@vikramalva
Departmental Group Leader - Protein Bioinformatics @ Max Planck Institute for Biology - Tübingen @mpi-bio-fml.bsky.social Protein evolution // MPI Bioinformatics Toolkit // prokaryotic cell-surface proteins // prokaryotic histones
Final version @nature.com of our paper describing unconventional multicellular development in a choanoflagellate inhabiting an extreme environment. A ton of new data since the first @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social preprint (which we've kept updating).
A brief 🧵 (carried over from the old place)
Another paper on a topic we never worked on before: a new ribosomal hibernation!
Under the leadership of the super-postdoc Diorge, Davis Lab (ribo-cryoEM master), and @vikramalva.bsky.social (protein-evo whisperer), we identified AHA (not the song, but archaeal hibernation AMPKγ factor).
(1/2)
Have you ever wondered 🤔... Does phenotypic variance respond to environmental perturbation? Does it have a genetic basis? Are mean and variance regulating loci exposed to different selection pressures? These and more questions are explored in our new preprint 🔥
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Very cool work led by @diorgeps.bsky.social from the labs of @archaeon-alex.bsky.social & Joey Davis (MIT)!
They solved the Haloferax volcanii ribosome and characterize AHA, a conserved archaeal hibernation factor.
With several recent related preprints, it’s an exciting moment for the field!
Please spread the word: the Structural Studies Division @mrclmb.bsky.social is looking for a new tenure-track, independent group leader with an exciting plan in any area of Structural (Molecular & Cell) biology, in discovery biology and/or methods development. 🥳
mrc.tal.net/vx/mobile-0/...
Aarhus University is seeking a Tenure-Track Assistant/Associate Professor in Bioinformatics/Co… https://nat.au.dk/en/about-the-faculty/vacant-positions-and-career/job/tenure-track-assistant-professor-associate-professor-in-bioinformatics-and-or-computational-biology-at-aarhus-university-denmark #job
📣 New paper alert! This is a story of molecular tricks that let spirochetes (spiral-shaped bacteria) drill through tissue. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
One protein. One pathway. A whole germline fate.
New paper from my postdoc @mpi-bio-fml.bsky.social out in PNAS:
Germline fate determination by a single ARGONAUTE protein in Ectocarpus www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
We are hiring for group leaders again — EBI is a great place to start your research group!
embl.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/EMBL/job/Hin...
New manuscript alert. Turns out that calcium ion coordination may be a more common mechanism than we initially expected to trigger polymerization of extracellular filaments. @mikesleutel.bsky.social @vikramalva.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Excited to be at #SMBE2026 in Copenhagen! Don’t miss Symposium #17: “Unicellular organisms in major evolutionary transitions.” Registration is now open!
#protistsonsky
📝 Abstract deadline: Tuesday, Feb 3, 2026.
Let’s fill #SMBE2026 with #protistsonSky love!
The real drama of life happened "backstage" in the unicellular world. 🎭🧬 #protistsonSky
Our postdoc Vika Shabardina is co-organizing this symposium with Annia (@ankarn.bsky.social). Two brilliant minds leading the evocell way!
Plus, a talk by @vikramalva.bsky.social. 👇
Led by Yimin Hu, with key contributions from
@samuelschwab.bsky.social, @kyq21.bsky.social 21.bsky.social and Yunsen Zhang, and in collaboration with Marcus Hartmann, @damelab.bsky.social and Birte Hernández-Álvarez.
@mpi-bio-fml.bsky.social
Happy to share that our work on HLp, a bacterial histone from Leptospira perolatii, is now published in Nature Communications 🎉
In this study, we show that HLp forms stable tetramers that wrap ~60 bp of DNA, revealing a distinct histone–DNA organization in bacteria.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
SMBE2026 Symposium 17 | Unicellular organisms in major evolutionary transitions Organisers - Victoria Shabardina — Institute of Evolutionary Biology (UPF-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain (Female) - Anna Karnkowska — Institute of Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland (Female) Invited Speaker - Vikram Alva — Max Planck Institute of Biology, Tuebingen, Germany (Male)
Organisers
- Victoria Shabardina | @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social
- @ankarn.bsky.social | University of Warsaw
Invited Speaker
- @vikramalva.bsky.social | @mpi-bio-fml.bsky.social
SMBE2026 Symposium 17 | Unicellular organisms in major evolutionary transitions
SMBE2026 Symposium 17 | Unicellular organisms in major evolutionary transitions
📨 Abstract submission
smbe2026.org/abstracts
📋 Programme details
smbe2026.org/programme
#SMBE2026
I’m excited to announce that I will be starting my research group on computational enzyme design at the Generative Biology Institute, Oxford, UK (@eitoxford.bsky.social)! PhD applications are open, deadline is Jan 8th (www.chem.ox.ac.uk/genbio-dtp). Email kiarash.jamali@eit.org with any questions!
Ending my PhD with a bang:
Face-to-face histones are important organizers of archaeal chromatin alongside classical histones.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Thank you, Daniela, @danielabarilla.bsky.social, for a wonderful commentary! 🤗🤗 More spotlight on the Asgards and their chromatin! ❤️ #archaea #chromatin
Also see the associated primer video on S-layers made by the @mrclmb.bsky.social Visual Aids department Konstantinos Alexandrou and Shraddha Nayak!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgSf...
Pleased to share our review on S-layers with @bupbuse.bsky.social, Andriko von Kügelgen, and @tbharat-lab.bsky.social, where we explore recent advances and argue that deeper insight into S-layers is key to deciphering microbial interactions and community organization. @mpi-bio-fml.bsky.social
We have wondered what a complex archaeal cell might look like ever since 2014. It’s been a long road (and the journey is far from over), but it’s a good time to pause for breath and look. These Asgard archaeal cells are a surprise! And that is the joy of being a cell biologist.
An Asgard archaeon with internal membrane compartments
Brilliant study led by @fmacleod.bsky.social and Andriko von Kügelgen. Tight collaboration with @buzzbaum.bsky.social and lab. Congrats to all authors!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
What a gem from @dudinlab.bsky.social @gautamdey.bsky.social @centriolelab.bsky.social in Cell! Expansion microscopy atlas of >200 eukaryotes comparing cytoskeletal architectures revealing structures not seen before. Stunning visualisation! Exactly the kind of transformative cell biology we need.
🚨Our collaboration with @centriolelab.bsky.social & @gautamdey.bsky.social is out today in @cp-cell.bsky.social
We show that #Expansion #Microscopy is a broad-spectrum modality for Euks, enabling 3D phenotypic maps rooted to phylogeny.
#ProtistsOnSky #SciComm #SciSky
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Fruit flies are more than pests! Humans share 60% of their genome with them. @luisapallares.bsky.social busts myths about how these tiny creatures can tell us about human diseases. Watch Luisa's full video here: www.fml.tuebingen.mpg.de/71433/videos #BiologyMyths #Drosophila #Genomics
Glad to share our paper out today @NatureEcoEvo: “Serial innovations by Asgard archaea shaped the DNA replication machinery of the early eukaryotic ancestor”. www.nature.com/articles/s41... #microsky #archaeasky
Our Pyrodictium cannulae paper is out in its final form! Cannulae assemble into calcium-stabilized tubular filaments stable at 100 °C—a unique archaeal cell–cell connection. Led brilliantly by @mikesleutel.bsky.social & @vinceconticello.bsky.social.
www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-64120-8
