S. Kay

Macroevolutionary dynamics in micro-organisms: generalists give rise to specialists across biomes in the ubiquitous bacterial phylum Myxococcota.

The paper studies biome transitions in Myxococcota bacteria, finding that generalists facilitate transitions between specialists, supporting the jack-of-all-trades trade-off.

Copper reduces the virulence of bacterial communities at environmentally relevant concentrations

This study shows that high copper concentrations reduce bacterial community virulence but also decrease diversity and productivity in wastewater influent communities.

Towards a framework to unify the relationship between numerical abundance, biomass, and quantitative eDNA

This paper develops a framework to unify eDNA data with numerical abundance and biomass by incorporating allometric scaling, validated using marine and freshwater datasets.

Actin cytoskeleton signaling via MRTF/SRF entrains circadian clock

This study shows that actin cytoskeleton signaling via MRTF/SRF modulates circadian clock entrainment by responding to extracellular matrix cues.

Bacterial colonisation dynamics of household plastics in a coastal environment

The paper tracks bacterial colonisation of household plastics in a coastal environment, finding rapid colonisation by diverse bacteria, including pathogens, regardless of polymer type.

Characterising a stable five-species microbial community for use in experimental evolution and ecology.

The paper reports the stable coexistence of a five-species microbial community derived from soil microbes, demonstrating long-term stability and species identification through plate morphologies.

The genomic basis of evolved virus resistance is dependent on environmental resources

This study identifies genomic mechanisms of virus resistance in a lepidopteran pest, showing that resistance evolves differently under varying nutritional conditions and is linked to metabolic, immune, or cytoskeleton pathways.

A mobile ELF4 delivers circadian temperature information from shoots to roots

This study identifies ELF4 as a mobile protein that transmits temperature signals from shoots to roots, regulating the root circadian clock based on temperature.