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Vikram Alva

@vikramalva.bsky.social
533 followers 920 following 18 posts

Departmental Group Leader - Protein Bioinformatics @ Max Planck Institute for Biology - Tübingen @mpi-bio-fml.bsky.social Protein evolution // MPI Bioinformatics Toolkit // prokaryotic cell-surface proteins // prokaryotic histones

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Vikram Alva @vikramalva.bsky.social · 13h
Our review on S-layer anchoring and the epiplasmic space is out in Current Opinion in Microbiology. authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
authors.elsevier.com
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Tanmay Bharat @tbharat-lab.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Molecular architecture of colossal surface layers from hyperthermophilic archaea Led by @idocaspy.bsky.social (Ido) In collaboration with @mkrupovic.bsky.social and @vikramalva.bsky.social labs doi.org/10.64898/202...
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Daniel Tamarit @danieltamarit.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
I'm looking for an enthusiastic student to join my team as a PhD candidate on archaeal genome evolution 🦠💻 Work in beautiful Utrecht, at @binfutrecht.bsky.social, an international group full of caring, amazing scientists, and with frequent cake breaks! www.uu.nl/en/organisat... Please share! 🙏
uu.nl
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Tanmay Bharat @tbharat-lab.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Structural basis of biofilm formation mediated by the Pseudomonas aeruginosa fibrillar adhesin CdrA led by @olivia--smith.bsky.social Collaboration with @alexbateman1.bsky.social , Andres Floto and @geiselbiofilm.bsky.social labs
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Georgia Isom @georgiaisom.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Interested in joining our group in Oxford? We are looking for a PDRA with single particle Cryo-EM experience to help us figure out how sphingolipids are transported to the cell surface of Gram-negative bacteria. The deadline is 31st July. Informal enquires are welcome. Please share!
my.corehr.com
Job Details
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Svetlana Dodonova @dodonova-sveta.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Excited to share our new preprint! 🧬❄️ by brilliant @mdreimann.bsky.social and great collaborators! Using cryo-ET&EM, we reveal archaeal chromatin in a near-native state: variable-beads-on-a-string fibers shaped by growth phase and histone composition #ArchaeaSky www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
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PlantEvolution 🌱🌾 @plantevolution.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
25 years at @maxplanck.de! (Really 40 years, if you count that I started my graduate studies exactly 40 years ago at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology under the guidance of my beloved mentor (and friend) Herbert Jäckle.)
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Adrià Sogues @adriasogues.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Meet AbpX, a biomatrix protein from the hyperthermophile Pyrodictium abyssi. It forms Ca²⁺-triggered fibrils via donor strand complementation. Using cryo-EM + X-ray, we built a full lattice model and place AbpX in a new TasA superfamily clade. A very nice collaborative project! tinyurl.com/mryzcz4n
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Nature Microbiology @natmicrobiol.nature.com · 14/05/2026
Out Now! Latent endogenous giant viruses drive active infection and inheritance in a multicellular algal host #MicroSky
go.nature.com
Latent endogenous giant viruses drive active infection and inheritance in a multicellular algal host
Nature Microbiology, Published online: 13 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41564-026-02361-zGiant endogenous viral elements integrated into the multicellular alga Ectocarpus are reactivated by specific temperature cues, driving productive latent viral infections.
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Khaled_Selim Lab @selimlab.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
Happy to share our finding on Lys-toxicity in #cyanobacteria @plantphys.bsky.social by talented PhD #AndreasEnkerlin A collaboration w/ @linkmetabolism.bsky.social @mfeldbruegge.bsky.social @dfg.de @sfb1381.bsky.social @cmfi.bsky.social @hhu.de @mibinet.bsky.social academic.oup.com/plphys/artic...
academic.oup.com
Deciphering the metabolic details of L-lysine toxicity in cyanobacteria
Metabolomic analyses revealed that lysine rapidly disrupts the cell wall, energy homeostasis, amino acid balance, and photosynthesis in cyanobacteria, expl
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Andreas Peschel @andreaspeschel.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
You are an ambitious young scientist, on the verge to independence, in a research field related to our Cluster of Excellence @cmfi.bsky.social “Controlling Microbes to Fight Infections”? Join our vibrant, interactive scientific community in Tubingen. Repost and apply! www.nature.com/naturecareer...
nature.com
Independent Junior Research Group Leaders (m/f/d) - Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg (DE) job with Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen | 12858473
The Cluster of Excellence EXC 2124 “Controlling Microbes to Fight Infections” (CMFI) at the University of Tübingen invites applications for Indepen...
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Pilhofer Lab 🦠❄️🔬 @pilhoferlab.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
🧐Checkout our preprint revealing the stepwise firing💥 mechanism of a Contractile Injection System @xujwet.bsky.social&@chipericson.bsky.social trapped the complex by structure-guided engineering🧪 in multiple intermediate states and imaged them by multimodal #cryoEM❄️🔬 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
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MPI for Biology Tübingen & Friedrich Miescher Laboratory @mpi-bio-fml.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Congratulations to Max Planck Research Group Leader Can Aztekin and his team on their new paper in @science.org. They have discovered how oxygen-sensing explains why amphibians regenerate limbs and mammals do not. Read the full press release here: tinyurl.com/bsuwmek6
tinyurl.com
When oxygen determines if a limb can regrow
Researchers show that mammals briefly activate regenerative programs after injury but shut them down too fast. Altering oxygen sensing keeps cells in a repair-ready state.
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Jaruwatana (Sodai) Lotharukpong @sodail.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Our work on chromatin evolution in brown algae is finally out! This is also my first "co-first author" paper!! I’m excited to share what we found 👇
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Melanie Blokesch @mblokesch.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
Open postdoc position in my lab on HGT and interbacterial competition. We seek candidates with a PhD in microbiology (or related fields)+ strong 1st-author publications. Curious, highly motivated, and dedicated team players ready to contribute fully are encouraged to apply. Details: tiny.cc/cz01101
tiny.cc
Open Positions
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Dame lab at Leiden University @damelab.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
New review in @cp-trendsgenetics.bsky.social on the fascinating world of chromatin organization in Asgard archaea. Very nice joint effort with @jvhooff.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
Chromatin organization in Asgard archaea: histones, SMC complexes, and the archaeal roots of eukaryotic chromatin
The genomes of organisms across the tree of life are structurally and functionally organized into chromatin. In eukaryotes, within an organelle called…
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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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Thibaut Brunet @thibautbrunet.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
Final version @nature.com of our paper describing unconventional multicellular development in a choanoflagellate inhabiting an extreme environment. A ton of new data since the first @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social preprint (which we've kept updating). A brief 🧵 (carried over from the old place)
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Alex Bisson @archaeon-alex.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
Another paper on a topic we never worked on before: a new ribosomal hibernation! Under the leadership of the super-postdoc Diorge, Davis Lab (ribo-cryoEM master), and @vikramalva.bsky.social (protein-evo whisperer), we identified AHA (not the song, but archaeal hibernation AMPKγ factor). (1/2)
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Luisa F. Pallares @luisapallares.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
Have you ever wondered 🤔... Does phenotypic variance respond to environmental perturbation? Does it have a genetic basis? Are mean and variance regulating loci exposed to different selection pressures? These and more questions are explored in our new preprint 🔥 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
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Vikram Alva @vikramalva.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
Very cool work led by @diorgeps.bsky.social from the labs of @archaeon-alex.bsky.social & Joey Davis (MIT)! They solved the Haloferax volcanii ribosome and characterize AHA, a conserved archaeal hibernation factor. With several recent related preprints, it’s an exciting moment for the field!
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Sjors Scheres @sjorsscheres.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
Please spread the word: the Structural Studies Division @mrclmb.bsky.social is looking for a new tenure-track, independent group leader with an exciting plan in any area of Structural (Molecular & Cell) biology, in discovery biology and/or methods development. 🥳 mrc.tal.net/vx/mobile-0/...
mrc.tal.net
Research Group Leader Tenure Track - Structural Studies - LMB 2775 - Medical Research Council
Location: Cambridge. Vacancy: Research Group Leader Tenure Track - Structural Studies - LMB 2775. Closing Date: 16/03/2026, 23:55
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EvolDir @evoldir.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
Aarhus University is seeking a Tenure-Track Assistant/Associate Professor in Bioinformatics/Co… nat.au.dk/en/about-the-faculty/vaca… #job
nat.au.dk
Tenure-Track Assistant Professor / Associate Professor in Bioinformatics and/or Computational Biology at Aarhus University, Denmark - Vacancy at Aarhus University
Vacancy at Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics - BiRC - Bioinformatics Research Center, Aarhus University
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Debnath Ghosal @debnathghosal.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
📣 New paper alert! This is a story of molecular tricks that let spirochetes (spiral-shaped bacteria) drill through tissue. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
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Claudia Martinho @cssmartinho.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
One protein. One pathway. A whole germline fate. New paper from my postdoc @mpi-bio-fml.bsky.social out in PNAS: Germline fate determination by a single ARGONAUTE protein in Ectocarpus www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
pnas.org
Germline fate determination by a single ARGONAUTE protein in Ectocarpus | PNAS
ARGONAUTE (AGO) proteins are a highly conserved family of RNA-binding proteins that play central roles in gene regulation and developmental process...
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John Lees @johnlees.bacpop.org · 30/01/2026
We are hiring for group leaders again — EBI is a great place to start your research group! embl.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/EMBL/job/Hin...
embl.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com
Research Group Leader
Do you want to lead groundbreaking research in computational biology? Join us at EMBL-EBI! EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) is seeking talented and highly-motivated scientists to jo...
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vinceconticello.bsky.social @vinceconticello.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
New manuscript alert. Turns out that calcium ion coordination may be a more common mechanism than we initially expected to trigger polymerization of extracellular filaments. @mikesleutel.bsky.social @vikramalva.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
From fibril to framework: P. abyssi AbpX illuminates a calcium-responsive family of microbial biomatrix proteins that form thermostable hydrogels
Evolutionary pressure on microbial communities propagating under extreme environmental conditions often results in unique structural adaptations to promote cell survival. Here, we report an investigat...
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Anna Karnkowska @ankarn.bsky.social · 14/12/2025
Excited to be at #SMBE2026 in Copenhagen! Don’t miss Symposium #17: “Unicellular organisms in major evolutionary transitions.” Registration is now open! #protistsonsky
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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
📝 Abstract deadline: Tuesday, Feb 3, 2026. Let’s fill #SMBE2026 with #protistsonSky love!
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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
The real drama of life happened "backstage" in the unicellular world. 🎭🧬 #protistsonSky Our postdoc Vika Shabardina is co-organizing this symposium with Annia (@ankarn.bsky.social). Two brilliant minds leading the evocell way! Plus, a talk by @vikramalva.bsky.social. 👇
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Vikram Alva @vikramalva.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
Happy to share that our work on HLp, a bacterial histone from Leptospira perolatii, is now published in Nature Communications 🎉 In this study, we show that HLp forms stable tetramers that wrap ~60 bp of DNA, revealing a distinct histone–DNA organization in bacteria. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution @official-smbe.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
Organisers - Victoria Shabardina | @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social - @ankarn.bsky.social | University of Warsaw Invited Speaker - @vikramalva.bsky.social | @mpi-bio-fml.bsky.social
SMBE2026 Symposium 17 | Unicellular organisms in major evolutionary transitions

Organisers
- Victoria Shabardina — Institute of Evolutionary Biology (UPF-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain (Female)
- Anna Karnkowska — Institute of Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland (Female)

Invited Speaker
- Vikram Alva — Max Planck Institute of Biology, Tuebingen, Germany (Male)
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Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution @official-smbe.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
SMBE2026 Symposium 17 | Unicellular organisms in major evolutionary transitions 📨 Abstract submission smbe2026.org/abstracts 📋 Programme details smbe2026.org/programme #SMBE2026
SMBE2026 Symposium 17 | Unicellular organisms in major evolutionary transitions
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Kiarash Jamali @kjamali.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
I’m excited to announce that I will be starting my research group on computational enzyme design at the Generative Biology Institute, Oxford, UK (@eitoxford.bsky.social)! PhD applications are open, deadline is Jan 8th (www.chem.ox.ac.uk/genbio-dtp). Email kiarash.jamali@eit.org with any questions!
chem.ox.ac.uk
GenBio DTP
Optional supporting text
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Samuel Schwab @samuelschwab.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
Ending my PhD with a bang: Face-to-face histones are important organizers of archaeal chromatin alongside classical histones. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
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Svetlana Dodonova @dodonova-sveta.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
Thank you, Daniela, @danielabarilla.bsky.social, for a wonderful commentary! 🤗🤗 More spotlight on the Asgards and their chromatin! ❤️ #archaea #chromatin
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Tanmay Bharat @tbharat-lab.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
Also see the associated primer video on S-layers made by the @mrclmb.bsky.social Visual Aids department Konstantinos Alexandrou and Shraddha Nayak! www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgSf...
youtube.com
Introduction to microbial surface layers (S-layers)
YouTube video by MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
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Vikram Alva @vikramalva.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
Pleased to share our review on S-layers with @bupbuse.bsky.social, Andriko von Kügelgen, and @tbharat-lab.bsky.social, where we explore recent advances and argue that deeper insight into S-layers is key to deciphering microbial interactions and community organization. @mpi-bio-fml.bsky.social
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Buzz Baum @buzzbaum.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
We have wondered what a complex archaeal cell might look like ever since 2014. It’s been a long road (and the journey is far from over), but it’s a good time to pause for breath and look. These Asgard archaeal cells are a surprise! And that is the joy of being a cell biologist.
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Tanmay Bharat @tbharat-lab.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
An Asgard archaeon with internal membrane compartments Brilliant study led by @fmacleod.bsky.social and Andriko von Kügelgen. Tight collaboration with @buzzbaum.bsky.social and lab. Congrats to all authors! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
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Alexey Amunts @amunts.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
What a gem from @dudinlab.bsky.social @gautamdey.bsky.social @centriolelab.bsky.social in Cell! Expansion microscopy atlas of >200 eukaryotes comparing cytoskeletal architectures revealing structures not seen before. Stunning visualisation! Exactly the kind of transformative cell biology we need.
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Omaya Dudin 𓂆 ¦🍉¦🦠¦🔬¦ @dudinlab.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
🚨Our collaboration with @centriolelab.bsky.social & @gautamdey.bsky.social is out today in @cp-cell.bsky.social We show that #Expansion #Microscopy is a broad-spectrum modality for Euks, enabling 3D phenotypic maps rooted to phylogeny. #ProtistsOnSky #SciComm #SciSky www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
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MPI for Biology Tübingen & Friedrich Miescher Laboratory @mpi-bio-fml.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
Fruit flies are more than pests! Humans share 60% of their genome with them. @luisapallares.bsky.social busts myths about how these tiny creatures can tell us about human diseases. Watch Luisa's full video here: www.fml.tuebingen.mpg.de/71433/videos #BiologyMyths #Drosophila #Genomics
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Fabai Wu @fabaiwu.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
Glad to share our paper out today @NatureEcoEvo: “Serial innovations by Asgard archaea shaped the DNA replication machinery of the early eukaryotic ancestor”. www.nature.com/articles/s41... #microsky #archaeasky
nature.com
Serial innovations by Asgard archaea shaped the DNA replication machinery of the early eukaryotic ancestor - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Phylogenetic and biochemical analyses show a diversity of components of the DNA replication machinery in different Asgard archaea that contributed to the eukaryotic DNA replication machinery.
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Vikram Alva @vikramalva.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
Our Pyrodictium cannulae paper is out in its final form! Cannulae assemble into calcium-stabilized tubular filaments stable at 100 °C—a unique archaeal cell–cell connection. Led brilliantly by @mikesleutel.bsky.social & @vinceconticello.bsky.social. www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-64120-8
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Sonja-Verena Albers @archaellum.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
Look at this nice cover: beautiful archaella, image made by @sshamphavi.bsky.social ! Thanks also to Marta Rodeiguez for keeping the EM im shape in @ottlab.bsky.social lab! At @biologyunifreiburg.bsky.social at @uni-freiburg.de @sfb1381.bsky.social @cibss.bsky.social
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Erica Dinatale @ericadinatale.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
So happy to see my first first-author paper published! 🎈 A short thread on how Ectocarpus and its TE secrets have kept me busy lately: rdcu.be/eITQH
rdcu.be
Characterization of the transposable element landscape shaping the Ectocarpus genome | Genome Biology
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Ben Engel @cellarchlab.com · 30/09/2025
EXCITING NEWS!! We're searching for a new professor colleague at the Biozentrum🇨🇭. Ideal candidates are exploring novel biological questions with structure, biophysics, or high-resolution imaging. 🧪 🧶🧬 🔬 The call closes Nov 3. Please get in touch if you would like more information. Come join us! 👩‍🔬🤓
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