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Tiffany Taylor

@taylorlabgroup.bsky.social

2K followers 1.1K following 96 posts

Professor of Microbial Ecology and Evolution at the Life Sciences Department at the University of Bath. Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellow. Children's author evolution/genetics. Mum. https://tiffanybtaylor.wordpress.com/

tiffanybtaylor.wordpress.com

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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · Apr 25

Happy #DNAday 🧬! To celebrate, why not share a bedtime story with a #FutureGeneticist? Listen to my book, Little Letters, illustrated by uber talented James Munro & read by the forever charming children's author AF Harrold
youtu.be/yv3Z8CZ3t_Q
#DNA #GeneticsForKids #ScienceBooks

Little Letters: an introduction to genetics

written by Tiffany Taylor, illustrated by James Munro, read by A. F. Harrold.Join Berry, Daisy and Spike, as an extraordinary close encounter turns a family ...

youtu.be

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Reposted by Tiffany Taylor

Tom Williams @tweethinking.bsky.social · 1d

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

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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · Sep 8

🙋🏻‍♀️

Reposted by Tiffany Taylor

Eduardo Rocha @epcrocha.bsky.social · Sep 8

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...

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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · Sep 4

@yueyicai.bsky.social

Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · Sep 4

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!

Josie Elliott @josie-e.bsky.social · Sep 4

Can CRISPR-Cas systems target any phage? Yes, no, it depends? What does it depend on? The second paper from my PhD came out today in a special issue of Phil Trans B on the ecology and evolution of bacterial immune systems
doi.org/10.1098/rstb...

Phage susceptibility to a minimal, modular synthetic CRISPR-Cas system in Pseudomonas aeruginosa is nutrient dependent | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

CRISPR-Cas systems can provide adaptive, heritable immunity to their prokaryotic hosts against invading genetic material such as phages. It is clear that the importance of acquiring CRISPR-Cas immunit...

doi.org

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Reposted by Tiffany Taylor

David Sünderhauf @davvi36.bsky.social · Sep 2

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...

Developing CRISPR-Cas antimicrobials to tackle antibiotic resistance spread in Klebsiella pneumoniae - GW4 BioMed MRC DTP

Project Code MRCIIAR26Ex van Houte Project Type Wet lab Research Theme Infection, Immunity, Antimicrobial Resistance and Repair Project Summary Download Summary Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a ...

gw4biomed.ac.uk

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Reposted by Tiffany Taylor

Julia Sero @cellmorphosero.bsky.social · Sep 2

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.

Michael Baym @baym.lol · Sep 1

Every few months the "good lab hands" thing comes up and it misses a key point: you can learn to have good hands. Training matters.

Good hands aren't some magic gift from the PCR gods, you have to develop them through directed repetitive practice, like any other skill

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Reposted by Tiffany Taylor

Rowan Green @rowancallumg.bsky.social · Aug 18

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)

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

doi.org

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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · Aug 19

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 🦠🌱

Axel Visel @axelvisel.bsky.social · Aug 19

Congratulations to @jgi.doe.gov's 2025 Functional Genomics awardees:

@ostratodd.bsky.social @philmuslab.bsky.social @aaronrashotte.bsky.social @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social Hao Chen, Matthew Cope-Arguello, Olufemi Isimikalu, Paul Scesa, K. Scott, S. Wakao, B. Woolston

jgi.doe.gov/user-science...

JGI announces 2025 Functional Genomics awardees | Joint Genome Institute

This year's project goals range from engineering drought-tolerant woody bioenergy crops through transcriptional network mapping, developing microbial systems to convert renewable feedstocks into advan...

jgi.doe.gov

Reposted by Tiffany Taylor

Vaughn Cooper @vscooper.micropopbio.org · Aug 17

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?...

EvolvingSTEM Summer of Transformation 2025

YouTube video by Evolving STEM

youtu.be

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Reposted by Tiffany Taylor

Vivek Mutalik @vivekmutalik.bsky.social · Aug 16

😳
#phage #phagesky #microsky

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

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...

www.cell.com

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Reposted by Tiffany Taylor

Molecular Biology and Evolution @molbioevol.bsky.social · Aug 14

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

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

doi.org

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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · Aug 13

Dammit. Edit to first post, T > G.

Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · Aug 13

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!

Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · Aug 13

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)

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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · Aug 13

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)

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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · Aug 13

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)

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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · Aug 13

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)

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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · Aug 13

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)

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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · Aug 13

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)

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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · Aug 13

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)

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

academic.oup.com

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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · Aug 13

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

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

academic.oup.com

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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · Aug 13

🦠 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 ⬇️

https://academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-ar…

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Reposted by Tiffany Taylor

Ellinor Alseth @ellinoralseth.bsky.social · Aug 8

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...

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

www.jobbnorge.no

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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · Jul 23

@gretelwaugh.bsky.social ?

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