Scientific output

Selected research papers of the last 10 years

Wilmaerts D., Dewachter L., De Loose P-J., Bollen C., Verstraeten N.*, Michiels J.* (2019). HokB monomerization and membrane repolarization control persister awakening. Molecular Cell, 75(5):1031-1042. -- Press coverage

Windels EM.^#, Michiels JE.^#, Fauvart M., Wenseleers T., Van den Bergh B., Michiels J. (2019). Bacterial persistence promotes the evolution of antibiotic resistance by increasing survival and mutation rates. The ISME Journal, 13(5):1239-1251. -- Press coverage

Wilmaerts D., Bayoumi M., Dewachter L., Knapen W., Mika J., Hofkens J., Dedecker P., Maglia G., Verstraeten N.*, Michiels J.* (2018). The persistence-inducing toxin HokB forms dynamic pores that cause ATP leakage. mBio, 9(4):e00744-18.

Swings T.^#, Marciano DC.^#, Atri B., Bosserman RE., Wang C., Leysen M., Bonte C., Schalck T., Furey I., Van den Bergh B., Verstraeten N., Christie PJ., Herman C., Lichtarge O.*, Michiels J.* (2018). CRISPR-FRT targets shared sites in a knock-out collection for off-the-shelf genome editing. Nature Communications, 9(1):2231. -- Press coverage

Swings T.^#, Weytjens B.^#, Schalck T., Bonte C., Verstraeten N., Michiels J.*, Marchal K.* (2017). Network-based identification of adaptive pathways in evolved ethanol-tolerant bacterial populations. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 34(11):2927-2943.

Swings T., Van den Bergh B., Wuyts S., Oeyen E., Voordeckers K., Verstrepen K., Fauvart M., Verstraeten N., Michiels J. (2017). Adaptive tuning of mutation rates allows fast response to lethal stress in Escherichia coli. eLife, 6:e22939. -- Press coverage

Van den Bergh B., Michiels JE.^#, Wenseleers T.^#, Windels EM., Vanden Boer P., Kestemont D., De Meester L., Verstrepen KJ., Verstraeten N., Fauvart M.*, Michiels J.* (2016). Frequency of antibiotic application drives rapid evolutionary adaptation of Escherichia coli persistence. Nature Microbiology, 1(5):16020. -- Press coverage

Dewachter L., Verstraeten N., Monteyne D., Kint CI., Versées W., Pérez-Morga D., Michiels J.*, Fauvart M.* (2015). A single-amino-acid substitution in Obg activates a new programmed cell death pathway in Escherichia coli. mBio, 6(6):e01935-15. -- Cover of the December issue -- Microreview in Microbial Cell -- Press coverage

Verstraeten N.^#, Knapen W.^#, Kint CI., Liebens V., Van den Bergh B., Dewachter L., Michiels J., Fu Q., David CC., Fierro AC., Marchal K., Beirlant J., Versées W., Hofkens J., Jansen M., Fauvart M.*, Michiels J.* (2015). Obg and membrane depolarization are part of a microbial bet-hedging strategy that leads to antibiotic tolerance. Molecular Cell, 59(1):9-21. -- Preview in Molecular Cell -- Highlight in Nature Reviews Microbiology -- Recommendation in F1000Prime (PDF) -- Microreview in Microbial Cell -- Press coverage

Stepanyan K.^#, Wenseleers T.^#, Duenez-Guzman EA., Muratori F., Van den Bergh B., Verstraeten N., De Meester L., Verstrepen KJ., Fauvart M.*, Michiels J.* (2015). Fitness trade-offs explain low levels of persister cells in the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Molecular Ecology, 24(7):1572-1583.

Vercruysse M., Fauvart M., Jans A., Beullens S., Braeken K., Cloots L., Engelen K., Marchal K., Michiels J. (2011). Stress response regulators identified through genome-wide transcriptome analysis of the (p)ppGpp-dependent response in Rhizobium etli. Genome Biology, 12(2):R17.

Selected perspectives and review papers of the last 10 years

Windels E., Van den Bergh B., Michiels J. (2020). Bacteria under antibiotic attack: Different strategies for evolutionary adaptation. Plos Pathogens, 16(5):e1008431. 

Dewachter L., Fauvart M.*, Michiels J.* (2019). Bacterial heterogeneity and antibiotic survival: Understanding and combatting persistence and heteroresistance. Molecular Cell, 76(2):255-267.

Windels EM.*, Michiels JE.*, Van den Bergh B., Fauvart M., Michiels J. (2019). Antibiotics: Combatting tolerance to stop resistance. mBio, 10(5):e02095-19.

Wilmaerts D.^#, Windels EM.^#, Verstraeten N.*, Michiels J.* (2019). General mechanisms leading to persister formation and awakening. Trends in Genetics, 35(6):401-411.

Van den Bergh B.^#, Swings T.^#, Fauvart M., Michiels J. (2018). Experimental design, population dynamics, and diversity in microbial experimental evolution. Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, 82(3):e00008. -- CAMEL Database: Compendium of Adaptive Microbial Experiments in the Lab

Fauvart M., Van den Bergh B., Michiels J. (2018). Stabbed while sleeping: Synthetic retinoid antibiotics kill bacterial persister cells. Molecular Cell, 70(5):763-764.

Dewachter L., Verstraeten N., Fauvart M.*, Michiels J.* (2018). An integrative view of cell cycle control in Escherichia coli. FEMS Microbiology Reviews, 42(2):116-136. -- Listed as "Top 10 FEMS Microbiology Reviews articles making an impact"

Defraine V., Fauvart M., Michiels J. (2018). Fighting bacterial persistence: Current and emerging anti-persister strategies and therapeutics. Drug Resistance Updates, 38:12-26. 

Van den Bergh B., Fauvart M., Michiels J. (2017). Formation, physiology, ecology, evolution and clinical importance of bacterial persisters. FEMS Microbiology Reviews, 41(3):219-251.

Michiels JE., Van den Bergh B., Verstraeten N., Michiels J. (2016). Molecular mechanisms and clinical implications of bacterial persistence. Drug Resistance Updates, 29:76-89.

Kint CI., Verstraeten N., Fauvart M., Michiels J. (2012). New-found fundamentals of bacterial persistence. Trends in Microbiology, 20(12):577-585.

Verstraeten N., Fauvart M., Versées W., Michiels J. (2011). The universally conserved prokaryotic GTPases. Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, 75(3):507-542.

For a full list of publications click here.