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Karen Maxwell

@themaxwelllab.bsky.social
199 followers 24 following 2 posts

Phage biologist focused on virus-host interactions and bacterial pathogenesis.

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Reposted by Karen Maxwell
Aritz Roa-Eguiara @aritz-roa.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
🚨Preprint! Happy to share the research from my PhD “Genome delivery of a contractile tailed phage and its superinfection exclusion mechanism”. We use cryoEM to study the genome ejection of the phage T4, revealing how the tape measure protein regulates the process. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
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Reposted by Karen Maxwell
Landon Getz @landongetz.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
Excited to share: DNA glycosylases are diverse antiviral effectors. They recognize phage base modifications and initiate genome destruction. A structure‑guided approach made the scope of this discovery possible! 🧪 #phagesky doi.org/10.1101/2025... #phage #microbiology
doi.org
Antiviral Defence is a Conserved Function of Diverse DNA Glycosylases
Bacteria are frequently attacked by viruses, known as phages, and rely on diverse defence systems like restriction endonucleases and CRISPR-Cas to survive. While phages can evade these defences by cov...
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Reposted by Karen Maxwell
Landon Getz @landongetz.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
It’s out! Brand new work from my PostDoc in @themaxwelllab.bsky.social exploring anti-phage defence in V. parahaemolyticus: Integrons are anti-phage defence libraries in Vibrio parahaemolyticus rdcu.be/d7EsN
rdcu.be
Integrons are anti-phage defence libraries in Vibrio parahaemolyticus
Nature Microbiology - Integrons are genetic elements that capture and store gene cassettes in Vibrio species. Bioinformatic and molecular techniques show that these regions can be hotspots of phage...
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Karen Maxwell @themaxwelllab.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
This study led by @landongetz.bsky.social shows that anti-phage defences are stored in Vibrio integrons. It was so much fun to work with Landon and his team on this exciting project!
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