Mike Blazanin
@mikeblazanin.bsky.social
Postdoc with @kayla-king.bsky.social and @sarperotto.bsky.social at UBC. Host-pathogen evolution. C. elegans, phages, and bacterial communities. Modeling and experimental evolution. Microbial and computational methods.
https://mikeblazanin.com/
https://mikeblazanin.com/
Reposted by Mike Blazanin
Long read Metagenomics, #phage and #prophage in the gut by Ami Bhatt's group. Beautiful data showing changes in phages over two years
#phagesky
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#phagesky
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Long-read metagenomics reveals phage dynamics in the human gut microbiome - Nature
Complex prophage integration dynamics, including low-level induction, cross-family host range and transposase-mediated mobilization, challenge existing paradigms and deepen our understanding of phage–...
www.nature.com
November 26, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Long read Metagenomics, #phage and #prophage in the gut by Ami Bhatt's group. Beautiful data showing changes in phages over two years
#phagesky
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#phagesky
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Mike Blazanin
🧬🛡️How are new immune mechanisms created?
We show how Lamassu antiphage system, originated from a DNA-repair complex and evolved into a compact and modular immune machine, wt Dinshaw Patel lab in @pnas.org.
👏 @matthieu-haudiquet.bsky.social, Arpita Chakravarti & all authors!
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
We show how Lamassu antiphage system, originated from a DNA-repair complex and evolved into a compact and modular immune machine, wt Dinshaw Patel lab in @pnas.org.
👏 @matthieu-haudiquet.bsky.social, Arpita Chakravarti & all authors!
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
November 27, 2025 at 9:35 AM
🧬🛡️How are new immune mechanisms created?
We show how Lamassu antiphage system, originated from a DNA-repair complex and evolved into a compact and modular immune machine, wt Dinshaw Patel lab in @pnas.org.
👏 @matthieu-haudiquet.bsky.social, Arpita Chakravarti & all authors!
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
We show how Lamassu antiphage system, originated from a DNA-repair complex and evolved into a compact and modular immune machine, wt Dinshaw Patel lab in @pnas.org.
👏 @matthieu-haudiquet.bsky.social, Arpita Chakravarti & all authors!
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
Reposted by Mike Blazanin
The host range of generalist and specialist phages in capsule-diverse Klebsiella hosts is driven by the evolvability of receptor-binding proteins
@plosbiology.org from @pilardomingoc.bsky.social
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
@plosbiology.org from @pilardomingoc.bsky.social
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
The host range of generalist and specialist phages in capsule-diverse Klebsiella hosts is driven by the evolvability of receptor-binding proteins
Capsule diversity limits phage host range by affecting RBP interactions in capsulated bacteria. This study shows that generalist phages evolve host range through RBP mutations and recombination, while...
journals.plos.org
November 27, 2025 at 12:28 PM
The host range of generalist and specialist phages in capsule-diverse Klebsiella hosts is driven by the evolvability of receptor-binding proteins
@plosbiology.org from @pilardomingoc.bsky.social
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
@plosbiology.org from @pilardomingoc.bsky.social
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Reposted by Mike Blazanin
Two fully-funded PhD openings in my research group at the University of York.
If you’re excited about viromes, phage biology, Nanopore sequencing, soils and the odd bit of alpine or agricultural field sampling, we’d love to hear from you!
🌱🦠🏔️
tiny.cc/c4pv001
tiny.cc/e4pv001
If you’re excited about viromes, phage biology, Nanopore sequencing, soils and the odd bit of alpine or agricultural field sampling, we’d love to hear from you!
🌱🦠🏔️
tiny.cc/c4pv001
tiny.cc/e4pv001
A Farewell to Arms: The Trade-off Between Growth and Defence in Bacteria (York YBDTP Project) at University of York on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - A Farewell to Arms: The Trade-off Between Growth and Defence in Bacteria (York YBDTP Project) at University of York, listed on FindAPhD.com
tiny.cc
November 27, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Two fully-funded PhD openings in my research group at the University of York.
If you’re excited about viromes, phage biology, Nanopore sequencing, soils and the odd bit of alpine or agricultural field sampling, we’d love to hear from you!
🌱🦠🏔️
tiny.cc/c4pv001
tiny.cc/e4pv001
If you’re excited about viromes, phage biology, Nanopore sequencing, soils and the odd bit of alpine or agricultural field sampling, we’d love to hear from you!
🌱🦠🏔️
tiny.cc/c4pv001
tiny.cc/e4pv001
Reposted by Mike Blazanin
🚨Preprint alert - this is a big one! We transfer the revolutionary power of TnSeq to bacteriophages.
Our HIDEN-SEQ links the "dark matter" genes of your favorite phage to any selectable phenotype, guiding the path from fun observations to molecular mechanisms.
A thread 1/8
Our HIDEN-SEQ links the "dark matter" genes of your favorite phage to any selectable phenotype, guiding the path from fun observations to molecular mechanisms.
A thread 1/8
November 20, 2025 at 8:40 PM
🚨Preprint alert - this is a big one! We transfer the revolutionary power of TnSeq to bacteriophages.
Our HIDEN-SEQ links the "dark matter" genes of your favorite phage to any selectable phenotype, guiding the path from fun observations to molecular mechanisms.
A thread 1/8
Our HIDEN-SEQ links the "dark matter" genes of your favorite phage to any selectable phenotype, guiding the path from fun observations to molecular mechanisms.
A thread 1/8
Reposted by Mike Blazanin
Two conferences two weeks apart, thank you to everyone who came and chatted to me at my poster (or in general) at the Phages.fr conference in Nancy and the @microbiologysociety.org #MicroEvo25 conference in Liverpool. It was great to show the first data from my postdoc and get advice and feedback
November 27, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Two conferences two weeks apart, thank you to everyone who came and chatted to me at my poster (or in general) at the Phages.fr conference in Nancy and the @microbiologysociety.org #MicroEvo25 conference in Liverpool. It was great to show the first data from my postdoc and get advice and feedback
Reposted by Mike Blazanin
📢 New preprint is out on bioRxiv 📢:
How much does virome prep influence our view of the human gut virome?
Short answer: a lot.
Long answer:
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Different methods lead to distinct community structures, richness, and major virus-host abundance patterns.
🧵 1/5
How much does virome prep influence our view of the human gut virome?
Short answer: a lot.
Long answer:
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Different methods lead to distinct community structures, richness, and major virus-host abundance patterns.
🧵 1/5
November 27, 2025 at 8:44 PM
📢 New preprint is out on bioRxiv 📢:
How much does virome prep influence our view of the human gut virome?
Short answer: a lot.
Long answer:
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Different methods lead to distinct community structures, richness, and major virus-host abundance patterns.
🧵 1/5
How much does virome prep influence our view of the human gut virome?
Short answer: a lot.
Long answer:
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Different methods lead to distinct community structures, richness, and major virus-host abundance patterns.
🧵 1/5
Time to publish responsibly: DAFNEE, a database of academia-friendly journals in ecology and evolutionary biology url: academic.oup.com/jeb/article/...
Time to publish responsibly: DAFNEE, a database of academia-friendly journals in ecology and evolutionary biology
Abstract. The current economics of scientific publishing reveal a profound imbalance: academia pays prices far exceeding the actual costs of publication. R
academic.oup.com
November 27, 2025 at 12:44 AM
Time to publish responsibly: DAFNEE, a database of academia-friendly journals in ecology and evolutionary biology url: academic.oup.com/jeb/article/...
Reposted by Mike Blazanin
Proud of this work led by Rocio Espinosa and Henriette Lyng Roder. Fun collaboration & innovation!
*Used custom 3D-printed flow systems to study evolution in biofilms of two competing Pseudomonas species in communities of varying complexity, using microscopy + WGS
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
*Used custom 3D-printed flow systems to study evolution in biofilms of two competing Pseudomonas species in communities of varying complexity, using microscopy + WGS
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Competition between Pseudomonas species constrains ecological diversification in polymicrobial biofilms - npj Biofilms and Microbiomes
npj Biofilms and Microbiomes - Competition between Pseudomonas species constrains ecological diversification in polymicrobial biofilms
www.nature.com
November 26, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Proud of this work led by Rocio Espinosa and Henriette Lyng Roder. Fun collaboration & innovation!
*Used custom 3D-printed flow systems to study evolution in biofilms of two competing Pseudomonas species in communities of varying complexity, using microscopy + WGS
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
*Used custom 3D-printed flow systems to study evolution in biofilms of two competing Pseudomonas species in communities of varying complexity, using microscopy + WGS
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Mike Blazanin
Join our online course Orchestrating Microbiome Analysis with @bioconductor.bsky.social (2–6 Feb 2026)! Learn hands-on microbiome data analysis, diversity metrics, and multi-omics integration with @antagomir.bsky.social & Tuomas Borman .
www.physalia-courses.org/courses-work...
www.physalia-courses.org/courses-work...
Orchestrating Microbiome Analysis with Bioconductor
2–6 February 2026
www.physalia-courses.org
November 26, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Join our online course Orchestrating Microbiome Analysis with @bioconductor.bsky.social (2–6 Feb 2026)! Learn hands-on microbiome data analysis, diversity metrics, and multi-omics integration with @antagomir.bsky.social & Tuomas Borman .
www.physalia-courses.org/courses-work...
www.physalia-courses.org/courses-work...
Reposted by Mike Blazanin
Very excited to share a big part of my dissertation work with the Deutschbauer lab at LBNL and @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social! BarTn7: A method for bacterial lineage tracking at sub-species resolution in population, ecological, and evolutionary experiments.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
BarTn7: Optimizing Bacterial Lineage Tracking at Sub-Species Resolution for Population Dynamics in Ecological and Evolutionary Studies
Communities of bacteria undergo population bottlenecks which are crucial to their population, ecological, and evolutionary dynamics. However, conventional amplicon sequencing cannot distinguish such d...
www.biorxiv.org
November 25, 2025 at 10:38 PM
Very excited to share a big part of my dissertation work with the Deutschbauer lab at LBNL and @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social! BarTn7: A method for bacterial lineage tracking at sub-species resolution in population, ecological, and evolutionary experiments.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Mike Blazanin
Please apply to join the Diversity Committee of the American Society of Naturalists!
www.amnat.org/announcement...
www.amnat.org/announcement...
November 19, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Please apply to join the Diversity Committee of the American Society of Naturalists!
www.amnat.org/announcement...
www.amnat.org/announcement...
Reposted by Mike Blazanin
#microsky #phagesky
Transposon mutagenesis of jumbo #phage using an anti-CRISPR factor as selectable marker
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Transposon mutagenesis of jumbo #phage using an anti-CRISPR factor as selectable marker
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Bacteriophage genome-wide transposon mutagenesis
Bacteriophages have genomes that span a wide size range, are densely packed with coding sequences, and frequently encode genes of unknown function. Classical forward genetics has defined essential gen...
www.biorxiv.org
November 25, 2025 at 8:07 AM
#microsky #phagesky
Transposon mutagenesis of jumbo #phage using an anti-CRISPR factor as selectable marker
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Transposon mutagenesis of jumbo #phage using an anti-CRISPR factor as selectable marker
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Mike Blazanin
We are organising an AMR meeting next spring in Helsinki. Meeting includes evolution of AMR and environmental AMR sessions. Please submit your abstract now! Deadline Dec 1st.
November 25, 2025 at 12:48 PM
We are organising an AMR meeting next spring in Helsinki. Meeting includes evolution of AMR and environmental AMR sessions. Please submit your abstract now! Deadline Dec 1st.
Reposted by Mike Blazanin
👀 Eco/evo tweeps teaching undergraduate courses ...
Can interactive web apps help biology students become better modellers? Stephan Peischl's group is running an ethics-approved study. Learn more at: peischllab.github.io/MEEW.html Contact [email protected] to receive the survey link.
Can interactive web apps help biology students become better modellers? Stephan Peischl's group is running an ethics-approved study. Learn more at: peischllab.github.io/MEEW.html Contact [email protected] to receive the survey link.
MEEW
peischllab.github.io
November 24, 2025 at 9:51 PM
👀 Eco/evo tweeps teaching undergraduate courses ...
Can interactive web apps help biology students become better modellers? Stephan Peischl's group is running an ethics-approved study. Learn more at: peischllab.github.io/MEEW.html Contact [email protected] to receive the survey link.
Can interactive web apps help biology students become better modellers? Stephan Peischl's group is running an ethics-approved study. Learn more at: peischllab.github.io/MEEW.html Contact [email protected] to receive the survey link.
Reposted by Mike Blazanin
Open faculty position (Assistant or Associate) in UW Medical Genetics. As you might expect, faculty often end up also interacting with Genome Sciences, so we're hoping for some great prospects! Note the clinical requirements for the position. apply.interfolio.com/176466
Apply - Interfolio
{{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
November 24, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Open faculty position (Assistant or Associate) in UW Medical Genetics. As you might expect, faculty often end up also interacting with Genome Sciences, so we're hoping for some great prospects! Note the clinical requirements for the position. apply.interfolio.com/176466
Reposted by Mike Blazanin
This has been an intense, crazy week. My plasmid competition paper is finally out and we have a new preprint on Bioarxiv! Plus I'm leaving the US after 10 years here. See you soon America! Hello Zurich!!!
Hot off the press! Our latest paper led by @fernpizza.bsky.social, understanding how plasmids evolve inside cells. These small, self-replicating DNA circles live inside bacteria and carry antibiotic resistance genes, but also compete with one another to replicate. 1/
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Intracellular competition shapes plasmid population dynamics
From populations of multicellular organisms to selfish genetic elements, conflicts between levels of biological organization are central to evolution. Plasmids are extrachromosomal, self-replicating g...
www.science.org
November 21, 2025 at 8:26 PM
This has been an intense, crazy week. My plasmid competition paper is finally out and we have a new preprint on Bioarxiv! Plus I'm leaving the US after 10 years here. See you soon America! Hello Zurich!!!
Reposted by Mike Blazanin
🧫🦠🌍🧬
Alexander Harms group just made TnSeq possible for phages, enabling the possibility to infer functions over different hosts and conditions.
This will revolutionise our toolbox to understand not only phage physiology, but also ecological plasticity!
Congrats @aharms485.bsky.social!
Alexander Harms group just made TnSeq possible for phages, enabling the possibility to infer functions over different hosts and conditions.
This will revolutionise our toolbox to understand not only phage physiology, but also ecological plasticity!
Congrats @aharms485.bsky.social!
🚨Preprint alert - this is a big one! We transfer the revolutionary power of TnSeq to bacteriophages.
Our HIDEN-SEQ links the "dark matter" genes of your favorite phage to any selectable phenotype, guiding the path from fun observations to molecular mechanisms.
A thread 1/8
Our HIDEN-SEQ links the "dark matter" genes of your favorite phage to any selectable phenotype, guiding the path from fun observations to molecular mechanisms.
A thread 1/8
November 20, 2025 at 11:20 PM
🧫🦠🌍🧬
Alexander Harms group just made TnSeq possible for phages, enabling the possibility to infer functions over different hosts and conditions.
This will revolutionise our toolbox to understand not only phage physiology, but also ecological plasticity!
Congrats @aharms485.bsky.social!
Alexander Harms group just made TnSeq possible for phages, enabling the possibility to infer functions over different hosts and conditions.
This will revolutionise our toolbox to understand not only phage physiology, but also ecological plasticity!
Congrats @aharms485.bsky.social!
Reposted by Mike Blazanin
Another great post from Sasha demonstrating what will ring true to many of us-- our environments include our siblings, making it unlikely that siblings have identical environments.
I wrote a little bit about the "missing heritability" question and several recent studies that have brought it to a close. A short 🧵
The missing heritability question is now (mostly) answered
Not with a bang but with a whimper
theinfinitesimal.substack.com
November 21, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Another great post from Sasha demonstrating what will ring true to many of us-- our environments include our siblings, making it unlikely that siblings have identical environments.
Reposted by Mike Blazanin
I wrote a little bit about the "missing heritability" question and several recent studies that have brought it to a close. A short 🧵
The missing heritability question is now (mostly) answered
Not with a bang but with a whimper
theinfinitesimal.substack.com
November 21, 2025 at 10:34 PM
I wrote a little bit about the "missing heritability" question and several recent studies that have brought it to a close. A short 🧵
Reposted by Mike Blazanin
I have a PhD position available on freshwater phage pollution, in terms of AMR impact and persistance of phage used in food and agriculture. #PhageSky #MicroSky www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
NERC RED-ALERT CDT: Bacteriophages as river pollutants: determining the impact of phage pollution, with focus on antimicrobial resistance. at Bangor University on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - NERC RED-ALERT CDT: Bacteriophages as river pollutants: determining the impact of phage pollution, with focus on antimicrobial resistance. at Bangor University, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:55 PM
I have a PhD position available on freshwater phage pollution, in terms of AMR impact and persistance of phage used in food and agriculture. #PhageSky #MicroSky www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Reposted by Mike Blazanin
Congratulations @daanspeth.bsky.social and the whole team. GlobDB has already been very helpful for several projects at @cemess.bsky.social, and it will no doubt be a useful resource for many microbiologists around the world. Really glad to see it out there.
November 21, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Congratulations @daanspeth.bsky.social and the whole team. GlobDB has already been very helpful for several projects at @cemess.bsky.social, and it will no doubt be a useful resource for many microbiologists around the world. Really glad to see it out there.
Reposted by Mike Blazanin
UBC and SFU PIH chapters are partnering with us to host a Global Health Case Competition — built by students, for students. Happening next Sat, Nov 29th.
If of interest @ubcpress.bsky.social @ccj-ubc.bsky.social @ires.ubc.ca @jwmartens.bsky.social @profterrig.bsky.social @lauraknelson.bsky.social
If of interest @ubcpress.bsky.social @ccj-ubc.bsky.social @ires.ubc.ca @jwmartens.bsky.social @profterrig.bsky.social @lauraknelson.bsky.social
November 20, 2025 at 9:19 PM
UBC and SFU PIH chapters are partnering with us to host a Global Health Case Competition — built by students, for students. Happening next Sat, Nov 29th.
If of interest @ubcpress.bsky.social @ccj-ubc.bsky.social @ires.ubc.ca @jwmartens.bsky.social @profterrig.bsky.social @lauraknelson.bsky.social
If of interest @ubcpress.bsky.social @ccj-ubc.bsky.social @ires.ubc.ca @jwmartens.bsky.social @profterrig.bsky.social @lauraknelson.bsky.social
Reposted by Mike Blazanin
Kepler serving up some really sweet science
(not sponsored by Crumbl)
(not sponsored by Crumbl)
November 20, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Kepler serving up some really sweet science
(not sponsored by Crumbl)
(not sponsored by Crumbl)
Reposted by Mike Blazanin
Hot off the press! Our latest paper led by @fernpizza.bsky.social, understanding how plasmids evolve inside cells. These small, self-replicating DNA circles live inside bacteria and carry antibiotic resistance genes, but also compete with one another to replicate. 1/
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Intracellular competition shapes plasmid population dynamics
From populations of multicellular organisms to selfish genetic elements, conflicts between levels of biological organization are central to evolution. Plasmids are extrachromosomal, self-replicating g...
www.science.org
November 20, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Hot off the press! Our latest paper led by @fernpizza.bsky.social, understanding how plasmids evolve inside cells. These small, self-replicating DNA circles live inside bacteria and carry antibiotic resistance genes, but also compete with one another to replicate. 1/
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...