Vikram Alva
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
- Reposted by Vikram Alva📣 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...
- Reposted by Vikram AlvaOne 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/...
- Reposted by Vikram AlvaWe are hiring for group leaders again — EBI is a great place to start your research group! embl.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/EMBL/job/Hin...
- Reposted by Vikram AlvaNew 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...
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- 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...
- Led by Yimin Hu, with key contributions from @samuelschwab.bsky.social, @kyq21.bsky.social 21.bsky.social and Yunsen Zhang, and in collaboration with Marcus Hartmann, @damelab.bsky.social and Birte Hernández-Álvarez. @mpi-bio-fml.bsky.social
- Reposted by Vikram AlvaOrganisers - Victoria Shabardina | @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social - @ankarn.bsky.social | University of Warsaw Invited Speaker - @vikramalva.bsky.social | @mpi-bio-fml.bsky.social
- Reposted by Vikram AlvaSMBE2026 Symposium 17 | Unicellular organisms in major evolutionary transitions 📨 Abstract submission smbe2026.org/abstracts 📋 Programme details smbe2026.org/programme #SMBE2026
- Reposted by Vikram AlvaI’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!
- Reposted by Vikram AlvaEnding 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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- 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
- Assembly, architecture and functional roles of microbial surface layers Review article published in @natrevmicro.nature.com with @bupbuse.bsky.social, Andriko von Kügelgen and @vikramalva.bsky.social. S-layers are everywhere! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Reposted by Vikram AlvaWe 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 Vikram AlvaAn 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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- Reposted by Vikram Alva🚨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...
- Reposted by Vikram AlvaFruit 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
- Reposted by Vikram AlvaGlad 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
- 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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- Reposted by Vikram AlvaSo 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
- Reposted by Vikram AlvaEXCITING 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! 👩🔬🤓
- Assistant/Associate Professor in Structural Biology, Biophysics or Biological Imaging www.biozentrum.unibas.ch/open-positio... #biozentrum #University #Basel #Professor #Structural #Biology #Biophysics #Biological #Imaging
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- Reposted by Vikram AlvaRegistration deadline for @embo.org workshop EvoChromo extended until September 30. meetings.embo.org/event/24-evo...
- Registrations are now open for the next @embo.org EvoChromo meeting in December. meetings.embo.org/event/24-evo... Join us in beautiful Costa Brava to discuss chromatin evolution! Co-organized with @tobiaswarnecke.bsky.social @sandraduharcourt.bsky.social @levine-lab.bsky.social and Nick Irwin
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- Reposted by Vikram AlvaSuper glad to contribute to this study on chromatin evolution in brown algae! Special thanks to Jeromine Vigneau, @borglab.bsky.social and Susana Coelho for making this happen. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
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- Reposted by Vikram AlvaArchaea are often surrounded by bacteria. But is there ever active conflict between the two? Can archaea kill bacteria? If so, how do they do it? Work by @romainstrock.bsky.social shows that some archaea can kill bacteria by secreting peptidoglycan hydrolases. journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
- Reposted by Vikram Alvaour paper is online! rdcu.be/exXBX . Who would have thought that some #giantviruses not only have #histones, but even histone variants that make weird #nucleosomes (pdb 9CVT). Fantastic work from Ale Villalta and Chelsea Toner, with Hugo Bisio @molbiolgv.bsky.social and Chantal Abergel
- Reposted by Vikram Alva#MicroSky Summer read! Predatory bacteria kill and eat other bacteria. Their deadly actions come in many flavors, often via direct physical contact between predator & prey 🧛 How do they do it? Our review 📖 @coralietesseur.bsky.social @ysantin.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
- Reposted by Vikram AlvaAnd the story is published now!🍾 www.nature.com/articles/s41... Open access link: rdcu.be/exnOc Many years in the making, great collaboration with @archaellum.bsky.social & @tunglejic.bsky.social Thanks @ukri.org BBSRC & @leverhulme.ac.uk for funding, reviewers & editor!! 🙏 #microsky #archaeasky
- New preprint from our lab! Story started long ago that took many years in the making. Great collaboration with @archaellum.bsky.social & @tunglejic.bsky.social groups. Generously funded by BBSRC @ukri.org & @leverhulme.bsky.social How do #archaea segregate their chromosome? #microsky #archaeasky
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- Excited to share our latest review on histone-mediated chromatin organization in prokaryotes and viruses! 🧬 @mpi-bio-fml.bsky.social
- Reposted by Vikram Alva📣📣We are #hiring! 📣Please RT! @mpipz.bsky.social has a group leader position available in the broad area of Plant Development and Diversity 🌿. Apply now!🌿 👉http://bit.ly/4nkUvLa #plantsci
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- Reposted by Vikram AlvaStructure of the virulence-associated Neisseria meningitidis filamentous bacteriophage MDAphi Out in @pnas.org Congrats @janboehning.bsky.social @abultarafder.bsky.social Miles Graham @mathieucoureuil.bsky.social @mrclmb.bsky.social @hopitalnecker.bsky.social www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
- Asgard chromatin with both hypernucleosome and octasome-like forms! Brilliant work — congrats to all authors!
- We’ve uncovered Asgard chromatin structures formed by a Hodarchaeal histone : closed hypernucleosome conserved in archaea and an open form resembling the H3-H4 eukaryotic octasome. Fantastic work by @harshranawat.bsky.social! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #Chromatin #Asgard #Archaea #cryoEM
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- Reposted by Vikram AlvaIn our latest preprint we used cryoEM to solve the structure of A-ENA fibers and show that they are stabilized by 10 isopeptide bonds per monomer. A-ENA couples the spore to the cry-toxins, and in doing so increases the virulence of Bacillus thuringiensis: www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-6...
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- Excited to share our new preprint on HLp—a bacterial histone from Leptospira perolatii that forms stable tetramers and wraps ~60 bp of DNA: "DNA Wrapping by a Tetrameric Bacterial Histone" www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... @mpi-bio-fml.bsky.social
- Reposted by Vikram AlvaMay 18 is Fascination of Plants Day! Visit us on this occasion in the New Botanical Garden in Tübingen. There will be an exciting program for young and old! 🗓 May 18, 12:00 noon - 4:00 p.m. 📷 Neuer Botanischer Garten, Auf der Morgenstelle, Tübingen #plantday @ZMBP_Tuebingen
- Reposted by Vikram AlvaWe are looking for a postdoctoral fellow to join us to explore telomerase regulation by histones. Please get in touch if this may interest you.
- Excited to see this beautiful work from @bupbuse.bsky.social and @tbharat-lab.bsky.social now out in @plosbiology.org! It maps the ultrastructural topology of the C. glutamicum cell surface, including its patchy S-layer. Delighted to be part of this story.
- Finally in peer-reviewed form: Mapping the ultrastructural topology of the corynebacterial cell surface. @bupbuse.bsky.social @vikramalva.bsky.social Please also see concurrent beautiful work from @adriasogues.bsky.social and Han Remaut.
