The Thormann Lab
Roaming at the Justus Liebig University in Giessen, Germany. Interested in bacteria, cell biology, motility, phages and the various wonders of life.
- Reposted by The Thormann LabWe found a new mode by which bacteria deplete NAD+ to protect from phages. And then we found how phages overcome this defense Discovered by talented biochemist Dr Ilya Osterman, read the preprint: tinyurl.com/Narp-ap A thread 🧵
- Reposted by The Thormann Lab🚨 Hiring Alert! 🚨My lab at Institut Pasteur is recruiting several Postdocs! We have exciting open projects in: 🦠 Synthetic Biology and🛡️ Bacterial Immunity. Come do great science with us in the middle of Paris! 🇫🇷🥐 research.pasteur.fr/en/job/postd...
- Reposted by The Thormann LabWe are looking for a junior group leader in RNA biology to join us in Würzburg at the @helmholtz-hiri.bsky.social ! A generous funding package, a great collaborative environment, and a beautiful city are all included :) Deadline for application is Feb 15; more information below 👇
- Reposted by The Thormann LabGreat opportunity to join the lab of @patrick-pausch.bsky.social ! www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...
- Reposted by The Thormann Labwww.findaphd.com/phds/project... interested in bacterial antagonism? PhD opportunity in our team, see below. Please repost!
- Reposted by The Thormann LabOur new publication in #ISMEJournal (@isme-microbes.bsky.social) describes how Bacillus and Trichoderma works together to fight against the plant pathogen Fusarium, a superb collaboration with Zhihui Xu at Nanjing Agricultural University, including the experiments by @jiyuxie.bsky.social at #IBL 1/7
- Old and mighty: A novel cytosine nucleobase modification in phage genomic DNA renders the majority of restriction-based host defence systems useless. Great collaboration with the Bielefeld Gang. | Applied and Environmental Microbiology journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
- Reposted by The Thormann LabAre you a long-time fan of Archaea, an extremophile-phile, or are you simply curious? Either way, we have good news. We’re delighted to announce the 2026 EMBO Workshop on Archaea, 6–10 July. Sign up: meetings.embo.org/event/26-arc... We look forward to seeing you in Cambridge, UK. Please repost!
- Reposted by The Thormann LabJust got word that we are a go for the Bacterial Cell Biology and Development GRS and GRC at Southern New Hampshire University! GRS will be on June 5-6, 2027 GRC will be from June 6-11, 2027 Block off your calendars Prokaryotic Cell Biologists! More details to come! Please repost!
- Just realising again on my way to work: AI will never ever be able to bring the joy @eliza-coli.bsky.social images bring to me whenever I walk through my Institute's hallway. Thanks so much, Eliza!
- Phage-induced lysis may only be the beginning of something else. Great effort by Antonio (first and corresponding author) showing the occurrence of extracellular DNA synthesis and structuring! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
- Reposted by The Thormann LabSo happy to announce our new preprint, “A geothermal amoeba sets a new upper temperature limit for eukaryotes.” We cultured a novel amoeba from Lassen Volcanic NP (CA, USA) that divides at 63°C (145°F) 🔥 - a new record for euk growth! #protistsonsky 🧵
- Reposted by The Thormann LabWe 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.
- Reposted by The Thormann LabAn 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...
- Reposted by The Thormann LabBacteria can sense when a virus starts shredding their genome — by detecting methylated mononucleotides. Here’s the story of how we discovered the Metis defense system 👇 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
- Reposted by The Thormann Lab📢 Postdoc position: Cell Biology of Cyanobacteria in my group, as part of the Excellence Cluster "Microbes for Climate" (M4C) in Marburg, Germany. More information at shorturl.at/wNnDT (see Project 2) 🔗Apply at shorturl.at/VsEDl 📅Deadline: Nov 16, 2025 Please repost. #Postdoc
- Reposted by The Thormann Lab📢 We have an open position for a postdoc to join my lab. It's a great position @animecol-uu.bsky.social, fully salaried for 2.5 years with all benefits. www.uu.se/en/about-uu/... The project is about transmission patterns of bacteria and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in aquatic insects. 🧬🦠 (1/3)
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- Reposted by The Thormann LabNew PrePrint from the Vecchiarelli and Mosalaganti (@shyamalm.bsky.social) labs! 🧵 Collaboration with the Giessen and Pi labs Congratulations to co-first authors Y Hoang (@hoanghamyy.bsky.social) and Pankaj Jadhav! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
- Reposted by The Thormann LabAnd here is the published version of the work from @selimlab.bsky.social, @mygalperin.bsky.social, Dubnau labs and @thethormannden.bsky.social labs (superb collaboration) ComFB, a widespread family of c-di-NMP receptor proteins www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
- Reposted by The Thormann LabHappy to share that our story on the bacterial archaellum was published today in @natmicrobiol.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41... Congrats to the authors: @sshamphavi.bsky.social @loumollat.bsky.social @mariejoest.bsky.social Najwa Taib and @sgribaldo.bsky.social
- Would you expect that Bacteria use an archaellum for swimming? We didn't, but we found that some Chloroflexota do! Find the story here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... A little thread below 1/n
- Reposted by The Thormann LabWilling 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...
- 🎓 Applications for Institut Pasteur's PhD programs open Sept 1-Oct 20, 2025 for October 2026 entry. Apply to up to 4 projects across 6 programs: PPU, PPU-IMAGINE @institutimagine.bsky.social, PPU-@ox.ac.uk, PPU-EID @upcite.bsky.social & more 🧬 Register now ✍️ www.pasteur.fr/en/education...
- Reposted by The Thormann LabA new theme issue of #PhilTransB examines the evolutionary history of bacterial immune systems, their modes of action, and the patterns how different bacterial immune systems are distributed across different ecosystems. Read: buff.ly/Z4qdxY1
- Morning stroll in early fall.
- Reposted by The Thormann LabHow can we understand the earliest events in evolution of eukaryotic immunity? @yao-li.bsky.social reports incredible molecular fossils of complete bacterial-like operons in eukaryotes that illuminate how animal immunity was first acquired from anti-phage defense www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
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- Reposted by The Thormann LabPreprint: We discovered phage proteins that sequester diverse immune signaling molecules, including cUMP, cCMP, and N7-cADPR The first viral sponges to inhibit Pycsar and type IV Thoeris Congrats to talented leading author Romi Hadary! Read her thread to learn more about our findings
- 📢 Preprint out! Together with @reneechang.bsky.social @kranzuschlab.bsky.social and the amazing @soreklab.bsky.social, we explored viral sponges to map their diversity and function. Discovered huge diversity, including sponges that inhibit Pycsar & Type IV Thoeris! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
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- Reposted by The Thormann LabI am excited to announce that the position of a senior postdoc (3 +3 years) in the field of theoretical biology is available in my group. The position provides the opportunity to closely interact with experimentalists and develop own research projects. Please RT. Details 👇: shorturl.at/iiiOv
- Reposted by The Thormann Lab💥 Excited to introduce Bacformer 🦠 - the first foundation model for bacterial genomics. Bacformer represents genomes as sequences of ordered proteins, learning the “grammar” of how genes are arranged, interact and evolve. Preprint 📝: biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 🧵 1/n
- Reposted by The Thormann LabWe wrote a review on the free nucleotide pool as a central playground in human, bacterial, and plant immunity – now out in Nature Reviews in Immunology www.nature.com/articles/s41... Was fun to write this piece with Dina Hochhauser! Here is a thread to explain the premises 1/
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- Reposted by The Thormann Lab1/16 New pre-print from the Sternberg Lab! We uncover how temperate phages can use RNA-guided transcription factors to remodel the flagellar composition of their bacterial host and enhance their fitness. Find the preprint and full story here: tinyurl.com/mshwjd77
- Reposted by The Thormann LabHere's our new broad review on the extended mobility of plasmids, about all mechanisms driving and limiting their transfer. From conjugation to conduction, phage-plasmids to hitchers, molecular to evolutionary dynamics, ecology to biotech. The state of affairs. 1/9 academic.oup.com/nar/article/...
- Reposted by The Thormann Lab🦠🧍♀️From bacterial to human immunity. We report in @science.org the discovery of a human homolog of SIR2 antiphage proteins that participates in the TLR pathway of animal innate immunity. Co-led wt @enzopoirier.bsky.social by D. Bonhomme and @hugovaysset.bsky.social www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
- Reposted by The Thormann LabFold first, ask later: structure-informed function annotation of Pseudomonas phage proteins Structural predictions to improve #phage genome annotation! @hannelorelongin.bsky.social @gbouras13.bsky.social y.social @susiegriggo.bsky.social @veravannoort.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
- Reposted by The Thormann LabA new preprint led by Sonomi Yamaguchi in our lab describes a bacterial anti-phage defense system named Clover that uses nucleotide signals to both activate and inhibit host immunity. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
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- Our annual Bachelor's lab class finished with the agar-art contest. Always great fun. Here is the winner.
- Reposted by The Thormann LabJust published, expansion in situ genome sequencing, where you can sequence DNA while still inside the cell, mapping its organization relative to proteins and other markers, with the help of expansion microscopy! Led by @jbuenrostro.bksy.social. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
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- Reposted by The Thormann Lab🧵5 Top Free Alternatives to BioRender for Scientific Illustrations! These five websites offer free scientific illustrations for biologists. Great for presentations, research papers and other research communication needs. Save and share the post!
- Reposted by The Thormann LabOur paper on how integrons are biobanks of novel minimal defense systems is now out www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Two main conclusions on this excellent work led by @eloilittner.bsky.social @baptistedarracq.bsky.social 1/n
- Habemus paper! Our story on integron-encoded anti-phage defenses is now out in @science.org! 16 new systems, small versions of known ones, and a lot more in this highly-collaborative study. Many thanks to everyone involved, especially my supervisor @epcrocha.bsky.social bsky.app/profile/bapt...
- Reposted by The Thormann LabI got hit by some rather sudden and extreme financial hardship so if anyone is in need of remote wetlab contract research, strictly BSL1, do let me know. Currently scrambling for gigs. Plant, Bacterial, Archaeal Non-model Bioeng Custom Lab Hardware Turn Key Genetic Design Please repost for reach 💚
- Reposted by The Thormann LabOut in Nature today: A new immune signaling molecule, His-ADPR, is produced by defensive TIR domain proteins in bacteria to protect from phage Joint work with the Tamulaitienė and Kranzusch labs www.nature.com/articles/s41... Congrats Carmel Avraham, Dziugas Sabonis, Renee Chang and co-authors!
- Reposted by The Thormann LabA beautiful discovery by Joel Tan and Philip Kranzusch, out today in Nature: A DNA-gated molecular guard controls bacterial Hailong anti-phage defence Congrats Joel and Philip! Was a pleasure to contribute to this discovery together with Sarah Melamed www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Reposted by The Thormann LabWhy is the DFG asking me to provide a review? Our Head Office invites suitably qualified and renowned national and international experts to review proposals submitted on specific research topics. We have compiled key reasons and practical information: www.dfg.de/en/research-...
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- Reposted by The Thormann LabJoin the Blokesch lab (@EPFL) as a postdoc in Molecular Microbiology 🤩 Study Vibrio cholerae defense systems (phage/plasmid) in a dynamic, collaborative environment in Lausanne close to Lake Geneva in 🇨🇭! Please visit my lab's webpage for details about the position and how to formally apply.
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- Reposted by The Thormann LabNew postdoc position in our lab (2 y+): evolutionary genomics of integrons and MGEs with focus on vibrio-phage interactions. Great environment @pasteur.fr for science, career building. Super collaborators @celineloot.bsky.social @amazeld.bsky.social @fredoleroux.bsky.social 3 weeks to apply!
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