Folks, we're up and running on Insta! Come say hi and check out fun info on micro, field work, lab life, etc. www.instagram.com/the.thrash.l...
If Zachary Blount had one dollar for every cell he plated in his dissertation looking for new Cit+ mutations, he could single handedly pay off the US debt of $40,000,000,000,000. www.npr.org/2026/08/19/n...
Intermediate stages in the origin of metabolism at a phosphorylating hydrothermal vent www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #jcampubs
Intermediate stages in the origin of metabolism at a phosphorylating hydrothermal vent
Enzymatic metabolism emerged from metal-catalyzed, aqueous reactions of H2, CO2, NH3 and phosphite at a hydrothermal vent.
science.org
6/ What makes this more than one bacterium is the phylogeny. Both lineages use (p)ppGpp, but not in the same way. The Proteobacterial solution, exemplified by E. coli, acts directly on RNA polymerase. In Firmicutes, the control we describe is routed through GTP instead.
1/ Out today in Science (@science.org): a result a decade in the making, and one that changed how I think about what cells are doing when they grow. We found a bacterium that grows slower than it could. And we found the molecular switch that lets us reverse it.
H1B visas were historically key for postdocs and research scientists (and future PIs and professors) - and the fee threatened to totally derail that pipeline. This is good news.
Politico@politico.com · 3mo agoA federal judge has blocked Trump’s bid to slap a $100,000 fee on employers who seek to hire foreign workers for specialized roles. It's a significant victory for states who sued Trump over the proclamation, saying the fee had damaged their ability to hire workers.
I'm happy to share the first pre-print of out Lab! 🎉 Introducing ArchaeaHQ www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... We curated 21,644 genomes across all 4 archaeal kingdoms to bridge the gap in public datasets for computational biology What is inside ArchaeaHQ... (1/2)
Metadata as Infrastructure. I finally created a Substack! My first post is on a topic that I probably spend entirely too much time worrying about. 😊 please reshare with your #genomics and #bioinformatics peeps! 🙏 🧬🦠🔬📊🧫🚀 substack.com/home/post/p-... #ASMicrobe #digitalbiology #biotech #biopharma
Metadata as Infrastructure
Genomics data provenance and quality are something we can't ignore anymore
substack.com
JB Editor's Choice: Jakowec, Finkel et al. explore the roles of glycogen and trehalose in adapting to stationary phase by E. coli - they show that loss of either "misaligns" metabolism and transcription during this period of stress. journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/... @asm.org #JBacteriol
New proposed regulations at OMB would gut U.S. science. All funding decisions would ultimately be made by political appointees who can cancel any grant for any reason, disallows co-authorship with China, forbids payment of publication/open access fees... What to do? fight2win.standupforscience.net
Stand up for Science
Stand up for Science
urldefense.com
Now we are concluding May 2026. Lots of things happened! I defended, became a doctor, and hooded by @jcamthrash.bsky.social !
**Postdoc opportunity** Lead research on trace metal impacts on nitrogen fixation and phytoplankton mediated carbon export. Previous proteomics experience highly desired. Details below, please ping me if difficult to read!
A proteostasis clock underlies the timing of bacterial dormancy and antibiotic tolerance www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... #jcampubs
(bacterial) chromosome segregationists take note 👇 membrane-anchoring of the 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘊 region to ensure proper daughter chromosome segregation after replication initiation – proposed decades ago but never substantiated... 👉now shown for 𝘚. 𝘢𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘶𝘴 by mariana pinho's lab
bioRxiv Microbiology@biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · 6mo agoNucleoid-binding protein RicO anchors replication origins to the membrane to ensure correct chromosome segregation in Staphylococcus aureus https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.03.06.710092v1
10 years of massive Asgard undertaking, masterly summarized!
Thijs J. G. Ettema 🦠🔬🇳🇱🇸🇪🇪🇺@ettema.bsky.social · 6mo agoRead our review about the "Diversity, ecology, cell biology and evolution of the Asgard archaea" in @natrevmicro.nature.com here: www.nature.com/articles/s41... By @kassipan.bsky.social @stephkoe.bsky.social @micropat.bsky.social & @gerbenz.bsky.social
Diversity, ecology, cell biology and evolution of the Asgard archaea www.nature.com/articles/s41... #jcampubs
Diversity, ecology, cell biology and evolution of the Asgard archaea - Nature Reviews Microbiology
The Asgard archaea have become a cornerstone of archaeal research, particularly for studies aiming to unravel the origin and early evolution of eukaryotes. This Review outlines the current state of th...
nature.com
Great to see this amazing resource finally published ! MicrobeAtlas - 2.4 million SSU rRNA gene sequence datasets systematically analysed against an extensive full length reference database enabling tracking of OTUs at global scales! www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
The MicrobeAtlas database: Global trends and insights into Earth’s microbial ecosystems
MicrobeAtlas (www.microbeatlas.org) is an integrated, reference-based resource for truly planet-wide microbiomics, analyzing hundreds of thousands of microbial lineages across diverse environments, co...
cell.com
Clonal-aggregative multicellularity tuned by salinity in a choanoflagellate www.nature.com/articles/s41... #jcampubs
Clonal-aggregative multicellularity tuned by salinity in a choanoflagellate - Nature
The choanoflagellate Choanoeca flexa forms motile and contractile cell monolayers purely clonally, purely aggregatively or through a combination of both processes depending on environmental condi...
nature.com
We are thrilled to announce the newest study from our lab (and great collaborators) is out now in @nature.com We show that #coral #microbes are untapped "biosynthetic reservoirs", full of unique natural products. doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Coral microbiomes as reservoirs of unknown genomic and biosynthetic diversity - Nature
Reconstructing microbial genomes from 820 reef-building corals collected at 99 reefs across 32 islands throughout the Pacific Ocean highlights the importance of conserving coral reefs as vital reservo...
doi.org
By combining the ecological and evolutionary analyses, we present a Heimdallarchaeia-centric model for the origin of eukaryotes, based on our expanded genomic catalogue. #eukaryogenesis 9/12
Objective method to estimate the duration of the DNA replication cycle without perturbation in Escherichia coli www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... #jcampubs
Today, I would like to honor the memory of Roger Y. Tsien, born on February 1, 1952. His legacy lives with all who use his technologies, including calcium sensors, fluorescent proteins, the acetoxymethyl (AM) ester, & many more! #FluorescenceFriday www.nature.com/articles/nme...
Most importantly! Thanks a lot team! @greenwoodbritt.bsky.social , Pratixa, @hasrari.bsky.social , Carmen, Kate and Rui👏
Cameron Thrash@jcamthrash.bsky.social · 8mo agoOur latest. Led by the very talented @ahoiching.bsky.social Cell cycle dysregulation of globally important SAR11 bacteria resulting from environmental perturbation www.nature.com/articles/s41... #jcampubs 🌊
This paper originated from a simple idea: Since we want to study SAR11 growth physiology, let’s look at how one SAR11 bacterium becomes two SAR11 bacteria, inspired by the quote from François Jacob, “The dream of a bacterium: to produce two bacteria”.
Cameron Thrash@jcamthrash.bsky.social · 8mo agoOur latest. Led by the very talented @ahoiching.bsky.social Cell cycle dysregulation of globally important SAR11 bacteria resulting from environmental perturbation www.nature.com/articles/s41... #jcampubs 🌊
It has been such a long journey! It feels somehow surreal that in 2020 I barely knew about bacterial cultivation and flow cytometry🥹.
V. Celeste Lanclos, Ph.D.@vclanclos.bsky.social · 8mo agoSo so cool to see this fully out! Congrats @ahoiching.bsky.social and crew
Funded postdoc + PhD opportunities in marine microbial ecology! Please share with folks that might be interested. Start date is flexible (fall 2025 to summer 2026) More about the lab + applying (Postdoc rolling, PhD apps due Oct/Jan): sites.google.com/uncc.edu/mic...
Luo Lab - Microbial Ecology - join
The Luo Lab is accepting applications for funded Postdoc and PhD opportunities. Details below. Lab members will have access to state-of-the art wet lab, and computing, and sequencing resources, inclu...
sites.google.com
Bacterial symbionts enjoy their seasonal produce! Our new work shows how chemosynthetic symbionts adjust their energy sources during seasonal upwelling in the Tropical Eastern Pacific, highlighting the resilience of animal-microbe partnerships to environmental change journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Seasonal transcriptomic shifts reveal metabolic flexibility of chemosynthetic symbionts in an upwelling region | mSystems
The oceans are undergoing rapid change, and marine animals together with their associated microorganisms must adjust to these changes. While microbes are known to play a critical role in animal health...
journals.asm.org
So proud of our student’s presentations at #ASMicrobe. Great to meet a bunch of new folks and talk shop with friends. See you all again soon! @astrobio-agb.bsky.social @oceancait.bsky.social
Hope to see all new and old faces🥳
Jonathan Jacobs@bioinformer.bsky.social · last yr.Hey all - check this post if you’re at #ASMicrobe this weekend. Let’s have a meet up tomorrow for a photo op of microbiologists on @bsky.app who are at #ASMicrobe! Be there at 3 PM at the main entrance giant ASM sign! In person meetups are super fun - please be there! And plz repost!