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.