🫒Kira Lowe gives us a comprehensive overview of oliveTree, a newly developed R package, aimed at enabling users to annotate gene gain and loss in phylogenetic trees. Sure to be an asset in outbreak investigations and One Health studies! #MicroSeq2026 #R #phylogenetics

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

Metabolic Modelling Facilitates the Design of Synthetic Communities by Simplifying Natural Microbial Communities in Environmental Microbiology enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Metabolic Modelling Facilitates the Design of Synthetic Communities by Simplifying Natural Microbial Communities

A simulation-based approach was developed to design synthetic microbial communities (SynComs) by simplifying complex microbial communities through metabolic modelling. The simulation-based approach w...

enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Insights into the role of a genotoxin in nature, through the lens of a honeybee gut. Colibactin stabilizes a symbiont community and keeps out invaders... Congratulations to Yulin Song and other authors! rdcu.be/fBIeq or (subscription) www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#MENI2026 was brilliant. Excellent talks, posters, and discussions. Thanks @siderophile.bsky.social @paulinedscanlan.bsky.social for the invite and for organising such a great event!

#MENI2026

Rebecca J Hall@drrebeccajhall.bsky.social · 2w ago

Looking forward to a full day of microbial evolution today! I’ll be talking this morning about evolution of AMR from my work with @alanmcn1.bsky.social

Looking forward to a full day of microbial evolution today! I’ll be talking this morning about evolution of AMR from my work with @alanmcn1.bsky.social

VACANCY - Funded by @European Research Council (ERC), we have three exciting opportunities for Postdoctoral Researchers to join the newly appointed Dr @hassansalem.bsky.social Group. These roles span: Developmental biology - https://okt.to/nq50wC 🧵

Excited to share this perspective article from my group - how can the interactions between microbes shape the spread of antibiotic resistance mutations? Thank you @microbiologysociety.org for inviting us to submit this 🦠 www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour...

Microbial interactions as key players shaping the emergence and spread of de novo resistance mutations

Antibiotic resistance and the microbiome are two of the most prominent and highly active research areas currently in microbiology. However, these studies are commonly siloed. Research into antibiotic ...

microbiologyresearch.org

The last chapter of my PhD work is now live on MBE. This has been an incredible project, combining genomics, proteomics, as well as transcriptomics that resolves total mRNA from ribosome-associated mRNA (which we infer to be in the process of translation).

Molecular Biology and Evolution@molbioevol.bsky.social · 2mo ago

@ironark.bsky.social et al. measured transcript abundance, ribosome-associated RNA, and protein abundance in bacterial endosymbionts, suggesting a mechanism for aberrant pseudogene-derived protein removal. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag153 #societyjournal #evobio #molbio

An exciting couple of days of science scheduled at @meehubs.bsky.social this week, and with the UK hub in Manchester I don’t even have to travel! Great job organising it all @mermanchester.bsky.social

how 𝘚𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴-derived endosymbionts deal with pseudogenes prior to genome reduction john (formerly @mcsymbiont on 𝕏, not on bsky) has been digging in his favorite rabbit hole for 30 years now, and his lab still finds new things... thx for pointing this out, @evgenii-protasov.bsky.social 🙏 #SymbioSky

Of Terms in Bi­ol­ogy: Trans-Trans­la­tion

by John McCutcheon, Janie and Christoph — This could become a very short explainer of the term "trans-trans­lation", as gi­ven by Vioque and de la Cruz in their mini­review: "Trans-trans­lation is…

smallthingsconsidered.blog

Evgenii Protasov@evgenii-protasov.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The transcriptional and translational outcomes for pseudogenes in bacterial endosymbionts #microbiology #pseudogene #ribosome #proteomics #MicroSky doi.org/10.1093/molb...

Nearly four weeks at Manchester, and it is SO nice to be back in the world of symbiosis again.

My lab at @stonybrooku.bsky.social Dept of Ecology & Evolution is recruiting a 2-year Postdoc! They will split time between genomics and symbiosis dynamics of cnidarians 🪸, and the development of STAGdb. Start date as early as Sept 2026. Please share this post with anyone who might be a great fit!

Neffella xylocopae gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel host-specific gut symbiont of Xylocopa carpenter bees in the family Orbaceae #microbiology #NewSpecies #bees #taxonomy #MicroSky doi.org/10.1099/ijse...

Neffella xylocopae gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel host-specific gut symbiont of Xylocopa carpenter bees in the family Orbaceae

Bee-associated Orbaceae species aid in the metabolism of plant polysaccharides, toxic sugars and urea and stimulate the immune system. In honeybees and other eusocial bees, microbial transmission occu...

doi.org

A step forward in discovering Buchnera's key to the aphid's heart, published today! Thanks to Jerry Maeda and other authors--a great team -- and to the helpful reviewers #SymbioSky doi: doi.org/10.1038/s415...

A secreted endosymbiont protein essential for colonizing host cells - Nature

SyeA was present in the Buchnera ancestor, is secreted into the host cytoplasm, is homologous to secreted effectors of bacterial pathogens and is essential for Buchnera transmission.

doi.org

really lovely piece of work from @raufs.bsky.social et al., Complex multicellularity is linked with expanded specialized metabolite production in microorganisms www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Complex multicellularity is linked with expanded specialized metabolite production in microorganisms - Nature Microbiology

The evolutionary emergence of complex multicellularity in bacteria and fungi, such as the ability for mycelial growth, is strongly associated with increased genomic carriage of biosynthetic machinery ...

nature.com

Like Artemis/ACT but wish it was easier to install and more modern? Try Seqhiker. 🧬 Native desktop app (no Java) for Windows/mac/linux 🖱️ Drag-n-drop FASTA/GenBank/GFF3/BAM/VCF files 🔍 Genome browsing and ACT-style comparison ✨ Themes (customisable) and a Vim mode Docs: seqhiker.readthedocs.io

🗞️New Paper🗞️ We show that #Candida & #Staph cooperate via copper handling - with fungal copper uptake & bacterial copper export shaping the community. @mrccmm.bsky.social @microbiologysociety.org @universityofexeter.bsky.social www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour...

Copper-driven mutualism of Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus interkingdom biofilms

Although fungi and bacteria commonly co-exist within polymicrobial communities, the molecular mechanisms underlying their interactions are still not well understood. Here, we show that the fungus Cand...

microbiologyresearch.org

The latest in my “what has four billion years of evolution taught us” series. Always free. Always about evolution. Take a look. open.substack.com/pub/profmcin...

Drift and Luck

In 1968, a Japanese geneticist named Motoo Kimura published a paper that changed how every evolutionary biologist thought about evolution.

open.substack.com

Where are mutations most likely to happen in the genome? @mattjago.bsky.social has answers! This paper is also a masterclass in simple visualizations of complicated ideas. I really enjoyed getting deep into these results as a middle author 🧬

Matt Jago@mattjago.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Our work characterizing how mutational bias is influenced by the local sequence context beyond trinucleotides is out now @pnas.org! We also showed which motifs are most prone to mutations caused by strand misalignment, revealing several new hotspots! 🧬 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

#Genome-resolved #metagenomics reveals conserved, flexible and emerging #symbioses across global #leafhoppers doi.org/10.64898/202... #SymbioSky

Latest paper lead by Asia Hoile with @peterhox.bsky.social is out! 🦋 Nymphalid butterflies have reduced forelegs. Gene expression patterns show support for more palp-like genes involved in sensory processes in the forelegs relative to the walking legs. doi.org/10.1111/imb....

Distinctive gene expression in the reduced first thoracic legs of a nymphalid butterfly

Transcriptome analysis reveals that the small non-walking front legs of a butterfly have distinct gene expression to the four walking legs. Reduced front legs express a gene with putative mechanosen...

doi.org

Very excited to share our new preprint, led by Alyssa Henderson! We ask why auxotrophy is so widespread in bacteria, and find that phylogeny is the dominant predictor of autotrophy, as opposed to environmental context. Check it out! 👇

Amino acid auxotrophy is a feature of a distinct bacterial lifestyle across environments

Amino acid auxotrophy, the loss of biosynthetic potential for an amino acid, is a highly prevalent feature of microbial life, yet the evolutionary processes driving its distribution in nature remain u...

doi.org

Although I’m looking forward to going back to work next month, I’ll definitely miss the midweek coffee trips.

A reminder that this position closes in a few days time!

Fiona J Whelan@whelanfj.bsky.social · 4mo ago

After a few technical glitches... 📣 Whelan lab is hiring 📣 We are looking for an entry level technician to help us with our culturing and DNA sequencing prep of cystic fibrosis lung microbiome samples. Applications close 28 May 2026 Any queries, please reach out!

📍 Manchester Made it. Toasty weekend for a move.

Great to see this published in the @microbiologysociety.org collection on Actinomycetes Conserved regulator MtrA directly activates ectoine biosynthesis and expression of BldM and WhiI to trigger sporulation in response to hyperosmotic stress www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour... 1/2

MtrAB activates ectoine production and triggers sporulation in response to osmotic stress in Streptomyces venezuelae

The MtrAB two-component system is a master regulator of antibiotic biosynthesis in Streptomyces species. MtrA is also required for sporulation under certain growth conditions, which means that on some...

microbiologyresearch.org

We are hiring! 🔬🧫 Join our lab at the Uni Southampton as a Research Technician working on bacteria-phage interactions to develop therapies for hard-to-treat infections. 2-year post Deadline: 27 May 2026 Position start date: 1 July 2026 or shortly after Apply: jobs.soton.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx...

I am seeking postdoc opportunities in insect–microbiome interactions, ecology & evolutionary biology. Research: aphid–plant–microbiome dynamics, 16S rDNA sequencing & ecological genomics. Open to international relocation. PIs/collaborators, let’s connect. #Postdoc #aphid #Microbiome