Alexander Harms
@aharms485.bsky.social
Bacteriophages, dormant bacteria, and bacterial immunity. Assistant Professor of Molecular Phage Biology at ETH Zürich.
Mindblowing tenure lecture of Nicholas Bokulich from our institute at ETH Zürich @ethz.ch on microbial ecosystems "from farm to flush"! 🍷🥖🦠
November 26, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Mindblowing tenure lecture of Nicholas Bokulich from our institute at ETH Zürich @ethz.ch on microbial ecosystems "from farm to flush"! 🍷🥖🦠
Is it all about bacterial immunity? No! Bas54 and its relatives (including also iconic phi92) have a "Swiss Army knife" of tail fibers of which different ones seem to bind diverse receptors on different host strains.
7/8
7/8
November 20, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Is it all about bacterial immunity? No! Bas54 and its relatives (including also iconic phi92) have a "Swiss Army knife" of tail fibers of which different ones seem to bind diverse receptors on different host strains.
7/8
7/8
Intriguingly, highly specific sets of viral genes are conditionally essential for each phage on different uropathogenic Escherichia coli strains (obtained from the @nccr-antiresist.bsky.social consortium). We show that many of them are new anti-defense factors.
6/8
6/8
November 20, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Intriguingly, highly specific sets of viral genes are conditionally essential for each phage on different uropathogenic Escherichia coli strains (obtained from the @nccr-antiresist.bsky.social consortium). We show that many of them are new anti-defense factors.
6/8
6/8
We also applied HIDEN-SEQ to other phages such as T-even phage Bas37 and (shown below) Bas54 of the abundant but understudied Vequintavirinae. These results will kickstart studies on the fascinating molecular biology of these phages.
5/8
5/8
November 20, 2025 at 8:40 PM
We also applied HIDEN-SEQ to other phages such as T-even phage Bas37 and (shown below) Bas54 of the abundant but understudied Vequintavirinae. These results will kickstart studies on the fascinating molecular biology of these phages.
5/8
5/8
It took generations of scientists to get a basic idea about gene essentiality and (at least for half of them) gene function in model phage T4. HIDEN-SEQ can generate the same data across the genome at near-basepair resolution in one shot.
4/8
4/8
November 20, 2025 at 8:40 PM
It took generations of scientists to get a basic idea about gene essentiality and (at least for half of them) gene function in model phage T4. HIDEN-SEQ can generate the same data across the genome at near-basepair resolution in one shot.
4/8
4/8
🚨Preprint alert - this is a big one! We transfer the revolutionary power of TnSeq to bacteriophages.
Our HIDEN-SEQ links the "dark matter" genes of your favorite phage to any selectable phenotype, guiding the path from fun observations to molecular mechanisms.
A thread 1/8
Our HIDEN-SEQ links the "dark matter" genes of your favorite phage to any selectable phenotype, guiding the path from fun observations to molecular mechanisms.
A thread 1/8
November 20, 2025 at 8:40 PM
🚨Preprint alert - this is a big one! We transfer the revolutionary power of TnSeq to bacteriophages.
Our HIDEN-SEQ links the "dark matter" genes of your favorite phage to any selectable phenotype, guiding the path from fun observations to molecular mechanisms.
A thread 1/8
Our HIDEN-SEQ links the "dark matter" genes of your favorite phage to any selectable phenotype, guiding the path from fun observations to molecular mechanisms.
A thread 1/8
Meeting some colleagues in Lucerne today ☀️🏔🍂 #sciencetravels
November 19, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Meeting some colleagues in Lucerne today ☀️🏔🍂 #sciencetravels
Fantastic paper by James Bean and colleagues on phage Bas63 - this has been one of the first phages I ever isolated just for fun as a PhD student (in 2012!). It's #2 on this plate of Rhine river water on an E.coli K-12 lawn....
How it started /// How it's going
How it started /// How it's going
November 13, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Fantastic paper by James Bean and colleagues on phage Bas63 - this has been one of the first phages I ever isolated just for fun as a PhD student (in 2012!). It's #2 on this plate of Rhine river water on an E.coli K-12 lawn....
How it started /// How it's going
How it started /// How it's going
Bonjour, Lausanne! 🏞🌤🍂 #sciencetravels
November 12, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Bonjour, Lausanne! 🏞🌤🍂 #sciencetravels
Good morning, Oxford! 🇬🇧🌂🍂 #sciencetravels
November 11, 2025 at 7:28 AM
Good morning, Oxford! 🇬🇧🌂🍂 #sciencetravels
Bacterial Halloween mask crafted by uniquely talented MSc student Dominic Spichtig - the team of Enea @phagemuffin.bsky.social is setting new standards in the lab! 🎃🔥🧬
November 5, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Bacterial Halloween mask crafted by uniquely talented MSc student Dominic Spichtig - the team of Enea @phagemuffin.bsky.social is setting new standards in the lab! 🎃🔥🧬
#sciencetravels today at Imperial College London - great campus and fantastic colleagues! 🇬🇧🧬
November 4, 2025 at 11:07 AM
#sciencetravels today at Imperial College London - great campus and fantastic colleagues! 🇬🇧🧬
Fantastic day to present our work to the ETH Zürich microbiology colleagues on Hönggerberg campus - for once a local #sciencetravels! 🚌🧬🍂
October 18, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Fantastic day to present our work to the ETH Zürich microbiology colleagues on Hönggerberg campus - for once a local #sciencetravels! 🚌🧬🍂
Setting the stage for today's food microbiology lecture - if you like your kidneys, wash those raw veggies and be careful with undercooked meat! 🦠☠️
October 16, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Setting the stage for today's food microbiology lecture - if you like your kidneys, wash those raw veggies and be careful with undercooked meat! 🦠☠️
Easy vacation days in Ticino before some predictably dense months are coming up... 🏝🏔🧳
October 10, 2025 at 6:43 AM
Easy vacation days in Ticino before some predictably dense months are coming up... 🏝🏔🧳
Fantastic lab hike in the Alpstein mountains together with our friends from Martin Loessner's group 🏞☀️😎
October 3, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Fantastic lab hike in the Alpstein mountains together with our friends from Martin Loessner's group 🏞☀️😎
Guten Tag Freiburg - great city trip with the family to present at the German Pharmaceutic Society! 🧬🍺
September 30, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Guten Tag Freiburg - great city trip with the family to present at the German Pharmaceutic Society! 🧬🍺
Bonjour, Quebec! 🍛🌤🧬 #sciencetravels
September 23, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Bonjour, Quebec! 🍛🌤🧬 #sciencetravels
Fantastic day for my annual visit at Pestalozzi Schulcamps to discuss phages with primary school classes ☀️🚆🧬
September 18, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Fantastic day for my annual visit at Pestalozzi Schulcamps to discuss phages with primary school classes ☀️🚆🧬
Great bike tour through the vineyards above Basel with a taste of the new fermenting wine #foodmicrobiology 🍷🌤🤗
September 14, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Great bike tour through the vineyards above Basel with a taste of the new fermenting wine #foodmicrobiology 🍷🌤🤗
Departmental faculty retreat in a beautiful old monastery - great place to calm down and discuss business!
September 5, 2025 at 5:13 AM
Departmental faculty retreat in a beautiful old monastery - great place to calm down and discuss business!
Fantastic weekend in Norwich - great city and great food! ☀️🇬🇧🥂
August 31, 2025 at 3:55 AM
Fantastic weekend in Norwich - great city and great food! ☀️🇬🇧🥂
A fantastic meeting of the Swiss Society for Microbiology has come to an end, full of amazing science and wonderful people! Still mind-blown by the keynote of Rafa Pinilla Redondo 🧬🎙️🏔️
August 29, 2025 at 8:22 AM
A fantastic meeting of the Swiss Society for Microbiology has come to an end, full of amazing science and wonderful people! Still mind-blown by the keynote of Rafa Pinilla Redondo 🧬🎙️🏔️
Lost it in a train two days ago, could pick it up this morning at the local train station for a symbolic fee. Sometimes the efficiency in this country is (positively) scary! 🚆🇨🇭🧳
August 28, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Lost it in a train two days ago, could pick it up this morning at the local train station for a symbolic fee. Sometimes the efficiency in this country is (positively) scary! 🚆🇨🇭🧳
Good morning, Interlaken - fantastic venue for the annual meeting of the Swiss Society for Microbiology! 🇨🇭🏞️🦠
August 27, 2025 at 6:31 AM
Good morning, Interlaken - fantastic venue for the annual meeting of the Swiss Society for Microbiology! 🇨🇭🏞️🦠