single cells #MicroSky

go.nature.comBacterial growth rate in populations and single cellsNature Microbiology, Published online: 17 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41564-026-02449-6In this Perspective, Levin and Wang give a brief history of bacterial growth rate and discuss how it is connected to nutrient availability and macromolecule synthesis, with a focus on (p)ppGpp as a central hub regulating resource allocation and, indirectly, growth rate at the single-cell level.

Jan-Willem Veening reposted

Pedro Beltrao
@pedrobeltrao.bsky.social

I used Fable 5.1 to run an AI research project given a bioinformatics research idea (cross links +AlphafoldDB), with the objective of producing a submission folder (manuscript, figures, code, supplementary files, cover letter). It did so in about 7h with still fairly poor results. The process:

Jan-Willem Veening
@veeninglab.com

Clonal does not mean uniform. #MicroSky Our new review explores how genetically identical bacteria adopt different cell states, and how that diversity shapes survival, cooperation, antibiotic responses and gene transfer. 🧵 doi.org/10.1146/annu...

doi.orgDecoding Bistability and Drivers of Phenotypic Variation in BacteriaIn a process known as phenotypic heterogeneity or phenotypic variation, bacteria can produce distinct phenotypes within an isogenic population in response to shifting environmental conditions. Noise i...
Jan-Willem Veening
@veeninglab.com

Gene expression noise, asymmetric division, phase variation and quorum sensing can create cell-to-cell differences. Feedback can lock them into stable ON/OFF states supporting bet-hedging, division of labor and persistence. Synthetic circuits can test when this variation is truly adaptive.

Jan-Willem Veening
@veeninglab.com

In Pseudomonas ICEclc, ~3–5% of cells switch on transfer competence in stationary phase with 3-CBA. Restricting the response to a small subpopulation may limit the fitness cost while preserving spread. Huge thanks to Milena Jaskólska and Jesús Cámara-Almirón for leading this review!

Jan-Willem Veening reposted

Seth Dickey
@dickeylab.bsky.social

I’m thrilled to share our newest study in which @thesbhowmick.bsky.social y.social developed and applied a genome-wide platform to uncover genetic interactions in Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 1/10

biorxiv.orgA genome-wide genetic interaction platform for MRSA reveals connections between cell division and the cell envelopeThe bacterial cell cycle is an ensemble of integrated pathways that coordinates cell growth and division. Although these pathways contain a suite of promising antimicrobial targets, their functional o...
Jan-Willem Veening
@veeninglab.com

I hadn't thought about the problem of division site selection in a long time. Really cool to see these new studies shining fresh light on such a fundamental question. Especially checkout this work by @aducret.bsky.social & Christophe Grangeasse: doi.org/10.1038/s415...

doi.orgLocal peptidoglycan composition defines division site selection in Streptococcus pneumoniae - Nature MicrobiologySequential peptidoglycan carboxylase activity of DacA and DacB generates a local peptidoglycan signature that recruits MapZ and establishes the division site at the Streptococcus pneumoniae cell equat...
Jan-Willem Veening@veeninglab.com

Great to see an independent validation of our 2017 PNAS work on MapZ. Less great to not see it even mentioned nor cited.. #MicroSky www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.... febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...

pnas.orgPNASProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
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Jan-Willem Veening
@veeninglab.com

One important chicken-and-egg caveat: DacA/B themselves act at an existing division site. So the PG/MapZ model beautifully explains how positional information can be propagated from one generation to the next, but not necessarily how the very first division site is established de novo.

Jan-Willem Veening
@veeninglab.com

Maybe that’s the key: there isn’t one “midcell-finding” mechanism. Geometry constrains the possibilities, PG chemistry preserves spatial memory, and chromosome organization coordinates division with the cell cycle. Together they make division remarkably robust! #MicroSky

Jan-Willem Veening
@veeninglab.com

I hadn't thought about the problem of division site selection in a long time. Really cool to see these new studies shining fresh light on such a fundamental question. Especially checkout this work by @aducret.bsky.social & Christophe Grangeasse: doi.org/10.1038/s415...

doi.orgLocal peptidoglycan composition defines division site selection in Streptococcus pneumoniae - Nature MicrobiologySequential peptidoglycan carboxylase activity of DacA and DacB generates a local peptidoglycan signature that recruits MapZ and establishes the division site at the Streptococcus pneumoniae cell equat...
Jan-Willem Veening@veeninglab.com

Great to see an independent validation of our 2017 PNAS work on MapZ. Less great to not see it even mentioned nor cited.. #MicroSky www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.... febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...

pnas.orgPNASProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
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Jan-Willem Veening
@veeninglab.com

Cell geometry provides a coordinate system and biases the Z-ring to form perpendicular to the long axis. An inherited, DacA/B-dependent PG signature is read by MapZ to more precisely identify the equator and position FtsZ.

Jan-Willem Veening
@veeninglab.com

Chromosome organization/segregation may then provide additional spatial constraints and, through systems such as RocS/CpsD, help ensure that constriction proceeds only when the DNA is safely organized.

Jan-Willem Veening
@veeninglab.com

I hadn't thought about the problem of division site selection in a long time. Really cool to see these new studies shining fresh light on such a fundamental question. Especially checkout this work by @aducret.bsky.social & Christophe Grangeasse: doi.org/10.1038/s415...

doi.orgLocal peptidoglycan composition defines division site selection in Streptococcus pneumoniae - Nature MicrobiologySequential peptidoglycan carboxylase activity of DacA and DacB generates a local peptidoglycan signature that recruits MapZ and establishes the division site at the Streptococcus pneumoniae cell equat...
Jan-Willem Veening@veeninglab.com

Great to see an independent validation of our 2017 PNAS work on MapZ. Less great to not see it even mentioned nor cited.. #MicroSky www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.... febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...

pnas.orgPNASProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
Jan-Willem Veening
@veeninglab.com

With what we know now, I think the simplest model may be that pneumococcus doesn’t actively “find” its middle. Instead, the previous division event leaves behind spatial information that helps specify the next one.

Jan-Willem Veening
@veeninglab.com

The 2026 paper's core observation is that MapZ sets plane orientation, not midcell selection, and the chromosome supplies the underlying spatial information. This is exactly the central claim of our 2017 paper...

Jan-Willem Veening reposted

Ákos T Kovács
@evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social

Decoding Bistability and Drivers of Phenotypic Variation in Bacteria Annual Reviews in Microbiology by Jesús Cámara-Almirón, Milena Jaskólska, and @veeninglab.com at @dmf-unil.bsky.social www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...

annualreviews.orgDecoding Bistability and Drivers of Phenotypic Variation in BacteriaIn a process known as phenotypic heterogeneity or phenotypic variation, bacteria can produce distinct phenotypes within an isogenic population in response to shifting environmental conditions. Noise i...

Jan-Willem Veening reposted

Kumaran Ramamurthi
@ramamurthilab.bsky.social

@felixrl.bsky.social told us previously *how* #Staph aureus does orthogonal cell division. In his latest paper he tells us *why*: to arrange cell surface proteins required to form staphylococcal abscess colonies. (Videos S1-S2 are amazing!). 🤯 www.cell.com/cell-reports...

cell.comOrthogonal cell division mediated by PcdA organizes surface virulence factors to drive staphylococcal abscess community formationStaphylococcus aureus divides along sequential orthogonal planes, but the function of this geometry has remained unclear. Ramos-León et al. show that orthogonal division promotes uniform deployment of...

Jan-Willem Veening reposted

Johanna Joyce
@johannajoyce.bsky.social

A fun collection of ideas in #Nature today on how to make lab meetings more engaging, inclusive & useful! Thanks for including our lab’s “flashlight” round in the tips - a simple ritual to give everyone a voice & stay connected to what’s happening across the group 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

nature.comTwenty-two easy ways to power up your lab meetingsScientists share help and advice on how they got their research discussions flowing.

Jan-Willem Veening reposted

Dr. Michael D. L. Johnson
@copperbae.bsky.social

Check it out!

Mark O. Martin@markowenmartin.bsky.social

It's Tuesday, so it is time for a new biweekly episode of #MattersMicrobial! This time, Dr. Michael DL Johnson joins the #QualityQuorum to chat about his "Trojan Horse" strategies to battle superbugs! Please spread the #GoodMicrobialWord? youtu.be/M-FEMi7M-bU?...

Jan-Willem Veening
@veeninglab.com

Knocking down mnhB reduced early phagocytic uptake and intracellular bacterial burden. Importantly, the phenotype held across three distinct S. aureus lineages. Excitingly, when mnhB was depleted, levofloxacin cleared intracellular bacteria more effectively.

Jan-Willem Veening
@veeninglab.com

The intracellular and extracellular fitness landscapes separated clearly. The screen recovered known virulence factors and uncovered new genes specifically needed inside phagocytes. Among them: mnhB, part of the Mnh1 cation–proton antiporter.

Jan-Willem Veening
@veeninglab.com

Why look inside cells? Although S. aureus is mainly extracellular, it can persist within monocytes and macrophages. We found that internalization markedly increased antibiotic survival, making the intracellular niche a potential reservoir for treatment failure.