Fabulous film about @jenmcgaley.bsky.social's work in the @paszkowskilab.bsky.social. Jen has captured arbuscular mycorrhiza in motion for the first time. Find out more 👉https://tinyurl.com/yc2brzcu 🧪 @cambridgebiosci.bsky.social

University of Cambridge@cam.ac.uk · last mo.

What if one organism could copy itself and merge with others, weaving vast living networks? Meet the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi 🦠 Cambridge researcher Dr Jennifer McGaley from @camplantsci has filmed these fungi in action for the very first time. Find out more 👉 https://bit.ly/4ghAynD

Delighted that this paper from my brilliant former PhD student Elvira Hernandez-Gutierrez is now published in @newphyt.bsky.social 😀 Elvira built a model to predict novel pest-host interactions between Agrilus beetles and oak trees 🪲🌳🪾 we hope the approach will be useful in other systems too!

New Phytologist@newphyt.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Combined phylogenetic and geographic data can predict plant–pest interactions Hernández-Gutiérrez et al. @laura-j-kelly.bsky.social nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Nearly a year after our symposium on Repeat-Induced Point (RIP) mutations, I’m happy to share the fruit of some of our discussions. The fungal RIP hypermutator mechanism has deep eukaryotic roots www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... We hope to spark interest in this underappreciated mechanism.

The video recordings of the legend 2025 conference held last December on machine learning for evolutionary genomics are now online ! Feel free to have a look if you missed the conference. www.canal-u.tv/chaines/lisn...

📃 A new study in @fungal-ecology.bsky.social from @rowenahill.bsky.social uses GlobalFungi sequencing data to provide the first global assessment of Gaeumannomyces incidence, and reviews current understanding of host interactions and lifestyle.

Host range and global distribution of Gaeumannomyces root fungi of cereal crops and wild grasses

Gaeumannomyces species (Magnaporthales, Ascomycota) occur worldwide as both pathogenic and commensal root-associates of cereal crops and wild grasses,…

buff.ly

New little data synthesis out in @fungal-ecology.bsky.social on Gaeumannomyces root fungi of cereals/wild grasses, using GlobalFungi to identify global incidence and summarising what we know about host/lifestyle range 🍄🌾🌍 👉 doi.org/10.1016/j.fu... @earlhaminst.bsky.social @dsw-isp.bsky.social

📝We’ve finished the first draft of our Ganoderma lucidum “origin” article: “A historical specimen of False Lingzhi (Ganoderma lucidum) resolves a 245-year-old confusion within an important medicinal mushroom group.” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Hot off the press #ScienceAdvancesResearch @science.org www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... we show that pathogens and non-pathogens share many effectors, and with subtle changes effectors from non-pathogens may become host immune modulators

Plant-associated fungi co-opt ancient antimicrobials for host manipulation

Fungal effectors may have evolved from ancient antimicrobials, shaping plant microbiota and immunity during infection.

science.org

Thrilled to share our paper now out in Nature Plants 🎉 We developed a genome-host association (GHA) approach to study pathogen adaptation directly from field metadata by using the originating host cultivar as phenotype. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Genome–host association mapping reveals wheat pathogen genes involved in host specialization - Nature Plants

This study introduces genome–host association (GHA), leveraging natural epidemics to map the genetic landscape of host adaptation in the pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici. Applied to 832 wheat fungal stra...

nature.com

Applications for paid summer research projects from the Royal Society of Biology are now open, closing 28th April! Work with leading plant health researchers on 8-10 week placements, including Rothamsted. Apply now: www.rsb.org.uk/plant-health-ug-studentships.html #studentship #internship

Hi all. I am very excited that after 6 years I finally got my phylogenetic comparative methods book and online exercises online. Feel free to use and share. The book is here: nhcooper123.github.io/pcm-primer/. Note that it is not finished, we had to abandon it before the sunk costs fallacy broke us

So nice to see this out in print, and thanks to @microbiologysociety.org for the smooth publish process! Single-cell sequencing reveals unexpected genetic diversity among Bodo spp. flagellates and their bacterial endosymbionts - www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour...

Single-cell sequencing reveals unexpected genetic diversity among Bodo spp. flagellates and their bacterial endosymbionts

Bodo is a cosmopolitan genus of free-living bacterivorous single-celled flagellates in the class Kinetoplastea. Genus Bodo is considered the closest free-living lineage to the parasitic lineages Trypa...

microbiologyresearch.org

How does root invasion differ between endophyte & pathogen? We are interested in this dichotomy of expression in the most important root disease of wheat, take-all: Stealth vs SEVs Exceptional tenacity from Stella (looking for a PhD) and the team @earlhaminst.bsky.social @rothamsted.bsky.social 🙏

bioRxiv Evolutionary Biology@biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Transcriptional signatures underlying divergent lifestyles of endophytic and pathogenic fungi in early colonisation of wheat roots https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.03.13.711015v1

Year in industry student Poppy Leslie is presenting her great work on the evolution of wheat-infecting root fungi, check it out at poster 47! 🌾🍄 #CMINorwich26 @earlhaminst.bsky.social @norwichmicro.bsky.social @dsw-isp.bsky.social @mcmullan0.bsky.social

Earlham Institute@earlhaminst.bsky.social · 5mo ago

🦠 Today and tomorrow microbial researchers from across the Norwich Research Park and beyond gather for the Centre for Microbial Interactions conference. @norwichmicro.bsky.social #CMINorwich26

So I pleased to announce the conceptual spawn of FigTree: PearTree (acronym still to be finalised). If you want to dive right in it is hosted as a web app here: artic-network.github.io/peartree (click the “Example...” button for immediate candy and then click every button you can find).

Disperal ecology meets fungi! It is more than just spores people! Check this paper led by ECR @sarahcuprewich.bsky.social and Kristin Barbour! Fun collab supported @cu-esiil.bsky.social One hundred unanswered questions on the dispersal ecology of fungi url: academic.oup.com/ismej/articl...

One hundred unanswered questions on the dispersal ecology of fungi

Abstract. Fungi comprise millions of species that play numerous varied roles in Earth’s natural and managed ecosystems, engaging in a multitude of positive

academic.oup.com

Article out about our work on #protists at the Earlham Institute🦠🧬 #protistsonsky @earlhaminst.bsky.social @nrpdtp.bsky.social @norwichmicro.bsky.social

Earlham Institute@earlhaminst.bsky.social · 6mo ago

🦠 Neither plant, animal, nor fungi: protists are beautiful, bizarre, and behaviourally complex. For @sallywarring.bsky.social and @santa-walker.bsky.social at Earlham Institute, they're creating some fascinating scientific challenges. Learn more ➡️ buff.ly/8lRrX8b

Hi everyone! The talk I had the chance to give with @fnucleosome.bsky.social last October is now out on Youtube! If you like evolution, 3D genomics, biodiversity and/or fungi, I think you might like it! 🧬🧪🍄 The submission of this paper has never been that close! www.youtube.com/watch?v=Plez...

Calling all OrthoFinder users! We’ve just released GLADE, a tool to infer gene gains, losses, duplications, and ancestral genomes across a phylogeny. GLADE runs directly on OrthoFinder results. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... github.com/lauriebelch/... (1/10)

This article is now published! academic.oup.com/nargab/artic... We’ve added a few new analyses. First off, we show that, while gene presence absence variation (PAV) scales with evolutionary distance in both plants and animals, the base level and rate of accrual are both twice as high in plants.

Evolutionary and methodological considerations when interpreting gene presence–absence variation in pangenomes

Abstract. While graph-based pangenomes have become a standard and interoperable foundation for comparisons across multiple reference genomes, integrating p

academic.oup.com

John Lovell@jotlovell.bsky.social · 12mo ago

Determining presence-absence variation (PAV) across reference genomes is a major goal of pangenome analysis. It turns out that A LOT of gene PAV is due to methodological artifacts. We explore the causes of this in soybean and cotton datasets in our recent preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

What enables a fungus to invade a mammal host? @marco-guerreiro.bsky.social unravels signatures of translation adaptation among pathogenic and non-pathogenic species of Trichosporonales. See more: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Genomic and physiological signatures of adaptation in pathogenic fungi - Nature Communications

Emerging fungal pathogens have detrimental impacts on crops, animals, and humans, however little is known about their transition to a pathogenic lifestyle. This study demonstrates that the transition ...

nature.com

I'm delighted to inform you that our paper "Ecological genomics of saprotrophy to biotrophy transitions in the genus Clitopilus" was published in IMA Fungus. A long standing collaboration with Zhilin Yuan at RISF, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Hangzhou: imafungus.pensoft.net/articles.php...

Ecological genomics of saprotrophy to biotrophy transitions in the genus Clitopilus (Fr. ex Rabenh.) P. Kumm. (Agaricales, Entolomataceae)

Transitions between saprotrophic and biotrophic lifestyles represent pivotal evolutionary events in fungal ecology; however, the genomic and physiological mechanisms underlying such shifts remain poor...

imafungus.pensoft.net

In this review in Fungal Ecology, Håvard Kauserud (@drhyfe.bsky.social) argues that while the ITS region is by far the best DNA (meta)barcoding marker for fungi, we should not use it naively or simplistically doi.org/10.1016/j.fu...

Open for applications: Massee Arts Grant: up to £5000 to support novel arts projects focused on fungi. For artists from all disciplines & all geographic locations who can help us encourage engagement and learning about mycology. Find out more & apply here: www.britmycolsoc.org.uk/massee-arts-...

Mutualistic microbes drive niche expansion yet constrain diversification https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.14.699472v1

Very excited to share this article written with my PhD advisor @hassansalem.bsky.social, highlighting the amazing work on organ remodeling for symbiosis by Nishino et al @fkttkm.bsky.social. A fascinating system to think about!

Hassan Salem@hassansalem.bsky.social · 7mo ago

How are host organs remodeled for symbiosis? And do some insects converge in how they sustain life within/on these structures? Loved unpacking these Qs w/ @francespi.bsky.social in light of the stunning Nishino & @fkttkm.bsky.social study! www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...

Why Ambrosia Beetles Keep Only One Fungus: Competitive Asymmetry, Bottleneck Drift, and Eco-Evolutionary Fixation https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.18.694882v1

Our raxtax tool for taxonomic classification is published: it is 2.7–100 times faster than competing tools but equally accurate - raxtax has increasing speedups with growing query and reference sequence numbers compared to existing tools: academic.oup.com/bioinformati...

DOE's Office of Science is making a big push into AI, and that includes our work at the @jgi.doe.gov . We want to hear your thoughts (+ and -) on AI-enabled biological data. Consider joining one of our interviews or focus groups by filling out this form! 🧪🧬🦠🖥️ #secmet jointgeno.me/PortalStorie...

Tell Us Your JGI Portal Stories

The JGI Portal teams (IMG, Mycocosm, Phycocosm, Phytozome, and SMC) would love to sit with you (over Zoom) to hear your stories relating to your usage of the portals, your unsupported use cases, and p...

jointgeno.me

⏰ Closing soon! We're looking for a Research Scientist to work on novel platforms for sustainable myco-food production and precision fermentation. 💷 £37,500 to £40,240 🗓️ Apply by 30 November 2025 ➡️ buff.ly/WDsrbgl