Excited to share that I've been awarded a 5-year NIH MIRA (R35) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences! The lab is growing! We're recruiting postdocs and research techs interested in microbial ecology, quantitative microscopy, microfluidics, and molecular biology. Please share!

🚨 HEADS UP: If you haven't submitted a comment on the OMB proposal yet, there's still time - but it's running out! There are only 7 days left to push back against Russell Vought's attempt to give political appointees unprecedented control over federal research funding. Take Action: zurl.co/2sCF2

I just submitted my public comment on OMB-2026-0034 (grants can be canceled at any time, no funding for publications, conferences, intl collaborations, etc). 9 days remain if you want to do the same. Happy 4th.

Stand Up for Science!@standupforscience.net · 2mo ago

Our official guide to help you write a public comment on the OMB-2026-0034 is here: zurl.co/XgyzA Submit your comment and take additional actions here: zurl.co/RiDuv #StandUpForScience #OMB #Vought #SaveScience #FundScience

🚨 HEADS UP: If you haven't submitted a comment on the OMB proposal yet, there's still time - but it's running out! There are only 11 days left to push back against Russell Vought's attempt to give political appointees unprecedented control over federal research funding. Take Action: zurl.co/R83IO

Cross-feeding/protection between microbes can promote gene loss, but not always. In this COMICR review, @ofsheff.bsky.social, Ella Chuang, and I discuss the constraints on adaptive gene loss during metabolic interactions. Access for free until Aug 15: authors.elsevier.com/a/1nKlj4tPFp...

See our new latest pre-print for a study led by grad student Ian Reynolds, with current and former undergrads Isabel Westin and Caleb Wood in the lab. A study that goes to show how so many cell surface processes are connected to each other in bacteria. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

New preprint by my grad student Nick Haas on nitrogenase regulation in the emerging synbio bacterium, Vibrio natriegens. w help from Dalia and Wang labs @iubiology.bsky.social. A new spin on γ-proteobacterial paradigms with paths for biofertilizer production. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Comparative analysis of monocultures vs cocultures for >600 generations reveals that cross-feeding can limit the emergence of loss-of-function mutations. Congrats to Dr. Ying-Chih (Ella) Chuang and coauthors (@megbehri.bsky.social +others)! journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Reciprocal cross-feeding between bacteria can limit the emergence of metabolic dependencies | Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Bacteria commonly engage in cross-feeding, where nutrients are transferred between neighbors. Cross-feeding is thought to alleviate energy expenditures for genes whose role can be met by cross-fed nutrients, leading to eventual gene loss. However, few examples have been documented, especially in comparison to monocultures that lack a cross-feeding partner. We grew cocultures pairing phototrophic Rhodopseudomonas palustris with fermentative Escherichia coli alongside corresponding monocultures for 650–800 generations. While coculture conditions required obligate exchange of nitrogen and carbon, additional cross-feeding of adenine and iron likely occurred. Contrary to expectations, dependencies for iron and unknown compounds emerged in monocultures, but expected iron and adenine dependencies were not observed in cocultures. Low expression of iron scavenging and adenine synthesis genes in cocultures suggested that cross-feeding repressed expression, thereby lowering gene cost. Thus, although cross-feeding can sometimes make costly genes dispensable, there are also cases where cross-feeding lowers gene cost, thereby promoting gene retention.

journals.asm.org

Comparative analysis of bacterial SynBio platforms Vibrio natriegens vs E. coli under fermentation conditions reveals differences in acid tolerance. Congrats to grad student Nick Haas on this milestone! journals.asm.org/doi/full/10....

Vibrio natriegens is sensitive to its acidic fermentation products | Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Bioprocessing, the biological conversion of renewable resources into value-added chemicals, is poised to meet an increasing demand for sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based products. Many exampl...

journals.asm.org

I am pleased to share my lab’s latest publication - Acinetobacter species lack canonical DNA repair pathway activation mechanisms, and we discovered a conserved transcriptional activator that fills this role: academic.oup.com/nar/article/...

A WYL transcriptional regulator activates the DNA damage response pathway in Acinetobacter species

Abstract. The ability to sense DNA damage and activate DNA damage response pathways is critical for repairing DNA damage in all domains of life. The most w

academic.oup.com

🚨 Less than 2 weeks left to register for Indiana’s primary election. Check your registration now—if you’re not registered, you can’t vote. Indiana’s primary turnout is often just 20–25%. Your vote matters. #HoosierSky #VoterTurnout #IndianaPrimary

Please help spread the word about this 3-year postdoc position in my team. If your expertise & interest lie in studying how organisms from different domains of life (Bacteria and Archaea) communicate, come join us this summer in cozy Odense, Denmark. Job post: www.nature.com/naturecareer...

Last month, we had the pleasure of celebrating Lars Peter Nielsen's 40-year anniversary at Aarhus University 🎉 The day was celebrated with colleagues, collaborators, friends and family, with music, food and a number of speeches. Congratulations to Lars Peter on 40 outstanding years👏🥂

Congratulations Lars Peter! @jakemckinlay.bsky.social's cable bacteria poster made a great 40th anniversary present.

Another paper on a topic we never worked on before: a new ribosomal hibernation! Under the leadership of the super-postdoc Diorge, Davis Lab (ribo-cryoEM master), and @vikramalva.bsky.social (protein-evo whisperer), we identified AHA (not the song, but archaeal hibernation AMPKγ factor). (1/2)

Diorge Souza@diorgeps.bsky.social · 5mo ago

A new preprint from the @archaeon-alex.bsky.social and Joey Davis (MIT) labs! We solved the structure of the ribosome from the archaeon Haloferax volcanii and discovered a new highly conserved ribosome hibernation factor that we named AHA (AMPKγ–HPF from Archaea) 🧵⬇️ www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Excited to share this new Preprint from our lab led by PhD Candidate Carl Stone (defending Tuesday). Here we present a framework for longitudinal rbTn-Seq and apply it to the Microbial extended growth curve to resolve the fitness seascape through growth, death, and long-term stationary phase!

bioRxiv Evolutionary Biology@biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Bayesian analysis of longitudinal RB-TnSeq resolves the fitness seascape in fluctuating environments https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.11.703069v1

NSF GRFP applicants (and mentors): Was your application Returned Without Review and deemed ineligible despite fitting in the allowed topics? 1) Write NSF 2) Write your Congressperson 3) CC us at grfp@grant-witness.us so we can compile + follow up Details and template at grant-witness.us/grfp-letter

A year ago this week, an Executive Order came out on a Friday afternoon/evening that reduced all indirect costs rate recovery to 15% the following Monday. In this article I discuss what would have happened across the U.S. if this had not been halted. www.psychologicalscience.org/publications...

Cutting Indirect Costs for Universities Impacts More Than Research

Incoming APS President Pamela Davis-Kean describes the role indirect costs play in the U.S. research landscape and the economies of university communities.

psychologicalscience.org

Our new paper, out today! We resurrected ancient nitrogenases first used by life on Earth 3 billion years ago. We combined synthetic biology and geology & validated their chemical #biosignature in rocks that helps reveal ancient life on Earth!(and beyond!) Link: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Resurrected nitrogenases recapitulate canonical N-isotope biosignatures over two billion years - Nature Communications

The study shows that nitrogenase enzymes have maintained stable isotope signatures over billions of years, revealing how ancient microbes shaped Earth’s nitrogen cycle and offering a new experimental ...

nature.com

Excited to share this detailed biophysical study of #PhaseSeparation in the Pyrenoid, an algal microcompartment that fixes a third of the Earth's #CO2 🌏. We combine methods across scales, in vitro 🧪 and in vivo 🦠 Thanks for the very fun collaboration! 🤗 #PlantScience 🌾 #TeamTomo 🔬 #LivingPhysics 🧬🧶

James Barrett@james-r-barrett.bsky.social · 6mo ago

How does molecular valency shape condensate assembly and function? We used the CO2-fixing organelle in algae—the pyrenoid—to find out… 🧵 Preprint here!: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... @cellarchlab.com @phaips.vd.st @biologyatyork.bsky.social #Rubisco #PhaseSeparation #Condensates #Pyrenoid

If you are outside Canada and looking to post-doc in Canada, University of Alberta is currently recrutiing Canada Impact + Research Post-doctoral Scholars. Deadline to submit an Expression of Interest is Feb 9th. 🧪 www.ualberta.ca/en/graduate-...

Another product from Dr. Ying-Chih 'Ella' Chuang's time in my lab - bacteria that excrete purines are better equipped to tolerate inhibitory effects of purines, suggesting a physiological basis behind some cross-feeding interactions. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Grinnell College has openings for two 1-year term positionsto teach microbiology and immunology. More information here: apply.interfolio.com/179939

I am beyond excited to announce that the Bisson Lab has a new home!!! Starting January 2026, I will join the Biology Department at Indiana University Bloomington as Associate Professor with tenure. I am actively recruiting scientists across all levels. More in our website: bissonlab.com/join [1/4]

Our manuscript on the microbiome of a stingless bee hive is out! 🦠🐝 So excited! Here’s a short thread with some findings, going from the assembly of a consistent multi-kingdom microbiome to discussions on host traits that contribute to it. Please take a look and share : ) rdcu.be/eVNFJ

Dr. Brittany Mazny's paper on evolved formate assimilation needing a CO2-concentrating mechanism is now available in Current Biology with @blasarre.bsky.social, Alekhya Govindaraju, and Barry Stein. Free access until Jan 28 at: authors.elsevier.com/a/1mF0A3QW8S... www.cell.com/current-biol...

Our recent collaborative paper is now published in the latest issue of Cell Reports @cp-cellreports.bsky.social accompanied by a cover image highlighting how Bacillus gathers iron in the biofilm for promoting plant growth www.cell.com/issue/S2211-...

Need a (graduation) gift for a microbiologist? This is a colorful graphic novel following an E. coli cell through a cholera outbreak. Hand-drawn on paper and manually colored in photoshop. 30% off today enter 'BOOKGIFT30' at checkout www.lulu.com/spotlight/ww...

Jake McKinlay@jakemckinlay.bsky.social · 11mo ago

'A Bacterium in Bangladesh' is now available in multiple formats: www.lulu.com/search?contr... With Appendix: US30, EU29 Appendix-Free: US20, EU19 e-Appendix Only: few $ Posters (US site; EU site pending): sci-hustle.myspreadshop.com

#microsky #mevosky @spp2389.bsky.social A PhD position is available in my lab to work on: Emergence and self-organisation of bacterial metabolism in consortia of cross-feeding bacteria. Please RT Deadline: 12.11.25 More infos 👇 shorturl.at/rAKAT

Excited that our paper was just published! It's a revised version with new insights compared to the preprint. Thanks everyone from the @carahaney.bsky.social Lab! www.cell.com/cell-reports...

A bacterial exotoxin-triggered plant immune response restricts pathogen growth

Thoms et al. demonstrate that perception of a bacterial exotoxin allows plants to distinguish between closely related microbiota, which has consequences for rhizosphere microbiome structure and functi...

cell.com