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Megan Bergkessel

@slowgoing.bsky.social
277 followers 364 following 22 posts

Microbiologist at the University of Dundee studying bacterial life "in the slow lane", under stressful conditions that limit growth.

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Reposted by Megan Bergkessel
James Connolly @ruamicro.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Are you a motivated researcher interested in bacteria-host interactions? We have postdoc position available in my lab to join our Wellcome Trust funded collaborative team. We will study the role and regulation of the enigmatic sphingolipids in E. coli. Please share. www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DSX115/r...
jobs.ac.uk
Research Assistant/ Associate in Bacteria-Host Interactions at Newcastle University
Explore an exciting academic career as a Research Assistant/ Associate in Bacteria-Host Interactions. Don't miss out on other academic jobs. Click to apply and explore more opportunities.
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Megan Bergkessel @slowgoing.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Congrats on this interesting work!
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Claudia Martinho @cssmartinho.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Postdoc opportunity in my group! Please share! 🔁 Investigate the epigenetic mechanisms underlying stress memory in plants 🧬🌱 Looking for someone excited about computational genomics + plant molecular biology. 📍 Dundee, Scotland | 3 years 📅 Apply by 21 Sept www.dundee.ac.uk/work-for-us/...
dundee.ac.uk
Postdoctoral Research Assistant - UOD2369
Closing date: Monday 21 September 2026, 23:59
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George O'Toole (he/him/his) @geiselbiofilm.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
New in JB: Authors: Meyer, Bergkessel and DePas link antibiotic resistance the formation of biofilms by Mycobacterium smegmatis. journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/... @asm.org #JBacteriol @microsky.bsky.social
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Pseudomonas Genome Database @pseudomonas.com · 05/08/2026
Pseudomonas.com has been dealing with heavy AI bot activity, which has negatively impacted site uptime and speed in serving your requests. This is a common problem for many sites nowadays. We apologize for the inconvenience to researchers while we address these issues.
pseudomonas.com
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James Connolly @ruamicro.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Latest research from the lab out now. We examined the role and expression of fimbriae during UPEC bloodstream infection. A real team effort and brilliant collaboration with Mark Schembri’s lab in Brisbane. Thanks to the MRC and BBSRC for supporting our research @ukri.org
journals.plos.org
Yad fimbriae are triggered by host cues and enhance extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli tissue colonisation during bloodstream infection
Author summary Extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) colonise the human gut without causing disease but can disseminate to the urinary tract and bloodstream. Understanding the mechanisms...
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Reposted by Megan Bergkessel
The EMBO Journal @embojournal.org · 29/05/2026
Tvp complexes support formation of the VgrG-PAAR spike during Type VI secretion system assembly Sarah Coulthurst and colleagues link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com
Tvp complexes support formation of the VgrG-PAAR spike during Type VI secretion system assembly - The EMBO Journal
Type VI secretion systems (T6SSs) are nanomachineries used by bacteria to inject toxic effectors into neighbouring cells during interbacterial competition or infection. Distinct paralogues of the stru...
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Lis Lowe @lislowe.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
We have a PhD studentship open! (UK only sadly) but if you are or know a student keen to work on some *really* weird mycobacterial enzymes then get in touch! #glycotime Advert below www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
findaphd.com
Uncovering a new class of toxins in pathogenic mycobacteria at Newcastle University on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Uncovering a new class of toxins in pathogenic mycobacteria at Newcastle University, listed on FindAPhD.com
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James Connolly @ruamicro.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Want to research the basis of how drug resistant bacteria interact with human immune cells? Fully funded 4-year PhD position available (UK home students). Come and join our amazing interdisciplinary team at the intersection of microbiology, immunity, metabolism and the clinic! Please spread the word
findaphd.com
Hiding in plain sight: How a multi-drug resistant pathogen evades detection and killing by human neutrophils at Newcastle University on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Hiding in plain sight: How a multi-drug resistant pathogen evades detection and killing by human neutrophils at Newcastle University, listed on FindAPhD.com
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Claudia Martinho @cssmartinho.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
🌱 We’re excited to launch the BBSRC-funded UK Plant Epigenetics Network (UK-PEN) with our inaugural workshop (free!): “Plant Epigenetics: From Model to Crop Species” 📅 11–12 June 2026 📍 Uni of Dundee (hybrid) We look forward to welcoming you! Feel free to repost to help us reach the community
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Hajk-Georg Drost @hajkdrost.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
How much protein diversity can Life on Earth actually generate? With DIAMOND DeepClust, we show how billions of proteins across the tree of life can be clustered at low-identity for downstream analytics tasks. 📚Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41... 💻Code: github.com/bbuchfink/di...
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Grainger Lab @graingerlab.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
Two post-doctoral positions open in our lab. We're looking for people with expertise in molecular microbiology and/or genome-scale tools. Initially 3 yrs, posts could be extended for upto 8 yrs. If you'd like to know more about us take a look at www.graingerlab.com www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DQY475/r...
jobs.ac.uk
Research Fellow (Postdoctoral) at University of Birmingham
Explore an exciting academic career as a Research Fellow (Postdoctoral). Don't miss out on other academic jobs. Click to apply and explore more opportunities.
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Megan Bergkessel @slowgoing.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
Now out in its final form, our investigation of how Pseudomonas aeruginosa manages resources to permit ongoing adaptations to environment during starvation: journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/... Congrats to first author @findunmun1.bsky.social, and co-authors Claudia Hemsley and Elize Ambulte.
journals.asm.org
Pseudomonas aeruginosa dynamically prioritizes motility and resource recycling during prolonged starvation | mSystems
Molecular microbiology has traditionally focused on exponential growth in model organisms as the preferred context in which to study bacterial physiology, especially the regulation of new protein synt...
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Will Smith @willpjsmith.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
Here’s the latest preprint from my work on evolved resistance to Type VI Secretion system (T6SS) weaponry, funded by a @wellcometrust.bsky.social Sir Henry Wellcome Fellowship. So happy to see this out! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
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bioRxiv Microbiology @biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
Tvp complexes support formation of the VgrG-PAAR spike during Type VI secretion system assembly www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20…
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Conlon Lab @bconlon.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
Congratulations to MD-PhD student, Amanda Velez and all co-authors on our new PNAS paper describing how the innate immune protein calprotectin incapacitates autolysins, inducing tolerance to B-lactam antibiotics. A fun collaboration with Thomas Kehl-Fie. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
pnas.org
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
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Vaughn Cooper @vscooper.micropopbio.org · 06/01/2026
Congratulations to Sean Yu-Hao Wang, Will DePas, @catarmbruster.bsky.social and colleagues on their use of experimental evolution to identify regulators of Mycobacterium abscessus biofilm production! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
Experimental evolution in the cystic fibrosis chemical environment reveals early TCA cycle flux as a central regulator of Mycobacterium abscessus biofilm formation
Mycobacterium abscessus (MAB) is an emerging opportunistic pathogen that can cause severe, recalcitrant pulmonary infections in susceptible groups, in…
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Ákos T Kovács @evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
Regulatory Rewiring Drives Intraspecies Competition in Bacillus subtilis bioRxiv from @bacteriacities.bsky.social #competition #rapP #comP www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
biorxiv.org
Regulatory Rewiring Drives Intraspecies Competition in Bacillus subtilis
Intraspecies interactions shapes microbial community structure and evolution, yet the mechanisms determining competitive outcomes among closely related strains remain unclear. The soil bacterium Bacil...
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Brian Stevenson Ph.D. spirochete lab @bstevensonlab.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
Identification of Previously Unknown DNA-Binding Proteins Using DNA Affinity/Pull-Down Methods Followed by Mass Spectrometry Jutras, Babb, Jusufovic, Krusenstjerna, Saylor, Verma, and Stevenson Current Protocols 2025, 5:e70264 doi: 10.1002/cpz1.70264 #MicroSky
Schematic overview of the process of DNA-affinity / pull down identification of unknown nucleic acid-binding proteins
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Alexander Harms @aharms485.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
🚨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
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bioRxiv Microbiology @biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
An Rhs effector uses distinct target cell functions to intoxicate bacterial and fungal competitors www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/202…
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Tung Le @tunglejic.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
Independent research fellowships leading to tenured positions at the John Innes Centre. Repost = nice. Thank you very much!!!
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Megan Bergkessel @slowgoing.bsky.social · 29/09/2025
New preprint from the lab! @findunmun1.bsky.social @chemsley.bsky.social We looked at new protein synthesis and genetic fitness during starvation in P. aeruginosa. Resources are dynamically redistributed to support ongoing activity, even over days of total starvation: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
biorxiv.org
Analyses of protein expression and genetic fitness determinants reveal dynamic pathways active in starved Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Heterotrophic bacteria rapidly deplete essential macronutrients during growth and must navigate subsequent periods of growth arrest imposed by starvation. Nutrient limitations can be dynamic in nature...
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STCmicrobeblog @stcmicrobeblog.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
yes, the MMBs studied by george schaible and roland hatzenpichler are fascinating 𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 bacteria 🤩 STC had mentioned them first in 2007 > schaechter.asmblog.org/schaechter/2... and recently in > schaechter.asmblog.org/schaechter/2... #MicroSky
A time series of an MMB aggregates undergoing di­vision.
source: https://schaechter.asmblog.org/schaechter/2007/02/could_we_have_s.html
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Dame lab at Leiden University @damelab.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
In @molecularmicro.bsky.social: two special issues on Prokaryotic Chromosome Organization. Many excellent contributions, including a vision article: 'Future directions of the Prokaryotic Chromosome Field', outcome of BioPhyChrom 2023 @biophychrom.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Future Directions of the Prokaryotic Chromosome Field
In September 2023, the Biology and Physics of Prokaryotic Chromosomes meeting ran at the Lorentz Center in Leiden, The Netherlands. As part of the workshop, those in attendance developed a series of ....
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Cameron Thrash @jcamthrash.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
Polyphosphate: The “Dark Matter” of Bacterial Chromatin Structure onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #jcampubs
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Polyphosphate: The “Dark Matter” of Bacterial Chromatin Structure
Polyphosphate condensates and their contributions to nucleoid structure. Polyphosphate condensates form in the ribosome-depleted nucleoid region of bacterial cells, particularly under stress (in this...
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Jay Hinton @jayhinton.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour...
The taxonomy & lifestyle of Salmonella Typhimurium
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Megan Bergkessel @slowgoing.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
Congrats to Findlay and many thanks to examiners Dan Neill and Martin Welch for their work on a successful viva today! Findlay has worked so hard and accomplished so much while blazing the trail as the first PhD student in the lab :)
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Rolf Kümmerli @rkmicrobes.bsky.social · 09/11/2023
Together with @frimanscience.bsky.social and our Chinese colleagues, we have worked out how to predict (i) siderophore molecular structures www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... and (ii) siderophore interaction networks in communities www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... from sequence data!
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