Michael Brockhurst
@brockhurstlab.bsky.social
📤 3430
📥 4209
📝 405
Microbial evolution / University of Manchester
pinned post!
New preprint! Ever wondered why only a fraction of genomes encode CRISPR immunity? 🧬 🦠 Turns out CRISPR is rarely beneficial against virulent phages, being most beneficial against those for which resistance mutations are rare! An epic effort by Rosanna Wright
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
loading . . .
Resistance mutation supply modulates the benefit of CRISPR immunity against virulent phages
Only a fraction of bacterial genomes encode CRISPR-Cas systems but the selective causes of this variation are unexplained. How naturally virulent bacteriophages (phages) select for CRISPR immunity has...
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.05.680503v1
3 months ago
3
108
53
Over and out. See you in 2026.
12 days ago
1
8
0
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
Nature Microbiology
15 days ago
Microbes weaponizing secondary metabolites to make rivals vulnerable to phage attack 🧪🦠
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
loading . . .
Streptomyces secretes a siderophore that sensitizes competitor bacteria to phage infection - Nature Microbiology
A secondary metabolite sensitizes competitor Bacillus subtilis to a wide panel of lytic phages by sequestering iron and preventing the activation of Spo0A.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-024-01910-8
1
33
15
Manchester Institute of Biotechnology is looking for a new Professor. There are a few priority areas including microbial engineering (broadly defined, from pathways to cells to microbiomes). Closing 12 Jan. Join us in the best city in the UK 😜
www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...
loading . . .
Professorial Appointment within the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology:Manchester Institute of Biotechnology
Applications are invited for a professorial appointment to be based in the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology (MIB) at the University of Manchester (UoM). The successful candidate will join a dynamic research environment at an exciting time and will help shape the institute research priorities and national/international profile. We are open to high quality applications from across the broad engineering biology and biotechnology landscape. Specific areas of interest include but are not limited to chemical biology of disease related proteins, natural product biosynthesis and enzyme discovery; structural biology and mechanistic enzymology; and microbial engineering.
https://www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/Job/JobDetail?JobId=33867&source=JobTrainRSSFeed
14 days ago
1
15
26
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
Matthew Collins
14 days ago
New 2-year Postdoc: Ancient
#Metagenomics
&
#Microbiome
Sciences! 🧬🦷 Join Prof.
@christinawarinner.bsky.social
’s group at
@mpi-eva-leipzig.bsky.social
to study the evolution and ecology of ancient oral microbiota. 📅 Apply by Jan 20, 2026:
www.microverse-cluster.de/en/career/jo...
loading . . .
Jobs - Balance of the Microverse
https://www.microverse-cluster.de/en/career/jobs.html
1
28
16
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
STCmicrobeblog
14 days ago
so you're going into the piñata business too 😊
loading . . .
A miniature piñata
by Christoph — Can you imagine a children's party in Mexico without a piñata as the main attraction? One of the kids hits the suspended piñata with a stick until it bursts and the entir…
https://smallthingsconsidered.blog/schaechter/2023/08/a-miniaturenata/
1
1
1
This was nice. Thanks to the wonderful mentees who nominated me.
14 days ago
2
41
1
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
Vaughn Cooper
14 days ago
For the life of me, why do people submit manuscripts now? My EIC inbox has rarely been fuller, and there's no way I'm sending these to Associate Editors until 2026. Friends don't let friends submit in late December.
17
32
15
It’s official: we’ve been awarded a UKRI Engineering Biology Focal Award to train the next generation of microbial bioengineer PhDs. An exciting collaboration between
@officialuom.bsky.social
@liverpooluni.bsky.social
Projects will be advertised in February 2026!
www.ukri.org/news/ukri-do...
loading . . .
UKRI doctoral training investment set to power UK growth
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) invests in next-generation doctoral training to boost UK innovation and economic growth.
https://www.ukri.org/news/ukri-doctoral-training-investment-set-to-power-uk-growth/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
14 days ago
1
27
7
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
MERMan Research Group (University of Manchester)
about 1 month ago
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!
2
14
10
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
MERMan Research Group (University of Manchester)
23 days ago
The last seminar of the year was another set of exciting talks from visitor
@alekseiagapov.bsky.social
and merfolk
@sophiesomerville.bsky.social
! Thanks to
@microbesng.bsky.social
for the 🍪! Have a happy and safe holiday! 🤶🏻 🎅🏻 🎄
0
7
4
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
Rebecca Wallis D
23 days ago
Whelan lab cake for the win at the Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics and MCF Winter Celebration 🥳
#bakeoff
#whelanlab
1
7
4
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
MERMan Research Group (University of Manchester)
16 days ago
Congratulations to PhD student Zahraa Albaqsami
@zahraaalbaqsami.bsky.social
for successfully defending her PhD today! Zahraa's thesis looked at thermal adaptation and mutation in the archaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarious. Thanks to examiners
@rokkrasovec.bsky.social
and Thorsten Allers!
0
15
7
We did a genome. Not just any genome. A Eukaryote! Telomeres, centromeres, introns! What the hell?! With megabrains
@guyleonard.bsky.social
Tom Richards, Fiona Savory at Oxford. A fun collaboration! Keep em peeled for more algal preprints coming soon!
add a skeleton here at some point
14 days ago
1
8
5
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
Emmanuele Severi
25 days ago
#microsky
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
loading . . .
Injecting bacteria into fungal hosts establishes stable endosymbiosis - Nature Microbiology
Nature Microbiology - Injecting bacteria into fungal hosts establishes stable endosymbiosis
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-025-02215-0
2
8
3
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
MERMan Research Group (University of Manchester)
16 days ago
Congratulations to Dr Rana Alruthaya, who successfully defended her PhD today on AMR diversity in Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from non-CF bronchiectasis patients. She's the 10th PhD student from MERMan. Well done Rana!
@dannagifford.bsky.social
@brockhurstlab.bsky.social
@knightjar.bsky.social
1
16
5
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
Filipa Trigo da Roza
about 1 month ago
Back home from the
#MicroEvo25
conference in the heartwarming city of Liverpool 🥰 We had fun, made new friends, and discussed science and future projects. Thank you
@microbiologysociety.org
for these amazing days! Can’t wait for the next edition!
0
16
2
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
Luke Dunning
about 1 month ago
Come work with us!! 2.5 year postdoc on HGT in plants. Please share and get in touch if interested
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPQ418/r...
loading . . .
Research Associate: Horizontal Gene Transfer at University of Sheffield
Searching for an academic job? Explore this Research Associate: Horizontal Gene Transfer opening on jobs.ac.uk! Click to view more details and browse other academic jobs.
https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPQ418/research-associate-horizontal-gene-transfer
0
14
29
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
MERMan Research Group (University of Manchester)
about 1 month ago
And that’s a wrap for
#MicroEvo25
! Thank you to
@microbiologysociety.org
for organising such a fantastic event & to everyone in attendance for sharing such exciting science! Let’s do it again soon?
0
13
1
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
Magdalena Kurteu
about 1 month ago
P.S. if you were at
#MicroEvo25
and didn’t get chance to scan the QR code on my poster, but would like to see some videos from our Iceland fieldwork 🌋 you can find them all here
linktr.ee/magdalenakur...
loading . . .
Magdalena Kurteu | Instagram | Linktree
Microbiologist, PhD student studying eco-evolutionary dynamics of microbial communities in hot springs 🧫🧬🌋
https://linktr.ee/magdalenakurteu?utm_source=qr_code
0
6
1
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
Craig MacLean
about 1 month ago
Back in Oxford, but still buzzing with excitement from
#MicroEvo25
! Great science, friendly and relaxed atmosphere, and a brilliant opportunity to catch up with friends and colleagues. Liverpool is a good place for scientific meetings.
0
20
2
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
Jerónimo Rodríguez-Beltrán
about 1 month ago
On the plane after a fantastic few days in Liverpool at
#MicroEvo25
organised by the
@microbiologysociety.org
. The science, the people, and the city were all way above expectations. I’m definitely coming back. Had an absolute blast!
0
15
3
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
Magdalena Kurteu
about 1 month ago
Winning the poster prize was an amazing way to end
#MicroEvo25
🎉 Absolutely loved sharing (the start of!) my PhD research! Thanks to
@brockhurstlab.bsky.social
@coytelab.bsky.social
and Sophie for the encouragement & to
@microbiologysociety.org
for organising such a fantastic event!
add a skeleton here at some point
1
23
3
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
Lucy Blagden
about 1 month ago
Had an amazing time at
#MicroEvo25
in Liverpool learning all about phages and evolution of antimicrobial resistance. Was great to present my first ever poster and met some lovely people!
2
24
3
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
Daniel Padfield
about 1 month ago
Had a great time at
#MicroEvo25
soaking up some inspiring science from lots of amazing people. Even networked! Very well organised by
@microbiologysociety.org
. Next time hopefully more of the work presented is published in society journals! If we don't use it we will lose it!
0
12
3
What a week! Thanks to everyone who attended the UK Phage Therapy workshop and
#MicroEvo25
in Liverpool… every talk, poster, question, chat, and round of applause helps to build our microbial evolution community! Thanks to
@microbiologysociety.org
and
@ukri.org
for support
about 1 month ago
0
32
6
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
Vivek Mutalik
about 1 month ago
Strolling at night, in Liverpool, after science talks ->
microbiologysociety.org/event/full-e...
1
23
1
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
Emmanuele Severi
2 months ago
#microsky
#phagesky
Mycobacterium
#phage
review by Graham Hatfull covering the state of the art
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
loading . . .
All the world’s a phage | PNAS
A renewed interest in bacteriophages has emerged from the explosive discovery of the complex pan-immune bacterial defense system and a revival of t...
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2523344122
0
21
5
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
Vivek Mutalik
about 1 month ago
Wow!! Such a 😎 meeting
#MicroEvo25
Met so many old friends & made new ones.
microbiologysociety.org/event/societ...
0
7
1
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
Mike Bottery
about 2 months ago
Exciting news! I have two positions open in my lab at the UoManchester: one PDRA and one Research Tech. Join our team to study evolutionary mycology and help us understand antifungal resistance in fungal pathogens. A fantastic opportunity to join the brilliant Manchester Fungal Infection Group!
2
17
33
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
Josie Elliott
about 1 month ago
Two conferences two weeks apart, thank you to everyone who came and chatted to me at my poster (or in general) at the
Phages.fr
conference in Nancy and the
@microbiologysociety.org
#MicroEvo25
conference in Liverpool. It was great to show the first data from my postdoc and get advice and feedback
3
34
6
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
Sean Meaden
about 1 month ago
Two fully-funded PhD openings in my research group at the University of York. If you’re excited about viromes, phage biology, Nanopore sequencing, soils and the odd bit of alpine or agricultural field sampling, we’d love to hear from you! 🌱🦠🏔️
tiny.cc/c4pv001
tiny.cc/e4pv001
loading . . .
A Farewell to Arms: The Trade-off Between Growth and Defence in Bacteria (York YBDTP Project) at University of York on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - A Farewell to Arms: The Trade-off Between Growth and Defence in Bacteria (York YBDTP Project) at University of York, listed on FindAPhD.com
http://tiny.cc/c4pv001
0
17
28
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
Alexander Harms
about 1 month ago
🚨Preprint alert - this is a big one! We transfer the revolutionary power of TnSeq to bacteriophages. Our HIDEN-SEQ links the "dark matter" genes of your favorite phage to any selectable phenotype, guiding the path from fun observations to molecular mechanisms. A thread 1/8
11
210
94
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
Jamie Hall
about 2 months ago
🚨#PhD studentship opportunity! Plasmids provide bacteria with antimicrobial resistance, but do they have more fundamental effects on behaviour? 🧫🦠💫🧟♂️ Apply for a 4y funded MRC DiMeN position with me and Jamie Wheeler
@livuni-ives.bsky.social
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
loading . . .
MRC DiMeN Doctoral Training Partnership: Resistant zombies: how drug-resistance plasmids manipulate the behaviour of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa at University of Liverpool on Fin...
PhD Project - MRC DiMeN Doctoral Training Partnership: Resistant zombies: how drug-resistance plasmids manipulate the behaviour of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa at University of Li...
https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/mrc-dimen-doctoral-training-partnership-resistant-zombies-how-drug-resistance-plasmids-manipulate-the-behaviour-of-the-opportunistic-pathogen-pseudomonas-aeruginosa/?p189474
1
28
45
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
Paul Hoskisson 🧫 🦠🐸
about 1 month ago
Super meeting, and
@microbiologysociety.org
staff organisation was incredible as always! This meeting really fills a niche in evolutionary microbiology, let make sure it runs again! Great to see old friends and make new ones
@gmknght.bsky.social
add a skeleton here at some point
0
13
7
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
MERMan Research Group (University of Manchester)
about 1 month ago
Another fantastic poster presented by
@knhanga.bsky.social
at
#MicroEvo25
1
15
3
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
MERMan Research Group (University of Manchester)
about 1 month ago
Massive congratulations to our own
@magdalenakurteu.bsky.social
for winning the poster prize at
#MicroEvo25
!! Her poster describes coalescence dynamics in hot spring microbial communities, and featured wonderful photos from Icelandic field work
1
22
5
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
Multi-Defence
about 1 month ago
Highlights from our recent participation! Members of the Multi-Defence Consortium presented both talks and posters on phage defence systems — showcasing exciting progress across the field. Great discussions, great science, and we’re excited to share more soon!
#MicroEvo25
1
20
5
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
MERMan Research Group (University of Manchester)
about 1 month ago
Starting day two of
#MicroEvo25
strong with our first MERMan speaker of the day! An amazing talk by
@mattjago.bsky.social
about mutational bias in E. coli 🧬
1
15
5
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
Katie Millar
about 1 month ago
Day 1 of
#MicroEvo25
yesterday was great, I’m enjoying and am ready for the rest of Day 2 for some really interesting talks on predicting microbial evolutionary dynamics and more poster viewing!
@microbiologysociety.org
2
17
2
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
MERMan Research Group (University of Manchester)
about 1 month ago
Incredibly insightful talk this afternoon by
@matthewjshepherd.bsky.social
speaking about within-patient ciprofloxacin resistance in P. aeruginosa
#MicroEvo25
1
16
5
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
Alan McNally
about 1 month ago
Absolutely brilliant
#MicroEvo25
some great talks and talent that has me thinking about our research. And great to catch up with
@brockhurstlab.bsky.social
@craigmaclean.bsky.social
@paulhoskisson.bsky.social
@lore-fermar.bsky.social
@julieakmcdonald.bsky.social
@lucyweinert.bsky.social
and more
5
19
6
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
MERMan Research Group (University of Manchester)
about 1 month ago
More amazing posters presented by our researchers
@zahraaalbaqsami.bsky.social
and Rana at
#MicroEvo25
!
1
12
6
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
Fiona J Whelan
about 1 month ago
morning, Liverpool :: My brain is buzzing this morning from a great day of science talks, posters, and chats yesterday. I can’t wait for day two today!
#microevo25
0
22
2
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
Magdalena Kurteu
about 1 month ago
Had the best day at
#MicroEvo25
yesterday! Excited for day two and to be chatting more about hot spring microbial community coalescence 🌋 find me at poster 62 (likely with a coffee in hand)
1
26
3
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
Anna Olina
about 1 month ago
@alekseiagapov.bsky.social
presenting our data at
#MicroEvo25
! Always good to see a few new phage defences discovered😉
0
15
3
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
Rob Edwards
about 1 month ago
Long read Metagenomics,
#phage
and
#prophage
in the gut by Ami Bhatt's group. Beautiful data showing changes in phages over two years
#phagesky
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
loading . . .
Long-read metagenomics reveals phage dynamics in the human gut microbiome - Nature
Complex prophage integration dynamics, including low-level induction, cross-family host range and transposase-mediated mobilization, challenge existing paradigms and deepen our understanding of phage–...
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09786-2
0
68
36
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
Dr Christine Peters
about 1 month ago
Great trip to Liverpool to the Phage Workshop. Top points for me -The AMR need is burgeoning - regulation is still not crystal clear - the academic science is mind blowing - the translation to getting it into patients now is lacking in speed and ease - the Phage community is inspiring
0
8
2
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
MERMan Research Group (University of Manchester)
about 1 month ago
Will we be seeing you at
@microbiologysociety.org
Understanding and Predicting Microbial Evolutionary Dynamics today and tomorrow? 🧫🧬
#MicroEvo25
Keep an eye out for our talks and posters and come say hi 👋
0
4
3
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
Gwen Knight
about 1 month ago
Excited to be in cold sunny Liverpool for
#microevo25
. Looking forward to an interesting day of microbial evolution talks!
@microbiologysociety.org
0
11
2
reposted by
Michael Brockhurst
MERMan Research Group (University of Manchester)
about 1 month ago
Fantastic talk about the impact of inflammation on Pseudomonas aeruginosa evolution by
@taoranfu.bsky.social
#MicroEvo25
1
16
6
Load more
feeds!
log in