The Uphoff lab

News archive

Genetic plasticity meets DNA repair heterogeneity

December 2021

Variation in DNA repair protein expression leads to differences in mutation rates between cells. Article now published in Nucleic Acids Research: Cellular heterogeneity in DNA alkylation repair increases population genetic plasticity.


DNA-target search

February 2021

Our new article in Molecular Cell shows that the bacterial chromosome is crowded with non-specifically bound proteins. Transient non-specific DNA binding dominates the target search of bacterial DNA-binding proteins.


LexA and the SOS response

June 2021

Bacteria sometimes induce the SOS DNA damage response even in the absence of stress. Why this happens and other findings revealed by a single-molecule tracking approach described in our new paper in Nature Microbiology. Free access: Imaging LexA degradation in cells explains regulatory mechanisms and heterogeneity of the SOS response.


DNA organization - replication - segregation

August 2021

Interplay between chromosome organization and replication fosters non-random inheritance of genetic material. Article now published in PNAS: Non-random segregation of sister chromosomes by Escherichia coli MukBEF.


Colworth Medal Lecture

April 2021

Watch Stephan's award lecture for the Biochemical Society Colworth medal on youtube: Seeing DNA repair and mutagenesis in bacteria.


#FEMSmicroBlog: Exposing bacteria molecule by molecule

August 2021

Amy Moores explains on the #FEMSmicroBlog how single molecule localisation microscopy techniques are playing important roles in bacteriology.


Under the Lens

We are running a journal club with other groups at Oxford, where we take recent papers on Microbial Imaging "Under the Lens". This goes together with a new regular feature in Nature Reviews Microbiology. More details can be found here.


DNA repair and evolvability

May 2021

This preprint investigates the phenomenon of stress-induced mutagenesis: Cellular heterogeneity in DNA alkylation repair as a trade-off between cell survival and genetic plasticity.


Amy Moores

February 2021

Welcome to postdoctoral scientist Amy who is focusing on microscopy development in our group.


Divya Choudhary

October 2020

Divya is a new DPhil student in our group and won an Indira Gandhi scholarship at Somerville College.


Lister Prize

August 2020

Our lab has been awarded a Lister Institute Research Prize for our work on DNA repair and mutagenesis in bacteria.


Chloe Cassaro

July 2020

Welcome to Chloe Cassaro who joins our group officially as a DPhil student having completed her successful DTP rotation project.


Victor Chen and Nicolas Aryanpour

July 2020

Congratulations to Victor Chen who completed an internship and his Part II Biochemistry research project, and Nicolas Aryanpour who had joined us for an ERASMUS internship as part of his Masters degree at UC Louvain! Farewell!


Postdoc vacancy

November 2020

We are looking for a microscopy enthusiast to join our team! Do you have skills in single-molecule imaging or super-resolution microscopy? Are you keen to address fundamental questions about how bacteria grow and survive? Get in touch with me by email, and apply here by 13th November 2020!!


DNA-target search

August 2020

How do DNA-binding proteins find their target sites within the dense chromosome meshwork? New preprint describes a chromosome degradation method to address this question: Transient non-specific DNA binding dominates the target search of bacterial DNA-binding proteins.


Review article in Biochemical Society Transactions

March 2020

Our views on the origins and consequences of "Bacterial phenotypic heterogeneity in DNA repair and mutagenesis" are now published!


DNA damaging toxin-antitoxin system

January 2020

A story about the function of a toxin-antitoxin system in pathogenic E. coli published in Cell Reports: DNA ADP-Ribosylation Stalls Replication and Is Reversed by RecF-Mediated Homologous Recombination and Nucleotide Excision Repair.


Chloe Cassaro and Nicolas Aryanpour

January 2020

Welcome to DTP rotation student Chloe and internship student Nicolas from Louvain.


Article in Biophysical Journal

September 2019

Does gene expression noise jeopardize DNA damage signaling? Stochastic simulations and single-cell imaging provide some answers: A quantitative model explains single-cell dynamics of the adaptive response in Escherichia coli.


Maxence Vincent

May 2019

Welcome to Maxence Vincent who joins our group with a postdoctoral fellowship from the Human Frontiers Science Programme.


Aditya Jalin

May 2019

Aditya has won a summer vacation studentship from the Biochemical Society for a project in our lab.


Colworth Medal

April 2019

Stephan Uphoff will receive the 2020 Colworth Medal from the Biochemical Society


Poster Prize

April 2019

Valentine Lagage won a Best Poster Prize at the UK RNA Polymerase Workshop. Congratulations!


Article in J. Phys. D.

November 2018

Choosing the right label for single-molecule tracking in live bacteria: Side-by-side comparison of photoactivatable fluorescent protein and Halo tag dyes by Nehir Banaz and Jarno Makela.