How do you know if a person is #smart? You ask questions. How do you know if a #soil is #healthy? You take measurements. But are we taking the right #measurements? I think we can do better. Here you can read my proposal, an 'IQ test for soils'. shorturl.at/knvG4 What’s yours?

Celebrating the small wins in academia….a reminder to myself (and maybe you….) Please share with someone you think might also need this reminder :) open.substack.com/pub/matthias...

My new paper is out! 🧪🦠 Seven years later: native AMF inoculation improves grassland restoration successional stage, floristic quality index, and diversity, while suppressing weeds: academic.oup.com/femsle/artic... Why microbes matter in restoration 🧵

Great publication from Maggie Wagner (KU) and Manuel Kleiner (NCS) on how to design microbiome (+ other Omic) projects with downstream statistics in mind! A must read for trainees! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

If you do #qPCR on soils you might be interested in this paper led by @aoifeduff.bsky.social @femsmicro.org which shows the effect of mastermix, sample type, platform and gene target on the inhibition, precision and accuracy of quantification academic.oup.com/femsec/artic...

In our review of CMNs, water stood out as a resource that might be transferred between plants via fungal connections. This new study provides further support (and in DSEs!). Nice expt by Bea Bock et al 👍 Great to see new research. doi.org/10.1038/s420...

Very glad to see this nice paper by Anika out; systematic mapping is such a useful tool to get an overview of an entire field.

What an inspiring group of researchers! And they are all here in Helsinki for the soil microorganisms! 🤩 #esm2025 #soils

A great day at #esm2025 coming to an end here on Helsinki, with the last event of todays programme being a reception at the beautiful city hall 🥂 So wonderful to reconnect with colleagues I haven't seen in a long time 😊

The final version of this viewpoint paper is now out in @funecology.bsky.social Clarifying the definition of common mycorrhizal networks besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... Follow-up papers: see thread

We often measure AM fungal colonisation assuming it tells us something about function. But… what does it tell us? A short Letter where I ask what root colonisation really means for plant growth, P uptake, and defence. #Mycorrhiza #fungi #plantmicrobiome nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

What happens belowground when a mountain road cuts through nature? After epic fieldwork, root sequencing & modeling marathons, we found: roads unravel fungal interaction networks—fewer links and more generalists. @dajana-r.bsky.social 📖 Blog: the3dlab.org/2025/05/08/w...

New #MIREN publication 📜 Roadsides in mountains around the world alter plant & fungal communities, favouring arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi & putative plant pathogens at the expense of ectomycorrhizal fungi ⬇️ Amazing work led by #Dajana #Radujković @dajana-r.bsky.social 🌐🌏🏔🛣🍄‍🟫☘️🍁🌳 shorturl.at/sbSyN

New study in @nature.com: we focus on the diversity that's missing - “dark diversity.” Human impact means only 1 in 5 species persist in disturbed areas versus 1 in 3 in pristine ones. My summary of the project & its implications: the3dlab.org/2025/04/03/g...

Wrapping up our Applied Plant Transcriptomics course! From RNA-seq to de novo transcriptome assembly. #Bioinformatics #PlantSciences 📑 Slides available here: github.com/bpucker/Appl...

This week's newsletter is about appreciation in academia at various levels and in various contexts - and the lack thereof. What do you think? matthiasrillig.substack.com/p/appreciati...

If you do not know it already I would certainly recommend the channel of @mrillig.bsky.social www.youtube.com/@mrillig You will find there very helpful videos about life in academia. Topics include publishing, writing, reviewing, research strategy, rejections and success - and plenty of advice

A super exciting PhD position available in #peatland #biochemistry. Join @yijiao.bsky.social and me working with cutting edge #VOC cycling in peat. + nice colleagues @voltcenter.bsky.social + Copenhagen + competitive salary + good PhD program employment.ku.dk/phd/?show=16... Please repost!

Soil microbiome inoculation: don't forget about microbial communnity coalescence! My newsletter for this week. open.substack.com/pub/matthias...