Aditya Kamat
@adityakamat.bsky.social
Postdoctoral fellow at Rudner Lab, Harvard Medical School | PhD at Badrinarayanan Lab, NCBS Bangalore (TIFR)
Pinned
Variability in intrinsic promoter strength underlies the temporal hierarchy of the Caulobacter SOS response induction
The bacterial SOS response unfolds in a defined temporal order, but the determinants of this hierarchy are unclear. This study shows that intrinsic promoter strength, modulated in part by sigma factor...
journals.plos.org
1/Now published! We identify a novel regulatory layer underlying SOS response dynamic. Find a short summary about our findings below.
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
#MicroSky
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
#MicroSky
Reposted by Aditya Kamat
Excited to see our new work published! We have established the evolutionary and ecological context of our favorite model Caulobacter and made some unexpected findings.
Who would have thought that close relatives lack dimorphism? And have potential for phototrophy?
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Who would have thought that close relatives lack dimorphism? And have potential for phototrophy?
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Widespread potential for phototrophy and convergent reduction of lifecycle complexity in the dimorphic order Caulobacterales - Nature Communications
This study maps out the diversity and evolution of the bacterial order Caulobacterales, including the model organism C. crescentus, which reveals widespread phototrophy and illuminates the evolution o...
www.nature.com
December 12, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Excited to see our new work published! We have established the evolutionary and ecological context of our favorite model Caulobacter and made some unexpected findings.
Who would have thought that close relatives lack dimorphism? And have potential for phototrophy?
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Who would have thought that close relatives lack dimorphism? And have potential for phototrophy?
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Aditya Kamat
indeed, 𝘙𝘶𝘨𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘢 𝘰𝘳𝘺𝘻𝘢𝘦 looke like fusilli, which are notably better at holding on salsa di pomodoro than spaghetti... and as pasta addicts, we fell instantly in love with the shape of this newly described alphaproteo from the Rhizobiales 🤭
#MicroSky
#MicroSky
December 10, 2025 at 7:52 PM
indeed, 𝘙𝘶𝘨𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘢 𝘰𝘳𝘺𝘻𝘢𝘦 looke like fusilli, which are notably better at holding on salsa di pomodoro than spaghetti... and as pasta addicts, we fell instantly in love with the shape of this newly described alphaproteo from the Rhizobiales 🤭
#MicroSky
#MicroSky
Reposted by Aditya Kamat
The bacterial #SOSresponse unfolds in a defined temporal order, but how does this arise? @adityakamat.bsky.social @anjbadri.bsky.social &co show that intrinsic #promoter strength, modulated by #SigmaFactor usage, governs timing of SOS gene activation in Caulobacter @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4oAKf0Q
![Comparative analysis of the Caulobacter SOS response under mitomycin-C damage. Top left: Schematic summarizing the RNA-sequencing experiment. Caulobacter cells were treated with 0.25 μg/ml mitomycin-C for 20 and 40 min (Created in BioRender). Samples were collected for transcriptomic analysis before (0 min, control), and at 20 and 40 min post damage induction. Top right: Venn diagram representing the genes that meet the listed criteria: 1. Genes induced in wild type cells under MMC damage at 40 min (white circle). 2. Genes induced in ΔlexA in the absence of damage (blue circle). 3. Genes not induced in ΔrecA background under MMC damage at 40 min (gray circle). Genes fulfilling all three criteria are in the gray circle. Number of genes in each category is indicated. Bottom left: Bar graph indicating whether promoters of the shortlisted genes exhibit binding by the LexA protein as assessed from ChIP-seq analysis [10]. Bottom right: LexA ChIP-seq profile for genes belonging to the SOS response. Normalized reads (in rpm) are represented for 500 bp upstream and downstream of the gene CDS.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:5522ztebtekoor5efelihqhb/bafkreigerw7qsbl4br367qyqg3mouvx3va6s7f3pcqugpf2m24adc3wa6y@jpeg)
December 5, 2025 at 10:03 AM
The bacterial #SOSresponse unfolds in a defined temporal order, but how does this arise? @adityakamat.bsky.social @anjbadri.bsky.social &co show that intrinsic #promoter strength, modulated by #SigmaFactor usage, governs timing of SOS gene activation in Caulobacter @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4oAKf0Q
1/Now published! We identify a novel regulatory layer underlying SOS response dynamic. Find a short summary about our findings below.
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
#MicroSky
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
#MicroSky
Variability in intrinsic promoter strength underlies the temporal hierarchy of the Caulobacter SOS response induction
The bacterial SOS response unfolds in a defined temporal order, but the determinants of this hierarchy are unclear. This study shows that intrinsic promoter strength, modulated in part by sigma factor...
journals.plos.org
December 10, 2025 at 1:46 PM
1/Now published! We identify a novel regulatory layer underlying SOS response dynamic. Find a short summary about our findings below.
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
#MicroSky
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
#MicroSky
Reposted by Aditya Kamat
Now published. Thank you very much to our collaborative team, and very supportive editors and reviewers!!!
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Versatile NTP recognition and domain fusions expand the functional repertoire of the ParB-CTPase fold beyond chromosome segregation | PNAS
Nucleotide triphosphate (NTP)-dependent molecular switches regulate essential cellular
processes by cycling between active and inactive states thro...
www.pnas.org
December 4, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Now published. Thank you very much to our collaborative team, and very supportive editors and reviewers!!!
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Aditya Kamat
‘Chromosomal Topological Domain Formation Modulates Transcription and the Coupling of Neighboring Genes in Escherichia coli‘ by Drs. Nico Yehya, Christopher Bohrer, and collaborators, is now available on bioRxiv. Check it out! doi: doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Chromosomal Topological Domain Formation Modulates Transcription and the Coupling of Neighboring Genes in Escherichia coli
Chromosomal topology and transcription are tightly coupled, yet the quantitative impact of topological constraints on transcription, supercoiling, and the potential coupling between neighboring genes ...
doi.org
November 25, 2025 at 2:04 PM
‘Chromosomal Topological Domain Formation Modulates Transcription and the Coupling of Neighboring Genes in Escherichia coli‘ by Drs. Nico Yehya, Christopher Bohrer, and collaborators, is now available on bioRxiv. Check it out! doi: doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Reposted by Aditya Kamat
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...
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...
Assembly, architecture and functional roles of microbial surface layers - Nature Reviews Microbiology
Surface layers (S-layers) are ubiquitous protein assemblies that coat prokaryotic cells, with their functional roles increasingly coming into focus. In this Review, Isbilir and colleagues discuss rece...
www.nature.com
November 13, 2025 at 8:14 PM
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...
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 Aditya Kamat
Thrilled to share our multidisiplinary work on how genome-wide DNA bridging by H-NS reshapes the stationary phase bacterial nucleoid and affects the transcriptional landscape. With Xindan Wang and @meyerroc.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
October 21, 2025 at 10:01 AM
Thrilled to share our multidisiplinary work on how genome-wide DNA bridging by H-NS reshapes the stationary phase bacterial nucleoid and affects the transcriptional landscape. With Xindan Wang and @meyerroc.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Aditya Kamat
new preprint from our group & Antoine Hocher: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A fantastic collaboration with Antoine, with Jovana Kaljevic' initiated the collaboration and drives the project.
A fantastic collaboration with Antoine, with Jovana Kaljevic' initiated the collaboration and drives the project.
Versatile NTP recognition and domain fusions expand the functional repertoire of the ParB-CTPase fold beyond chromosome segregation
Nucleotide triphosphate (NTP)-dependent molecular switches regulate essential cellular processes by cycling between active and inactive states through nucleotide binding and hydrolysis. These mechanis...
www.biorxiv.org
October 11, 2025 at 11:36 AM
new preprint from our group & Antoine Hocher: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A fantastic collaboration with Antoine, with Jovana Kaljevic' initiated the collaboration and drives the project.
A fantastic collaboration with Antoine, with Jovana Kaljevic' initiated the collaboration and drives the project.
Reposted by Aditya Kamat
Independent research fellowships leading to tenured positions at the John Innes Centre.
Repost = nice. Thank you very much!!!
Repost = nice. Thank you very much!!!
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to give a seminar at the Fellows Conference, which will be held on 10 March 2026.
Candidates who win Fellowships will be offered a Tenure Track Group Leader position from the outset, initially for 5 years.
Find out more: www.jic.ac.uk/training-car...
Candidates who win Fellowships will be offered a Tenure Track Group Leader position from the outset, initially for 5 years.
Find out more: www.jic.ac.uk/training-car...
Independent Research Fellowships Leading to Tenured Faculty Positions | John Innes Centre
The John Innes Centre (JIC), is a world leading centre of excellence in plant and microbial sciences based on the Norwich Research Park, UK. We are inviting applications from outstanding researchers…
www.jic.ac.uk
October 3, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Independent research fellowships leading to tenured positions at the John Innes Centre.
Repost = nice. Thank you very much!!!
Repost = nice. Thank you very much!!!
Reposted by Aditya Kamat
🚨🚨🚨Calling all Caulophiles and Alpha aficionados - stayed tuned for a virtual CauloCon in early 2026. And HOPEFULLY an in person alpha meeting in 2027!! DM me or @chienlab.bsky.social w questions or to stay in the know.
two men are standing next to each other and one of them is saying `` you wanna hang out shoot the breeze ''
ALT: two men are standing next to each other and one of them is saying `` you wanna hang out shoot the breeze ''
media.tenor.com
September 19, 2025 at 11:01 PM
🚨🚨🚨Calling all Caulophiles and Alpha aficionados - stayed tuned for a virtual CauloCon in early 2026. And HOPEFULLY an in person alpha meeting in 2027!! DM me or @chienlab.bsky.social w questions or to stay in the know.
Reposted by Aditya Kamat
🚨New paper out! #MicroSky
Studying obligate predators like Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus is tricky—essential genes for predation are also essential for survival.
We expanded its genetic toolbox:
🧬promoters to fine-tune expression
🧬IPTG-inducible system
🧬CRISPRi for rapid knockdown
bit.ly/46GUn2c
1/4
Studying obligate predators like Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus is tricky—essential genes for predation are also essential for survival.
We expanded its genetic toolbox:
🧬promoters to fine-tune expression
🧬IPTG-inducible system
🧬CRISPRi for rapid knockdown
bit.ly/46GUn2c
1/4
Expanding the genetic toolbox of the obligate predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus with inducible gene expression and CRISPR interference
Inducible gene expression and CRISPR interference-mediated depletion in the predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus.
academic.oup.com
September 17, 2025 at 7:27 AM
🚨New paper out! #MicroSky
Studying obligate predators like Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus is tricky—essential genes for predation are also essential for survival.
We expanded its genetic toolbox:
🧬promoters to fine-tune expression
🧬IPTG-inducible system
🧬CRISPRi for rapid knockdown
bit.ly/46GUn2c
1/4
Studying obligate predators like Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus is tricky—essential genes for predation are also essential for survival.
We expanded its genetic toolbox:
🧬promoters to fine-tune expression
🧬IPTG-inducible system
🧬CRISPRi for rapid knockdown
bit.ly/46GUn2c
1/4
Reposted by Aditya Kamat
N6-methyladenine modification of DNA enhances RecA-mediated homologous recombination
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
N6-methyladenine modification of DNA enhances RecA-mediated homologous recombination | PNAS
Both DNA methylation and homologous recombination (HR) are extensively studied. In bacteria, Dam methylation is the most studied DNA modification, ...
www.pnas.org
August 21, 2025 at 11:06 AM
N6-methyladenine modification of DNA enhances RecA-mediated homologous recombination
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Aditya Kamat
🚨 Imagine a bacterium that refuses to follow the textbook:
It grows as tangled filaments, divides unevenly, reshapes its own membranes… and even builds grappling hooks.
Meet Litorilinea aerophila — and here’s why it blew our minds.
It grows as tangled filaments, divides unevenly, reshapes its own membranes… and even builds grappling hooks.
Meet Litorilinea aerophila — and here’s why it blew our minds.
August 20, 2025 at 10:34 AM
🚨 Imagine a bacterium that refuses to follow the textbook:
It grows as tangled filaments, divides unevenly, reshapes its own membranes… and even builds grappling hooks.
Meet Litorilinea aerophila — and here’s why it blew our minds.
It grows as tangled filaments, divides unevenly, reshapes its own membranes… and even builds grappling hooks.
Meet Litorilinea aerophila — and here’s why it blew our minds.
Reposted by Aditya Kamat
Biophysics enthusiasts, do consider applying for the seventh session of YBM! Submit your abstracts by 20th August.
August 18, 2025 at 1:43 AM
Biophysics enthusiasts, do consider applying for the seventh session of YBM! Submit your abstracts by 20th August.
Reposted by Aditya Kamat
#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...
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...
Strategies and mechanisms of contact-dependent predation in bacteria
Predatory bacteria kill other bacteria to acquire nutrients. Among diverse strategies to kill and feed on prey, contact-dependent predation stands out…
www.sciencedirect.com
July 25, 2025 at 4:59 PM
#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...
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 Aditya Kamat
And 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
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
July 22, 2025 at 9:06 PM
And 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
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
Reposted by Aditya Kamat
Theoretical physics enthusiasts, do consider submitting an abstract for the upcoming sixth YBM!
Submit your abstracts here: t.co/W1qGraRpAc
Submit your abstracts here: t.co/W1qGraRpAc
July 17, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Theoretical physics enthusiasts, do consider submitting an abstract for the upcoming sixth YBM!
Submit your abstracts here: t.co/W1qGraRpAc
Submit your abstracts here: t.co/W1qGraRpAc
Reposted by Aditya Kamat
In @elife.bsky.social: Bacteriophage infection drives loss of β-lactam resistance in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
Bacteriophage infection drives loss of β-lactam resistance in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
In methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, evolution of bacteriophage resistance causes trade-offs that re-sensitize the bacteriato β-lactam antibiotics.
doi.org
July 10, 2025 at 11:49 PM
In @elife.bsky.social: Bacteriophage infection drives loss of β-lactam resistance in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
Reposted by Aditya Kamat
Happy to see our collaborative work on the contractile injection system (CIS) in Streptomyces published. We show that the membrane protein CisA gives Streptomyces CIS a licence to kill.
@pilhoferlab.bsky.social & Bastien Casu, @joesallmen.bsky.social #MicroSky
elifesciences.org/articles/104...
@pilhoferlab.bsky.social & Bastien Casu, @joesallmen.bsky.social #MicroSky
elifesciences.org/articles/104...
Function and firing of the Streptomyces coelicolor contractile injection system requires the membrane protein CisA
CryoEM, genetic, and cell biological analyses reveal that the conserved membrane protein CisA mediates membrane recruitment of contractile injection systems Streptomyces coelicolor, enabling their act...
elifesciences.org
July 9, 2025 at 6:46 AM
Happy to see our collaborative work on the contractile injection system (CIS) in Streptomyces published. We show that the membrane protein CisA gives Streptomyces CIS a licence to kill.
@pilhoferlab.bsky.social & Bastien Casu, @joesallmen.bsky.social #MicroSky
elifesciences.org/articles/104...
@pilhoferlab.bsky.social & Bastien Casu, @joesallmen.bsky.social #MicroSky
elifesciences.org/articles/104...
Reposted by Aditya Kamat
The fifth session of YBM is coming up next week. Join us for two exciting talks on Monday (7th July) at 11am (EDT).
Mark your calendars🗓️: tinyurl.com/29b7yk47
Meeting link: shorturl.at/0ng5A
Mark your calendars🗓️: tinyurl.com/29b7yk47
Meeting link: shorturl.at/0ng5A
July 4, 2025 at 3:15 AM
The fifth session of YBM is coming up next week. Join us for two exciting talks on Monday (7th July) at 11am (EDT).
Mark your calendars🗓️: tinyurl.com/29b7yk47
Meeting link: shorturl.at/0ng5A
Mark your calendars🗓️: tinyurl.com/29b7yk47
Meeting link: shorturl.at/0ng5A
Reposted by Aditya Kamat
Finally published! Many thanks to the reviewers and editor whose comments & suggestions improved this work significantly more than the first preprint version!!!
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Expanding the diversity of bacterial DNA partitioning: A CTP-independent ParABS system for plasmid partitioning in Streptomyces | PNAS
The ATP- and CTP-dependent ParA-ParB-parS segrosome is a macromolecular complex that
segregates chromosomes/plasmids in most bacterial species. CTP...
www.pnas.org
July 2, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Finally published! Many thanks to the reviewers and editor whose comments & suggestions improved this work significantly more than the first preprint version!!!
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Aditya Kamat
The excitement continues! Check out my latest preprint examining how phages have adapted to lyse different bacterial envelopes. I found a lysis gene (lysZ) that is conserved in phages that infect corynebacteria mycobacteria, and other actinos.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Bacteriophages target membrane-anchored glycopolymers to promote host cell lysis and progeny release
Most bacteriophages lyse their host cell to release progeny virions. Double-stranded DNA phages typically promote host lysis using a holin-endolysin system. Holins form pores in the cytoplasmic membra...
www.biorxiv.org
June 25, 2025 at 3:49 PM
The excitement continues! Check out my latest preprint examining how phages have adapted to lyse different bacterial envelopes. I found a lysis gene (lysZ) that is conserved in phages that infect corynebacteria mycobacteria, and other actinos.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Aditya Kamat
I'm pleased to announce that I will be starting my lab as an Assistant Professor at UMass Chan Medical School in August! My group will study phages that infect corynebacteria and mycobacteria to understand bacterial cell envelope assembly and phage gene function. Website and more info to come soon!
June 24, 2025 at 7:09 PM
I'm pleased to announce that I will be starting my lab as an Assistant Professor at UMass Chan Medical School in August! My group will study phages that infect corynebacteria and mycobacteria to understand bacterial cell envelope assembly and phage gene function. Website and more info to come soon!
Reposted by Aditya Kamat
#PhDone! 🎓 Congratulations Dr Shivangi Verma! 🎊
@shivangiv10.bsky.social from Prof Vatsala Thirumalai's lab successfully defended her thesis!
🧵👇Check out the thread to learn more about her work on understanding how neuronal networks are sculpted in the cerebellum during development 🧠
(1/5)
@shivangiv10.bsky.social from Prof Vatsala Thirumalai's lab successfully defended her thesis!
🧵👇Check out the thread to learn more about her work on understanding how neuronal networks are sculpted in the cerebellum during development 🧠
(1/5)
June 19, 2025 at 5:29 AM
#PhDone! 🎓 Congratulations Dr Shivangi Verma! 🎊
@shivangiv10.bsky.social from Prof Vatsala Thirumalai's lab successfully defended her thesis!
🧵👇Check out the thread to learn more about her work on understanding how neuronal networks are sculpted in the cerebellum during development 🧠
(1/5)
@shivangiv10.bsky.social from Prof Vatsala Thirumalai's lab successfully defended her thesis!
🧵👇Check out the thread to learn more about her work on understanding how neuronal networks are sculpted in the cerebellum during development 🧠
(1/5)