Bram van Dijk 🏳️‍🌈

Thanks for sharing Jonathan, glad you like it :)

Of course: thank you to my co-authors:

@jeroenmeijer.bsky.social,
@simonvanvliet.bsky.social, @bedutilh.bsky.social,
@marcelbaecker.bsky.social, Hilje Doekes, Rosalind Allen, Daniel Garza, and Paulien Hogeweg! :)

These are just some examples of what space does to microbial ecology and evolution. There is so much to discover if we stop thinking about microbes as living in flasks! <3

... and finaly, it may help microbes when "exploring" complex fitness landscapes!

... it can help us understand collective behaviour when scavenging for resources...
@renskevroomans.bsky.social

... it helps explain the rediculous diversity of toxins, antibiotics, and antitoxins...

@bramvandijk.bsky.social (hey look, I can tag myself! :D)

... it yields interesting colony morphologies... @drmartinezrabert.bsky.social

...it provides distinct niches for differentiation...
@michael-barnett.bsky.social

...it protects cooperators from cheaters...
@escolizzi.bsky.social

Some of you may know I simulate a lot of biological systems. And after 15 years of doing this, I can confidently tell you: spatial structure is never irrelevant.

It shapes the frequency of mutants... (Fusco et. al, 2016)

In case you missed it: our review titled "Spatial structure: shaping the ecology and evolution of microbial communities" is out! 🚨

Let me hit you with some highlights on why spatial structure matters. (and why you should care!)

Sharing is appreciated 🙏 🧵👇

doi.org/10.1093/fems...

Oxygen metabolism in descendants of the archaeal-eukaryotic ancestor - Nature Sequencing of marine sediments finds 136 newly identified Heimdallarchaeia and several novel lineages, and indicates that Heimdallarchaeia evolved distinct metabolic capabilities from other&nbsp;Asgar...

Oxygen metabolism in descendants of the archaeal-eukaryotic ancestor www.nature.com/articles/s41... #jcampubs

Phage–host interactions are a key driver of microbial ecology, but observing them in nature is hard!
With metaHi-C, we detect freshwater phage–host pairs and link their infection dynamics to evolution.

Together with @nadal-molero.bsky.social & Ana Martin-Cuadrado

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Last year, we proposed a model of plasmid evolution via fusion and fragmentation (via mge mediated recombination) generating mosaics, by studying historical isolates. Excited to see a MASSIVE paper from @jrpenades.bsky.social , @epcrocha.bsky.social expanding on this
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Genomic and physiological signatures of adaptation in pathogenic fungi - Nature Communications Emerging fungal pathogens have detrimental impacts on crops, animals, and humans, however little is known about their transition to a pathogenic lifestyle. This study demonstrates that the transition ...

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

100% agree Ed, there's so much more to discover! :)

Please check out our review on the impact of spatial structure in microbial ecosystems! In it, we discuss how spatial patterns impact microbial ecology and evolution, eventually impacting everything we see around us!

See @marcelbaecker.bsky.social's amazing summary below :)

🦠 𝚂𝙿𝙰𝙲𝙴 𝙼𝙰𝚃𝚃𝙴𝚁𝚂 ! 🦠

Everyone knows that space and spatial structure is super important in shaping the Microverse 🌎🌍🌏 Check out this amazing review where @marcelbaecker.bsky.social and @bramvandijk.bsky.social et al bring together a huge body of knowledge @microverse.bsky.social @binfutrecht.bsky.social

...not in shaking flasks, not in microtiter plates either 😉

Spatial structure: shaping the ecology and evolution of microbial communities Spatial structure naturally emerges in microbial communities, shaping growth, interactions, and evolution, and revealing how microscale processes scale up

Most microbes don't live in shaking flasks; spatial structure shapes how microbes interact and evolve at every scale, as we discuss in our recent review @jeroenmeijer.bsky.social @simonvanvliet.bsky.social @bedutilh.bsky.social @bramvandijk.bsky.social and others
academic.oup.com/femsre/artic... 🧵👇

@bramvandijk.bsky.social (and many other)'s new paper covered insights in microbial ecology, evolution and theoretical biology.

Spatial structure: shaping the ecology and evolution of microbial communities Spatial structure naturally emerges in microbial communities, shaping growth, interactions, and evolution, and revealing how microscale processes scale up

Wrapping up a productive week: very glad to have contributed to this review on how spatial structure shapes microbial ecology and evolution, led by @marcelbaecker.bsky.social, @bedutilh.bsky.social, @bramvandijk.bsky.social and many others. doi.org/10.1093/fems...

I'll admit that before writing all this, I knew little about these details. I've mostly thought about bacteria with a more attached lifestyle, but it's so fascinating (also the molecular machinery, what the heck?)

Thank you for sharing that horrible uncorrected proof, Ákos 😜 Will share more when the final version is available ❤️

Spatial structure: Shaping the ecology and evolution of microbial communities Abstract. Most microbes grow in spatially structured communities, and this profoundly shapes their ecology and evolution. At the microscale, short interact

Spatial structure: Shaping the ecology and evolution of microbial communities

@femsjournals.bsky.social Microbiology Review by @marcelbaecker.bsky.social et al
from @bedutilh.bsky.social @bramvandijk.bsky.social

academic.oup.com/femsre/advan...

Training large language models on narrow tasks can lead to broad misalignment - Nature Finetuning a large&nbsp;language model on a narrow task of writing insecure code causes a broad range of concerning behaviours unrelated to coding.

This is fine.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The changing roles of Escherichia coli Nature Microbiology - Richard Lenski traces the legacy of Escherichia coli and how science is evolving to use this model organism in new ways.

"The changing roles of Escherichia coli" -- a short essay by yours truly.

rdcu.be/eVtXT

Less than two 2 weeks to apply for this PhD position in my group.

Please do not miss the opportunity to apply if the topic is of interest to you 👇

If you get too close you’ll be covered in saliva.

Bacterial immune systems as causes and consequences of microbiome structure Bacterial immune systems have evolved in response to diverse molecular "parasites", yet their ecological roles remain poorly understood. This Essay explores how interactions between mobile genetic ele...

Very happy to see this piece out in @plosbiology.org, on the bacterial immune systems and microbial communities. It was a great team effort with Rafael Custodio, @brockhurstlab.bsky.social , @brownlab.bsky.social, and Edze Westra! 🦠🧫 #phagesky #mevosky

journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...