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Tiffany Taylor

@taylorlabgroup.bsky.social
2.1K followers 1.1K following 115 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. tiffanybtaylor.wordpress.com

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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
No worries!
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Zamin Iqbal @zaminiqbal.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
A chance to do a PhD on plasmid copy number with the excellent @wtmatlock.bsky.social , highly recommended! Combines genomics and experimental evolution with Tiff Taylor (whose bsky id I can't seem to find, apols) gw4biomed.ac.uk/turning-up-t...
gw4biomed.ac.uk
Turning up the volume: plasmid copy number and gene duplications as drivers of antimicrobial resistance evolution - GW4 BioMed MRC DTP
Project Code IIAR27Ba Matlock Project Type Wet lab Research Theme Infection, Immunity, and Antimicrobial Resistance Project Summary Download Summary Plasmids are important drivers of antimicrobial res...
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EvoNerdette @bethmorillo-hall.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Does evolution take millions of years?Nope! Our SSR article with @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social @adamrutherford.bsky.social introduces an experimental classroom approach that lets students observe evolutionary change in just 48 hours.Very cool! www.ase.org.uk/resources/sc... #Evolution#ScienceEducation
ase.org.uk
Issue 397
With climate change increasingly at the forefront of our thinking, June’s record-breaking temperatures across the UK and parts of Europe offered a lived example of the science that students are learni...
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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Thank you for having me! I had a fantastic day chatting to everyone there and hearing about the incredible science going on.
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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Gosh, I didn't know when recording this that it would become one of the last reflections on Desmond Morris's work during his lifetime. He passed away the day after it aired. The Naked Ape changed the conversation. What a legacy to leave. www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2...
telegraph.co.uk
Desmond Morris, zoologist behind bestselling studies of human behaviour from The Naked Ape to Manwatching
Calling man a ‘risen ape’ rather than a ‘fallen angel’, and declaring religion ‘a confidence trick’, he enraged Christians in the 1960s
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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Can a book be scientifically flawed & still transform how we see ourselves? The Naked Ape is proof that connecting with your audience matters, even when it ruffles academic feathers. Loved joining @ellaalshamahi.bsky.social & fellow guests to unpack this on BBC Radio 4 www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
bbc.co.uk
Archive on 4 - The Evolution of The Naked Ape - BBC Sounds
Ella Al-Shamahi revisits Desmond Morris’s controversial book The Naked Ape, six decades on
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Vaughn Cooper @vscooper.micropopbio.org · 30/03/2026
Now out in AEM @asm.org! 🎉🧪 *High school student-isolated mutants 👉🏻 novel genetic causes of biofilm-associated adaptations *We learn how diversity arises quickly and is maintained *EvolvingSTEM enables scalable research in classrooms & promotes scientific literacy journals.asm.org/eprint/FBU9M...
journals.asm.org
Genetic diversification of Pseudomonas fluorescens maintained by multi-niche selection within biofilms | Applied and Environmental Microbiology
Bacterial biofilms dominate microbial life; however, their evolutionary genetics remain incompletely understood. Extensive replication of biofilm selection experiments by secondary school students can...
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Rachel M. Wheatley @rachelmwheatley.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
🔊 Looking for a Research Assistant in Bacterial Evolution to join my lab 🦠 🥼Main duties: Research (AMR + microbiome) + lab assistance. ⏲️ Post duration: 30 months 🗓️ Closing date for applications: 20th April 2026 💰 Salary: ~£35k Details and how to apply: tinyurl.com/2a3v66y7 Please share!
lnkd.in
LinkedIn
This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn
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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
Was in Oxford today examining a D Phil viva and I couldn't help but take a peek at the new @biology.ox.ac.uk building. Looking a bit fancier than the old Tinbergen building!
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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
Happy #DarwinDay 🧬🌿! To celebrate, why not share a story about #evolution with a #FutureScientist? My book, Little Changes, is a fun bedtime story for young readers to explore how small changes shape the living world. littlestories.co.uk/little-chang... #ScienceForKids #STEMBooks
littlestories.co.uk
Little Changes
an introduction to evolution Click on the image below, to read the story. Meet the Rinkidinks. They live together in one large happy family, carefree and untroubled by the rest of the world. Until …
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Will Smith @willpjsmith.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
🚨 PhD Studentship available! 🚨 We're hiring a UK student to start in Oct '26 via the BBSRC CODEM scheme. Full studentship plus £10k top-up PA. Study the mysterious ZOMBIE PHAGES 🧟 🦠 with our fabulous @mermanchester.bsky.social and @uommib.bsky.social communities! www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
findaphd.com
(CODE M) Losing your head: how do bacterial viruses evolve into anti-competitor weapons? at The University of Manchester on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - (CODE M) Losing your head: how do bacterial viruses evolve into anti-competitor weapons? at The University of Manchester, listed on FindAPhD.com
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Guillaume Méric @gmeric.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
The 2026 EMBO course in Computational and Experimental Microbiomics held in @uniofbath.bsky.social has been announced! Come and join us for this course to study host-microbe interactions and co-evolution. ⏰ When: 6-18 July 26 🚨 Registration: 11 May 26 🔗 meetings.embo.org/event/26-mic...
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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
If you’re interested in: • gene regulatory network evolution • transcription factor promiscuity • predictability of adaptation • or why evolution so often repeats itself give the paper a read and let me know your thoughts.
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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
The same principles likely extend beyond bacteria. Across life, regulatory novelty often arises by redeploying existing network components - not by inventing new ones. Evolution tinkers with what is already there.
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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
These findings help reframe crosstalk. Rather than asking “why is crosstalk tolerated?” we should ask: how does crosstalk shape evolvability?
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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
Importantly, TF recruitment is not well predicted by: ✗ sequence similarity alone ✗ structural similarity alone ✗ DNA-binding domain similarity alone Context matters more than identity.
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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
In our system, evolution often proceeds in two steps: 1. mutations increase TF activity/expression 2. subsequent mutations refine binding towards new promoters And which TF is rewired is predictable based on the path of least resistance: the most mutationally accessible route.
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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
That third point is key. Low-level, non-cognate binding (aka crosstalk) provides the raw material for innovation. Selection doesn’t invent new interactions from scratch. It amplifies ones that already exist weakly.
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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
Why these TFs and not others? Our work shows three properties matter most: • ability to reach high activity • ability to reach high expression • some pre-existing low-level affinity for new targets
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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
Only a small subset of transcription factors can take over the lost function. And they do so in a clear hierarchy of accessibility: some regulators are evolutionary “first responders”.
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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
When the flagellar master regulator (FleQ) is deleted, bacteria repeatedly evolve motility back - but not randomly. They follow highly predictable evolutionary routes.
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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
Using experimental evolution in Pseudomonas fluorescens, we can watch regulatory rewiring happen in real time. Delete a master regulator → apply selection → observe evolutionary rescue.
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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
This “promiscuous” binding is usually viewed as noise and costly misregulation that cells have evolved to suppress (and that is true for locally adapted organisms!). But what if those mistakes can also matter for evolution? And is it possible to define it's role?
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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
Gene regulation is often described as neat and deterministic, with each transcription factor (TF) controlling its own specific targets. Reality is messier: They make mistakes; They engage in crosstalk/promiscuous binding
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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
New Perspective out in Advanced Science 🎉 in collaboration with @alanrice.ie for @uniofbath.bsky.social 60th anniversary special issue. advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... We review nearly a decade of work asking: how do gene regulatory networks rewire during evolution? 🧫🧵
advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Transcription Factor Promiscuity Drives Regulatory Rewiring and Evolvability in Gene Networks in Bacteria
This special issue marking the University of Bath's 60th anniversary offers an opportunity to reflect on nearly a decade of research into the evolution of gene regulatory networks (GRNs) from members...
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MERMan Research Group (University of Manchester) @mermanchester.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
If you’re interested in antibiotic resistance evolution in Pseudomonas, come to @flanagella.bsky.social’s poster (number 11) 💊 #MicroEvo25
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Multi-Defence @multidefence.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
🔬 Interested in bacterial immune systems & AMR, or how antibiotics affect phage infectivity? Three SWBio DTP PhD project opportunities linked to the MultiDefence consortium are now open (1/4) #PhD #DoctoralTraining #ResearchCarrers #LifeSciences #phagesky #AMR #microsky #PhDPositions
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EvoNerdette @bethmorillo-hall.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
The 2025 Curriculum Review is great news for STEM ✅ Depth over breadth ✅ Hands-on science ✅ Digital literacy ✅ Equity & progression. My FREE Evolution Project brings these STEM priorities to life through engaging, hands-on learning. www.bath.ac.uk/campaigns/di... #STEM #CurriculumReview
bath.ac.uk
Discover Evoscope: an educational package that’s transforming how we learn evolution
Evoscope is a free educational resource pack that helps you bring evolution to life and assess understanding and acceptance of evolutionary concepts.
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Tom Williams @tweethinking.bsky.social · 09/10/2025
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 :)
findaphd.com
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
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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
🙋🏻‍♀️
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Eduardo Rocha @epcrocha.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
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...
pasteur.fr
Pasteur-Paris University International doctoral program​ (PPU)
OverviewIn 2009, the Institut Pasteur, the world leading biomedical research institute founded by Louis Pasteur in 1887, inaugurated the Pasteur Paris-University (PPU) international doctoral program i...
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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
@yueyicai.bsky.social
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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
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!
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David Sünderhauf @davvi36.bsky.social · 02/09/2025
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...
gw4biomed.ac.uk
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 ...
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Julia Sero @cellmorphosero.bsky.social · 02/09/2025
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.
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Rowan Green @rowancallumg.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
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)
doi.org
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
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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
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 🦠🌱
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Vaughn Cooper @vscooper.micropopbio.org · 17/08/2025
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?...
youtu.be
EvolvingSTEM Summer of Transformation 2025
YouTube video by Evolving STEM
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Vivek Mutalik @vivekmutalik.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
😳 #phage #phagesky #microsky Pseudomonads coordinate innate defense against viruses and bacteria with a single regulatory system: www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...
cell.com
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...
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Molecular Biology and Evolution @molbioevol.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
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
doi.org
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
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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
Dammit. Edit to first post, T > G.
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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
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!
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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
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 · 13/08/2025
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 · 13/08/2025
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 · 13/08/2025
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 · 13/08/2025
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 · 13/08/2025
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 · 13/08/2025
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)
academic.oup.com
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
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Tiffany Taylor @taylorlabgroup.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
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
academic.oup.com
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
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