We are excited to share our new preprint, “Canonical pathoadaptive cystic fibrosis genes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa are not CF-specific”! 🦠 Great project with @emehlferber.bsky.social and @brownlab.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Thread below 🧵

Canonical pathoadaptive cystic fibrosis genes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa are not CF-specific

Research on Pseudomonas aeruginosa adaptation in cystic fibrosis (CF) has historically relied on comparing chronic isolates to laboratory reference strains, or evolving reference strains in environmen...

biorxiv.org

Where are mutations most likely to happen in the genome? @mattjago.bsky.social has answers! This paper is also a masterclass in simple visualizations of complicated ideas. I really enjoyed getting deep into these results as a middle author 🧬

Matt Jago@mattjago.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Our work characterizing how mutational bias is influenced by the local sequence context beyond trinucleotides is out now @pnas.org! We also showed which motifs are most prone to mutations caused by strand misalignment, revealing several new hotspots! 🧬 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Come work/study in a wonderful department with a great group leader!!!

Asher Leeks@asherleeks.bsky.social · 7mo ago

We're recruiting! We're looking for two graduate students to join us at UBC in Vancouver. Fully funded and open to global applicants, with flexible start-date. Topics include theory, bioinformatics, and microbiology. More details: asherleeks.com/apply #socialviruses #evosky #virosky 🧪

Come join us at UBC for all things virus-virus interactions & evolution!

Asher Leeks@asherleeks.bsky.social · 7mo ago

The Social Lives of Viruses is coming to Vancouver, Canada, from 4th-8th August 2026! This is a free meeting dedicated to all aspects of virus-virus interactions & evolution. To apply: socialviruses.zoology.ubc.ca @sociovirology.bsky.social #socialviruses #evosky #lovevirology #virosky

We had two fantastic visiting speakers today MERMan alumnus @rowancallumg.bsky.social spoke about his current work with viral cheating in influenza with @asherleeks.bsky.social And @lavishaparab.bsky.social talked about phage infection trade-offs Thanks to @microbesng.bsky.social for our snacks!

@rowancallumg.bsky.social and @liyamiksovsky.bsky.social demonstrating our newest lab tradition - creating virus snowflakes (designed by @socialinfluenza.bsky.social ) out of submitted grants and fellowships. 🧪 #socialviruses

@rowancallumg.bsky.social @knightjar.bsky.social @rokkrasovec.bsky.social et al. study the antimutator ΔnudJ to highlight the value of considering mutation rate and mutational spectrum to understand the evolution of mutation rate-modifying alleles. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf182 #evobio #molbio

Antimutator and Mutational Spectrum Effects Can Combine to Reduce Evolutionary Potential in Escherichia coli ΔnudJ

Abstract. The rate of spontaneous mutation is a key factor in determining the capacity of a population to adapt to a novel environment, for example, a bact

doi.org

Great thread! All good, but this does grab the attention: "our findings with ΔnudJ suggest future anti-evolution drug strategies could suppress spontaneous resistance evolution not only through minimizing resistance mutations but also by specifically limiting access to the fittest mutations."

Rowan Green@rowancallumg.bsky.social · last yr.

New paper out @molbioevol.bsky.social on antimutator Ecoli, mutational spectra and the distribution of fitness effects of antibiotic resistance with @knightjar.bsky.social @rokkrasovec.bsky.social and others @mermanchester.bsky.social doi.org/pzfm Read🧵for highlights and fun stats (1/13)

New paper out @molbioevol.bsky.social on antimutator Ecoli, mutational spectra and the distribution of fitness effects of antibiotic resistance with @knightjar.bsky.social @rokkrasovec.bsky.social and others @mermanchester.bsky.social doi.org/pzfm Read🧵for highlights and fun stats (1/13)

Antimutator and Mutational Spectrum Effects Can Combine to Reduce Evolutionary Potential in Escherichia coli ΔnudJ

Abstract. The rate of spontaneous mutation is a key factor in determining the capacity of a population to adapt to a novel environment, for example, a bact

doi.org

🦠 New paper led by James Horton (feat. J Cherry & @gretelwaugh.bsky.social) reveals GnT DNA motif can boost T→A mutation rates up to 1000×, & how tweaking nearby bases can fine-tune its potency. General across bacteria + potential in synbio. 📄 academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-ar… 🔗 James’s thread ⬇️

Aerobic bacteria show higher A>G (and lower G>A) mutation rate than anaerobes. First results in bioinformatic project to estimate mutation spectra across bacterial tree under my supervision. Qs and ideas are wellcome. #SMBE2025

Amazing conference

Maria Rebolleda-Gomez@mrebolleda.bsky.social · last yr.

We organized this one: academic.oup.com/femsle/artic... in 2024. It is coming back in 2026 with 2 hubs in the US (Michigan and SoCal). It was a great experience

Same genome, different shape, different outcome. SOS-independent phenotypic differences shape survival in E. coli. Very happy to share our preprint!

Rafael Peña-Miller@penamiller.bsky.social · 2y ago

New preprint led by @brunoluviano.bsky.social & Fernando Santos. We show that filamentation enhances bacterial survival under toxic stress — not as collateral damage, but as a regulated morphological response. TL;DR: Filamentation isn’t a symptom, it’s a strategy! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Empty desk in Manchester ready for new adventures in microbial evolution elsewhere 🤯🦠 I can't express how much I will miss everyone in @mermanchester.bsky.social (leaving was made a little sweeter by my first ever 'best talk' prize at #northernBUG / #YUEG at @huddersfielduni.bsky.social last week)

We have a 2-year postdoc position available in the Lind Lab at Umeå University, Sweden! Predicting and steering experimental evolution of antibiotic resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Reposts appreciated. umu.varbi.com/en/?jobtoken...

Postdoctor, 2 years, in predicting the evolution of antibiotic resistance

The Department of Molecular Biology seeks a postdoctoral researcher who will work with forecasting and steering experimental evolution of antibiotic resistance. The employment is full-time for two yea

umu.varbi.com

Thank you so much to my examiners for a great discussion. And to my supervisors and lab mates for making the past 4 years such a positive and formative experience! @mermanchester.bsky.social is the place to be ❤️ (also thank you to e coli for mutating every day, all of your mutations are appreciated)

MERMan Research Group (University of Manchester)@mermanchester.bsky.social · 2y ago

🎉 Congratulations to Dr Rowan Green, who defended his PhD today! @rowancallumg.bsky.social

Glad to see this out today in MEE! The rarity of mutations and the inflation of bacterial effective population sizes besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #popgen #populationgenetics #evolution #bacteriagenomics #bacteria #microsky #statsstandrews @uniofstandrews.bsky.social

The rarity of mutations and the inflation of bacterial effective population sizes

Mutations are fundamental for evolution, and their mathematical modelling in population genetics heavily relies on our perception of their frequency and the timescale over which they occur. A comm...

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Excited to speak at #PGG58 / #PopGroup58 about mutation rates, mutation spectra, antibiotic resistance and (if I talk fast enough) how the environment affects these. Tuesday in LT3 right after lunch. 🦠🧬 Come for the mutations, stay for the Bluey colour schemed ggplots. 📊🟦🟧

Fully funded PhD project on single-molecule dynamics of phages & plasmids. Join us and learn a broad range of skills, from synthetic biology and evolution to 3D microscopy. #AMR #microscopy Please contact me directly if you wish to discuss informally and please repost! tinyurl.com/mrjmze7j

Amazing project and supervisors!!! 🔬🦠🧑‍🔬

Will Smith@willpjsmith.bsky.social · 2y ago

🚨PhD Opportunity - please share!🚨 We’re hiring a PhD student to start Sept 2025: how do bacteria ‘tame’ phage parasites, and turn them into deadly Tailocins? Come join me, @brockhurstlab.bsky.social, Patrick Cai & @raveentank.bsky.social as we study ZOMBIE PHAGES! findaphd.com/phds/project...

🚨 The Whelan lab is hiring! 🚨 We're looking for a Research Assistant to join our lab at U of Manchester. We're seeking someone with experience in microbiology & microbiome to support our growing group. Note this isn't a postdoc role (though keep 👀 for those announcements soon!) #Microsky 🧪 🧬 💻

Research Assistant - Impact Of Microbe-Pathogen Interactions On The Health Of Individuals With Cystic Fibrosis:Oxford Road

jobs.manchester.ac.uk

1st foray into T6SS with talented @mermanchester.bsky.social fellow Will Smith: eco-evo models and experimental evolution show how and why producing multiple toxins blocks resistance evolution (even though cross-resistance can evolve under single-toxin attack) www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Multiplicity of Type 6 Secretion System toxins limits the evolution of resistance

bioRxiv - the preprint server for biology, operated by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, a research and educational institution

biorxiv.org

#Evo2024 Tomorrow! Giving my talk on mutators, multidrug resistance evolution and evolutionary rescue. 516B at 9:30 Tues 30 July in the Evolutionary Rescue Symposium.

#Evol2024 come along tomorrow morning at 10:30 in 520C if you want to hear about mutation rate/spectrum plasticity and an E. coli strain with a super low mutation rate 🧬🦠💻

Super excited that the final version of our paper on mutation rate plasticity and oxidative stress is out now at PLoS biology! This paper shows how mutation rates are a highly dynamic trait shaped by genotype, community composition and abiotic factors. 1/8 journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

Collective peroxide detoxification determines microbial mutation rate plasticity in E. coli

In some bacteria, mutation rates depend on environmental factors such as population density. This study uses simulation-guided experiments to show that denser microbial populations detoxify their envi...

journals.plos.org

#SMBE2024 poster ready to go! Come and chat about mutation rate plasticity, h2o2, simulations, fluctuation assays and e.coli // e.faecalis cocultures. (Also @mermanchester.bsky.social visits teotihuacan, feeling very lucky to be in Mexico).

We had a great time at the Community Festival this weekend! It was amazing to chat with so many people about all things microbial and see the wonderful creations on our Make Your Own Bacteria stand!

@mermanchester.bsky.social Absolutely smashing the Manchester 10k once again 🧪🧑‍🔬💪

So excited to say I have been awarded a discipline hopping grant from the University of Manchester - I'll be going back to my old love Bdellovibrio and starting some work in plant systems in the dept of science and engineering 🌱 can't wait! @mermanchester.bsky.social

I’m starting a special interest group with monthly seminars + discussion focused on the role of mutation in evolution covering #evobio #popgen #histsci #philsci Upcoming speakers: @PeterALind, @DeepaAgashe, Grey Monroe, Rose Novick, Alex Klug To join, email <myfirstname>@umd.edu Please repost