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Gavin Douglas

@gmdouglas.bsky.social
438 followers 215 following 36 posts

Bacterial ecology and evolution | Data analysis | Science publishing Assistant Prof in Biology at University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, Canada douglaslab.ca

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Reposted by Gavin Douglas
PCI Genomics @genomics.peercommunityin.org · 10/09/2026
"Identifying proteins with similar genomic context across diverse prokaryotes using NetSyn", a new PCI Genomics recommendation from Makena Tremblay and @gmdouglas.bsky.social: doi.org/10.24072/pci... Based on this preprint from Mark Stam and colleagues: doi.org/10.1101/2023...
doi.org
Identifying proteins with similar genomic context across diverse...
Background : The growing availability of large prokaryotic genomic datasets presents an opportunity to discover new metabolic pathways and enzymatic reactions useful for industrial or synthetic…
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Reposted by Gavin Douglas
Publish-Review-Curate (PRC) Alliance @prcalliance.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
📢Save the date for the PRC Alliance launch! The PRC Alliance, an initiative that brings together organizations working to accelerate the adoption of the Publish, Review, Curate (PRC) model, will officially launch on Oct 28th! Learn more and register: publish-review-curate.org/2026/09/07/l...
publish-review-curate.org
Launch Event – Publish, Review, Curate (PRC): Shaping the future of scholarly publishing – Registration now open!
Join us for an engaging discussion about one of the most exciting new developments in scholarly publishing in decades! The scholarly publishing system is under intense pressure. Researchers face in…
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Reposted by Gavin Douglas
Will Ratcliff @wcratcliff.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Four billion years ago, Earth was a sterile rock. Today it is teeming with life, from simple microbes to extraordinarily complex societies that span the globe. How does that happen? I'm writing a book about the answer: Life Unbounded, from Quanta Books. www.quantabooks.org/books/life-u...
quantabooks.org
Life Unbounded
In LIFE UNBOUNDED, pioneering evolutionary biologist William C. Ratcliff reveals that every great leap in life’s complexity, from the first cells to human culture, was driven by the same underlying pr...
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Megan Frederickson @mfrederickson.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Come work with me! We are hiring a Research Program & Operations Coordinator to administer a new CREATE training program and support other EEB initiatives at U of T. Please circulate to great people in Toronto looking for an academic admin position: jobs.utoronto.ca/job/Toronto-...
jobs.utoronto.ca
Research Program & Operations Coordinator
Research Program & Operations Coordinator
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Gavin Douglas @gmdouglas.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Scott Gilbert made a useful critique of our preprint, which we have replied to: doi.org/10.32942/X2W...
doi.org
The holobiont is not a useful model for most host-microbiome interactions
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Reposted by Gavin Douglas
Arvid Ågren @arvidagren.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Much has been written about The Selfish Gene, and few books have been both as influential and as persistently contested. To commemorate its 50th anniversary, here are some brief thoughts in the latest issue of @science.org. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
A provocative view of evolution turns 50
The Selfish Gene continues to challenge readers half a century later
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Fiona J Whelan @whelanfj.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
A reminder that this position closes in a few days time!
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Gavin Douglas @gmdouglas.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
"The holobiont is not a useful model for most host-microbiome interactions". A new preprint (a perspective piece) from myself and Andrew Inkpen: doi.org/10.32942/X2W.... Feedback welcome!
doi.org
The holobiont is not a useful model for most host-microbiome interactions
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Reposted by Gavin Douglas
Martin Polz @polzlab.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Very excited to share our new paper out in Nature. Congrats to Xiaoqian (Annie) Yu and all the coauthors. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Genome-wide sweeps create ecological units in the human gut microbiome - Nature
Genome-wide selective sweeps commonly occur in the human gut microbiome and can spread across the world within decades to produce epidemic-like population structures.
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Fiona J Whelan @whelanfj.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
📣 The Whelan lab is hiring a bioinformatics postdoc 📣 Together with @fabricejpierre.bsky.social, we are offering a 1-year bioinformatic PDRA position in comparative genomics of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. To find out more please visit whelanlab.co.uk/contact/. Applications close 3 April 2026!
jobs.manchester.ac.uk
Research Associate in Microbial Genomics:Manchester
This postdoctoral research position is part of a Cystic Fibrosis Canada Early Career Investigator Award funded for 3-years led by Dr. Fabrice Jean-Pierre and Dr. Fiona Whelan. The aim of this project is to identify the genetic changes that arise in the Pseudomonas aeruginosa genome following perturbations – such as antibiotic treatment – in an in vitro system. The PDRA will use a large dataset of P. aeruginosa genomes and experimental metadata to predict key mutationsto the organism.
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Eduardo Rocha @epcrocha.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
Horizontal gene transfer is often depicted as a process distributing pre-existing functions to novel genetic backgrounds. Yet HGT can also increase the rate of functional innovation after transfer. Here's a brief review on the topic: ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v... #evosky #microsky
ecoevorxiv.org
From Trading Genes to Crafting New Tricks: How Horizontal Gene Transfer Potentiates the Emergence of Novel Functions
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John Lees @johnlees.bacpop.org · 17/03/2026
You can now view a tree of 2,399,238 bacterial genomes we made from AllTheBacteria (on the great Taxonium): taxonium.org/atb That's a big tree! (unless you're used to SC2 trees)
taxonium.org
Taxonium
Interactive exploration of large phylogenetic trees
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Gavin Douglas @gmdouglas.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
We benchmarked ~30 existing measures in codon substitution models, and built a consensus-based measure that performs best. We hope this work sparks renewed interest in exploring amino acid similarity in this context.
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Gavin Douglas @gmdouglas.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
New preprint where @lbobay.bsky.social and I were motivated by the fact that non-synonymous substitutions are commonly analyzed in molecular evolution studies, but the similarity of the amino acids being substituted is an understudied area. doi.org/10.64898/202...
doi.org
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Jesse Shapiro @bjesseshapiro.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Now out & nicely formatted in @isme-microbes.bsky.social A big analysis of ocean genomes & metagenomes co-led by former postdocs, now PIs, @gmdouglas.bsky.social & @cyanophage.bsky.social along with co-PIs @lbobay.bsky.social & Samuel Chaffron. A few highlights... 🧵 (1/n) doi.org/10.1093/isme...
doi.org
Co-occurrence is associated with horizontal gene transfer across marine bacteria independent of phylogeny
Abstract. Understanding the drivers and consequences of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is a key goal of microbial evolution research. Although co-occurring
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Iker Irisarri @ikeririsarri.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
Join us for the first PCI Genomics Recommenders' Meeting happening on Feb 9th and 11th!
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Frédérique Le Roux @fredoleroux.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
Seeking expressions of interest from researchers abroad for a Canada Impact+ Research Chair ($1M/year × 8 + up to $6M CFI) in AI-enabled antibiotic discovery and/or AMR, phage & phage-based derivatives. Email me a short vision, CV, and 3–5 key papers. Deadline: March 10, 2026 (Intake 2: June 15).
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Michael Baym @baym.lol · 20/11/2025
Hot off the press! Our latest paper led by @fernpizza.bsky.social, understanding how plasmids evolve inside cells. These small, self-replicating DNA circles live inside bacteria and carry antibiotic resistance genes, but also compete with one another to replicate. 1/ www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Intracellular competition shapes plasmid population dynamics
From populations of multicellular organisms to selfish genetic elements, conflicts between levels of biological organization are central to evolution. Plasmids are extrachromosomal, self-replicating g...
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Louis-Marie Bobay @lbobay.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
Our latest paper is out with @adiop.bsky.social and @gmdouglas.bsky.social. We analyzed the extent of homologous recombination between bacterial species (introgression) and how it affects species borders (it can vary a lot depending on the approach used to classify species!). rdcu.be/eQAMf
rdcu.be
Introgression impacts the evolution of bacteria, but species borders are rarely fuzzy
Nature Communications - It is commonly thought that bacterial species borders tend to be fuzzy, due to frequent exchange of DNA. Here, Diop et al. quantify the patterns of gene flow between core...
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Claus Wilke @clauswilke.com · 13/11/2025
My department at UT Austin is looking to hire an Assistant Professor in Evolutionary Biology, broadly defined. Feel free to reach out to me with any questions you may have. apply.interfolio.com/177547
apply.interfolio.com
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
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Mark Ziemann 🇺🇦🌻🦩 @mdziemann.genomic.social.ap.brid.gy · 12/11/2025
New diamond open access journal Replication Research welcomes reports of replication of previous works. #AcademicChatter www.uni-muenster.de/Ejournals/index…
uni-muenster.de
Replication Research
Replication Research is a diamond open-access and researcher-led journal that publishes reproductions, replications, and conceptual articles on repetitive research
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ybrandvain.bsky.social @ybrandvain.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
Proud of the latest edition of my free intro biostats book. gitrepo: github.com/ybrandvain/b... book: ybrandvain.github.io/biostats/ Not complete but at a good point to take a break, and I think its quite usable dm me with comments , ideas etc
ybrandvain.github.io
Applied Biostatistics
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Stephen Heard @stephenbheard.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
Too many authors use a scientific paper's Discussion to thoroughly shred their own work. That, and two more common mistakes in writing Discussions:
scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com
What your Discussion section isn’t
Today, the next instalment in a short series inspired by bad papers I’ve read (some of them, I have to admit, my own). I’ve let myself rant about what a Methods sections shouldn’t be, and what a Re…
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Jesse Shapiro @bjesseshapiro.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
I'm super bummed to be missing #ESEB2025 @eseb2025.bsky.social due to a cancelled flight! Here's a quick overview of my talk "Gene- and genome-focused perspectives on microbial pangenomes" slated to be part of The Evolution of Microbial Pangenomes -- which I recommend you attend tomorrow (Fri) ! 1/n
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Sean Gibbons 🦠💩 @gibbological.bsky.social · 12/07/2025
In case you missed it, check out my latest #substack on life, entropy, and the arrow of time. Trying to get a bit more poetic with this one. If this isn't your thing, stay tuned next week, for another prose post. gibbological.substack.com/p/on-life-en...
gibbological.substack.com
On life, entropy, and the heat death of the universe
a poem
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Gavin Douglas @gmdouglas.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
Haha, thanks!
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Gavin Douglas @gmdouglas.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
This could be your view!
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Gavin Douglas @gmdouglas.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
Obligatory new job swag and selfie. Excited to start as an Assistant Professor at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, Canada! Come work with me! douglaslab.ca
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Reposted by Gavin Douglas
PCI Genomics @genomics.peercommunityin.org · 05/06/2025
Lopezguerra & Douglas recommend the high-quality Xylocopa violacea reference genome by Nash et al., 2024, Heredity, the first annotated pseudo-chromosomal assembly for any Xylocopa bee! 🐝 A crucial step for pollinator research, conservation, and even cancer therapy studies #ERGA tinyurl.com/vwknzu2b
tinyurl.com
A high-quality genome assembly for carpenter bees
We present a reference genome assembly from an individual male Violet Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa violacea, Linnaeus 1758). The assembly is 1.02 gigabases in span. 48% of the assembly is scaffolded into…
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Reposted by Gavin Douglas
PCI Genomics @genomics.peercommunityin.org · 05/06/2025
At PCI Genomics, we are pleased to have recommended all ERGA manuscripts and publications to date, helping to bring together this vital body of work at the heart of European biodiversity genomics. 🔗 genomics.peercommunityin.org #ERGA #Genomics #Biodiversity #PCIGenomics #OpenScience
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Nancy Moran @nancy-moran.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
An update on open postdoc positions, in my group and the adjacent group of Howard Ochman, here at UT-Austin. #SymbioSky Mine: insect-bacterial symbiosis with emphasis on intracellular endosymbionts and molecular mechanisms. web.biosci.utexas.edu/moran/contac...
web.biosci.utexas.edu
Nancy Moran Contact
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Nancy Moran @nancy-moran.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
Howard's: evolution of microbial genes, genomes and communities. Can be experimental or computational. If interested, contact Howard Ochman, howard.ochman@austin.utexas.edu Homepage: web.biosci.utexas.edu/ochman/index...
web.biosci.utexas.edu
Ochman Lab: HOME
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Gert Wörheide @gwoerhe.eurosky.social · 22/05/2025
We just published our first paper in the Peer Community Journal - diamond open access, no APCs! Awesome experience, with less than a week from submission after receommendation by #pcigenomics. Highly recommended! #molpalmuc @lmumuenchen.bsky.social @peercommunityin.bsky.social
peercommunityjournal.org
Genomic changes are varied across congeneric species pairs of animals
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Jesse Shapiro @bjesseshapiro.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
Come join us at @mcgill.ca as an assistant professor in virus-host interactions! Please share widely. mcgill.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/McGill...
mcgill.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com
Assistant Professor (Research), Department of Microbiology & Immunology, (C2-240724)
Please refer to the How to Apply for a Job (for External Candidates) job aid for instructions on how to apply. If you are an active McGill employee (ie: currently in an active contract or position at ...
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Gavin Douglas @gmdouglas.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
Please let us know if you have any questions or comments! This was a collaboration with several co-authors, including @cyanophage.bsky.social, @lbobay.bsky.social, @bjesseshapiro.bsky.social, Samuel Chaffron, and others!
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Gavin Douglas @gmdouglas.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
Our work complements a recent analysis focused on 16S data: doi.org/10.1038/s415...
doi.org
A global survey of prokaryotic genomes reveals the eco-evolutionary pressures driving horizontal gene transfer - Nature Ecology & Evolution
The authors analyse 8,790 prokaryotic pangenomes to identify the ecological variables associated with recent versus old horizontal gene transfer events, finding that gene transfers are more common amo...
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Gavin Douglas @gmdouglas.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
By analyzing marine metagenome-assembled genomes, we identified widespread evidence for HGT across marine prokaryotes and found the association with co-occurrence remains robust after accounting for other factors!
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Gavin Douglas @gmdouglas.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
Co-occurring microbes have previously been found to undergo more HGT, but other factors could explain this observation (esp. phylo distance and similar env pressures).
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Gavin Douglas @gmdouglas.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
New preprint (and brief🧵)! “Co-occurrence drives horizontal gene transfer (HGT) among marine prokaryotes”. doi.org/10.1101/2025...
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Gavin Douglas @gmdouglas.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
Please let us know if you have any questions or comments! This was a collaboration with several co-authors: @cyanophage.bsky.social, @bjesseshapiro.bsky.social, Samuel Chaffron, @lbobay.bsky.social, and others!
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Gavin Douglas @gmdouglas.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
Our work complements a recent analysis focused on 16S data: doi.org/10.1038/s415...
doi.org
A global survey of prokaryotic genomes reveals the eco-evolutionary pressures driving horizontal gene transfer - Nature Ecology & Evolution
The authors analyse 8,790 prokaryotic pangenomes to identify the ecological variables associated with recent versus old horizontal gene transfer events, finding that gene transfers are more common amo...
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Gavin Douglas @gmdouglas.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
By analyzing marine metagenome-assembled genomes, we identified widespread evidence for HGT across marine prokaryotes and found the association with co-occurrence remains robust after accounting for other factors!
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Gavin Douglas @gmdouglas.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
Co-occurring microbes have previously been found to undergo more HGT, but other factors could explain this observation (esp. phylo distance and similar env pressures).
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Andrew Roger @andrewjroger.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
I'm pleased to introduce our new paper rooting the eukaryote Tree of Life (eToL) that resulted from a collaboration led by PhD student Kelsey Williamson and a large group of collaborators doi.org/10.1038/s415...htt
doi.org
A robustly rooted tree of eukaryotes reveals their excavate ancestry - Nature
The root of the eukaryote Tree of Life is estimated from a new, larger dataset of mitochondrial proteins including all known eukaryotic supergroups, showing it lies between two multi-supergroup assemb...
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Gavin Douglas @gmdouglas.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
Don't knock it until you've tried them!
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Richard Sever @richardsever.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
Big news: we are setting up a new non-profit organization to run bioRxiv and medRxiv. It's called openRxiv [no it's not a new preprint server; it's dedicated organization to oversee the servers] openrxiv.org 1/n
openrxiv.org
Homepage - openRxiv
openRxiv is an independent non-profit, the new organizational home for bioRxiv and medRxiv, enabling researchers to instantly share groundbreaking findings with the global scientific community.
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Gavin Douglas @gmdouglas.bsky.social · 02/03/2025
Hi there, I'm definitely open to that! Please reach out to me by email and I would be happy to discuss further.
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Louis-Marie Bobay @lbobay.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
I am a little late, but I am very happy to see this work published. Congrats to @ellistorrance.bsky.social for all the hard work on her last chapter! doi.org/10.1093/nar/...
doi.org
Homologous recombination shapes the architecture and evolution of bacterial genomes
Abstract. Homologous recombination is a key evolutionary force that varies considerably across bacterial species. However, how the landscape of homologous
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PCI Genomics @genomics.peercommunityin.org · 23/01/2025
📑 New PCI Genomics recommendation, by Nicolas Pollet: buff.ly/40lxBsq On the work of Sallé et al. (2024) Spatio-temporal diversity and genetic architecture of pyrantel resistance in Cylicocyclus nassatus, the most abundant horse parasite buff.ly/4jCCiqK
buff.ly
The genomic foundations of adaptation: evaluating the mountain h...
Fekete et al. (2024) generated a chromosome-level reference genome assembly for the mountain hare (Lepus timidus). This represents a significant advancement in genomic research for non-model…
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Gavin Douglas @gmdouglas.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
Other topics include developing tools for genome-linked microbiome data analysis and characterizing strain dynamics across environments. If interested, please reach out!
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