💥🧬 Why sequence ALL insect genomes? Because insects run the planet. They pollinate our crops, recycle nutrients, build soils, drive food webs, and shape ecosystems on every continent. 🌍 Yet we’ve only scratched the surface of their genomic diversity. #InsectBiotech #BiodiversityMatters #InsectLovers

There’ll be several opportunities to join the group, starting w/ a PhD studentship via the BBSRC-NRP Doctoral Training Partnership. Team up w/ us, @saskiahogenhout.bsky.social & @berasymbionts.bsky.social to answer how microbes shape insect behavior: biodtp.norwichresearchpark.ac.uk/projects/mic...

PRESS RELEASE – Dr Hassan Salem to lead independent research group on plant-insect interactions Following an international search, we are delighted to announce that Dr Hassan Salem @hassansalem.bsky.social will be joining us in early 2026: www.jic.ac.uk/press-releas...

Some news 🎉 After five incredible years in Tübingen, it’s time to say goodbye. Starting February, the Mutualisms Lab will relocate to the John Innes Centre, right next door to @berasymbionts.bsky.social and her group at The Sainsbury Laboratory 🪲🦠

Super excited to be joining @thesainsburylab.bsky.social and to begin this new chapter in Norwich!! And thrilled to be neighbours with the Mutualisms Research Group at @hassansalem.bsky.social and the wider community at @johninnescentre.bsky.social. Can’t wait to get started! 😁

Had a fantastic visit to the ‪Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen @maxplanckcampus.bsky.social Super thanks to @hassansalem.bsky.social and @berasymbionts.bsky.social for hosting me and showing me the town! Fun to talk symbiosis science with such superstars 🤩

It was such a treat to see you again @CorrieMoreau.bsky.social!! We’re still buzzing after a stellar seminar 🌟 turtle ants are amazing!

New pre-print from our group showing remarkable synchrony of proliferative growth and regulated cell death during plant infection- each conidial cell has a different fate - by the rice blast fungus. Led by Alice Eseola with @osesmir.bsky.social Lauren Ryder @danmaclean.bsky.social and Martin Egan

Aileen Berasategui @berasymbionts.bsky.social (VU) on Origin and evolution of a defensive symbiosis in tortoise beetle Chelymorpha alternans beetle => today, focusing on pupation see their @currentbiology.bsky.social paper (with @hassansalem.bsky.social) www.cell.com/current-biol... #NIME2025

🪸🧪 We’re hiring! Join our ERC-funded group at the @hifmb.de in Oldenburg, Germany to explore the cellular origins of photosymbiosis:⁣ ⁣ 𝟏 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐝𝐨𝐜 + 𝟐 𝐏𝐡𝐃𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.⁣ Deadlines: Oct 29 & Nov 5. Links below. ⁣ Questions: [email protected]⁣ #Photosymbiosis #HIFMB #ERC #AcademicJobs

Dear all, registration for the upcoming EMBO/EMBL Symposium on "the cellular mechanics of symbiosis" is now OPEN 🤩 ! Feel free to register ! www.embl.org/about/info/c... #EESSymbiosis #ProtistsOnSky #SymbioSky @hassansalem.bsky.social @berasymbionts.bsky.social @embl.org

✨🚀 #EESSymbiosis is now open for registration! Submit your abstract by 25 November 2025 and join us as we explore the evolution of intimate species-species interactions 👉 https://s.embl.org/ees26-03-bl#EESSymbiosis 🗓️ 17 – 20 March 2026 📍 EMBL Heidelberg and Virtual

Which fungal 🍄 molecules cause zombie 🧟‍♀️ ant 🐜 behaviors? @williamycete.bsky.social has begun to answer this question! He found a peptide that binds to scramblase and affects important odor-dependent behaviors in ants. Spoiler: worms 🪱 played a key role in this research 🧐 doi.org/10.1101/2025...

Such a delight to share our work on the evolution of a cheese rind fungus in @currentbiology.bsky.social. This is the fantastic PhD work of @nicolasleonlouw.bsky.social and resulted from amazing collaborations, a wedding proposal(!), an undergrad course, & more! 🧵 www.cell.com/current-biol...

📣New paper alert📣 @michieldegroot.bsky.social ran laboratory experiments at the University of South Bohemia, which revealed that abiotic factors DO significantly affect parasitism of Harmonia axyridis by Hesperomyces harmoniae. Congratulations! Read more: doi.org/10.1111/een.... #TeamLaboul

www.cell.com/cell/abstrac... A host organelle (in sea slugs) integrates stolen chloroplasts for animal photosynthesis

A study uncovers genes behind an extreme symbiosis: Pygmy seahorses perfectly mimic the gorgonian coral they live within, are resistant to the coral's venom, and are protected from infection by the coral’s antimicrobial compounds. In PNAS: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

We are pleased to announce that @talbotlabtsl.bsky.social has been awarded the RKS Wood Prize 2026 by the @bspp.bsky.social. “I am humbled to have been awarded the RKS Wood Prize 2026. I’d like to thank my research group and my TSL colleagues for their inspiration and support.” buff.ly/VvoR27Q

How do light and noise pollution impact selection on sexual signals? We tested mate attraction and bat predation on túngara frogs in the field. Full text: doi.org/10.1093/jeb/... #evolutionarybiology #animalbehavior @eseb.bsky.social @jevbio.bsky.social Photo: Grant Maslowski

Delighted that our work on the Sanctuary Starship #transposon is now published! A big thanks to all co-authors, especially to the ever-amazing @mcdonaldmeganc.bsky.social for her mentorship! doi.org/10.1128/mbio...

🚨 Save the date! Thrilled to be co-organizing the next iteration of the @embl.org Symposium on the Cellular Mechanics of Symbiosis (📅 March 17-20), w/ @floravincent.bsky.social, @hassansalem.bsky.social & Tom Richards. www.embl.org/about/info/c... #EESSymbiosis #Symbiosis #SymbioSky #MicroSky 🦠

@symbnet.bsky.social alumni crowd at #ESEB2025 w/ @berasymbionts.bsky.social & @vandriienko.bsky.social #SymbioSky

@berasymbionts.bsky.social speaking about socially transferred materials and her amazing beetles and fungal symbiont transfer opening the @socialtransfernet.bsky.social symposium at #ESEB2025

Good morning #eseb2025! Come join us at 10:30 in room 131+132 to hear invited speakers @jennyperry.bsky.social and @berasymbionts.bsky.social plus many excellent contributed talks on #socialtransfers @socialtransfernet.bsky.social @joriskoene.bsky.social @adriatica.bsky.social

𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐃𝐍𝐀-𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐢 𝐢𝐧 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫! 👇 The Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute will host a specialized training on DNA-based Identification of Fungi: 📆 October 9–10, 2025 (2 days) 🔗 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 & 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬: https://f.mtr.cool/wrirtjfrww

The Tübingen & Amsterdam crews have landed in Barcelona for #ESEB2025! Cooling off with helados before the science (and festivities) begin🍦

Looking forward to this symposium with a great line-up at @eseb2025.bsky.social

Looking forward to presenting at @eseb2025.bsky.social! I will present research on differences in responses to seminal fluid between populations of a simultaneously hermaphroditic snail. I will use @anitomical.bsky.social's model of L. stagnalis to highlight the anatomical location of the prostate

Interested in host-associated microbiomes? Attending @eseb2025.bsky.social? Then come check out Symposium S07 on Monday August 18th and hear all about how microbiomes contribute to adaptation. Gut microbiomes, climate change, thermal physiology, behaviour, invasion biology, blood-feeding, and more!

🚨 Exciting news for #ESEB2025! Join us in Barcelona for our symposium: Cooperation, Conflict & the Evolution of Socially Transferred Materials (S08) 📅 Thursday, 21 Aug 2025 🕥 10:30–12:30 | 🕔 17:00–19:00 (Poster Session)

How can we better understand the plant immune system? In my new @cp-cellhostmicrobe.bsky.social piece, I propose “immune cell states” as a framework for uniting molecular and cellular perspectives. www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...

(1/5)For over a century, the hunt for new antibiotics has focused almost exclusively on bacteria and fungi. Today, that paradigm shifts. By coupling state-of-the-art AI with the vast, largely uncharted diversity of Archaea, we open a new frontier for molecular discovery.

🌐 Welcome to the Social Transfer Network (STN) on Bluesky! We’re an interdisciplinary community exploring how materials/signals (from molecules to microbes) transfer between individuals and shape health, behavior, and evolution. #STM

Grateful to the folks @CurrentBiology.bsky.social for the fun Q&A! Come for the beetles, stay for the symbionts — and forgive the basketball detour 🪲🦠🏀 www.cell.com/current-biol...

Comparative genomics reveals intra and inter species variation in the pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis: academic.oup.com/gbe/article/... from @hyphaltip.bsky.social and his PhD student Mark Might make this the next group read

Last week to apply! nioo.knaw.nl/en/vacancies...

Awesome talk by @hassansalem.bsky.social yesterday about the interaction between tortoise beetles and their microbial symbionts. Very cool work! Thank you Hassan very much for your visit and the stimulating discussion.

The scope of #fungi #biodiversity is only beginning to be fathomed. Every day almost ten new species are described. 🍄🤯 David Hibbett László Nagy and Henrik Nilsson introduce the fungal tree of life. www.cell.com/current-biol...

📢Our synthesis of current knowledge on the fascinating cell of #arbuscular #mycorrhizal fungi is out @currentbiology.bsky.social, part of the special #fungi issue. With @rachaelcargill.bsky.social @tobykiers.bsky.social @thomasshimizu.bsky.social Open access link: www.cell.com/current-biol... 1/4

Our newest special issue is now live! Check it out to discover more about diverse and beautiful Fungi🍄🍄‍🟫🍄 On the cover: the fly agaric, Amanita muscaria, releasing its spores in the early morning light. www.cell.com/current-biol...

Our review on mechanobiology of fungal invasive growth with Lauren Ryder and Joris Sprakel in the @currentbiology.bsky.social Special issue #Fungi www.cell.com/current-biol...

We were gathering together this evening to hear the announcement of the new clusters of excellence by the German research foundation. So happy to hear that @cmfi.bsky.social gets another round! Love the Team! #naturalproducts #fightinfections #secmet

🎉 We’re hiring! Two ERC-funded #PostdocJobs on insect–phytopathogen mutualisms are available in my lab. Explore the chemical and molecular evolution of symbioses! 🧪Chemical ecology: tinyurl.com/chem-ecol-symb 🦠Phytopathology & mutualisms: tinyurl.com/symb-plantpath #SymbioSky #PlantPathology

🚨 6 DAYS MORE! 🚨 ⏳ Time is tight, but we are giving you one last opportunity: 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 #ESEB2025! 🔗 Submit your abstract now: https://eseb2025.com/call-for-abstracts/

Fungal pathogen Cercospora beticola, the cause of leaf spot in sugar beet, likely jumped from wild sea beet twice. Taliadoros et al. studied 326 isolates across 4 continents, uncovering rapid adaptation, host shifts, and evolution of fungicide resistance. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/... #genome #fungi

Three different moments in the life of a treehopper (Campylenchia hastata). They look totally different after each of their five molts! #treehoppers #membracids #insects

Elated and honored to have been awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant! We’ll explore why beetles lose genes — only to rely on symbionts instead 🪲🦠 Incredibly proud of the team and excited for this project to take off w/ some remarkable beetles! @erc.europa.eu www.bio.mpg.de/466825/news_...

Please repost! and Save the date for the 13th Annual Yosemite Symbiosis Workshop (April 18-20, 2025). More info at the registration page. REGISTRATION WILL OPEN SOON www.sachslab.com/symbiosis-20...

Abstracts for @eseb2025.bsky.social due next week! Milk, ejaculates, skin secretions, regurgitate, microbes ...our symposium will have it all, with invited speakers @berasymbionts.bsky.social and @jennyperry.bsky.social ...and you? Organised w/ @joriskoene.bsky.social and @wolfnerlab.bsky.social

Are you interested in a postdoc in Germany on fungal pathogen biology, genomics, or antifungal resistance? My Uni (@uni-jena.de) is hosting a free two-day masterclass in June on preparing MSCA Postdoc Fellowships with it as host. If you are interested in writing a fellowship with me, get in touch!