Megan Behringer
@megbehri.bsky.social
Assistant Professor @VanderbiltU BioSci ⚓️ | Dog mom 🐕and sunset appreciator 🌅| Experimental evolution of microbes in stressful and structured environments 🧫🧪 | microbial epimutations 🧬|
Pinned
2/ Awardee @megbehri.bsky.social will study how chaotic dynamics arise in microbial🦠 populations. Her research could transform how we predict microbiome dysbiosis across human health and beyond.
🥳 Congrats Dr. Behringer! @vuartsci.bsky.social
🙏 #HFScout @paulturnerlab.bsky.social
🥳 Congrats Dr. Behringer! @vuartsci.bsky.social
🙏 #HFScout @paulturnerlab.bsky.social
This is a huge honor and we’re so excited to get started on this new direction for our group stemming from the work of William McLaughlin, a Ph.D. Candidate in our lab!
Major thanks to our scout, Paul Turner and Hypothesis Fund for seeing the potential in this project! Time to get to work! 🧬🧫🧪
Major thanks to our scout, Paul Turner and Hypothesis Fund for seeing the potential in this project! Time to get to work! 🧬🧫🧪
Now that we’re back, I want to promote this awesome work from our group led by former UG Researcher, Gillian Patton (now a Ph.D student at Wash U) published in Evol. Letters!
We blocked a first step mutation that typically promotes biofilm formation to see how this roadblock influences evolution.
We blocked a first step mutation that typically promotes biofilm formation to see how this roadblock influences evolution.
Evolution isn’t always forward-looking. Experiments show that an early, beneficial mutation can trap E. coli on a local fitness peak, preventing ecotype diversification in structured environments and highlighting the role of G×E interactions.
academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...
academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...
Historical contingency limits adaptive diversification in a spatially structured environment
Abstract. Understanding how genotype-by-environment (G × E) interactions influence evolutionary trajectories and contribute to historical contingency is ke
academic.oup.com
January 7, 2026 at 4:47 PM
Now that we’re back, I want to promote this awesome work from our group led by former UG Researcher, Gillian Patton (now a Ph.D student at Wash U) published in Evol. Letters!
We blocked a first step mutation that typically promotes biofilm formation to see how this roadblock influences evolution.
We blocked a first step mutation that typically promotes biofilm formation to see how this roadblock influences evolution.
Attending the most important college football event of the year. #PopTartsBowl
December 27, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Attending the most important college football event of the year. #PopTartsBowl
Behringer Lab put a heck of a holiday door submission together with Skiing the Finess Slopes. Even has a little E. coli fishing for jackpot mutations! ⛷️ 🧫 🧬
December 13, 2025 at 12:06 AM
Behringer Lab put a heck of a holiday door submission together with Skiing the Finess Slopes. Even has a little E. coli fishing for jackpot mutations! ⛷️ 🧫 🧬
This is a huge honor and we’re so excited to get started on this new direction for our group stemming from the work of William McLaughlin, a Ph.D. Candidate in our lab!
Major thanks to our scout, Paul Turner and Hypothesis Fund for seeing the potential in this project! Time to get to work! 🧬🧫🧪
Major thanks to our scout, Paul Turner and Hypothesis Fund for seeing the potential in this project! Time to get to work! 🧬🧫🧪
2/ Awardee @megbehri.bsky.social will study how chaotic dynamics arise in microbial🦠 populations. Her research could transform how we predict microbiome dysbiosis across human health and beyond.
🥳 Congrats Dr. Behringer! @vuartsci.bsky.social
🙏 #HFScout @paulturnerlab.bsky.social
🥳 Congrats Dr. Behringer! @vuartsci.bsky.social
🙏 #HFScout @paulturnerlab.bsky.social
December 11, 2025 at 6:38 PM
This is a huge honor and we’re so excited to get started on this new direction for our group stemming from the work of William McLaughlin, a Ph.D. Candidate in our lab!
Major thanks to our scout, Paul Turner and Hypothesis Fund for seeing the potential in this project! Time to get to work! 🧬🧫🧪
Major thanks to our scout, Paul Turner and Hypothesis Fund for seeing the potential in this project! Time to get to work! 🧬🧫🧪
Excited to share our latest paper led by Ph.D. Candidate, Owen Hale, titled Elevated rates and Biased Spectra of Mutations in Anaerobically Cultured Lactic Acid Bacteria out now in mBio!
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Elevated rates and biased spectra of mutations in anaerobically cultured lactic acid bacteria | mBio
Despite Earth’s oxygen-free origins and the abundance of microorganisms that thrive
without oxygen, little is known about the rates and patterns of mutations in anaerobic
species. This study directly ...
journals.asm.org
November 13, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Excited to share our latest paper led by Ph.D. Candidate, Owen Hale, titled Elevated rates and Biased Spectra of Mutations in Anaerobically Cultured Lactic Acid Bacteria out now in mBio!
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Beautiful morning in the Smokies at SEPEEG 2025. Listening to Fisher’s geometric model, with coffee, in the mountain air, just hits different. 🏔️ ☕️
October 4, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Beautiful morning in the Smokies at SEPEEG 2025. Listening to Fisher’s geometric model, with coffee, in the mountain air, just hits different. 🏔️ ☕️
Our lab is hiring!!
We are looking for a research assistant who will be involved with our experimental evolution studies on how stress affects population dynamics in E. coli.
Great opportunity for recent grads!
E-mail for more info and apply here:
ecsr.fa.us2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
We are looking for a research assistant who will be involved with our experimental evolution studies on how stress affects population dynamics in E. coli.
Great opportunity for recent grads!
E-mail for more info and apply here:
ecsr.fa.us2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
September 29, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Our lab is hiring!!
We are looking for a research assistant who will be involved with our experimental evolution studies on how stress affects population dynamics in E. coli.
Great opportunity for recent grads!
E-mail for more info and apply here:
ecsr.fa.us2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
We are looking for a research assistant who will be involved with our experimental evolution studies on how stress affects population dynamics in E. coli.
Great opportunity for recent grads!
E-mail for more info and apply here:
ecsr.fa.us2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
Reposted by Megan Behringer
Eis: machine learning to reverse-engineer #evolution. Brassington (@amandalea.bsky.social): Evolutionary mismatch. Rose: Genome-scale models. Bruder (@megbehri.bsky.social): Computational & experimental microbial evolution.
September 26, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Eis: machine learning to reverse-engineer #evolution. Brassington (@amandalea.bsky.social): Evolutionary mismatch. Rose: Genome-scale models. Bruder (@megbehri.bsky.social): Computational & experimental microbial evolution.
Really proud of Owen Hale, a Ph.D. Candidate in our group who was awarded the Gut Microbiome, Yogurt and Probiotic Fellowship by Danone North America.
Owen’s research focuses on E. coli / Lactic Acid Bacteria interactions!
www.prnewswire.com/news-release...
Owen’s research focuses on E. coli / Lactic Acid Bacteria interactions!
www.prnewswire.com/news-release...
Danone North America Invests in the Future of Microbiome Science with 2024-2025 Fellowship Awards
/PRNewswire/ -- Danone North America, a leading purpose-driven food and beverage company and one of the world's largest Certified B Corporations®, is proud to...
www.prnewswire.com
July 3, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Really proud of Owen Hale, a Ph.D. Candidate in our group who was awarded the Gut Microbiome, Yogurt and Probiotic Fellowship by Danone North America.
Owen’s research focuses on E. coli / Lactic Acid Bacteria interactions!
www.prnewswire.com/news-release...
Owen’s research focuses on E. coli / Lactic Acid Bacteria interactions!
www.prnewswire.com/news-release...
Reposted by Megan Behringer
Microbial cross-feeding stabilized by segregation of a dependent mutant from its independent ancestor
#ISMEJournal by @ofsheff.bsky.social et al from @jakemckinlay.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/ismej/advanc...
#ISMEJournal by @ofsheff.bsky.social et al from @jakemckinlay.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/ismej/advanc...
Microbial cross-feeding stabilized by segregation of a dependent mutant from its independent ancestor
Abstract. Microbial gene loss is hypothesized to be beneficial when gene function is costly, and the gene product can be replaced via cross-feeding from a
academic.oup.com
June 27, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Microbial cross-feeding stabilized by segregation of a dependent mutant from its independent ancestor
#ISMEJournal by @ofsheff.bsky.social et al from @jakemckinlay.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/ismej/advanc...
#ISMEJournal by @ofsheff.bsky.social et al from @jakemckinlay.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/ismej/advanc...
Really proud of PhD Candidate Carl Stone, advocating for science and scientific funding by wiring this opinion piece for his hometown newspaper in Minnesota.
June 22, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Really proud of PhD Candidate Carl Stone, advocating for science and scientific funding by wiring this opinion piece for his hometown newspaper in Minnesota.
Reposted by Megan Behringer
An Anaerobic Pathogen Rewires Host Metabolism to Fuel Oxidative Growth in the Inflamed Gut https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.31.657111v1
June 1, 2025 at 5:19 AM
An Anaerobic Pathogen Rewires Host Metabolism to Fuel Oxidative Growth in the Inflamed Gut https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.31.657111v1
Given that there are 435 voting members of Congress, I would have hoped for more than 25% of House members to support American innovation in science and technology. 112? That’s it? No one else wants answers?!?!
NEWS: I just led 112 of my colleagues in demanding answers from the Trump Administration on their funding freeze of the National Science Foundation.
Cutting off NSF funding threatens vital research, stalls innovation, and risks ceding global scientific leadership to China.
Cutting off NSF funding threatens vital research, stalls innovation, and risks ceding global scientific leadership to China.
May 9, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Given that there are 435 voting members of Congress, I would have hoped for more than 25% of House members to support American innovation in science and technology. 112? That’s it? No one else wants answers?!?!
Reposted by Megan Behringer
Very cool new work by @megbehri.bsky.social and William F. McLaughlin:
Starvation drives co-existence in cross-feeding bacterial populations
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Starvation drives co-existence in cross-feeding bacterial populations
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Starvation drives co-existence in cross-feeding bacterial populations
Cross-feeding is a universal feature of natural microbial communities that extends even into subpopulation structures, generating cooperative ecotypes. However, we still lack an understanding of the e...
www.biorxiv.org
April 24, 2025 at 10:39 AM
Very cool new work by @megbehri.bsky.social and William F. McLaughlin:
Starvation drives co-existence in cross-feeding bacterial populations
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Starvation drives co-existence in cross-feeding bacterial populations
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Thanks for the Signal Boost, Ákos!
We’re so happy to see our review discussing Rho as an evolutionary capacitor out in Transcription!
It’s an exciting follow up to our recent research article & opens up a discussion of where we expect evolutionary capacitors to exist b/w the genotype/phenotype gap.
We’re so happy to see our review discussing Rho as an evolutionary capacitor out in Transcription!
It’s an exciting follow up to our recent research article & opens up a discussion of where we expect evolutionary capacitors to exist b/w the genotype/phenotype gap.
Rho-dependent termination: a bacterial evolutionary capacitor for stress resistance
Review in Transcription from @megbehri.bsky.social
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Review in Transcription from @megbehri.bsky.social
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Rho-dependent termination: a bacterial evolutionary capacitor for stress resistance
Since the Modern Synthesis, interest has grown in resolving the “black box” between genotype and phenotype. Contained within this black box are highly plastic RNA and proteins with global effects o...
www.tandfonline.com
March 6, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Thanks for the Signal Boost, Ákos!
We’re so happy to see our review discussing Rho as an evolutionary capacitor out in Transcription!
It’s an exciting follow up to our recent research article & opens up a discussion of where we expect evolutionary capacitors to exist b/w the genotype/phenotype gap.
We’re so happy to see our review discussing Rho as an evolutionary capacitor out in Transcription!
It’s an exciting follow up to our recent research article & opens up a discussion of where we expect evolutionary capacitors to exist b/w the genotype/phenotype gap.
Excited to announce our latest manuscript on bioRxiv! Led by PhD student Owen Hale, we anaerobically examine the mutation rates of aerotolerant anaerobic species of Lactic Acid Bacteria: Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus crispatus, and Lactococcus lactis.
Elevated rates and biased spectra of mutations in anaerobically cultured lactic acid bacteria https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.02.28.639667v1
March 1, 2025 at 2:39 AM
Excited to announce our latest manuscript on bioRxiv! Led by PhD student Owen Hale, we anaerobically examine the mutation rates of aerotolerant anaerobic species of Lactic Acid Bacteria: Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus crispatus, and Lactococcus lactis.
Reposted by Megan Behringer
Congratulations to @emmiamueller.bsky.social on:
"Residence time structures microbial communities through niche partitioning"
Now out in Ecology Letters:
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
"Residence time structures microbial communities through niche partitioning"
Now out in Ecology Letters:
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Residence Time Structures Microbial Communities Through Niche Partitioning
Much of life on earth is at the mercy of currents and flow. Residence time (τ) estimates how long organisms and resources remain in a system based on the ratio of volume (V) to flow rate (Q). We test...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
February 27, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Congratulations to @emmiamueller.bsky.social on:
"Residence time structures microbial communities through niche partitioning"
Now out in Ecology Letters:
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
"Residence time structures microbial communities through niche partitioning"
Now out in Ecology Letters:
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Really enjoyed visiting NC State for the Genetics and Genomics seminar yesterday! Got to chat with a great group of researchers, heard awesome science, and the food scene in Raleigh was pretty yum! 🧬🧫
February 11, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Really enjoyed visiting NC State for the Genetics and Genomics seminar yesterday! Got to chat with a great group of researchers, heard awesome science, and the food scene in Raleigh was pretty yum! 🧬🧫
Reposted by Megan Behringer
I am confident that scientific societies will play an unusually important role in the coming years. If you are a microbiologist of any kind, please consider joining @asm.org if you haven't already. There are many ways to get involved, including advocacy.
To learn more:
asm.org/About-ASM/Vo...
To learn more:
asm.org/About-ASM/Vo...
Volunteer With ASM | Overview
ASM volunteer opportunities range from speaking with legislators about funding research during ASM's annual Hill Day, to writing articles for asm.org, to serving on committees and the Board of Directo...
asm.org
January 23, 2025 at 9:21 PM
I am confident that scientific societies will play an unusually important role in the coming years. If you are a microbiologist of any kind, please consider joining @asm.org if you haven't already. There are many ways to get involved, including advocacy.
To learn more:
asm.org/About-ASM/Vo...
To learn more:
asm.org/About-ASM/Vo...
To all the other professors who also opened their labs in the middle of COVID and are now going to go up for tenure during this mess, I see you. 🤦♀️
January 23, 2025 at 3:10 AM
To all the other professors who also opened their labs in the middle of COVID and are now going to go up for tenure during this mess, I see you. 🤦♀️
Reposted by Megan Behringer
Applications are open for the Microbial Population Biology GRS and GRC!
The GRS is a fun day for grad students and postdocs to network before the full GRC starts, and is co-chaired this year by me and Laura Suttenfield
Get your applications in by Jan 15! #evosky 🦠🧪
www.grc.org/microbial-po...
The GRS is a fun day for grad students and postdocs to network before the full GRC starts, and is co-chaired this year by me and Laura Suttenfield
Get your applications in by Jan 15! #evosky 🦠🧪
www.grc.org/microbial-po...
2025 Microbial Population Biology (GRS) Seminar GRC
The 2025 Gordon Research Seminar on Microbial Population Biology (GRS) will be held in Andover, New Hampshire. Apply today to reserve your spot.
www.grc.org
November 14, 2024 at 8:02 AM
Applications are open for the Microbial Population Biology GRS and GRC!
The GRS is a fun day for grad students and postdocs to network before the full GRC starts, and is co-chaired this year by me and Laura Suttenfield
Get your applications in by Jan 15! #evosky 🦠🧪
www.grc.org/microbial-po...
The GRS is a fun day for grad students and postdocs to network before the full GRC starts, and is co-chaired this year by me and Laura Suttenfield
Get your applications in by Jan 15! #evosky 🦠🧪
www.grc.org/microbial-po...
Reposted by Megan Behringer
Excited for the upcoming #VUEvoMag Magazine! " @megbehri.bsky.social reached out to me a few weeks after my lab opened at Vanderbilt with this interesting observation about solution pH, but wondered if there was a way we could measure pH inside cells," Bratton recalled. loom.ly/a1hXE2o
November 15, 2024 at 6:55 PM
Excited for the upcoming #VUEvoMag Magazine! " @megbehri.bsky.social reached out to me a few weeks after my lab opened at Vanderbilt with this interesting observation about solution pH, but wondered if there was a way we could measure pH inside cells," Bratton recalled. loom.ly/a1hXE2o
Introducing our lab’s newest Ph.D candidate William McLaughlin. William is doing an awesome microbial systems ecology project that’s already turning out some cool results. Keep an eye out for this rising star.
October 21, 2024 at 4:44 PM
Introducing our lab’s newest Ph.D candidate William McLaughlin. William is doing an awesome microbial systems ecology project that’s already turning out some cool results. Keep an eye out for this rising star.
🚨This week in @PNASNews 🚨
Our new paper led by postdoc @sb_worthan examining a pH sensitive substitution in the Rho transcription terminator that evolved experimentally in our lab and then is found in natural populations! Thread below! 🧵
www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....
Our new paper led by postdoc @sb_worthan examining a pH sensitive substitution in the Rho transcription terminator that evolved experimentally in our lab and then is found in natural populations! Thread below! 🧵
www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....
September 23, 2024 at 5:38 PM
🚨This week in @PNASNews 🚨
Our new paper led by postdoc @sb_worthan examining a pH sensitive substitution in the Rho transcription terminator that evolved experimentally in our lab and then is found in natural populations! Thread below! 🧵
www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....
Our new paper led by postdoc @sb_worthan examining a pH sensitive substitution in the Rho transcription terminator that evolved experimentally in our lab and then is found in natural populations! Thread below! 🧵
www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....
Had a great time last night watching @NashvilleSC win with the Vanderbilt Mathematics Department.
Thanks for letting this biologist join, there’s no better way to watch a game than in the VU box! ⚽️⚓️🧑🏫
Thanks for letting this biologist join, there’s no better way to watch a game than in the VU box! ⚽️⚓️🧑🏫
September 19, 2024 at 2:50 PM
Had a great time last night watching @NashvilleSC win with the Vanderbilt Mathematics Department.
Thanks for letting this biologist join, there’s no better way to watch a game than in the VU box! ⚽️⚓️🧑🏫
Thanks for letting this biologist join, there’s no better way to watch a game than in the VU box! ⚽️⚓️🧑🏫