We ran all our initial tests in optimal high nutrient conditions. However, when we re-tested some of our CRISPR-impervious phage again in low nutrient conditions we found that two of these phages could no longer resist CRISPR defences, allowing the bacteria to grow unaffected by phage lysis!

We were interested into diving deeper on understanding how useful CRISPR-Cas systems are to the bacteria that carry or acquire them. So at the start of my PhD I spent many hours creating a synthetic, minimal, modular version of the type IF CRISPR-Cas system of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Had a great time in Paris at the EMBO workshop on the immune system of bacteria, thank you to all the organisers. Conferences in cool cities are also the perfect opportunities to go to other awesome places like Fontainebleau and try some outdoor bouldering

New job announcement: Since wrapping up my PhD at Bath Uni, I have crossed the channel and am settling in as a postdoc in the Molecular Ecology and Evolution of Phages group of @annechevallereau.bsky.social in Lyon France 🇫🇷. Very excited for the next few years of phage-based-fun!

The amazing @keiracozens.bsky.social in our lab has really come through and made #microbiology themed earrings for us. I will be wearing these #phage earrings to the next conference for sure 😅

Hi BlueSky! I'm a PhD student working on experimental evolution with CRISPR-Cas. Yesterday we took my outreach stall to the Bristol Futures UpLate event to get kids and adults talking about CRISPR and genetic engineering through phage-fishing, genome-jenga and mutant zebrafish spot-the-difference 🦠🧪