Stephan Gruber
Microbiologist | Biochemist | Structural Biologist, Lausanne 🇨🇭 | Studying molecular machines (SMC, ParB, Wadjet, Lamassu & more) in Genome Integrity & Nucleic Acid Immunity.
🔬 Lab homepage: wp.unil.ch/gruberlab
- Reposted by Stephan GruberPregnancy loss is common in humans, and chromosomal abnormalities are the leading cause. Using genetic data from ~140,000 IVF embryos, we show that maternal variation in meiosis genes influences recombination and aneuploidy risk. First authors: @saracarioscia.bsky.social & @aabiddanda.github.io
- Reposted by Stephan GruberThe @dmf-unil.bsky.social is supporting the application of a candidate for the SNSF/ERC Starting Grant (deadline 5th of May). Reach out to me if you are interested. We are collecting CV’s until the 8th of Feb. We can offer a stimulating scientific environment and help with the application/interview.
- Reposted by Stephan GruberCOW TOOLS COW TOOLS COW TOOLS
- Reposted by Stephan GruberAncestral sequence reconstruction reveals CTP-dependent loading of the bacterial centromere-binding protein ParB as an ancient evolutionary feature Now published: tinyurl.com/4ddhwbb3 Thanks to the Hochberg and Bange labs for the great collaboration!
- Reposted by Stephan GruberJOB ALERT: Operations Director (DCI–Lausanne). The DCI, a joint initiative of EPFL, UNIL, UNIGE and UNIBE, is recruiting an Operations Director to lead the cryo-EM facility in Lausanne. 📩 Questions: CEO of the DCI: @chgenoud.bsky.social 🔗 Apply here: careers.epfl.ch/job/Lausanne...
- Reposted by Stephan Gruber@science.org Chromatin buffers torsional stress during transcription | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
- Reposted by Stephan GruberVerspätungen 2025 an über 100 europäischen Bahnhöfen: Sogar italienische Züge sind pünktlicher als deutsche... 🙈 Quelle: chuuchuu.com/2025wrapped
- Reposted by Stephan GruberCoupled to the general budget cuts by both the canton and federal government to our University (and it's happening at most institutes in Switzerland), this would be really bad. The project funding scheme is really the best thing about Swiss science, so please don't touch this!
- The SNSF is considering restrictions for its Project funding. Goal: to ensure the quality of evaluation & stable success rates despite an increasing number of applications and limited funding. The final decision will be made in January 2026. 👉 buff.ly/iGOCf7R #research #science
- Reposted by Stephan GruberDana-Farber Cancer Institute Agrees to Pay $15 Million to Settle Fraud Allegations Related to Scientific Research Grants. The relator [Sholto David] will receive $2,625,000 under today’s settlement. www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/d...
- Reposted by Stephan GruberOnline Now: The Ppl protein senses 3′-hydroxyl DNA overhangs and NTP depletion to halt phage infection Online now:
- Reposted by Stephan GruberNew online: DNA topoisomerase I acts as supercoiling sensor for bacterial transcription elongation
- Reposted by Stephan GruberReally looking forward to hosting Elisabeth on Monday Dec 1 at @fbm-unil.bsky.social @unil.bsky.social for our BIG seminar: 12.15 in Genopode C (note change of room). Open to everyone.
- The hinge bypass gate paper is finally out! doi.org/10.1038/s414... We show how loop-extruding SMC complexes can maintain DNA entrapment while bypassing obstacles on DNA — including transcription machinery & potentially other SMCs. A lucky convergence of 3 projects lead to the initial discovery!
- Reposted by Stephan GruberGlad to see this out after a rather interesting review/publication process! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Reposted by Stephan GruberPrashant Singh in the lab of Tina Iverson at Vanderbilt published this image of the bacterial 🦠flagellar motor, a detailed molecular model made possibly by CryoEM 🔬. The similarity to mechanical motors are strong enough we can use terms like stator, rotor, rod & gearing to describe it.
- Reposted by Stephan Gruber🌍Open call: Junior Group Leader positions! Join a world-class biomedical research institute at the heart of the Vienna BioCenter, where curiosity drives discovery. Lead your own lab, pursue bold ideas, and shape the future of science at the IMP: www.imp.ac.at/career/open-...
- Reposted by Stephan GruberWhat Rosalind Franklin truly contributed to the discovery of DNA’s structure. A really informative article, perfect for a weekend coffee read. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
- This paper was retracted (by the authors) a long time ago: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15178751/ However, I cannot find a retraction notice on the DOI page: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Is this standard practice, or an oversight? @science.org
- Very nice Preview by @bramkamplab.bsky.social on the SMC DNA loading paper by our @roisnehamelinf.bsky.social "Weaving the loops of life: DNA loading by loop-extrusion machines in plasmid defense and genome organization" Molecular Cell www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
- How do SMC complexes load onto DNA to get ready for loop extrusion? @roisnehamelinf.bsky.social & co discovered that Wadjet, an SMC complex involved in bacterial DNA immunity, performs some impressive molecular gymnastics 🤸♂️🤸♂️🤸♂️. Check out the new paper: www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
- I was not aware that Walther Flemming did (some of) his groundbreaking work in Kiel
- Reposted by Stephan Gruber#microsky #phagesky Mycobacterium #phage review by Graham Hatfull covering the state of the art www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
- Reposted by Stephan Gruber📢 Open Call! The Max Perutz Labs invite applications for a Full Professorship in Integrative Structure Biology with a focus on in situ structural biology using cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) and related methods. More details ➡️ tinyurl.com/brswbymu
- Reposted by Stephan Gruber
Really cool! But Bluesky has flipped your picture over - it now shows positively supercoiled left-handed DNA :-(.- Lab’s first paper is out!! We show the first structures of #Asgard #chromatin by #cryo-EM 🧬❄️ Asgard histones form closed and open hypernucleosomes. Closed are conserved across #Archaea, while open resemble eukaryotic H3–H4 octasomes and are Asgard-specific. More here: www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
- Reposted by Stephan Gruber
- Reposted by Stephan Gruberwho would have thought! phage N15 TelN telomerase has more than one job! (and no, it's not 'moonlighting') great work from the gruber lab 👏 #MicroSky + #PhageSky
- E. coli bacteriophage N15 suppresses Mre11-Rad50-mediated end degradation of its linear genome via a telomere-resolution-independent function of its telomere resolvase TelN #RefereedPreprint c/o @reviewcommons.org by @gruberlab.bsky.social www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
- Reposted by Stephan GruberE. coli bacteriophage N15 suppresses Mre11-Rad50-mediated end degradation of its linear genome via a telomere-resolution-independent function of its telomere resolvase TelN #RefereedPreprint c/o @reviewcommons.org by @gruberlab.bsky.social www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
- This was a fun collaboration between Ophélie & the @seegerlab.bsky.social using sybody libraries to target the SMC complex in living bacteria. With a suprising finding: the 14 isolated sybodies bind to the middle of the SMC coiled coil rather than the more conserved ATPase heads.
- Single Domain Antibody Inhibitors Target the Coiled Coil Arms of the Bacillus subtilis SMC complex biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/202…
- Reposted by Stephan GruberSingle Domain Antibody Inhibitors Target the Coiled Coil Arms of the Bacillus subtilis SMC complex biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/202…
- Reposted by Stephan GruberOnline Now: Mechanism of DNA entrapment by a loop-extruding Wadjet SMC motor Online now:
- Reposted by Stephan GruberNew online: Structure and activation mechanism of a Lamassu phage and plasmid defense system
- Reposted by Stephan Gruber🚨Our paper is out! 🥳 Hijacking a bacterial ABC transporter for efficient genetic code expansion. Many congrats to everyone involved - a multi-year effort led by @taruniype.bsky.social @maxfottner.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41... it all started years ago with a failed experiment 🧵👇 1/9
- And also the bacterial telomere protection paper by Maya, Nicolas, & Ania is out: doi.org/10.1038/s443... Great experience with @reviewcommons.org & @embojournal.org Feels just right to have the manuscript reviewed without having to target a specific journal from the start.
- Happy that the final version of our Lamassu work @yli18smc.bsky.social is now out: www.nature.com/articles/s41... Thanks again to our awesome collaborators @mblokesch.bsky.social and David and co and Mark Szczelkun and @steven-shaw.bsky.social and the DCI Lausanne @fbm-unil.bsky.social
- Glad to share the work of @yli18smc.bsky.social and co on Lamassu, a bacterial defense system related to Rad50/Mre11 (RM). While RM carefully trims DNA ends for repair, Lamassu chops up the host chromosome. Our study reveals how it is regulated to minimize damage, activating only during infection.
- here is a free link (view-only): rdcu.be/eKWbz
- Reposted by Stephan GruberWe are pleased to highlight this article published by @gruberlab.bsky.social. At DCI, F. Roisne Hamelin and collaborators used electron microscopy — and in particular our streptavidin affinity grids — to reveal the mechanism by which Wadjet binds to the plasmid to initiate loop extrusion.
- How do SMC complexes load onto DNA to get ready for loop extrusion? @roisnehamelinf.bsky.social & co discovered that Wadjet, an SMC complex involved in bacterial DNA immunity, performs some impressive molecular gymnastics 🤸♂️🤸♂️🤸♂️. Check out the new paper: www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
- Reposted by Stephan GruberAs always, bacteria light the path of discovery.
- How do SMC complexes load onto DNA to get ready for loop extrusion? @roisnehamelinf.bsky.social & co discovered that Wadjet, an SMC complex involved in bacterial DNA immunity, performs some impressive molecular gymnastics 🤸♂️🤸♂️🤸♂️. Check out the new paper: www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
- Florian determined structures of several DNA-loading intermediates using clever protein engineering & cryo-EM with help from Dubochet Center for Imaging @fbm-unil.bsky.social & @igbmc.bsky.social He found that the large SMC dimers rotate around DNA to close the ring and topologically entrap DNA.
- See the beautiful structures: A new DNA-boarding state. www.rcsb.org/structure/9QXS www.rcsb.org/structure/9QXR
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View full threadMany thanks to the editor and reviewers for such a constructive, enjoyable process.
- Reposted by Stephan GruberPlease RT: We have an opening for a junior group leader position in „Phage Biology & Biotechnology“. www.fz-juelich.de/de/karriere/... Interested candidates are encouraged to contact me via email for further details. @spp2330.bsky.social; @mibinet.bsky.social
- Reposted by Stephan GruberReally excited to share our latest work led by @mattiaubertini.bsky.social and @nesslfy.bsky.social: we report that cohesin loop extrusion creates rare but long-lived encounters between genomic sequences which underlie efficient enhancer-promoter communication. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... A🧵👇
- Reposted by Stephan GruberApply now for FBM #PhD #Fellowships in #Life #Sciences – join one of the Faculty’s leading laboratories. 🚨 Application deadline for fellowships: October 6, 2025. ➡️ www.unil.ch/news/en/1756... @unil.bsky.social @dmf-unil.bsky.social @dee-unil.bsky.social @dib-unil.bsky.social #fbm #unil
- Reposted by Stephan Gruber
- Reposted by Stephan GruberSpringboard for an international scientific career! 🧬🧪🔭⚛️🧠🌱 Call for #MaxPlanckResearchGroups launched; applications are possible until October 14, 2025 www.mpg.de/max-planck-r... #ScienceCareer
- Reposted by Stephan GruberWe are hiring-join us!
- 🚨 We're hiring, please share! The FMI seeks a tenure-track Group Leader (Assistant Prof) in Structural Biology 🔬 Innovative scientists in genome regulation, RNA metabolism, or protein homeostasis—especially using cutting-edge approaches—apply now at www.fmi.ch/education-ca...
- Our Wadjet-II paper by @roisnehamelinf.bsky.social is out in polished form: www.cell.com/structure/fu... With a great preview by @kevincorbett.bsky.social & @amardeeep.bsky.social highlighting the potential of Wadjets: Wadjet—Keeping a watchful eye on circular DNA. www.cell.com/structure/fu...
- Happy to share the beautiful structure of a Wadjet SMC complex by @roisnehamelinf.bsky.social, with support from the DCI and @drhonsworth.bsky.social ! This is a type II Wadjet with unique characteristics including a tandem KITE subunit, distinct coiled coil architecture and a deviant hinge.
- Thanks to all the reviewers and the editor for their constructive comments and support.
- Reposted by Stephan GruberCongratulations Rotem Sorek @soreklab.bsky.social on receiving the Gruber prize today in Stockholm
- Reposted by Stephan Gruber#phagesky I am looking for phages infecting Streptococcus pneumoniae to test a phenotype - does anyone have some and willing to share ? Repost appreciated :)
- Reposted by Stephan GruberRecurrent acquisition of nuclease-protease pairs in antiviral immunity biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/202…
- Reposted by Stephan Gruber🧬 Ever wonder how metres of #DNA 🧬 fit into a single cell? @gruberlab.bsky.social, working at @unil.bsky.social uncovered how protein machines fold DNA into loops – key for cell division & genome stability. Learn more 👉 buff.ly/PrfdXnr #BioTech #Chromosomes #Crystallography #GeneEditing 🧪
- Reposted by Stephan GruberExcited to share a new preprint from the lab with @ryandhindsa.bsky.social ! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Led by @sherrynyeo.bsky.social, @erinmayc.bsky.social, and friends, we continue our journey to find viral DNA in our favorite place-- the overlooked and discarded reads in existing data! 1/
- Reposted by Stephan Gruber🔔Paper alert! Extremely excited to share a preprint from our lab! Spearheaded by @axel-schmidt.bsky.social, a super talented medical & computational geneticist, we studied latent Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection at population-scale. Interested in how this works & what we found? Read along! 👇
- Reposted by Stephan Gruber[This post could not be retrieved]
- Reposted by Stephan GruberBPS is in San Francisco next year! www.biophysics.org/2026meeting
- Reposted by Stephan GruberAI just cracked de novo antibody design with a 100x leap! 🧪 Chai-2, a next-gen multimodal generative model, is shaking up protein design. With a 16% hit rate in fully de novo antibody design—over 100 times better than previous methods—it’s making drug discovery faster and more precise than ever.
- Reposted by Stephan Gruber🚨New preprint🚨We developed a transverse flow imaging approach to directly visualize bacterial replisomes challenged by topological barriers and discovered a fast rotational mode of replisome operation. Fantastic work by thomasmretzer.bsky.social and Hamdan Lab! tinyurl.com/replisomerot...
- Reposted by Stephan GruberStructural insights into type I and type II Lamassu anti-phage systems biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/202…
- Reposted by Stephan GruberDear Mobile DNA Researchers, The 8th Woods Hole Mobile Genetic Elements meeting will be held Aug 28 to Aug 30, 2025, at the MBL in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Info, registration, and abstract submission: www.eventsquid.com/event/28372 #MobileDNA #MobileGeneticElements
- Reposted by Stephan GruberGreat job opportunity at The Center for Integrative Genomics, Lausanne University, Switzerland unil.ch/cig/en/home.... For a tenure-track Assistant Professor position. More details for how to apply are here nature.com/naturecareer...
- Something a bit different from the Gruber lab: More than 10 years ago, we (and others) tried to linearize the B. subtilis chromosome using a phage telomere (successfully used before in E. coli). But it did not work.
- Maya, with help from Ania and Nicolas, figured out that the phage-encoded telomere resolvase TelN, which generates hairpin telomeres in the first place, also protects them from degradation by E. coli MR nuclease (but not B. subtilis MR). TelN associates with telomeric DNA and directly inhibits MR.
- This reveals parallels with DNA end protection in eukaryotes and highlights the challenges of having linear chromosomes as well as functional repair of DNA double strand break. www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
- Reposted by Stephan GruberNew tenure track assistant professor position in molecular microbiology in our department @dmf-unil.bsky.social @unil.bsky.social! We are casting a wide net for an experimental molecular microbiologist. Apply here: wwwfbm.unil.ch/releve/appli...
- Reposted by Stephan GruberCracking the code of DNA folding machines - new article on the LS1 @erc.europa.eu CHROCODYLE project by Stephan Gruber @gruberlab.bsky.social from @unil.bsky.social #EUfunded cordis.europa.eu/article/id/4...
- Reposted by Stephan Gruber📢 Applications open for a Tenure track assistant Professor in AI-oriented #computational #biology 📍 within the Department of Computational Biology @unil.bsky.social ❗ Apply before June 29th, 2025 More info 👉 career5.successfactors.eu/career?caree... #joboffer #AI
