What determines who a phage can infect?. We tackled this question for temperate phages of Klebsiella — a bacterial pathogen — using a genome-wide association study (GWAS) and a massive protein testing effort. 👇 A thread!

RT @BortzGroup: 🦠🧬 Fantastic study! Deep mining of Klebsiella genomes for integrated bacteriophages #LoveVirology #Phages.

This work was equally driven by two PhD students, Aleksandra Otwinowska (experiments) and @jkoszucki (bioinformatics). Check out the preprint or DM if you want to learn more.

Why does this matter?.✔️ Sheds light on phage host-range evolution.✔️ Reveals capsule modification as key to infection.✔️ Challenges capsule typing and specificity assumptions.✔️ Informs phage therapy and vaccine design.🚨🧬💉

8/.This underscores the complexity of predicting enzyme specificity — even similar proteins may target different capsules. Yet, the study reveals an enormous functional and structural diversity encoded in temperate phages.

But predictions are just the start. Together with @Zuza_DrulisKawa's group, we experimentally tested 50 candidate enzymes from prophages on a panel of 119 capsule types. Only 14 were active — and not always on the predicted target. 🧪🧫

We discovered a widespread class of SGNH hydrolase–containing RBPs — enzymes structurally related to deacetylases. They likely modify capsules (e.g. by removing acetyl groups) instead of degrading them — a very different phage infection strategy!.🧠🔬

We found 16 capsule types (K-loci) with strong genetic predictors, mostly receptor-binding proteins (RBPs). Some were classical depolymerases… but many were not.

This is one of the first large-scale GWAS efforts focused on phage–host interactions — and shows how prophages carry hidden information about viral host range. 🔥 Here’s what we found!.

But: temperate phages (those that integrate into the bacterial genome) are less understood. We screened 3,900 Klebsiella genomes and identified over 8,100 prophages, then applied GWAS to link phage genes to capsule types.

Phages use surface-binding proteins to recognise their bacterial hosts. In Klebsiella, this often means targeting the capsule — a sugary layer that varies across strains. Some phages bring depolymerases, enzymes that slice through these polysaccharides to enable infection.

I'm looking for a postdoc in computational evolutionary phage genomics, with the goal to better understand how protein innovation arises in viruses, at @MCB_UJ in Krakow (Poland). Drop me a line if you are considering applying. Full details here: .

Congratulations to @wanangwa_ndovie, Jan Havránek, @leconte_jade, @jkoszucki for driving the work, to Leonid Chindelevitch and Evelien Adriaessens for the collaboration and @NCN_PL @NAWAPoland @EMBO et al for funding this work.

Excited to announce that MANIAC is now out in mSystems!. Major take-home messages:.1) MANIAC can reliably estimate ANI ~70%,.2) dsDNA phages exhibit ANI gap around 80%,.3) taxonomic assignment in temperate phages is tricky. Give MANIAC a spin and enjoy!.

🚨 Can viruses be good for us? Absolutely — if they’re phages! 🚨. Our team at @MCB_UJ studies how phages infect bacteria and how their mosaic genomes could help design custom phage therapies. 🎥 Watch the film here:

Czym są dobre wirusy i czemu warto je badać?. Nasze badania nad genetyką bakteriofagów zostały pięknie wytłumaczone i zwizualizowane przez @JagiellonskiUni . 💪🦠🧪💻.

RT @NCN_PL: 👏👏👏Nauka to racja stanu. Dziękujemy badaczkom i badaczom, dziennikarkom i dziennikarzom i wszystkim innym osobom, które od mies….

RT @NCN_PL: Bez badań podstawowych nie ma innowacji. Dziękujemy @PremierRP @donaldtusk @Domanski_Andrz @MF_GOV_PL!.

RT @pawel_labaj: The @MCB_UJ is seeking a new director to move it forward in the next step of it’s evolution!.Great chance to work with @Gl….

RT @BriersYves: Happy to share the newest work by @CliaPas1 on O-antigen specific phages and their #RBPs, including a new genus! #phage #ST….