Our latest work is out today! We report the birth of a ~2-billion-year-old orphan gene following planetary oxygenation, and how this humble beginning shaped the global planetary ecosystem. From so simple, a beginning: academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-ar…

UW Foundation Fetzer Professor of Bacteriology Tim Donohue will be speaking about the bioeconomy at ASM Microbe 2024. Check out his recent appearance on the podcast Meet the Microbiologist! asm.org/Podcasts/MTM/E…

Researchers from UW-Madison Department of Bacteriology UW Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences and collaborators recently developed a bacterium that can be used for biofertilizers to stimulate plant growth. Jean-Michel Ané said he's optimistic the new bacterium will reduce fertilizer inputs for corn crops. agupdate.com/agriview/news/…

Kerri Coon Kerri Coon, Andrew Sommer Andrew Sommer, and Julia Kettner with new insight on the role of biting flies in the spread of bovine mastitis. Research funded by Dairy Innovation Hub and published in @mSphere asm.org/Press-Releases…

Congratulations to Christopher Dade -- ASM's new Fenwick Fellow for the Advancement of Civic Science! @uwbact @uwchemistry asm.org/Press-Releases…

Jean-Michel Ané was recently awarded a USDA-NIFA grant for a project seeking to generate maize that obtains more nitrogen through the air and thus reduces the need for costly and environmentally-impactful fertilizer. Congratulations Jean-Michel Ané! ecals.cals.wisc.edu/2024/07/07/gra…

We're trying something new this summer! Please join us Tuesday, July 23 for a summer social at MSB. We'll be pumping summer jams and the Banzo food truck will be slinging delicious mediterranean fare. Come hang out and catch up with our building, college, and campus community!

Great article in Grow Magazine (UW-Madison) on microbial multitasking, aka "How to Generate Two Products with One Microbe!"

Shout-out to Bacteriology Masters Program at UW-Madison student Julia Kettner for this funding award and her promising project on the capacity of flies to acquire and transmit pathogenic bacteria to dairy cows.

Congratulations and gratitude to Katherine Lemon and Kevin Kohl for an outstanding 9th Conference on Beneficial Microbes this past week! Save the date for the 10th Conference: July 19-23, 2026, at UW–Madison Wisconsin Union. Chairs Federico Rey and Rosie Alegado!

Excited to share our latest work on development of PST, a genome language model for viruses and phage. We believe PST can be a foundation model for viromics and enable broad viral ecology and bioengineering applications. Led by PhD student Cody Martin. biorxiv.org/content/10.110…

Registration is now open for the Kenneth B. Raper Symposium on September 3! kbrapersymposium.bact.wisc.edu

New postdoc opportunity to work with Thea Whitman and myself The Anantharaman Lab on wildfire metagenomics. Please share widely. Apply by August 31. isme-microbes.org/jobs/postdocto…

Join us for a night of learning, activities, and cheer at Delta Beer Lab on Sep. 3 at 6:30 PM! Listen to flash talks by UW-Madison microbiology PhD students & students of StoryForm Science, which promotes science outreach through storytelling.UW-Madison Department of Bacteriology hubs.li/Q02KkpQR0

The CALS community is invited to join UW-Madison Department of Bacteriology for a food truck summer social! Enjoy food and music at the Microbial Sciences Building's south driveway on Aug. 20, 11am-2pm.

Today!

Listen to our own wonderful Erica L-W Majumder Erica Majumder this coming Monday, September 9 UW Energy Institute and online at 3:30 PM.

Thank you to everyone who made the 38th Annual Kenneth B. Raper Symposium a smashing success! And special congratulations to Holly Rucker Holly Rucker on the Gouker Best Poster Award, with Holly Nichols Holly Nichols as honorable mention. Excellent kick-off to fall semester!

Our first seminar is next Monday! Featuring Erica L-W Majumder of UW-Madison Department of Bacteriology, we will be discussing microorganisms that break down waste materials and the role they play in converting that waste to useful products. Register: buff.ly/3TbGYbz

Join the Department of Bacteriology today for this exciting seminar.