Department of Fundamental Microbiology

Have microbes in fermented foods been tamed?
Engel lab/ A recent news & views article explores the different evidence we have for microbial domestication

A bistable differentiation pathway underlying conjugation of ICE elements
van der Meer lab/A new study by Sandra Sulser and Andrea Vucicevic and coworkers shows how a small subpopulation of Pseudomonas cells differentiates to develop transfer competence, making them capable to transfer an integrative and conjugative element at high efficiency to new recipients.

Reproducible development of complex soil communities
A new study by Senka Causevic/van der Meer Lab shows how highly diverse soil communities develop in a reproducible manner in both soil-to-soil as well as typical liquid culturing systems.

New publication at Martin lab
Olivia Muriel in the lab of Sophie Martin presents a large correlative light and electron microscopy dataset of 3D tomograms of the fission yeast cell–cell fusion site. The work reveals that these isogametes present morphological asymmetries in plasma membrane tension and curvature.

Des bactéries étroitement apparentées peuvent coexister dans l'intestin des...
Engel lab : Brochet et al. utilisent le microbiote de l'intestin des abeilles pour recueillir que des bactéries étroitement apparentes peuvent coexister dans l'intestin en partageant les différents nutriments fournis dans le régime alimentaire de l’hôte.