Very happy to contribute to the next chapter on chlamy's giant punuivirus, led by the de Mendoza and Aylward labs and beautifully described by Alex below. Also contains the first little bit of data generated here in Melbourne to see the light of day!

Alex de Mendoza@alexdemendoza.bsky.social · 11h ago

How can a #GiantVirus 👾 lurk inside the host genome undetected? We find that epigenetic conflict lies at the centre of the ⚖️ between infection and co-existence with the host. Great collaboration with the Aylward lab out in @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

DAY 490 SPECIES 490 - Oxyrrhis marina STAGE: Protists MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek & QoR watercolor. Sakura & Writech pen O. marina is a marine heterotrophic dinoflagellate widely used as a model organism in protist ecological and evolutionary research #sciart #paint #eukaryotic #protistsonsky

Congratulations Anders Alfjorden, et al.! Their paper, "Identification of a new gregarine parasite associated with mass mortality events of freshwater pearl mussels (Margaritifera margaritifera) in Sweden," won the 2024 Trager Award onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal... #protistsonsky

DAY 484 SPECIES 484 - Colpidium colpoda STAGE: Protists MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek & QoR watercolor. Writech pen C. colpoda is a single celled freshwater ciliate. #sciart #watercolor #paint #protist #eukaryotic #protistsonsky

Protists deserve the spotlight and so do scientists! This was such an honor but mostly, this project reminded me why I have the best job and friends/colleagues in the world! 🔬

Carolyn Johnson@carolynyjohnson.bsky.social · 2w ago

Many scientists feel grim right now. Here's a different story - about discovery, friendship, grimness, yes, but how science finds a way! @couchmicroscopy.bsky.social @andrewilloughb.bsky.social In an $80 Motel Room, a Discovery to Shed Light on the Origins of Life www.nytimes.com/2026/09/26/s...

Our description of fire amoeba, 𝘐𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘦𝘣𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴, is now online at Cell! Thanks @oliverio.bsky.social and amazing team for questioning the limits of eukaryotes! 🔥 www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

A geothermal amoeba sets a new upper temperature limit for eukaryotes

The amoeba Incendiamoeba cascadensis demonstrates that eukaryotic life can withstand temperatures beyond what was thought possible and sheds light on molecular strategies for survival in extreme heat.

cell.com

Great read! Another piece of the puzzle from @starships-andrew.bsky.social in understanding how giant transposons move horizontally. Congratulations to the authors!

Andrew Urquhart@starships-andrew.bsky.social · 3w ago

Another step in the #Starship story - they move via a circular intermediate. Helps explain how these elements horizontally transfer and means that we can modify them into transformation vectors (starmids). www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Welcome to Bluesky @starships-andrew.bsky.social Looking forward to seeing more of the exciting Starship research here! 🍄

Our paper describing two new photosynthetic Paulinella species is out today in JPhycol! This is the kind of work I love to do and even it though took many years to finish, we had a lot of fun stomping around together in the marsh! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #protistsonsky

What's that? You wish we had more data on those bizarre dinoflagellates WITH EYES? Have no fear! With @protistwtmostest.bsky.social, Gordon Lax, and @pjkeelinglab.bsky.social, who also have eyes.

Evolution of complex organelles in ocelloid-bearing dinoflagellates

Abstract. Warnowiid dinoflagellates are known for possessing two of the most complex structures known in single cells: multi-projectile nematocysts and the

academic.oup.com

New #ISEPpapers #PrePrint! Skiaviridae: a large DNA virus family that persistently infects thraustochytrid protists www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... by Jessica Latimer et al. #Protists #Viruses #Microbes

DAY 421 SPECIES 421 - Auranticordis quadriverberis MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek watercolor, Sakura pen A. quadriverberis is an inverted heart shaped, bright orange single celled marine protist #sciart #watercolor #paint #protist #eukaryotic #protistsonsky

DAY 418 SPECIES 418 - Picomonas judraskeda MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek & QoR watercolor, Sakura pen Thanks to @thealgaeman.bsky.social for recommending this species! #sciart #watercolor #paint #protist #eukaryotic #protistsonsky

This story is now published in @natplants.nature.com ! 🎉🎩 Check out the final article here: nature.com/articles/s41477-026-02361-1 Very similar to the original bioRxiv preprint, with the addition of some cool polysome analysis (in the supplementals)! Thanks and congrats to everyone involved! 🙏

Chloroplast-encoded small subunit extensions reshape the Chlamydomonas chlororibosome - Nature Plants

Using in situ cryo-electron tomography, researchers found a unique ‘arm’ domain on the small subunit of Chlamydomonas chlororibosomes. This discovery suggests that chlororibosome structure is more evo...

nature.com

Florent Waltz@florentwaltz.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Long in the making, but happy to present the Chlamydomonas chlororibosome! Cryo-ET🔬reveals a large new domain on the small subunit, built from multiple extensions in conserved ribosomal proteins. bioRxiv 📖: shorturl.at/q44tG This suggests greater chlororibosome diversity than expected! 1/n 🧵

New preprint! 🧵 Best #Cercozoa genome alert! For a decade, I’ve studied protist ecology through questions like who eats whom. But beyond “they eat this, they eat that,” what do #protists do to their environment, biochemically speaking? #protistsonsky @huesnaoeztoprak.bsky.social

So happy to share our new paper out now in @natmicrobiol.nature.com! We establish Pirsonia-Coscinodiscus as a model pathosystem and uncover how this tiny parasite infects and kills bloom-forming marine diatoms 🌊🦠 rdcu.be/fuQyF

New preprint: We studied the population dynamics of Arctic #phytoplankton and #mycoplankton and found evidence for chytrid-mediated diatom bloom termination. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Congrats @paulinethome.bsky.social #protists #protistsonsky #algae #diatoms #chytrids

Our work on the symbiont-containing organelle that supports coral reefs is published today. Also, new genetic tools to study symbiosis in both corals and Aiptasia. Great work by Shumpei Maruyama, Cat Henderson, and the rest of the fantastic team. #SymbioSky www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...

Co-option of lysosomal machinery shapes the evolution of the intracellular photosymbiosis supporting coral reefs

Corals harbor intracellular algal symbionts in specialized organelles that enable them to build diverse reef ecosystems. Corals and other cnidarians have repeatedly evolved this symbiosis through the ...

cell.com

This was an exciting result to get in this year's IF scores, made possible because of all of you fantastic people who submit your great papers to JEM!! Please send more:)

Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology@jeukmicro.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Do you have interesting protist research that you want to publish? Now is a great time to consider The Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology. But don't just take our word for it, check out some of our latest metrics! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1550... #protistsonsky

1/11 🤩Sooooo happy to see this work on a new new group #algae. Looks like #centrohelids - predatory ancient eukaryotic lineage sometimes harbor vertically-inherited plastids from #dictyochophytes. Amazing work, @annewalraven.bsky.social, glad to be on board! More below:

Anne Walraven@annewalraven.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Very excited that the preprint of the main paper of my PhD is now out! We show that Meringosphaera is the first centrohelid with permanent plastids: doi.org/10.64898/202... @zlatogursky.bsky.social, @pjkeelinglab.bsky.social, prof. Rachel A. Foster, and @fburki.bsky.social #protistsonsky

New in ES&T: Protist predation rapidly altered soil microbial community structure and increased the expression of N and P cycling genes, antibiotic resistance genes, virulence factors, and mobile genetic elements. #SoilMicrobiology #Protists #MicrobialEcology pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Protist Predation Rapidly Reshapes Soil Microbial Gene Expression Linked to Nutrient Processing, Resistance, Virulence, and Gene Mobility Traits

Protists are ubiquitous soil predators that regulate bacterial communities and biogeochemical cycling, yet how their predation alters expression of nutrient-cycling genes and traits linked to antibiot...

pubs.acs.org

I had a ton of fun the other day talking with @nonresidentdesi.bsky.social and @scifri.bsky.social 's Flora Lichtman and Rasha Aridi about murderous microbes and the things that we are trying to learn from them. Happy for the opportunity to bring some new awareness to the world of protists!

Science Friday@scifri.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Researchers like Ben Larson and Glen D’Souza are piecing together the world of killer microbes, including why they turn on each other and if their tiny weapons could be harnessed to fight disease. Listen to the podcast now: www.sciencefriday.com/segments/kil...

Very excited that the preprint of the main paper of my PhD is now out! We show that Meringosphaera is the first centrohelid with permanent plastids: doi.org/10.64898/202... @zlatogursky.bsky.social, @pjkeelinglab.bsky.social, prof. Rachel A. Foster, and @fburki.bsky.social #protistsonsky

Single cell genomics and fluorescence microscopy suggest a permanent plastid in a marine centrohelid

Photosynthetic organelles (plastids), which originated via primary endosymbiosis between an Archaeplastida ancestor and cyanobacteria, have shaped the Earth's oxygen-rich atmosphere and spread across ...

doi.org

Did you know that Hexamita nelsoni occurs in blue mussels? Now you know 😂 see our paper here www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... #protistsonsky

If you want to read a cool story today, look no further: A billion-year-old bacterial machinery replicates plastid DNA and supports kleptoplastidy #protistsonsky www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Check out the draft program for the Comparative Genomics of Unicellular Eukaryotes meeting! Want to attend? Are you a speaker? Don't wait! Registration is closes on May 4. comparativegenomics2026.com/program/ w/ @cstairs.bsky.social

And a fancy poster! Check out comparativegenomics2026.com for more information :)

Now published in @cytoskeljournal.bsky.social !🎉 Diurnal Regulation of Flagellar Length and Swimming Speed in the Red-Tide Raphidophyte Chattonella marina 🔗 doi.org/10.1002/cm.7... © 2026 Wiley #protistsonsky

Diurnal Regulation of Flagellar Length and Swimming Speed in the Red‐Tide Raphidophyte Chattonella marina

The raphidophyte Chattonella marina is a harmful algal bloom (HAB) species known for its distinct diurnal vertical migration (DVM), a behavior important for its survival and bloom formation. However,...

doi.org

New preprint alert! 🦠🔬 We quantitatively evaluated the swimming and flagellar movement of Chattonella, a red-tide alga. Chattonella has two unequal flagella, and we found a positive correlation between anterior flagellum length and swimming speed. #protistonsky www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

🌊 Exciting #PhDPosition in #PlanktonEcology at the University of Koblenz, Germany! Work on marine protists with a mix of 🔬 wet lab and 💻 bioinformatics in a 3-year, 60% position. 📅 Apply by 20 May 2026 Please repost/share 🙌 Link: tinyurl.com/yu27knau #Protists #MicrobialEcology #PhD #Ecology