Westermann Lab

3 days at Tutzing Castle with the NUCLEATE Cluster! 🏰 From PI talks & poster sessions to a hike up to Ilkahöhe by Starnberger See, it was amazing to see researchers from across different universities come together into one vibrant community. This is just the beginning! 🚀

So happy to share our paper! We tackle a long-standing question: what shapes dominant microbiome signatures? Using synthetic gut communities, we uncovered a synergy between Enterobacteriaceae and dietary components that promotes Segatella copri in gut microbiomes. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

🦠 Wie schaut man in ein Bakterium, das kleiner ist als die Auflösung vieler Mikroskope? Forschende der Uni Würzburg nutzten einen Trick: Sie „bliesen“ die Probe mit einem Gel auf. So entdeckten sie, dass Fettmoleküle beim Verpacken der DNA helfen. 🔬 #Mikrobiologie #Forschung ➡️ go.uniwue.de/chlamydia

Are you a motivated researcher interested in bacteria-host interactions? We have postdoc position available in my lab to join our Wellcome Trust funded collaborative team. We will study the role and regulation of the enigmatic sphingolipids in E. coli. Please share. www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DSX115/r...

🚨 The #HIRI & the Faculty of Medicine of the @uni-wuerzburg.de invite applications for 2️⃣ JUNIOR PROFESSORSHIPS in: 🔵 RNA-BASED INFECTION RESEARCH 🔵 MICROBIAL RNA BIOLOGY 🔵 RNA-BASED MEDICINE Apply by September 21: www.helmholtz-hiri.de/en/jobs-tale... Find an overview in this thread. 🧵👇 (1/5)

🚨 Exciting #PhD opportunities across multiple labs, including those of @jorg-vogel-lab.bsky.social, @emmanuel-saliba.bsky.social, @cciollimattioli.bsky.social, @ffaberlab.bsky.social & @westermannlab.bsky.social at #HIRI in Würzburg. 🎓🥼 More about the projects: www.helmholtz-hzi.de/en/career/gr...

Macrophages are known as the immune system’s “scavenger cells”. Yet some pathogens use them as hiding places. Researchers from HIRI & @unimarburg.bsky.social have discovered an lncRNA called SAILR that helps macrophages balance their response to infection: www.helmholtz-hiri.de/en/newsroom/... (1/3)

Excited to share our PNAS paper with @jorg-vogel-lab.bsky.social and @westermannlab.bsky.social! We identify SAILR, a human-specific lncRNA that binds 14-3-3β to support macrophage viability—its loss during infection strengthens antimicrobial defense. #RNA www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

The Bacterial RNA Biology Group in Jena is hiring a new PhD student! 🔬🧫🧬 We are looking for a motivated candidate to study bacteriophages of the opportunistic pathogen Klebsiella pneumoniae. 🔥 Apply by July 26, 2026 🔥 Details on the position and application: jobs.uni-jena.de/jobposting/9...

The NUCLEATE Cluster of Excellence is hiring! Shape the future of nucleic acid sciences 🧬 🚀 Group Leaders: All 3 locations (LMU, TUM, JMU Würzburg) 🔬 PhDs & Postdocs: Open call in Würzburg and speculative applications welcome! Deadline: Aug 16, 2026 👉 More info: nucleate-cluster.de/careers/

How can we harness the vast functional diversity of microbes on our planet? Join us at EMBL Heidelberg from 8–10 December 2026 to hear about ongoing efforts to decode gene function and organisation in human gut microbes, and to present your own research. www.embl.org/about/info/c...

Welcome to the official account of the NUCLEATE Cluster of Excellence👋🧬 We’re building a community around nucleic acid sciences and technology, and innovation 🚀 Expect research highlights, collaborations, events, and opportunities — with open positions coming soon. #Biotech #Science #RNA #Research

Is colorectal cancer driven by a disruption of anaerobiosis? A recent study by Spiga et al. makes this idea walk and talk like a duck. Read more here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Unser nächstes Infect-Net Netzwerktreffen steht bald an! Prof. Dr. Franziska Faber und Prof. Dr. Stefanie Kampmeier laden Infektionsforcherinnen zu unserem 7. Netzwerktreffen nach Jena ein. 📅 22.-23.09.2026 📍Würzburg, Deutschland Topic "RNA&Infection: From bed to bedside" Save the date!

Researchers from #UniJena and @microverse.bsky.social have demonstrated how cholera bacteria regulate the activity of a pathogen-associated phage. A small RNA molecule inhibits the formation of new phage particles, which carry the genes for the cholera toxin. ➡️ www.uni-jena.de/en/425326/res…

Latest research from the lab out now. We examined the role and expression of fimbriae during UPEC bloodstream infection. A real team effort and brilliant collaboration with Mark Schembri’s lab in Brisbane. Thanks to the MRC and BBSRC for supporting our research @ukri.org

New paper out in @cp-cellhostmicrobe.bsky.social! Microbes evolving with modern lifestyles 🧬🦠 S. copri uses PerR to manage oxygen stress, but some strains acquired OxyR via HGT, boosting oxygen tolerance. These strains are enriched in industrialized populations. www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...

Yay! Hoda Kooshapour, #PhD student in the @westermannlab.bsky.social, has received a Paper of the Month Award from the @helmholtzhzi.bsky.social. Congratulations, @kooshapour.bsky.social! 🥳👏 Learn more: www.helmholtz-hiri.de/en/newsroom/... (1/3)

New preprint from the Ghigo lab (@jmghigolab.bsky.social): crossfeeding B. theta <--> E. coli within a microfluidics system. Shows spatial structure and oxygen availability can qualitatively transform the nature and ecological outcome of microbial interactions. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Want to research the basis of how drug resistant bacteria interact with human immune cells? Fully funded 4-year PhD position available (UK home students). Come and join our amazing interdisciplinary team at the intersection of microbiology, immunity, metabolism and the clinic! Please spread the word

It is with great sadness that we announce J. Craig Venter has died. 🧪🧬 www.jcvi.org/media-center...

New paper from the lab! Spearheaded by soon-to-be doctor Athina Eleftheraki. Fantastic collaboration with Anaïs Le Rhun lab at Uni Bordeaux! academic.oup.com/nar/article/...

Excited to share the first preprint from the lab! We show that ApeA defends against RNA phage infection by cleaving the phage genome: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Takeshi Kanda represented our team at the Japanese Society for Bacteriology conference, founded by Prof. Dr. Shibasaburo Kitasato - one of Japan's oldest societies. He also took the opportunity to connect with several Würzburg alumni.

We are looking for RNA enthusiasts to join us at the @uniregensburg.bsky.social as a junior group leader! Our university offer excellent infrastructure and collaboration opportunities for ground breaking RNA research. Please RT @jrrnascientists.bsky.social @rnasociety.bsky.social

We have an open position for a #PhD student (last week to apply!) & a lab technician/TA. For more information see: www.beuschlab.org/join-us Interested in understanding post-transcriptional regulation and how #RNA #splicing decisions are made? Then take a look or share with people who might be! 🧪🧫

Like bacteria, phages use sRNAs to regulate gene expression! Out today in @cp-trendsmicrobiol.bsky.social, @mvelascogomariz.bsky.social and I highlight a recent RIL-seq study from the @saharmelamed.bsky.social lab that looked into posttranscriptional regulation of lambda! tinyurl.com/lambda-RIL-seq

Looking for a truly unique PhD programme on RNA drugs and therapeutics? We have just opened the call for the second cohort of RNAmed-Future leaders in RNA-based medicine. More details under www.rnamed.de Please spread the word.

Two days of inspiring exchange 🧬🤝✨ On February 10 and 11, our Scientific Advisory Board came together to review the scientific orientation and performance of #HIRI. We are grateful for the insightful discussions and valuable feedback. 👉 Read more: www.helmholtz-hiri.de/en/newsroom/...

Thrilled to announce that I’ve just opened my research lab at @helmholtz-hiri.bsky.social ! A huge thank you to my mentor Roi Avraham (and lab members!) for the incredible training and support that made this possible.

Do you want to understand how RNA #splicing decisions are made? We‘ve got a PhD position open for you (see 👇👇)!! Please share #RNAsky and RT! tinyurl.com/4ztu9cb9

📢 We are hiring 📢 1st round of recruiting for our ERC project BacImmune-Decode! @erc.europa.eu We are looking for a postdoc for wet-lab work on regulation of phage defence systems in bacteria using high-throughput microbial genetics. Check it out: lnkd.in/es7AE968 #Hiring #Postdoc #Microbiology

Our first paper is out today in @natmicrobiol.nature.com! We introduce a prostate organoid model and show that UPEC invades prostate cells via FimH binding to the prostate-specific protein PAPP. A step toward targeted therapies against bacterial prostatitis. 🎉 #UTI #UPEC #Organoids #AMR

3′UTR-derived small RNA couples acid resistance to metabolic reprogramming of Salmonella within macrophages url: academic.oup.com/nar/article/...

RIL-seq boosts the study of sRNAs. Here comes its first application to intracellular bacteria. Plus, 10 years after its characterization, we now present an RNA sponge of Salmonella PinT. Congrats to @kooshapour.bsky.social & great collaboration w/ @jorg-vogel-lab.bsky.social! doi.org/10.1093/nar/...

🎓 Congrats to Elise Bornet, who completed her PhD this week! Her courageous work dissected morphological heterogeneity in predominant human gut commensals, and yielded an ultra-sensitive transcriptomics pipeline to sequence the RNA content of single Bacteroides cells. doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...

Grateful to be among the 25 inspiring women featured in @zeit.de as part of the #Zia fellowship for Visible Women in Science. Thanks to @uni-wuerzburg.de for their support and to everyone involved for making scientific work by women more visible. Honored and proud to be part of this initiative ☺️.

Our new paper from my PhD work is online. It shows how bacterial population structure can trick machine learning—sampling matters! Many thanks to @lbarquist.bsky.social for the support and guidance! dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...

How does a bacterial small RNA evolve new functions? Our new study reveals the stepwise evolutionary journey of UhpU, a 3′UTR-derived sRNA in E. coli and relatives. It evolved from a metabolically-focused regulator to one with expanded targets and biogenesis manner. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

🔊 Interested in doing a PhD on RNA-binding proteins in an abundant microbiota species and becoming a member of the German Priority Programme “Illuminating Gene Functions in the Human Gut Microbiome”? Apply here: www.uni-wuerzburg.de/karriere/sin...

De-DUFing the DUFs 🧩 @franznarberhaus.bsky.social lab uncovers how small DUF1127 proteins regulate #phosphate uptake by binding the sensor kinase PhoR. Their conserved role from Agrobacterium to E. coli highlights how even small DUFs can shape bacterial physiology 🦠 buff.ly/jJd9Eho

Excited to share our preprint led by Carlos Voogdt et al We developed new genetic tools & genome-wide libraries for species of the Bacteroidales order; constructed saturated barcoded transposon libraries in key representatives of three genera. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

How to search for unknown RNA-binding proteins? We did GradR in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis 6803. And now our paper „RAPDOR: Using Jensen-Shannon Distance for the computational analysis of complex proteomics dataset“ is finally out in Nature Communications, here: rdcu.be/eImcr .

Congrats to Ann-Sophie Rüttiger who successfully defended her PhD this week! 🎓 She focused on global RNA-binding proteins in Bacteroides—bacteria lacking Hfq, ProQ, CsrA, Khp—culminating in the discovery of a post-transcriptional network governed by RbpB (www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-55383-8).

Looking for a new approach to studying or eliminating phages? Check out our study introducing anti-phage ASOs (antisense oligos) out in @Nature today. nature.com/articles/s4158…

New preprint from the lab, in collaboration with Wenhan Zhu (U Vanderbilt): using dual RNA-seq during B. theta colonization of the host mucous layer, we identify IroR--an iron-response sRNA that tunes capsule expression and facilitates adaptation to iron limitation. doi.org/10.1101/2025.09.08.672848

Starting the meeting microbes and RNA- Gerhart on stage - lifetime achievement Lecture - congrats Gerhart!

A Salmonella T3SS-2 mutant grows fine in spleen macrophages, contradicting tissue culture dogma (PMID: 23236281). This observation was largely ignored, but adding certain carbon sources rescues growth in cultured macrophages, hinting that T3SS-2 may be doing something entirely different in vivo.

Latest preprint from the lab: doi.org/10.1101/2025... In this study lead by @lenaamend.bsky.social from the group, we explore carbon cross-feeding between a gut commensal and an enteropathogen. Can we counter infection by cutting sugar supply to pathogens?