Interspecies Interactions
The tiny obligate parasitic bacterium Southlakia epibionticum(yellow) cultured on its host bacterium, Actinomyces israelii (blue)
Image credit: Drs. Larry Gallagher and Joseph Mougous
UW Microbiology Home
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Cell Biology of Bacterial Infection
Listeria monocytogenes (green) interacting with macrophages (red/blue).
Credit: Michelle Reniere
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Bacterial Self-Organization
Pseudomonas aeruginosa cells that engage (magenta) or don’t (green) in collective behavior spontaneously self organize in cellular aggregates (3D image acquired by confocal laser scanning microscopy).
Credit: Jeffrey Carey and Matt Parsek
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Phage antagonize CRISPR-Cas Immunity
Cryo-EM structure of a phage-encoded anti-CRISPR protein (blue) in complex with the RNA-targeting CRISPR effector Cas13 (gray) and its guide RNA (red).
Credit: Alex Meeske
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Emergence of Highly Pathogenic Clones of Escherichia coli
Genetic typing of uropathogeic E. coli reveals strong association of some clones with high sensitivity or extreme resistance to multiple antibiotics.
Courtesy: Sokurenko Lab
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Quorum sensing in Vibrio fischeri
Lux genes coding for light production are activated by quorum sensing at high cell density. The light produced by the bacteria exposed the film for the image.
Courtesy: Greenberg Lab
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Pseudomonas aeruginosa in co-culture
Structural component of bacterial targeting type VI secretion system P. aeruginosa (green) assembled in presence of competitor organism (red).
Courtesy of: Mougous Lab
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HIV-1 Envelope Evolution
Reconstructed phylogenetic network of HIV-1 envelope sequences (C2-V5) from subtype B.
Courtesy of: Mullins Lab
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Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Colonies of Pseudomonas aeruginosa expressing different amounts of exopolysaccharides.
Courtesy of: Harwood Lab
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YopM Crystal Structure
Crystal structure of the Yersinia virulence protein YopM
Courtesy of: Cookson Lab
News & Updates
A strong contingent of UW Micro researchers presented their research at the 2025 ASM Northwest Branch Meeting in Portland OR. Several among them were selected for awards, including Best Trainee Talk at Main session (Edith Sawyer - Meeske lab), Best Trainee Talk at Trainee session (Daniel Mwangi - Woodward lab), and Best Poster (Olivia Dong - Mitchell lab). Congrats!
For over 20 years, Prof. Matt Parsek (UW) and Prof. Dan Wozniak (Ohio State) have had an NIH-supported collaboration working on Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm formation, how it influences people with cystic fibrosis, and developent of new treatments. The collaboration was highlighted in a video interview with both PIs by NBC Ohio!
Dr. Shoshanna Kahne, a postdoc in the Meeske lab, was awarded the highly competitive Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Postdoctoral Fellowship for her work on immune systems of Cyanobacteria. Congratulations Dr. Kahne!
During his 36-year career at Fred Hutch Cancer Center, Michael Emerman, PhD, an Affiliate Professor in the UW Department of Microbiology, made fundamental discoveries about HIV, the retrovirus that causes AIDS. Over his career, Michael trained 27 graduate students and 16 postdoctoral/medical fellows. He was the MCB graduate program co-director for 8 years, taught graduate virology to countless students since 2005, and organized Thursday morning virus group meeting, which has been active since 1992. Thank you Michael for all you've done for our community. Read more about Michael's legacy here.
Upcoming Events
Seminars
Orin Smith Auditorium
Speaker:
Dr. Ryan Will
Seminars
Orin Smith Auditorium
Speaker:
Dr. Kier Neuman
Recent Publications
Nature communications
Nov, 2025
Open forum infectious diseases
Nov, 2025
Nature microbiology
Nov, 2025
The Journal of infectious diseases
Oct, 2025
Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)
Oct, 2025
Journal of virology
Oct, 2025
Science immunology
Oct, 2025
Fast Facts
