Taylor priest
@taylorpriest.bsky.social
NOMIS-ETH fellow at Institute of Microbiology and Center of Origin and Prevalence of Life, ETH Zurich | microbial ecologist interested in diversification, evolution and mobile genetic elements | Parent of a beautiful Briard | food and fitness enthusiast
Pinned
Taylor priest
@taylorpriest.bsky.social
· Aug 14
The JEDI marker as a universal measure of planetary biodiversity
Despite its critical importance in the formation and maintenance of ecosystems and homeostasis on Earth, biodiversity remains a complex and non-unified concept. Consequently, standards for measuring b...
www.biorxiv.org
The JEDI marker - a new approach for measuring #biodiversity that captures all domains of life and is applicable across biological and ecological scales. It's time to change the way we perceive biodiversity - www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Taylor priest
Calling all OrthoFinder users!
We’ve just released GLADE, a tool to infer gene gains, losses, duplications, and ancestral genomes across a phylogeny.
GLADE runs directly on OrthoFinder results.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
github.com/lauriebelch/...
(1/10)
We’ve just released GLADE, a tool to infer gene gains, losses, duplications, and ancestral genomes across a phylogeny.
GLADE runs directly on OrthoFinder results.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
github.com/lauriebelch/...
(1/10)
www.biorxiv.org
January 29, 2026 at 12:07 PM
Calling all OrthoFinder users!
We’ve just released GLADE, a tool to infer gene gains, losses, duplications, and ancestral genomes across a phylogeny.
GLADE runs directly on OrthoFinder results.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
github.com/lauriebelch/...
(1/10)
We’ve just released GLADE, a tool to infer gene gains, losses, duplications, and ancestral genomes across a phylogeny.
GLADE runs directly on OrthoFinder results.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
github.com/lauriebelch/...
(1/10)
Reposted by Taylor priest
New paper out in PNAS!!! 🎉
Do more plasmid copies mean faster evolution?
🧵 Dive into the story
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Do more plasmid copies mean faster evolution?
🧵 Dive into the story
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Plasmid mutation rates scale with copy number | PNAS
Plasmids are extrachromosomal DNA molecules that spread by horizontal transfer and
shape bacterial evolution. Plasmids are typically present at mul...
www.pnas.org
January 27, 2026 at 12:02 PM
New paper out in PNAS!!! 🎉
Do more plasmid copies mean faster evolution?
🧵 Dive into the story
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Do more plasmid copies mean faster evolution?
🧵 Dive into the story
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Application of Nanopore sequencing to intact caspid-packaged DNA reveals that bacterial DNA encapsulation is widespread in the human gut #microbiome
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Large-scale capsid-mediated mobilisation of bacterial genomic DNA in the gut microbiome - Nature Communications
Here, the authors show that packaging of bacterial DNA by phage-like particles is widespread in the gut microbiome, with activity of gene transfer agents being prominent in Oscillospiraceae and Rumino...
www.nature.com
January 28, 2026 at 7:23 PM
Application of Nanopore sequencing to intact caspid-packaged DNA reveals that bacterial DNA encapsulation is widespread in the human gut #microbiome
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Genomic rearrangements occur at varying rates across Archaea and Bacteria, but are typically enriched near the ori region. While gene synteny is widely conserved, some species show highly flexible genomic layouts. #Microevo #evolution #genomics
academic.oup.com/gbe/advance-...
academic.oup.com/gbe/advance-...
Prevalence and Evolutionary Implications of Genome Rearrangements in Bacteria
Abstract. The genetic material of bacteria and archaea is organized into various structures and set-ups, attesting that genome architecture is dynamic in t
academic.oup.com
January 27, 2026 at 8:41 PM
Genomic rearrangements occur at varying rates across Archaea and Bacteria, but are typically enriched near the ori region. While gene synteny is widely conserved, some species show highly flexible genomic layouts. #Microevo #evolution #genomics
academic.oup.com/gbe/advance-...
academic.oup.com/gbe/advance-...
A nice study showing that community conservatism is common in microbial communities across different environments
#microecoevo #microbes
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#microecoevo #microbes
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Community conservatism is widespread across microbial phyla and environments - Nature Ecology & Evolution
This study reveals that closely related microorganisms tend to inhabit similar communities across all major environments and phyla. The authors term this phenomenon ‘community conservatism’, extending...
www.nature.com
January 25, 2026 at 3:56 PM
A nice study showing that community conservatism is common in microbial communities across different environments
#microecoevo #microbes
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#microecoevo #microbes
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Bacteriophages mobilize bacterial defense systems via lateral transduction
#phage #virus #microecoevo
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#phage #virus #microecoevo
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Bacteriophages mobilize bacterial defense systems via lateral transduction
Bacteriophages and PICIs spread bacterial defenses via lateral transduction, shaping microbial immunity and pathogen evolution.
www.science.org
January 25, 2026 at 3:55 PM
Bacteriophages mobilize bacterial defense systems via lateral transduction
#phage #virus #microecoevo
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#phage #virus #microecoevo
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Do you have experience in bioinformatics and are looking for a new challenge? To immerse yourself in a group and institute doing highly diverse research?
Then come and join our group !
Then come and join our group !
🚨We are hiring a Bioinformatician who will be embedded in our lab and work with members of the NCCR Microbiomes at ETH Zurich, as well as the Institute of Microbiology.🚨
nccr-microbiomes.ch
jobs.ethz.ch/job/view/JOP...
nccr-microbiomes.ch
jobs.ethz.ch/job/view/JOP...
Bioinformatician in Microbiome Research
jobs.ethz.ch
January 23, 2026 at 6:18 PM
Do you have experience in bioinformatics and are looking for a new challenge? To immerse yourself in a group and institute doing highly diverse research?
Then come and join our group !
Then come and join our group !
Reposted by Taylor priest
Our latest. Led by the very talented @ahoiching.bsky.social
Cell cycle dysregulation of globally important SAR11 bacteria resulting from environmental perturbation www.nature.com/articles/s41... #jcampubs 🌊
Cell cycle dysregulation of globally important SAR11 bacteria resulting from environmental perturbation www.nature.com/articles/s41... #jcampubs 🌊
Cell cycle dysregulation of globally important SAR11 bacteria resulting from environmental perturbation - Nature Microbiology
Without key cell cycle control genes, SAR11 cells experience aneuploidy and growth inhibition when exposed to changes in nutrients, carbon sources or temperature stress, a vulnerability that may repre...
www.nature.com
January 22, 2026 at 2:24 PM
Our latest. Led by the very talented @ahoiching.bsky.social
Cell cycle dysregulation of globally important SAR11 bacteria resulting from environmental perturbation www.nature.com/articles/s41... #jcampubs 🌊
Cell cycle dysregulation of globally important SAR11 bacteria resulting from environmental perturbation www.nature.com/articles/s41... #jcampubs 🌊
Subsurface oxygen maxima in oligotrophic oceans are catalyzed by the viral shunt - www.nature.com/articles/s41...
January 13, 2026 at 8:40 PM
Subsurface oxygen maxima in oligotrophic oceans are catalyzed by the viral shunt - www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Taylor priest
Identifying Fundamental Gaps in Functional Metagenomics: A Step Towards Unlocking Microbiome Research Potential www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... #jcampubs
January 13, 2026 at 2:29 PM
Identifying Fundamental Gaps in Functional Metagenomics: A Step Towards Unlocking Microbiome Research Potential www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... #jcampubs
Reposted by Taylor priest
microntology: a lightweight, data-driven controlled vocabulary to describe Earth's microbial habitats https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.12.698811v1
January 13, 2026 at 4:46 AM
microntology: a lightweight, data-driven controlled vocabulary to describe Earth's microbial habitats https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.12.698811v1
Microbes and DOM molecules both exhibit strong seasonality, with the largest majority of recurrent signals occuring in summer
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Seasonal patterns of DOM molecules are linked to microbial functions in the oligotrophic ocean | mSystems
Marine dissolved organic matter (DOM) is a major carbon reservoir that acts as a critical
control on the Earth’s climate. DOM dynamics are largely regulated by a complex web
of chemical-microbial inte...
journals.asm.org
January 12, 2026 at 6:26 AM
Microbes and DOM molecules both exhibit strong seasonality, with the largest majority of recurrent signals occuring in summer
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Reposted by Taylor priest
Don’t forget that the 1961 triplet code paper only became elegant when it was written! The experiments were all a bit of a mess... I suspect the same was true of the other classic papers!
A breakthrough from 60 years ago: “General nature of the genetic code for proteins” (1961)
In 1961, Francis Crick and Sydney Brenner, together with two Cambridge colleagues, published an article in Nature that used simple genetic experiments to demonstrate that the genetic code was almost ...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
January 11, 2026 at 3:47 PM
Don’t forget that the 1961 triplet code paper only became elegant when it was written! The experiments were all a bit of a mess... I suspect the same was true of the other classic papers!
Urea-driven nitrification contributes up to 40% of the total N2O produced through nitrification processes in the oligotrophic oceans
academic.oup.com/ismej/articl...
academic.oup.com/ismej/articl...
Urea-driven nitrification contributes to N2O production in the oligotrophic euphotic ocean
Abstract. Urea is an important alternative nitrogen source to ammonium for nitrification in oligotrophic oceans, yet its role in substrate-driven nitrous o
academic.oup.com
January 12, 2026 at 6:01 AM
Urea-driven nitrification contributes up to 40% of the total N2O produced through nitrification processes in the oligotrophic oceans
academic.oup.com/ismej/articl...
academic.oup.com/ismej/articl...
Reposted by Taylor priest
The microbial keystone concept is a very cool topic in microbiome ecology. This review summarises mechanisms, prediction methods and implications, with "keystoneness" being highly context/time dependent + new methods approaches suggested. Very nice read!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
January 11, 2026 at 4:25 PM
The microbial keystone concept is a very cool topic in microbiome ecology. This review summarises mechanisms, prediction methods and implications, with "keystoneness" being highly context/time dependent + new methods approaches suggested. Very nice read!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Two articles published in concert in Nature Microbiology indicate that lytic phages may be prevalent and persistent in isolated microbes - www.nature.com/articles/s41... & www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Client Challenge
www.nature.com
January 8, 2026 at 7:03 PM
Two articles published in concert in Nature Microbiology indicate that lytic phages may be prevalent and persistent in isolated microbes - www.nature.com/articles/s41... & www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Three weeks of relaxing, travelling to see family and friends, eating lots and not opening my laptop...feeling refreshed and excited for the year ahead 😁
January 5, 2026 at 6:22 AM
Three weeks of relaxing, travelling to see family and friends, eating lots and not opening my laptop...feeling refreshed and excited for the year ahead 😁
Reposted by Taylor priest
Feeling grateful to end this year by contributing to a commentary on bioengineering the coral holobiont. This is my first manuscript as a professor and a dream come true to team up with leaders in coral probiotics, Raquel Peixoto and @reefgenomics.bsky.social. 🪸🧪🧬🦠
www.cell.com/one-earth/ab...
www.cell.com/one-earth/ab...
Bioengineering the coral holobiont: Evidence, hurdles, and pathways for rebuilding reefs
At the frontline of climate impacts, coral reef ecosystems now increasingly depend
on active intervention for their functional survival. Bioengineering the coral holobiont,
comprising the host, algal ...
www.cell.com
December 20, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Feeling grateful to end this year by contributing to a commentary on bioengineering the coral holobiont. This is my first manuscript as a professor and a dream come true to team up with leaders in coral probiotics, Raquel Peixoto and @reefgenomics.bsky.social. 🪸🧪🧬🦠
www.cell.com/one-earth/ab...
www.cell.com/one-earth/ab...
#Phage resistance in a marine bacterium through surface protein and intracellular mutations that impact the cell's stickiness and increases sinking rate - potential wider impact on carbon cycling - www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Phage resistance mutations in a marine bacterium impact biogeochemically relevant cellular processes - Nature Microbiology
Evading infection in Cellulophaga baltica comes with cellular changes that alter carbon cycling, metabolite secretion and sedimentation rates.
www.nature.com
December 21, 2025 at 8:09 PM
#Phage resistance in a marine bacterium through surface protein and intracellular mutations that impact the cell's stickiness and increases sinking rate - potential wider impact on carbon cycling - www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Isolation of 81 new strains combined with a comprehensive genomic and ecological analysis revealed 29 monophyletic ecotypes (genera) within the Pelagibacterales www.nature.com/articles/s41...
New SAR11 isolate genomes and global marine metagenomes resolve ecologically relevant units within the Pelagibacterales - Nature Communications
Evolutionary and ecological insights into marine SAR11 bacteria require whole genome data. Here, the authors expand the number of complete SAR11 isolate genomes by 81 new strains from the tropical Pac...
www.nature.com
December 16, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Isolation of 81 new strains combined with a comprehensive genomic and ecological analysis revealed 29 monophyletic ecotypes (genera) within the Pelagibacterales www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Taylor priest
Conjugative plasmids help spread AMR genes. @andrewmatthews.bsky.social @sonjalehtinen.bsky.social & @tatianadimitriu.bsky.social show that #AMR loss in evolving populations involves streamlined #plasmids that gain a transmission advantage by deleting AMR genes @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/48NM0BL
December 15, 2025 at 8:55 AM
Conjugative plasmids help spread AMR genes. @andrewmatthews.bsky.social @sonjalehtinen.bsky.social & @tatianadimitriu.bsky.social show that #AMR loss in evolving populations involves streamlined #plasmids that gain a transmission advantage by deleting AMR genes @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/48NM0BL
Ecogenomics and functional biogeography of the Roseobacter group in the global oceans
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Ecogenomics and functional biogeography of the Roseobacter group in the global oceans based on 653 MAGs and SAGs - Microbiome
Background The Roseobacter group is a major component of prokaryotic communities in the global oceans. Information on this group is based predominantly on isolates and their genomic features and on th...
link.springer.com
December 15, 2025 at 9:58 AM
Ecogenomics and functional biogeography of the Roseobacter group in the global oceans
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Taylor priest
🧬🦠🚨 Another new paper alert, this time led by @maureenbug.bsky.social ! In collaboration with the Emerson lab and
@titus.idyll.org lab (@taylorreiter.bsky.social), both at UC Davis. Asking the question: what are we missing in short-read metagenome assembly, and why ?
doi.org/10.1093/narg...
@titus.idyll.org lab (@taylorreiter.bsky.social), both at UC Davis. Asking the question: what are we missing in short-read metagenome assembly, and why ?
doi.org/10.1093/narg...
Comparison of short-read and long-read metagenome assemblies in a natural soil community highlights systematic bias in recovery of high-diversity populations
Abstract. Comparisons of long-read and short-read (meta)genome assemblies typically show that short-read sequence assemblies are less error-prone, but stru
doi.org
December 9, 2025 at 3:25 AM
🧬🦠🚨 Another new paper alert, this time led by @maureenbug.bsky.social ! In collaboration with the Emerson lab and
@titus.idyll.org lab (@taylorreiter.bsky.social), both at UC Davis. Asking the question: what are we missing in short-read metagenome assembly, and why ?
doi.org/10.1093/narg...
@titus.idyll.org lab (@taylorreiter.bsky.social), both at UC Davis. Asking the question: what are we missing in short-read metagenome assembly, and why ?
doi.org/10.1093/narg...
Reposted by Taylor priest
Landmark study in @Nature! 🇩🇰 The "Microflora Danica" project has created the first-ever national microbiome atlas. Led by Aalborg University, @fwf-at.bsky.social CoE Microplanet's Director @michiwagner4.bsky.social, and @daanspeth.bsky.social, Andrew Giguere @cemess.bsky.social analyzed nitrifiers.
December 4, 2025 at 10:17 AM
Landmark study in @Nature! 🇩🇰 The "Microflora Danica" project has created the first-ever national microbiome atlas. Led by Aalborg University, @fwf-at.bsky.social CoE Microplanet's Director @michiwagner4.bsky.social, and @daanspeth.bsky.social, Andrew Giguere @cemess.bsky.social analyzed nitrifiers.
Reposted by Taylor priest
#NatMicroPicks
A new protist with remnants of ancient mitochondrial DNA 🧬🦠
The eukaryotic tree of life grows with the addition Solarion arienae - a unique and peculiar protist species
#MicroSky
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A new protist with remnants of ancient mitochondrial DNA 🧬🦠
The eukaryotic tree of life grows with the addition Solarion arienae - a unique and peculiar protist species
#MicroSky
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Rare microbial relict sheds light on an ancient eukaryotic supergroup - Nature
The discovery of an unusual protist named Solarion arienae, which has a mitochondrial genome with some intriguing features, provides insight into the early radiation of eukaryotic groups.
www.nature.com
November 28, 2025 at 1:49 PM
#NatMicroPicks
A new protist with remnants of ancient mitochondrial DNA 🧬🦠
The eukaryotic tree of life grows with the addition Solarion arienae - a unique and peculiar protist species
#MicroSky
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A new protist with remnants of ancient mitochondrial DNA 🧬🦠
The eukaryotic tree of life grows with the addition Solarion arienae - a unique and peculiar protist species
#MicroSky
www.nature.com/articles/s41...