B. Wilkinson

Bifurcation drives the evolution of assembly-line biosynthesis

The paper examines how natural evolution creates biosynthetic pathways through bifurcation, showing gene duplication and neofunctionalization lead to pathway redundancy and structural innovation.

Competition-based screening secures the evolutionary stability of a defensive microbiome

The paper shows that competition-based screening by Pseudonocardia symbionts maintains a stable defensive microbiome in Acromyrmex ants by eliminating non-antibiotic-producing microbes.

Investigating the role of root exudates in recruiting Streptomyces bacteria to the Arabidopsis thaliana root microbiome

The paper investigates whether root exudates, specifically salicylate, attract Streptomyces bacteria to Arabidopsis thaliana roots and finds that Streptomyces are outcompeted by proteobacteria for plant metabolites.

Streptomyces endophytes promote the growth of Arabidopsis thaliana

This study isolates Streptomyces bacteria from Arabidopsis thaliana roots and finds some strains promote plant growth while others inhibit growth due to antifungal properties.

In situ activation and heterologous production of a cryptic lantibiotic from a plant-ant derived Saccharopolyspora species

This paper identifies and activates a cryptic lantibiotic gene cluster in a plant-ant associated Saccharopolyspora species, enabling the discovery of a novel antibiotic, kyamicin, and demonstrating a platform for heterologous production of lanthipeptides.

Self-immunity guided identification of threonyl-tRNA synthetase as the molecular target of obafluorin, a β-lactone antibiotic

Aromatic polyketide biosynthesis: fidelity, evolution and engineering

The paper reports new aromatic polyketides called formicapyridines, shows how mutating a single gene increases their production, and identifies a non-catalytic role for ABM superfamily proteins in maintaining biosynthetic pathway fidelity.

Experimental demonstration that screening can enable the environmental recruitment of a defensive microbiome

The paper demonstrates that screening theory explains how hosts selectively recruit antibiotic-producing microbes by simulating ant microbiome competition in vitro.