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!

Reminder that abstracts for ESEB 2025 are due soon, by 25th April. If you work on a socially transferred material such as milk, ejaculates, skin secretions, regurgitate or microbes, please consider submitting to our symposium - we want the full range and amazing diversity of STMs to be represented!

Share your work on host-associated microbiomes in our symposium @eseb2025.bsky.social - with speakers Hassan Salem @hassansalem.bsky.social and Carola Petersen. Abstract deadline April 25th. Florent, Klara, and I would love to see you there!

Fungal small #RNA hijacking: a new layer of cross-kingdom communications in arbuscular #mycorrhizal symbiosis 📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... 👆 A #Commentary by Xie & Fan on this article by Silvestri et al. 👇 📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #LatestIssue

A long, long time ago, we started this review project during the first Coron lockdown, but if finally made it out into the world - Origin and function of beneficial bacterial symbioses in insects! @naturerevmicro.bsky.social

You have a strong background in molecular microbiology and look for a PhD position? Join us in #Tubingen in an international, enthusiastic team team, in an excellent research environment of the EU-funded #AUREUS program euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/328844 @cmfi.bsky.social

Registrations for SymbNET PhD Summer School on Host-Microbe Symbioses open until 28th March. 6-19 July 2025, in Oerias, nearby Lisbon, Portugal. More info at gimm.idloom.events/phd-summer-s... #SymbioSky #MicroSky

📢 Meet the speakers of the 2025 SymbNET Summer School on Host-Microbe Symbioses gimm.idloom.events/phd-summer-s... 👉 Know more about Jewelna: noguchi.ug.edu.gh/fellows/dr-j... #SymbioSky #MicroSky

SymbNET PhD Summer School on Host-Microbe Symbioses 2025 with great lecturers: J. Akorli, @berasymbionts.bsky.social, M. Blaser, T. Bosch, @nicoledubilier.bsky.social, @fkttkm.bsky.social, I. Gabanyi, G. Dominguez-Bello, and... 1/2 #SymbioSky #MicroSky gimm.idloom.events/phd-summer-s...

Socially transferred microbes will be featured too! Are you part of the #SymbioSky or #MicroSky communities? Consider applying to the symposium! 🐝🐸🐜🐠🐞🐭 @eseb2025.bsky.social

🚨Preprint Alert🚨 I'm really happy to finally share our exploits in red algae and introduce the wider community to Bostrychia, the new model system we have been developing to tackle the molecular biology of red algae. Isn't she a beauty? Thread below 🧵 1/8 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

New study from my lab and former grad Dr. Kwak shows Liberibacter psyllaurous, a dual insect symbiont and plant pathogen, boosts psyllid fitness by providing essential nutrients like arginine. A rare case of nutritional benefits from non-obligate symbionts #symbiosis journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Do you work on a socially transferred material such as milk, seminal fluid, skin secretions or regurgitate? Interested in attending ESEB 2025 in Barcelona? Then please consider submitting to our symposium!