Gerben de Zwaan
@gerbenz.bsky.social
PhD candidate at Microbial Evolution/Ettema lab @ the Laboratory of Microbiology - Wageningen University and Research.
Enthusiastic about Evolution, Microbiology, Microscopy. He/Him.
Enthusiastic about Evolution, Microbiology, Microscopy. He/Him.
Reposted by Gerben de Zwaan
Two more weeks to apply - come join us () in The Netherlands as a postdoctoral researcher on large-scale metagenomic exploration of new lineages!
I have a postdoc position in metagenomic exploration available in my group. Candidates with documented experience in phylo & metagenomics and preferably with petabase-scale data mining and GLM workflows are encouraged to apply. Come join us! 🧬🦠💻
Please repost
Apply here: www.wur.nl/en/vacancy/p...
Please repost
Apply here: www.wur.nl/en/vacancy/p...
February 12, 2026 at 7:46 AM
Two more weeks to apply - come join us () in The Netherlands as a postdoctoral researcher on large-scale metagenomic exploration of new lineages!
Reposted by Gerben de Zwaan
Today we published a Correction on our 2023 @nature.com paper reporting the heimdallarchaeial ancestry of eukaryotes: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Corrected paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Importantly, the re-analyses of the corrected dataset are consistent with the original findings.
Corrected paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Importantly, the re-analyses of the corrected dataset are consistent with the original findings.
Author Correction: Inference and reconstruction of the heimdallarchaeial ancestry of eukaryotes - Nature
Nature - Author Correction: Inference and reconstruction of the heimdallarchaeial ancestry of eukaryotes
www.nature.com
February 11, 2026 at 9:10 PM
Today we published a Correction on our 2023 @nature.com paper reporting the heimdallarchaeial ancestry of eukaryotes: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Corrected paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Importantly, the re-analyses of the corrected dataset are consistent with the original findings.
Corrected paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Importantly, the re-analyses of the corrected dataset are consistent with the original findings.
Reposted by Gerben de Zwaan
I finally got around to writing the discussion section of our lab's basic training course on live cell #microscopy. I explain the tradeoffs involved in designing an imaging experiment and the art of thinking of the experiment as an optimization problem.
leb-epfl.github.io/basic_traini...
leb-epfl.github.io/basic_traini...
Introduction - Microscopy Basic Training
leb-epfl.github.io
January 13, 2026 at 3:07 PM
I finally got around to writing the discussion section of our lab's basic training course on live cell #microscopy. I explain the tradeoffs involved in designing an imaging experiment and the art of thinking of the experiment as an optimization problem.
leb-epfl.github.io/basic_traini...
leb-epfl.github.io/basic_traini...
Come join our group in the beautiful (currently very snowy) Wageningen!
I have a postdoc position in metagenomic exploration available in my group. Candidates with documented experience in phylo & metagenomics and preferably with petabase-scale data mining and GLM workflows are encouraged to apply. Come join us! 🧬🦠💻
Please repost
Apply here: www.wur.nl/en/vacancy/p...
Please repost
Apply here: www.wur.nl/en/vacancy/p...
January 6, 2026 at 9:56 AM
Come join our group in the beautiful (currently very snowy) Wageningen!
Reposted by Gerben de Zwaan
I have a postdoc position in metagenomic exploration available in my group. Candidates with documented experience in phylo & metagenomics and preferably with petabase-scale data mining and GLM workflows are encouraged to apply. Come join us! 🧬🦠💻
Please repost
Apply here: www.wur.nl/en/vacancy/p...
Please repost
Apply here: www.wur.nl/en/vacancy/p...
January 5, 2026 at 10:45 PM
I have a postdoc position in metagenomic exploration available in my group. Candidates with documented experience in phylo & metagenomics and preferably with petabase-scale data mining and GLM workflows are encouraged to apply. Come join us! 🧬🦠💻
Please repost
Apply here: www.wur.nl/en/vacancy/p...
Please repost
Apply here: www.wur.nl/en/vacancy/p...
Reposted by Gerben de Zwaan
Come join us! Soon I will be advertising a postdoc vacancy in my group as part of my @erc.europa.eu AdG project 'DARK ROOTS'. Focus of the project will be on phylo- and metagenomic mining of novel prokaryotic lineages. I will soon post a link here - stay tuned, and please repost! #asgardarchaea
a man walking in a field with an umbrella
ALT: a man walking in a field with an umbrella
media.tenor.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Come join us! Soon I will be advertising a postdoc vacancy in my group as part of my @erc.europa.eu AdG project 'DARK ROOTS'. Focus of the project will be on phylo- and metagenomic mining of novel prokaryotic lineages. I will soon post a link here - stay tuned, and please repost! #asgardarchaea
Reposted by Gerben de Zwaan
Ever since publishing our observations of the predatory behaviour of Ca. Nha. antarcticus people have asked me why it would want to kill its host. My perspective discussing the ecological factors that I believe led to this behaviour is out now in mSystems:
doi.org/10.1128/msystems.01475-25
doi.org/10.1128/msystems.01475-25
Nutrient availability affects optimal growth strategy in predatory DPANN | mSystems
The bacterial and archaeal domains each possess a major clade that appears to be predominantly
host-associated (1–3). These two lineages, Patescibacteriota and DPANN archaea (named for the Diapherotri...
doi.org
November 18, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Ever since publishing our observations of the predatory behaviour of Ca. Nha. antarcticus people have asked me why it would want to kill its host. My perspective discussing the ecological factors that I believe led to this behaviour is out now in mSystems:
doi.org/10.1128/msystems.01475-25
doi.org/10.1128/msystems.01475-25
Reposted by Gerben de Zwaan
Reposted by Gerben de Zwaan
Opportunity!
Anybody knows of young marine ecologists (within 7 years from earned PhD) that would like to come to Gothenburg, Sweden, for a nationally funded Assistant Professorship? It is highly competitive but well funded. (1) of (3)
Anybody knows of young marine ecologists (within 7 years from earned PhD) that would like to come to Gothenburg, Sweden, for a nationally funded Assistant Professorship? It is highly competitive but well funded. (1) of (3)
November 10, 2025 at 9:32 AM
Opportunity!
Anybody knows of young marine ecologists (within 7 years from earned PhD) that would like to come to Gothenburg, Sweden, for a nationally funded Assistant Professorship? It is highly competitive but well funded. (1) of (3)
Anybody knows of young marine ecologists (within 7 years from earned PhD) that would like to come to Gothenburg, Sweden, for a nationally funded Assistant Professorship? It is highly competitive but well funded. (1) of (3)
Reposted by Gerben de Zwaan
Soon available in my group: 1 PhD position to investigate prokaryotic histones. See our recent work that highlights the existence and diversity of prokaryotic histones (e.g. Schwab et al., TIBS, 2025; Schwab et al., Nat Comm, 2024; Hu et al., Nucl Acids Res, 2024). Please DM for informal enquiries.
November 5, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Soon available in my group: 1 PhD position to investigate prokaryotic histones. See our recent work that highlights the existence and diversity of prokaryotic histones (e.g. Schwab et al., TIBS, 2025; Schwab et al., Nat Comm, 2024; Hu et al., Nucl Acids Res, 2024). Please DM for informal enquiries.
Reposted by Gerben de Zwaan
🧙♀️ Something is brewing in the WitChi cauldron…
After some excellent peer review feedback, a new update of WitChi is taking shape, refining how we detect and prune compositional bias in phylogenomic alignments.
Stay tuned for the next release!
🧙♀️ Can’t model it? Prune it!
github.com/stephkoest/w...
After some excellent peer review feedback, a new update of WitChi is taking shape, refining how we detect and prune compositional bias in phylogenomic alignments.
Stay tuned for the next release!
🧙♀️ Can’t model it? Prune it!
github.com/stephkoest/w...
October 31, 2025 at 9:59 AM
🧙♀️ Something is brewing in the WitChi cauldron…
After some excellent peer review feedback, a new update of WitChi is taking shape, refining how we detect and prune compositional bias in phylogenomic alignments.
Stay tuned for the next release!
🧙♀️ Can’t model it? Prune it!
github.com/stephkoest/w...
After some excellent peer review feedback, a new update of WitChi is taking shape, refining how we detect and prune compositional bias in phylogenomic alignments.
Stay tuned for the next release!
🧙♀️ Can’t model it? Prune it!
github.com/stephkoest/w...
Reposted by Gerben de Zwaan
Lab’s first paper is out!! We show the first structures of #Asgard #chromatin by #cryo-EM 🧬❄️
Asgard histones form closed and open hypernucleosomes. Closed are conserved across #Archaea, while open resemble eukaryotic H3–H4 octasomes and are Asgard-specific. More here: www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
Asgard histones form closed and open hypernucleosomes. Closed are conserved across #Archaea, while open resemble eukaryotic H3–H4 octasomes and are Asgard-specific. More here: www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
October 28, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Lab’s first paper is out!! We show the first structures of #Asgard #chromatin by #cryo-EM 🧬❄️
Asgard histones form closed and open hypernucleosomes. Closed are conserved across #Archaea, while open resemble eukaryotic H3–H4 octasomes and are Asgard-specific. More here: www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
Asgard histones form closed and open hypernucleosomes. Closed are conserved across #Archaea, while open resemble eukaryotic H3–H4 octasomes and are Asgard-specific. More here: www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
Reposted by Gerben de Zwaan
I’m very happy this is finally out! Here, we showcase the combination of BONCAT and SIP metaproteomics to uncover rare and active microbes driving anaerobic acetate turnover. We are excited to see what other microbial metabolisms and ecosystems this approach can help to illuminate! 🦠
OUT NOW Activity-targeted metaproteomics uncovers rare syntrophic bacteria central to anaerobic community metabolism by @ryanziels.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Activity-targeted metaproteomics uncovers rare syntrophic bacteria central to anaerobic community metabolism - Nature Microbiology
An approach combining BONCAT, stable isotope probing and metaproteomics showcases the hidden metabolic interconnectivity of microorganisms within an anaerobic digestion community.
www.nature.com
October 21, 2025 at 5:08 PM
I’m very happy this is finally out! Here, we showcase the combination of BONCAT and SIP metaproteomics to uncover rare and active microbes driving anaerobic acetate turnover. We are excited to see what other microbial metabolisms and ecosystems this approach can help to illuminate! 🦠
Reposted by Gerben de Zwaan
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
Serial innovations by Asgard archaea shaped the DNA replication machinery of the early eukaryotic ancestor - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Phylogenetic and biochemical analyses show a diversity of components of the DNA replication machinery in different Asgard archaea that contributed to the eukaryotic DNA replication machinery.
www.nature.com
October 21, 2025 at 3:06 PM
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
Reposted by Gerben de Zwaan
Nou nee, dat mag niet.
Een school moet een veilige plek zijn voor álle leerlingen. Dat staat ook in de wet. Het afwijzen van homoseksuele relaties geeft de boodschap dat iemand niet zichzelf mag zijn.
Dat mag niet én is ronduit schadelijk.
nos.nl/nieuwsuur/co...
Een school moet een veilige plek zijn voor álle leerlingen. Dat staat ook in de wet. Het afwijzen van homoseksuele relaties geeft de boodschap dat iemand niet zichzelf mag zijn.
Dat mag niet én is ronduit schadelijk.
nos.nl/nieuwsuur/co...
CDA-leider Bontenbal: religieus onderwijs mag botsen met grondrecht van gelijkheid
Dat religieuze scholen homoseksuele relaties afwijzen, is volgens CDA-leider Henri Bontenbal nu eenmaal een gevolg van de vrijheid van onderwijs. Daar wil hij niet aan tornen. "Een andere mening doet ...
nos.nl
October 20, 2025 at 10:02 PM
Nou nee, dat mag niet.
Een school moet een veilige plek zijn voor álle leerlingen. Dat staat ook in de wet. Het afwijzen van homoseksuele relaties geeft de boodschap dat iemand niet zichzelf mag zijn.
Dat mag niet én is ronduit schadelijk.
nos.nl/nieuwsuur/co...
Een school moet een veilige plek zijn voor álle leerlingen. Dat staat ook in de wet. Het afwijzen van homoseksuele relaties geeft de boodschap dat iemand niet zichzelf mag zijn.
Dat mag niet én is ronduit schadelijk.
nos.nl/nieuwsuur/co...
Reposted by Gerben de Zwaan
Live cell imaging of Ca. Nha. antarcticus and Hrr. lacusprofundi using agarose pads. Protocol now live!
www.archaea.bio/protocols/li...
www.archaea.bio/protocols/li...
Live Cell Imaging of Ca. Nha. antarcticus and Hrr. lacusprofundi using agarose pads
This protocol is an adapted form of the protocol developed for imaging haloarchaea (Liao et al., 2021) and subsequently applied to co-cultures containing nanohaloarchaea and haloarchaea (Hamm et al., ...
www.archaea.bio
October 15, 2025 at 11:19 AM
Live cell imaging of Ca. Nha. antarcticus and Hrr. lacusprofundi using agarose pads. Protocol now live!
www.archaea.bio/protocols/li...
www.archaea.bio/protocols/li...
Reposted by Gerben de Zwaan
There's a PhD position now available with me in Bath, on the evolution of symbiosis. www.findaphd.com/phds/project.... The supervisory team also includes @anja1.bsky.social @phil-donoghue.bsky.social and others. NB, this is open both to UK-based students *and* to international students :)
The genomic basis of symbiotic integration at University of Bath on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - The genomic basis of symbiotic integration at University of Bath, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
October 9, 2025 at 9:39 AM
There's a PhD position now available with me in Bath, on the evolution of symbiosis. www.findaphd.com/phds/project.... The supervisory team also includes @anja1.bsky.social @phil-donoghue.bsky.social and others. NB, this is open both to UK-based students *and* to international students :)
Reposted by Gerben de Zwaan
Very nice documentary about the origins of complex life with my PhD advisor Berend Snel @binfutrecht.bsky.social!
Hoe is al het complexe leven op aarde eigenlijk ontstaan?
Wat DNA uit slootwater ons vertelt over jouw onbekende voorouders | VPRO Tegenlicht
YouTube video by VPRO Tegenlicht
youtu.be
October 9, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Very nice documentary about the origins of complex life with my PhD advisor Berend Snel @binfutrecht.bsky.social!
Reposted by Gerben de Zwaan
OK, somebody should say it: the term 'one-stop-shop' has no place in academic research. Due to their diverse and exploratory nature, there is no single solution for scientific projects - else this would be routine research. RT if you agree, or feel free to argue otherwise below.
michael scott from the office is wearing a suit and tie and making a funny face .
ALT: michael scott from the office is wearing a suit and tie and making a funny face .
media.tenor.com
October 6, 2025 at 2:38 PM
OK, somebody should say it: the term 'one-stop-shop' has no place in academic research. Due to their diverse and exploratory nature, there is no single solution for scientific projects - else this would be routine research. RT if you agree, or feel free to argue otherwise below.
Reposted by Gerben de Zwaan
Coincidental and exciting! Anaerobic methanotrophic archaea (ANME) do like carbon monoxide - two independent studies showcasing CO metabolism across freshwater and marine ANME (ANME-2d and -2b).
ANME-2d: doi.org/10.1101/2025... (Welte lab)
ANME-2b: reposted (Orphan lab)
ANME-2d: doi.org/10.1101/2025... (Welte lab)
ANME-2b: reposted (Orphan lab)
Carbon monoxide oxidation expands the known metabolic capacity in anaerobic methanotrophic consortia https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.21.677609v1
September 22, 2025 at 9:46 AM
Coincidental and exciting! Anaerobic methanotrophic archaea (ANME) do like carbon monoxide - two independent studies showcasing CO metabolism across freshwater and marine ANME (ANME-2d and -2b).
ANME-2d: doi.org/10.1101/2025... (Welte lab)
ANME-2b: reposted (Orphan lab)
ANME-2d: doi.org/10.1101/2025... (Welte lab)
ANME-2b: reposted (Orphan lab)
Reposted by Gerben de Zwaan
hey bluesky 👋 visa hurdles mean I’m looking for opportunities outside the US. I’m a computational biologist (bacterial + phage genomics, postdoc in Koonin’s group @ NIH). I am interested in teaming up on funding apps. reach out if this resonates!
September 15, 2025 at 5:26 PM
hey bluesky 👋 visa hurdles mean I’m looking for opportunities outside the US. I’m a computational biologist (bacterial + phage genomics, postdoc in Koonin’s group @ NIH). I am interested in teaming up on funding apps. reach out if this resonates!
Reposted by Gerben de Zwaan
Archaeal Virus Ph.D. project! (With Tessa Quax)
www.rug.nl/about-ug/wor...
www.rug.nl/about-ug/wor...
Vacatures bij de RUG
www.rug.nl
September 12, 2025 at 4:34 AM
Archaeal Virus Ph.D. project! (With Tessa Quax)
www.rug.nl/about-ug/wor...
www.rug.nl/about-ug/wor...
Reposted by Gerben de Zwaan
We are hiring a PhD student! Are you fascinated by microbes and evolution? Come join us in Barcelona!
#WeAreHiring
📣 The #IBE_Barcelona is seeking a #PhD Student for the Evolutionary #Microbiology Lab.🔬🧫
⏳ Apply before September 30th and #JoinOurTeam!
#UnravellingEvolution #ConservingBiodiversity
✍ https://www.ibe.upf-csic.es/work-with-us/job-offers
📣 The #IBE_Barcelona is seeking a #PhD Student for the Evolutionary #Microbiology Lab.🔬🧫
⏳ Apply before September 30th and #JoinOurTeam!
#UnravellingEvolution #ConservingBiodiversity
✍ https://www.ibe.upf-csic.es/work-with-us/job-offers
September 10, 2025 at 8:39 AM
We are hiring a PhD student! Are you fascinated by microbes and evolution? Come join us in Barcelona!
Reposted by Gerben de Zwaan
We are looking for a 3-year postdoc to work with Daniel Probst, Justin van der Hooft and myself on an exciting project involving federated learning and integrative omics for discovery of new antibiotics from natural products.
Apply here: www.wur.nl/en/vacancy/p...
Please share!
Apply here: www.wur.nl/en/vacancy/p...
Please share!
www.wur.nl
September 8, 2025 at 9:07 AM
We are looking for a 3-year postdoc to work with Daniel Probst, Justin van der Hooft and myself on an exciting project involving federated learning and integrative omics for discovery of new antibiotics from natural products.
Apply here: www.wur.nl/en/vacancy/p...
Please share!
Apply here: www.wur.nl/en/vacancy/p...
Please share!
Reposted by Gerben de Zwaan
Please re-post: If you know (or are!) somebody who might fancy doing a PhD (Oct 2026 start) in my group @oxfordbiochemistry.bsky.social, working on chromatin evolution in prokaryotes (or other things we're interested in), please have a look at www.bioch.ox.ac.uk/supervisors-...
Supervisors and Projects
www.bioch.ox.ac.uk
September 1, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Please re-post: If you know (or are!) somebody who might fancy doing a PhD (Oct 2026 start) in my group @oxfordbiochemistry.bsky.social, working on chromatin evolution in prokaryotes (or other things we're interested in), please have a look at www.bioch.ox.ac.uk/supervisors-...