Research group Group Wäneskog

We study how bacteria and fungi respond and adapt to cytotoxic stress caused by chemicals, microbial toxins, and viral infections by using a combination of custom-designed synthetic biology tools, high-throughput assays, and multi-omics approaches.


Bacterial and fungal cells are regularly exposed to a variety of toxic chemicals, microbial toxins, and viruses. To survive these potentially lethal threats, microbial cells rely on complex molecular adaptations that enable them to prevent and repair cellular damage and alter essential metabolic processes. Gaining insight into these survival mechanisms is crucial for understanding the adaptability of unicellular organisms.

By comprehensively mapping how microbes survive and thrive under stress, we aim to uncover weaknesses that could be exploited for therapeutic gain. Thus, our research not only aims to enhance our fundamental understanding of microbial stress responses, but also to guide the development of the next generation of antimicrobial therapies.

This research group has no members.

There are no research project connections.

High-throughput methods enabling random duplications, deletions or nucleotide-constrained mutagenesis of entire DNA motifs. Wäneskog M§, Nielsen KN, Deichmann M, Bradley SA, Jensen MK, Jensen ED§. (2026). Nucleic Acids Research

A yeast mating platform for multiplex screening of fungal GPCR-ligand interactions. Schiesaro G, Mariscal M, Jönsson M, Tenente R, Sørensen MB, Wäneskog M, Aguilar-Pontes MV, Undabarrena A, Deichmann M, Hoch-Schneider EE, Kandasamy V, Frimurer TM, Di Pietro A, Clemmensen LKH, Jensen MK, Jensen ED. (2025). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS).

Accurate phenotype-to-genotype mapping of high-diversity yeast libraries by heat-shock- - electroporation (HEEL). Wäneskog M§, Hoch-Schneider EE, Garg S, Cantalapiedra CK, Schaefer E, Jensen MK, Jensen ED§. (2025). mBio.

A strategy for successful dual‐species protein expression of genes with non‐optimal codon usage - destined for bacterial and yeast cell factories. Wäneskog M§, Rasmussen TB, Jensen ED§. (2024). Biotechnology Progress.

A synthetic platform for multiplex screening of cell-cell communication between soil fungi. - Schiesaro G, Jönsson M, Tenente R, Sørensen MB, Wäneskog M, Undabarrena A, Deichmann M, Hoch-Schneider EE, Kandasamy V, Frimurer TM, Clemmensen L, Jensen MK, Jensen ED. (2024). BioRxiv.

Escherichia coli EC93 deploys two plasmid-encoded class I contact-dependent growth inhibition - systems for antagonistic bacterial interactions. Wäneskog M, Halvorsen T, Filek K, Xu F, Hammarlöf DL, Hayes CS, Braaten BA, Low DA, Poole SJ, Koskiniemi S. (2021). Microbial Genomics.

RHS-elements function as type II toxin-antitoxin modules that regulate intramacrophage - replication of Salmonella Typhimurium. Stårsta M*, Hammarlof DL*, Wäneskog M, Schlegel S, Xu F, Gynnå AH, Borg M, Herschend S, Koskiniemi S. (2020). PLoS Genetics.

Class II contact-dependent growth inhibition (CDI) systems allow for broad-range cross-species toxin - delivery within the Enterobacteriaceae family.Virtanen P*, Wäneskog M*, Koskiniemi S. (2019). Molecular Microbiology.

Contact-dependent growth inhibition induces high levels of antibiotic-tolerant persister cells in - clonal bacterial populations. Ghosh A*, Baltekin Ö*, Wäneskog M, Elkhalifa D, Hammarlöf DL, Elf J, Koskiniemi S. (2018). EMBO Journal.

Stress sensitivity of a fission yeast strain lacking histidine kinases is rescued by the ectopic - expression of Chk1 from Candida albicans.Maksimov V*, Wäneskog M*§, Rodriguez A, Bjerling P§. (2017). Current Genetics.

Multi-fragment site-directed mutagenic overlap extension polymerase chain reaction as a competitive - alternative to the enzymatic assembly method. Wäneskog M, Bjerling P. (2014). Analytical Biochemistry.

All publications in PubMed.

Cookie settings

By allowing third-party services, you accept their cookies and the use of tracking technologies necessary for them to function properly.