Michael Brockhurst
@brockhurstlab.bsky.social
Microbial evolution / University of Manchester
Pinned
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...
www.biorxiv.org
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...
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...
Reposted by Michael Brockhurst
PRESS RELEASE – Dr Hassan Salem to lead independent research group on plant-insect interactions
Following an international search, we are delighted to announce that Dr Hassan Salem @hassansalem.bsky.social will be joining us in early 2026: www.jic.ac.uk/press-releas...
Following an international search, we are delighted to announce that Dr Hassan Salem @hassansalem.bsky.social will be joining us in early 2026: www.jic.ac.uk/press-releas...
November 24, 2025 at 4:11 PM
PRESS RELEASE – Dr Hassan Salem to lead independent research group on plant-insect interactions
Following an international search, we are delighted to announce that Dr Hassan Salem @hassansalem.bsky.social will be joining us in early 2026: www.jic.ac.uk/press-releas...
Following an international search, we are delighted to announce that Dr Hassan Salem @hassansalem.bsky.social will be joining us in early 2026: www.jic.ac.uk/press-releas...
Reposted by Michael Brockhurst
New pre-print: Plasmid dependent phage effectively eliminate AMR bacteria and block plasmid transmission in the chicken gut microbiome
Fun collaboration with Tao He lab (JAAS) and @brockhurstlab.bsky.social lab (Manchester)
#phagesky#microsky
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Fun collaboration with Tao He lab (JAAS) and @brockhurstlab.bsky.social lab (Manchester)
#phagesky#microsky
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Plasmid dependent phage eliminate pathogenic bacteria and antibiotic resistance plasmids from the chicken gut microbiome
Conjugative plasmids are a key reservoir of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in commensal and pathogenic bacteria within the gut microbiome. Plasmid-dependent phage (PDPs) are a promising therapeutic op...
www.biorxiv.org
October 27, 2025 at 8:19 AM
New pre-print: Plasmid dependent phage effectively eliminate AMR bacteria and block plasmid transmission in the chicken gut microbiome
Fun collaboration with Tao He lab (JAAS) and @brockhurstlab.bsky.social lab (Manchester)
#phagesky#microsky
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Fun collaboration with Tao He lab (JAAS) and @brockhurstlab.bsky.social lab (Manchester)
#phagesky#microsky
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Michael Brockhurst
Absolutely delighted to have been awarded a Royal Society University Research Fellowship! I will be moving to the University of Manchester @mermanchester.bsky.social to research early endosymbiont evolution
#microsky #symbiosky
#microsky #symbiosky
Meet the new cohort of exceptional researchers who have been awarded more than £83 million worth of early career fellowships by the Royal Society, working on research spanning the sciences: #RSGrants: https://bit.ly/49jMkKx
Exceptional researchers awarded early career fellowships worth more than £83 million | Royal Society
A new cohort of exceptional researchers at have been awarded funding through the Royal Society’s early career schemes, the University Research Fellowship (URF), Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship (DHF) and Ne...
bit.ly
November 14, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Absolutely delighted to have been awarded a Royal Society University Research Fellowship! I will be moving to the University of Manchester @mermanchester.bsky.social to research early endosymbiont evolution
#microsky #symbiosky
#microsky #symbiosky
Reposted by Michael Brockhurst
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/...
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
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...
journals.plos.org
November 19, 2025 at 6:35 PM
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/...
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Reposted by Michael Brockhurst
Been working on a really strange retron bacterial immune system, here's the preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Type VI retrons are unlike any other. Phage infection triggers reverse transcription of a DNA fragment that activates translation of a toxin to kill the infected cell.
Type VI retrons are unlike any other. Phage infection triggers reverse transcription of a DNA fragment that activates translation of a toxin to kill the infected cell.
October 23, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Been working on a really strange retron bacterial immune system, here's the preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Type VI retrons are unlike any other. Phage infection triggers reverse transcription of a DNA fragment that activates translation of a toxin to kill the infected cell.
Type VI retrons are unlike any other. Phage infection triggers reverse transcription of a DNA fragment that activates translation of a toxin to kill the infected cell.
Reposted by Michael Brockhurst
2 job adverts on a NERC project w myself + @darrenobbard.bsky.social on “What determines the virome: ecology and the environment, evolution, or species history?” early 2026 in
@uniexecec.bsky.social
- Postdoc: jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecr...
- RA: jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecr...
Pls share!
@uniexecec.bsky.social
- Postdoc: jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecr...
- RA: jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecr...
Pls share!
September 25, 2025 at 3:55 PM
2 job adverts on a NERC project w myself + @darrenobbard.bsky.social on “What determines the virome: ecology and the environment, evolution, or species history?” early 2026 in
@uniexecec.bsky.social
- Postdoc: jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecr...
- RA: jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecr...
Pls share!
@uniexecec.bsky.social
- Postdoc: jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecr...
- RA: jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecr...
Pls share!
Reposted by Michael Brockhurst
Rewiring holobiont systems with synthetic biology
www.cell.com/trends/biote...
www.cell.com/trends/biote...
Rewiring holobiont systems with synthetic biology
Holobionts are complex communities comprising a host and its diverse microbiota. Their
intricate relationships are crucial for biological processes like nutrient uptake,
immune function, and environme...
www.cell.com
October 22, 2025 at 7:10 AM
Rewiring holobiont systems with synthetic biology
www.cell.com/trends/biote...
www.cell.com/trends/biote...
Reposted by Michael Brockhurst
Reposted by Michael Brockhurst
I still contend that >90% of the benefit of writing a review isn't the audience. It's for the author going through the literature, finding gaps in knowledge, learning how experiments are done, etc. It really isn't about writing a review. It's about doing the review yourself. AI can't do that for you
October 21, 2025 at 5:28 PM
I still contend that >90% of the benefit of writing a review isn't the audience. It's for the author going through the literature, finding gaps in knowledge, learning how experiments are done, etc. It really isn't about writing a review. It's about doing the review yourself. AI can't do that for you
Reposted by Michael Brockhurst
Interesting paper on bacteriophage genomics and bioinformatics
'Phage quest: a beginner’s guide to explore viral diversity in the prokaryotic world' by @sebwielgoss.bsky.social and colleagues
academic.oup.com/bib/article/...
'Phage quest: a beginner’s guide to explore viral diversity in the prokaryotic world' by @sebwielgoss.bsky.social and colleagues
academic.oup.com/bib/article/...
Phage quest: a beginner’s guide to explore viral diversity in the prokaryotic world
Abstract. The increasing interest in finding new viruses within (meta)genomic datasets has fueled the development of computational tools for virus detectio
academic.oup.com
October 21, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Interesting paper on bacteriophage genomics and bioinformatics
'Phage quest: a beginner’s guide to explore viral diversity in the prokaryotic world' by @sebwielgoss.bsky.social and colleagues
academic.oup.com/bib/article/...
'Phage quest: a beginner’s guide to explore viral diversity in the prokaryotic world' by @sebwielgoss.bsky.social and colleagues
academic.oup.com/bib/article/...
Reposted by Michael Brockhurst
A fun little side project I've been working on with @stepadenisov.bsky.social , Mato Lagator, and Andreas Wagner: "Strong promoters are mutationally robust". Briefly...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Strong promoters are mutationally robust
Mutational robustness is the persistence of a phenotype upon mutation. It facilitates molecular evolution and has been characterized in a variety of biological systems, but studies of prokaryotic prom...
www.biorxiv.org
October 21, 2025 at 8:02 AM
A fun little side project I've been working on with @stepadenisov.bsky.social , Mato Lagator, and Andreas Wagner: "Strong promoters are mutationally robust". Briefly...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Michael Brockhurst
Many antiphage systems use NAD+, in many ways.
@hugovaysset.bsky.social reviewed them all!
Read to know more about all their molecular mechanisms, how phages counteract them, their distribution in bacteria and their conservation in eukaryotic immunity!
www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
@hugovaysset.bsky.social reviewed them all!
Read to know more about all their molecular mechanisms, how phages counteract them, their distribution in bacteria and their conservation in eukaryotic immunity!
www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
The multifaceted roles of NAD+ in bacterial immunity
In this review, Vaysset and Bernheim examine how nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide
(NAD+) is a key player in diverse and widespread bacterial antiphage defense systems
and phage counterdefense. The au...
www.cell.com
October 17, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Many antiphage systems use NAD+, in many ways.
@hugovaysset.bsky.social reviewed them all!
Read to know more about all their molecular mechanisms, how phages counteract them, their distribution in bacteria and their conservation in eukaryotic immunity!
www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
@hugovaysset.bsky.social reviewed them all!
Read to know more about all their molecular mechanisms, how phages counteract them, their distribution in bacteria and their conservation in eukaryotic immunity!
www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
Reposted by Michael Brockhurst
Fungal #GenomeSize variation is largely driven by TEs & lineage-specific genome defenses. @tbadet.bsky.social & @danielcroll.bsky.social show that presence/absence of RIP mutation systems influences #genome architecture, identifying a likely novel defense mechanism @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4hcC5tx
October 16, 2025 at 7:58 AM
Fungal #GenomeSize variation is largely driven by TEs & lineage-specific genome defenses. @tbadet.bsky.social & @danielcroll.bsky.social show that presence/absence of RIP mutation systems influences #genome architecture, identifying a likely novel defense mechanism @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4hcC5tx
Reposted by Michael Brockhurst
We are happy to share our latest work in @nature.com . We study the genomic and cellular basis of facultative symbiosis in Oculina patagonica - a Mediterranean coral remarkable for its ability to survive long periods without algal symbionts. Led by Shani Levy and @xgrau.bsky.social
rdcu.be/eLbaZ
rdcu.be/eLbaZ
October 15, 2025 at 7:58 PM
We are happy to share our latest work in @nature.com . We study the genomic and cellular basis of facultative symbiosis in Oculina patagonica - a Mediterranean coral remarkable for its ability to survive long periods without algal symbionts. Led by Shani Levy and @xgrau.bsky.social
rdcu.be/eLbaZ
rdcu.be/eLbaZ
Reposted by Michael Brockhurst
Very excited to share the latest work from our lab, which was published today in Nature!
nature.com/articles/s41...
PhD graduate and now post-doc Sofia Dahlman, along with co-senior author Sam Forster from The Hudson and other researchers from our lab and others.
nature.com/articles/s41...
PhD graduate and now post-doc Sofia Dahlman, along with co-senior author Sam Forster from The Hudson and other researchers from our lab and others.
Isolation, engineering and ecology of temperate phages from the human gut - Nature
Human host-associated cellular products may act as induction agents for bacteriophages.
nature.com
October 15, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Very excited to share the latest work from our lab, which was published today in Nature!
nature.com/articles/s41...
PhD graduate and now post-doc Sofia Dahlman, along with co-senior author Sam Forster from The Hudson and other researchers from our lab and others.
nature.com/articles/s41...
PhD graduate and now post-doc Sofia Dahlman, along with co-senior author Sam Forster from The Hudson and other researchers from our lab and others.
Reposted by Michael Brockhurst
Phages evolve fast, or do they?
In oysters, some stay identical for years.
With >1,200 phages & 600 Vibrio genomes, we reveal long-term stability and new mobile elements.
Proud of this collaborative work across our teams (Roscoff-UdeM and @epcrocha.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
In oysters, some stay identical for years.
With >1,200 phages & 600 Vibrio genomes, we reveal long-term stability and new mobile elements.
Proud of this collaborative work across our teams (Roscoff-UdeM and @epcrocha.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
Ecological constraints foster both extreme viral-host lineage stability and mobile element diversity in a marine community
Phages are typically viewed as very rapidly evolving biological entities. Little is known, however, about whether and how phages can establish long-term genetic stability. We addressed this eco-evolut...
www.biorxiv.org
October 12, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Phages evolve fast, or do they?
In oysters, some stay identical for years.
With >1,200 phages & 600 Vibrio genomes, we reveal long-term stability and new mobile elements.
Proud of this collaborative work across our teams (Roscoff-UdeM and @epcrocha.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
In oysters, some stay identical for years.
With >1,200 phages & 600 Vibrio genomes, we reveal long-term stability and new mobile elements.
Proud of this collaborative work across our teams (Roscoff-UdeM and @epcrocha.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
Reposted by Michael Brockhurst
Can we exploit past phage infection events (prophages) to decipher the specificity of phage receptor-binding proteins such as depolymerases?🔎 Happy to share our recent work at @natcomms.nature.com 🔽 #microsky #phagesky
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Unlocking data in Klebsiella lysogens to predict capsular type-specificity of phage depolymerases - Nature Communications
Here, the authors exploit the genetic information encoded in Klebsiella prophages to model the interplay between bacteria, prophages, and their depolymerases, using a directed acyclic graph-model and a sequence clustering-based model.
www.nature.com
October 8, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Can we exploit past phage infection events (prophages) to decipher the specificity of phage receptor-binding proteins such as depolymerases?🔎 Happy to share our recent work at @natcomms.nature.com 🔽 #microsky #phagesky
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Michael Brockhurst
Is a healthy microbiome one that is rich in phages? 🦠 Excited to share our paper out in Lancet Microbe with @bkoskella.bsky.social & @dholtappels.bsky.social where we test whether virome diversity can be used a broad signature of microbiome health 📈
New research article
Evaluation of bacteriophages as a signature of #microbiome health: a systematic review and meta-analysis
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
#IDSky #ClinMicro #ViroSky #Phage #OpenAccess #OA
Evaluation of bacteriophages as a signature of #microbiome health: a systematic review and meta-analysis
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
#IDSky #ClinMicro #ViroSky #Phage #OpenAccess #OA
October 10, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Is a healthy microbiome one that is rich in phages? 🦠 Excited to share our paper out in Lancet Microbe with @bkoskella.bsky.social & @dholtappels.bsky.social where we test whether virome diversity can be used a broad signature of microbiome health 📈
Reposted by Michael Brockhurst
Evolution induced state shifts in a long-term microbial community experiment www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Evolution induced state shifts in a long-term microbial community experiment
Biological communities are complex, dynamic systems that underpin ecosystem functionality, yet their long-term dynamics and predictability remain poorly understood. Understanding how Darwinian evoluti...
www.biorxiv.org
October 11, 2025 at 4:48 AM
Evolution induced state shifts in a long-term microbial community experiment www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Michael Brockhurst
Pretty excited to share our new preprint!
Non-photosynthetic Plastid Replacement by a Primary Plastid in the Making
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Non-photosynthetic Plastid Replacement by a Primary Plastid in the Making
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
October 10, 2025 at 3:34 AM
Pretty excited to share our new preprint!
Non-photosynthetic Plastid Replacement by a Primary Plastid in the Making
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Non-photosynthetic Plastid Replacement by a Primary Plastid in the Making
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Michael Brockhurst
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 :)
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
www.findaphd.com
October 9, 2025 at 9:39 AM
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 :)
Three Bicentenary research fellowships on offer at @officialuom.bsky.social @fbmh-uom.bsky.social for exceptional ECRs with <3y postdoc experience
3yrs salary + £30k pa research expenses
Do you have a great idea & want to join @mermanchester.bsky.social?
www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/research/sup...
3yrs salary + £30k pa research expenses
Do you have a great idea & want to join @mermanchester.bsky.social?
www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/research/sup...
Bicentenary Early Career Research Fellowships | Biology, Medicine and Health | University of Manchester
Find out about and apply for a Bicentenary Early Career Research Fellowship.
www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk
October 9, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Three Bicentenary research fellowships on offer at @officialuom.bsky.social @fbmh-uom.bsky.social for exceptional ECRs with <3y postdoc experience
3yrs salary + £30k pa research expenses
Do you have a great idea & want to join @mermanchester.bsky.social?
www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/research/sup...
3yrs salary + £30k pa research expenses
Do you have a great idea & want to join @mermanchester.bsky.social?
www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/research/sup...
Reposted by Michael Brockhurst
hosting.northumbria.ac.uk/nu-omics/vom...
#phagesky #phage #microsky
Come and join us for Viruses of Microbes UK 2026 at @northumbriauni.bsky.social ! Fantastic chance for ECRs to showcase their work 🙂
#phagesky #phage #microsky
Come and join us for Viruses of Microbes UK 2026 at @northumbriauni.bsky.social ! Fantastic chance for ECRs to showcase their work 🙂
VOM-UK Conferences - NU-OMICS
Viruses of Microbes UK (VoM-UK) Conference The Virus of Microbes UK (VoM-UK) Conference is hosted by Microbiome Excellence Peak of Excellence at Northumbria University. This two-day conference takes place annually at the end of January/beginning of February and is a chance for researchers to gather and share their knowledge. The VoM-UK conference is designed to […]
hosting.northumbria.ac.uk
October 9, 2025 at 9:21 AM
hosting.northumbria.ac.uk/nu-omics/vom...
#phagesky #phage #microsky
Come and join us for Viruses of Microbes UK 2026 at @northumbriauni.bsky.social ! Fantastic chance for ECRs to showcase their work 🙂
#phagesky #phage #microsky
Come and join us for Viruses of Microbes UK 2026 at @northumbriauni.bsky.social ! Fantastic chance for ECRs to showcase their work 🙂
Reposted by Michael Brockhurst
This is first paper from a new line of research in my lab, with more to come soon. If interested in PDPs I highly recommend this @baym.lol paper www.nature.com/articles/s41... and this classic from Matti Jalasvuori royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Diverse and abundant phages exploit conjugative plasmids - Nature Communications
Some phages use plasmid-encoded conjugation proteins as receptors to infect their bacterial hosts, making their host range dependent on horizontal transfer of the plasmid. Here, the authors present a method for identification of new plasmid-dependent phages, and find that they are common and abundant in wastewater and their genetic diversity is largely unexplored.
www.nature.com
October 9, 2025 at 10:07 AM
This is first paper from a new line of research in my lab, with more to come soon. If interested in PDPs I highly recommend this @baym.lol paper www.nature.com/articles/s41... and this classic from Matti Jalasvuori royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Reposted by Michael Brockhurst
New pre-print www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Plasmid-dependent phage (PDPs) are ubiquitous, but the selective pressures that they impose on plasmids are not well understood. Project led by Daniel Cazares in collaboration with @brockhurstlab.bsky.social!
#phagesky#microsky
Plasmid-dependent phage (PDPs) are ubiquitous, but the selective pressures that they impose on plasmids are not well understood. Project led by Daniel Cazares in collaboration with @brockhurstlab.bsky.social!
#phagesky#microsky
Trade-offs between phage resistance and conjugative ability shape the ecological and evolutionary response of a multidrug resistance plasmid to plasmid-dependent phage
Phage therapy is a promising alternative to antibiotics to treat multidrug resistant infections. Plasmid dependent phages (PDPs) are particularly attractive as therapeutics because they can both kill ...
www.biorxiv.org
October 9, 2025 at 10:07 AM
New pre-print www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Plasmid-dependent phage (PDPs) are ubiquitous, but the selective pressures that they impose on plasmids are not well understood. Project led by Daniel Cazares in collaboration with @brockhurstlab.bsky.social!
#phagesky#microsky
Plasmid-dependent phage (PDPs) are ubiquitous, but the selective pressures that they impose on plasmids are not well understood. Project led by Daniel Cazares in collaboration with @brockhurstlab.bsky.social!
#phagesky#microsky