Nora Pyenson

Nora Pyenson

@norapyenson.bsky.social

Postdoc at NYU www.norapyenson.com

507 followers134 following11 posts

Nora Pyenson reposted

Jorge Moura de Sousa
@jmouradesousa.bsky.social

Happy to see our work on the evolution of antiviral repertoires in P4-like satellites and their P2-like helper phages (check out the 🧵 👇) out in @narjournal.bsky.social 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/nar/... #phagesky #MicroSky #evosky

doi.orgShuttling, swapping, and mixing: the rapid modular evolution of antiviral repertoires in temperate phages and their satellitesAbstract. Interactions between bacteria, bacteriophages, and their satellites are shaped by a myriad of defence and counter-defence mechanisms. Here, we id

Nora Pyenson reposted

Jakob T Rostøl
@jakob-tr.bsky.social

Like a prophage being awakened from its slumber, the phage field has seen a lot of renewed activity during the last decade. Check out our new @natrevmicro.nature.com review on the temperate phage life cycle here to stay up-to-date 🧫🦠 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

nature.comRevisiting the life cycle of temperate phages - Nature Reviews MicrobiologyThe life cycle of temperate bacteriophages involves lytic or lysogenic cycles and has historically served as a model for studying genetic regulation. This Review provides an updated overview of these ...

Nora Pyenson reposted

Kotaro Chihara
@kochihara.bsky.social

Happy to share our new work on how phages escape bacterial immunity. We show that a phage homing endonuclease drives segmental amplification of anti-defense genes, pointing to a versatile and rapid mode of adaptation. www.nature.com/articles/s41... #PhageSky #MicroSky

nature.comPhage homing endonuclease amplifies anti-defense genes to evade bacterial immunity - Nature CommunicationsPhages employ diverse counter-defense strategies to overcome bacterial immune systems. Here, the authors reveal that the phage homing nuclease SegB facilitates immune evasion by promoting the segmenta...

Nora Pyenson reposted

Ashleigh Griffin
@asgriffin.bsky.social

How to study adaptation in organisms that we can’t see, living in environments that we can’t visit? Some thoughts in our perspective piece out today in @pnas.org www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... @biology.ox.ac.uk @stuwest.bsky.social

pnas.orgStudying adaptation at the invisible scale | PNASIn order to understand adaptation by natural selection, it is necessary to observe organisms in their natural habitat. For this reason, the field o...

Nora Pyenson reposted

Simon Roux
@simrouxvirus.bsky.social

We (with Clement Coclet, not on Bsky) had the chance to work on a broad "state of viromics" review. We tried to use this to give an overview of how the field changed over the last ~ 15 years, and also what we think are some of the major remaining challenges. Full-text access at -> rdcu.be/excHt

rdcu.beViromics approaches for the study of viral diversity and ecology in microbiomesNature Reviews Genetics - In this Review, Roux and Coclet outline current viromics approaches and discuss how they have contributed to our growing understanding of viral genomic diversity, focusing...
Nature Reviews Genetics@natrevgenet.nature.com

New online! Viromics approaches for the study of viral diversity and ecology in microbiomes

nature.comViromics approaches for the study of viral diversity and ecology in microbiomesNature Reviews Genetics, Published online: 21 July 2025; doi:10.1038/s41576-025-00871-wIn this Review, Roux and Coclet outline current viromics approaches and discuss how they have contributed to our growing understanding of viral genomic diversity, focusing on uncultivated viruses of microorganisms.
Nora Pyenson
@norapyenson.bsky.social

Check out the official Phage Names in Table S1, like Escherichia phage MiataMamis, that were inspired by loved ones and colleagues, and will soon be immortalized in the National Library of Medicine. 📜

Nora Pyenson
@norapyenson.bsky.social

Our work shows how ecological “niches” are almost endlessly divisible. Even under strict laboratory conditions, the E.coli population had heterogeneity that phage species could rely on. (7/8)

Nora Pyenson
@norapyenson.bsky.social

The E. coli culture wasn’t really a single resource, it’s more like a buffet 🥗 of different cellular phenotypes. Different phage species preferred slow 🥬 or fast 🍅 growing cells which enabled their coexistence. (5/8)

Nora Pyenson
@norapyenson.bsky.social

This study shifts how we think about phage diversity in nature. Phages don’t just rely on host genotypic diversity for coexistence. They use diversity in host phenotypes—similar to how viruses infect different tissues in a human made of genetically identical cells. (6/8)

Nora Pyenson
@norapyenson.bsky.social

We mapped how each species interacted with their neighbor and found that most species didn’t love sharing their host population ⚔️. So how did they coexist despite this hostility? (4/8)

Nora Pyenson
@norapyenson.bsky.social

We grew diverse phage species on a clonal (non-evolving) E. coli population and expected one species to beat out all others. Instead we found the opposite: multiple species coexisted in every single community. (2/8)

Nora Pyenson reposted

Asher Leeks
@asherleeks.bsky.social

One week left to apply to the Social Lives of Viruses 2024! 50-person meeting on viral sociality, from virology to evolution, in Puerto Rico this June. All welcome; free accommodation and registration. Apply here: forms.gle/SvgCix9Njr8r... #SocialViruses #ViroSky #MicroSky #EvoSky

Asher Leeks@asherleeks.bsky.social

Announcing the Social Lives of Viruses 2024! Do you study social evolution in viruses? Do you want to? Join us in Puerto Rico this June for a 50-person meeting dedicated to viral sociality. All costs covered. Apply here: forms.gle/sHTEcHJjryDh... #ViroSky #MicroSky #EvoSky #SocialViruses

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