New KITP Program! Horizontal Gene Transfer and Mobile Elements in Microbial Ecology and Evolution #HGT24 Dates: 7/16/24-8/16/24 Info: kitp.ucsb.edu/activities/hgt…

Excited to release our latest work, led by Alejandro Martínez Calvo along with Ned Wingreen: doi.org/10.1101/2023.0…! Here, we study how interactions with phages—viruses that infect bacteria—influence the spatial organization of a bacterial population. 🦠⚡️☠️ Tweetorial follows... [1/8]

Genes undergoing horizontal transfer (HGT) can experience different host species as they evolve- a feature not shared with their strictly vertically inherited counterparts (which evolve against a more constant genomic backdrop). How does such HGT impact gene evolution?

Online Science Magazine co-lead with francesspragge! We looked at why microbiome diversity protects against pathogens. It's down to a simple principle of collective nutrient overlap, which can predict protective communities against a given pathogen! science.org/doi/10.1126/sc…🧵👇

Deciphering the gene-organism-environment triad is key to understanding microbiomes. But to go beyond who's there, we need to identify relevant coarse-grained physiological traits from (meta)genomes. Fill in forms.gle/CaXN8fNNdJkCT5… to show interest in a KITP program about this!

DECODING GENOMES - from sequences to phylodynamics: We are proud to present our book on how to analyse genomic sequences with an evolutionary perspective. See decodinggenomes.org for a free pdf, Amazon links for print orders, and further information. Great team effort 1/2

My lab is up and running and just needs enthusiastic phage biologists to populate it! Contact me or apply in the link if you are interested in a postdoc exploring plasmid-dependent phage biology in beautiful (and super affordable!) upstate New York🍎healthresearch.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/HRI_Care… 1/3

This story started 5y ago with my lab. Spearheaded by fearless 1st authors theopi and Olivia Leland. Theopi is now a PhD student at Brown University. Olivia is a physics PhD student at Brandeis University, a self-taught biologist, and made us love soft matter. A (very long) thread (1/24)

As a predator, would you prefer fewer or more competitors? Plot twist: it depends on your prey! Our PNASNews study shows ecosystem stability isn't about having more or fewer species - it's about the diversity gap between predators and prey. Nature keeps surprising us! 🦊🐰

You want to learn about microbiology from a fantastic lineup of speakers on a beautiful Greek island? PhD students apply now for the EMBO | FEBS Lecture Course The New Microbiology! Registration: 1 Apr 2025 Course: 03 – 11 Sep 2025 | Spetses, Greece meetings.embo.org/event/25-new-m…

📢 Can’t wait until the 2026 meeting to dive deeper into plasmids? Join the ISPB Virtual Seminars Series, an exciting initiative aimed at strengthening our community in 2025! 🤓 📅 Registration and abstract submission open until 20th January: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAI…

Attention scientists from all over the world🙃 It's time to reach out to collaborators, brainstorm bold ideas, and craft innovative research proposals!💡 The Letter of Intent submission for the HFSP Research Grants is opening soon! Stay tuned!📡 🔗bit.ly/hfspgrants

Our Opinion on the balance between horizontal and vertical transmission in plasmids and phages is up at Trends in Microbiology! Work with Andrina Bernhard and @c_igler