Vesna Grujcic

Phage–host interactions are a key driver of microbial ecology, but observing them in nature is hard!
With metaHi-C, we detect freshwater phage–host pairs and link their infection dynamics to evolution.

Together with @nadal-molero.bsky.social & Ana Martin-Cuadrado

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

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...

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...

It is an honour to receive this amazing support by the @kawresearch.bsky.social to decipher interactions between plasmid-dependent phages, plasmids and their shared bacterial host! Excited to work on this topic and explore the secrets of their coevolution!
#ECOPHARM

We are looking for a PhD student to work on an exciting plastid endosymbiosis in microbial eukaryotes. This position involves sampling, exciting microscopy such as CARDFISH, ExM and FIBSEM, single-cell transcriptomics and more. #protistsonsky 1/2

Cool! 😊

Viruses and virus satellites of haloarchaea and their nanosized DPANN symbionts reveal intricate nested interactions - Nature Microbiology An exploration of the viromes of haloarchaea and their ultra-small DPANN symbionts reveals plasmid-derived satellites of viruses from both archaeal groups, highlighting the complexity of nested symbio...

Viruses and virus satellites of haloarchaea and their nanosized DPANN symbionts reveal intricate nested interactions

Out now in Nature Microbiology, by Yifan Zhou, Mart Krupovic & colleagues.
@mkrupovic.bsky.social
@yifanzhou.bsky.social
@deemteam.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

How to upgrade stolen organelles into permanent plastids: A comparative transcriptomic perspective www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1... #protists #protistsonsky

Pretty excited to share our new preprint!
Non-photosynthetic Plastid Replacement by a Primary Plastid in the Making
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

OIST is seeking up to four tenure-track or tenured faculty in Ecology, Environmental Science, Earth Science, and Oceanography. Application deadline: Oct 15. Please share. Thx!
www.oist.jp/careers/facu...

schematic pictures and microscopic photos showing various aspects of movement in single-celled algae

#Arctic #algae aren't immobile or entombed. They're not just surviving either—they're gliding into record books phys.org/news/2025-09...

Ice gliding #diatoms establish record-low temperature limits for motility in a eukaryotic cell www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

#protists #microbes #extremophiles

Phage "satellites" that produce capsids but have no genes to produce tails have puzzled scientists for a long time. These are abundant as prophages in bacteria, but it was unclear how they can infect without tails

Now, Penadés & co show that they hijack tails from other phages. Incredible!

Please help me identify these. They are of freshwater origin and have chlorophyll.

Flagellar gliding in choanoflagellates Freire-Delgado and Brunet discover a new mode of cell motility in choanoflagellates, the closest relatives of animals. Under mild confinement, choanoflagellate move over surfaces without cell deformat...

New short paper from our lab @currentbiology.bsky.social, in which we discover of a new mode of cell motility for choanoflagellates: flagellar gliding. www.cell.com/current-biol... - A 🧵

Congrats to all grantees but a special 👏 to @messorensen.bsky.social. It’s always so nice to see past lab members go on to great successes. Also this is not the first time that my department (dept of Organismal Biology) is the only department at #UppsalaUniversity receiving an ERC grant

Check out our new paper on adopting a trait-based framework for protist diversity! We make the case for a unified protist trait database, how to build it, and how it could transform research on protist ecology and evolution.
#protistsonsky

Phosphorus constrains global photosynthesis more than nitrogen does - Nature Ecology & Evolution Nitrogen and phosphorus limitations are both key to spatial patterns and temporal trends in primary production. This global analysis indicates that phosphorus limitation on terrestrial primary product...

Phosphorus constrains global photosynthesis more than nitrogen does www.nature.com/articles/s41... #jcampubs

Why cultivation still matters in microbiology The majority of aquatic microbes are still uncultivated. Here, we cultivated 627 strains of abundant freshwater bacteria from 14 lakes, thus generating a collection that includes many previously uncul...

Behind the Paper by Michaela M Salcher
Why cultivation still matters in microbiology
communities.springernature.com/posts/why-cu...

Thank you 😘

Thanks! Credit for artwork goes to @mehrshmali.bsky.social

How do microbes become permanent partners? 🌊🔬🦠 Check out our new study published in Current Biology showing how cyanobacterial genomes evolve step-by-step into endosymbionts of diatoms. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
@currentbiology.bsky.social @mehrshmali.bsky.social

Interested in eukaryotic algal evolution, metagenomics, new plastid diversity, and more? Check out my poster (P175) today at #eseb2025 ! #protistsonsky

Global Metagenomics Reveals Hidden Protist Diversity Protists, defined as unicellular eukaryotes distinct from animals, plants, and fungi, are a polyphyletic group that predominates the eukaryotic tree of life, exhibiting significant phylogenetic divers...

On hidden protist diversity (unfortunately the data is not available yet) #protistsonsky www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...