New Insights into Bacterial Genome Evolution: UAlbany Researchers Publish in Nature Communications

The University at Albany Department of Biological Sciences congratulates Dr. Héloïse Muller who recently completed her postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Associate Professor Cheryl Andam. During her time in the Andam Lab, Dr. Muller conducted research in evolutionary genomics that focused on the mechanisms of horizontal gene transfer and the roles of mobile genetic elements in bacterial evolution.

Her work at UAlbany concluded in a first-author publication in the November 2025 issue of Nature Communications titled “Genetic exchange networks bridge mobile DNA vehicles in the bacterial pathogen Listeria monocytogenes. This study reveals how genetic exchange among mobile DNA elements such as plasmids, transposons, and phages help drive the evolution of Listeria monocytogenes.

This publication represents a collaborative effort by members of the Andam Lab which includes Dr. Odion O. Ikhimiukor (postdoctoral researcher), Dr. Maitiú Marmion (postdoctoral researcher), Manuela Montoya-Giraldo (Ph.D. student), and Kathryn R. Piper (Ph.D. student) together with scientists from the Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health who contributed data, analyses, and discussions to this study.

Dr. Muller has now begun a new postdoctoral position at the Institut de Biologie de l’École Normale Supérieure (IBENS) in Paris, France where she is investigating how structural variations influence adaptation to new environments in Caenorhabditis elegans. Her recent postdoctoral appointment at UAlbany builds on a strong and very successful record of academic and research training that includes a Ph.D. from Université Paris-Saclay and prior research experiences at the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, and the Swedish Museum of Natural History.

The Department of Biological Sciences recognizes Drs. Héloïse Muller and Cheryl Andam along with members of the Andam lab for this outstanding accomplishment and their contribution to advancing the understanding of bacterial evolution and genomic adaptation.

Please click on link for additional information on this study: Genetic exchange networks bridge mobile DNA vehicles in the bacterial pathogen Listeria monocytogenes | Nature Communications.

Click on link for more information on the Andam Lab: Microbial Evolution | Cheryl P. Andam | United States.

Information on UAlbany’s Department of Biological Sciences Academic and Research Programs: Department of Biological Sciences | University at Albany.