Tiffany Taylor

The genomic basis of symbiotic integration at University of Bath on FindAPhD.com PhD Project - The genomic basis of symbiotic integration at University of Bath, listed on FindAPhD.com

There's a PhD position now available with me in Bath, on the evolution of symbiosis. www.findaphd.com/phds/project.... The supervisory team also includes @anja1.bsky.social @phil-donoghue.bsky.social and others. NB, this is open both to UK-based students *and* to international students :)

🙋🏻‍♀️

Willing to join us @pasteur.fr for a PhD for a project on how interactions between mobile genetic elements shape bacterial adaptation? Subject to be tailored to candidates with keen interest in evolution, genomics, computational biology, microbiology. Check www.pasteur.fr/en/education...

@yueyicai.bsky.social

Excited to share brilliant work @josie-e.bsky.social. She built a minimal type I-F CRISPR-Cas system where parts (like spacers) can be easily swapped. Against a panel of phages it gave full protection in most cases—though for some, immunity was stronger in low-nutrient growth. Check out her 🧵 below!

PhD opportunity, please share:

We are looking for a prospective PhD student to start in October 2026 who is excited about bacteria (Klebsiella pneumoniae), how they interact, and how they exchange DNA.
All details can be found on the funder website 👉 gw4biomed.ac.uk/developing-c...

What are your "good hands" training tips? @baym.lol and others?
- Slow down
- Pay attention
- Visualise doing the whole protocol. What do you need to have labelled when? Where are you standing? What are you doing during the incubation? Etc.
- Start new methods with 2-3 small low-stakes experiments.

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

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)

Thanks @jgi.doe.gov! I'm excited to learn more about how molecular mechanisms link ecological and evolutionary flexibility in P. fluorescens using DAP-seq. In collab with @robjacksoncomics.bsky.social @catriona1392.bsky.social @cjlush.bsky.social & Jacob Malone 🦠🌱

YouTube video by Evolving STEM EvolvingSTEM Summer of Transformation 2025

What shapes the moment when you say, this is who I want to be?

Could one classroom research experience be that catalyst?
Could a summer camp for teachers help them make students become scientists? 🧪🧫🧬🔬

YES. This is EvolvingSTEM. So proud of this team.
youtu.be/sv3tcwRs2PE?...

Pseudomonads coordinate innate defense against viruses and bacteria with a single regulatory system Brinkley et al. describe a general immune response strategy in Pseudomonas species, termed GUARD, that protects against both bacterial and viral threats. This program, controlled by the Gac/Rsm global...

😳
#phage #phagesky #microsky

Pseudomonads coordinate innate defense against viruses and bacteria with a single regulatory system:
www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...

GnT Motifs Can Increase T:A→G:C Mutation Rates Over 1000-fold in Bacteria Abstract. Nucleotides across a genome do not mutate at equal frequencies. Instead, specific nucleotide positions can exhibit much higher mutation rates tha

Horton, Cherry, @gretelwaugh.bsky.social @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social et al. combine experimental evolution and bioinformatics in bacteria to characterize a ≥8 bp motif that can increase T:A→G:C mutation rates >1000-fold than the baseline rate.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf183

#evobio #molbio

Dammit. Edit to first post, T > G.

A big thank you to my co-authors: Joshua Cherry, @gretelwaugh.bsky.social Also thank you to @peteralind.bsky.social for his helpful feedback on the manuscript and for pointing out that GnT motifs bias experimental evolution surprisingly often!

Finally, the GnT motif mutation rates determined for Pseudomonas closely match those determined for Salmonella, so we're confident that our calculated rates for GnT motifs can be used to both find and quantify T:A→G:C mutation hotspots in many other species of bacteria. (8/8)

GnT motifs are very short (≥8bp depending on G tract length), which means these hotspots are very common elements in bacterial genomes! For example, Pseudomonas fluorescens has hotspot GnT motifs that can cause a non-synonymous mutation in ~20% of reading frames. (7/8)

We also demonstrated that GnT motifs can be used to increase the rate and predictability of evolution. If you synonymously convert the neighbouring nucleotides around adaptive T:A positions into GnT motifs, adaptive evolution can happen significantly faster. (6/8)

For example, if a G4T sequence (i.e. GGGGT) is flanked by a 5’ AC and a 3’ A, there’s almost no hotspot (the T:A→G:C mutation rate is ~5-fold higher than baseline). But if a G4T sequence is flanked by a 5’ GA and 3’ C, the T:A→G:C rate is ∼1100-fold higher than baseline. (5/8)

We created T:A→G:C mutational hotspots by synonymously altering: (a) the length of the GnT sequence, (b) the dinucleotide 5’ to the homopolymer G tract, and (c) the nucleotide 3’ to the T. Together, the flanking nucleotides change the mutation rate by orders of magnitude. (4/8)

In this work, we create mutational hotspots in the Pseudomonas fluorescens genome using synonymous nucleotide changes to alter the GnT sequence and its neighbours. We show that GnT hotspots are determined by a GnT sequence and the nucleotides immediately flanking it. (3/8)

T Residues Preceded by Runs of G Are Hotspots of T→G Mutation in Bacteria Abstract. The rate of mutation varies among positions in a genome. Local sequence context can affect the rate and has different effects on different types

In a recent paper analysing Salmonella and others, Cherry 2023 found that homopolymeric tracts of G (≥3) with a 3’ T frequently mutate so that the T is substituted with another G: I.e. GGGT→GGGG. This rate increases the longer the G tract (GnT). academic.oup.com/gbe/article/... (2/8)

GnT Motifs Can Increase T:A→G:C Mutation Rates Over 1000-fold in Bacteria Abstract. Nucleotides across a genome do not mutate at equal frequencies. Instead, specific nucleotide positions can exhibit much higher mutation rates tha

Our latest paper is now out in @molbioevol.bsky.social! In this work we show that T:A→G:C mutational hotspots in bacteria are created by short nucleotide sequences (≥8bp), which we call GnT motifs. academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...
A 🧵from James (not on Bluesky) 1/8
#microsky

🦠 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 ⬇️

Research position in Microbial Pharmacology and Population Biology (282139) | UiT The Arctic University of Norway Job title: Research position in Microbial Pharmacology and Population Biology (282139), Employer: UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Deadline: Wednesday, August 27, 2025

Feels surreal to say but: I'm hiring! If you are or know anyone interested in looking at the evolution of phage resistance using A. baumannii and natural transformation, then this might be for you
www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...

@gretelwaugh.bsky.social ?

a cartoon girl is sitting on a bed covering her mouth with her hands and saying it 's graduation day . ALT: a cartoon girl is sitting on a bed covering her mouth with her hands and saying it 's graduation day .

Congratulations to the super talented @josie-e.bsky.social! Looking forward to catching up on your postdoc news with @annechevallereau.bsky.social and cheering you on later at Bath Abbey.

Great to see this work from @deepaagashe.bsky.social and team out. Make sure you give it a read.

No worries - thanks!

Hi! Thanks for putting this together! Could you add me please? Thank you!

We all know who'd win in battle (hint: it's you)