Very happy to that our large-scale collaborative weave project (w/ @annamichalik.bsky.social & @sympiotr.bsky.social ) "Plant pathogens in #insect #microbiome [...]" has been approved! @fwf-at.bsky.social @ncn.gov.pl @univie.ac.at @jagiellonskiuni.bsky.social @dome-vienna.bsky.social 1/6 👇🏽

New personal milestone - 10,000 observations on #inaturalist @inaturalist.bsky.social ! 4,290 from Poland, the rest from 20+ countries ~3,450 total species Several first species records on the platform, or range extensions. Data feeds into @gbif.org - contributes to #biodiversity research. /1

Our paper is now out in its final form in @natcomms.nature.com ! We show that ancient insect symbionts can undergo extreme, convergent genome reduction to as little as ~50 kb - driven by ecological shifts and symbiont replacement. 🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41... More below 👇 1/

Convergent extreme reductive evolution in ancient planthopper symbioses - Nature Communications

Symbiotic bacteria can have exceedingly small genomes. This study finds that ancient bacterial symbionts of planthoppers have repeatedly evolved the smallest known genomes, losing most biosynthetic fu...

nature.com

How specific are heritable symbioses? And what can we learn from swapping obligate symbionts across host species? We address this in our latest, led by @inespons.bsky.social & in our collaboration w/ @microbiome.bsky.social 🦠🪲 Out today in @natcomms.nature.com! 1/n www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Our new paper in @natcomms.nature.com is now online-early! We describe independent evolution of bacterial genomes of only ~50–52 kb — the smallest known outside cellular organelles — revealing striking convergence toward minimal gene sets. 🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s414...

Thursday night I was lucky enough to tick off another photography milestone - documenting the moment when a cicada nymph molts its skin to reveal the adult within. For these smaller species the change is quick, they can anchor on a tree, molt and then go forth in 30 minutes #BugSky

New #microbiome paper from our lab @ioes-ju.bsky.social! Unexpected host associations for Bartonellaceae - a bacterial family primarily known as mammalian pathogens. Striking #symbiont evolutionary trajectories, exemplified by a highly reduced, 158kb genome with no nutrient biosynthetic capacity!

Genome Biology and Evolution@genomebiolevol.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Ma, @annamichalik.bsky.social, Deng, Hu & @sympiotr.bsky.social discover the presence of Bartonellaceae bacteria in planthoppers, broadening the host spectrum of nonpathogenic Bartonellaceae. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf216 #genome #evolution

Ma, @annamichalik.bsky.social, Deng, Hu & @sympiotr.bsky.social discover the presence of Bartonellaceae bacteria in planthoppers, broadening the host spectrum of nonpathogenic Bartonellaceae. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf216 #genome #evolution

Contrasting Genomic Trajectories of Bartonellaceae Symbionts of Planthoppers

Abstract. Symbioses with microorganisms have shaped the nutritional biology and evolution of many insects. For example, several ant clades have adapted to

doi.org

Please consider signing a petition to increase the spending on science in Poland / List otwarty w sprawie finansowania nauki, w tym @ncn.gov.pl www.petycjeonline.com/list_otwarty...

List otwarty do Prezydenta RP, Marszałka Sejmu RP, Marszałka Senatu RP,  Prezesa Rady Ministrów oraz Wiceprezesów Rady Ministrów w sprawie finansowania nauki, w tym zwłaszcza Narodowego Centrum Nauki

Szanowni Państwo, W niniejszej petycji prezentujemy List otwarty, który będzie wysłany do Kancelarii Prezydenta, Marszałków Sejmu i Senatu, Prezesa Rady Ministr&oacut...

petycjeonline.com

Based on feedback from applicants, reviewers and broader research community, the ERC Scientific Council decided to make changes in the 2026–27 calls for proposal for research funding. More details from the ERC President 👉 europa.eu/!hP3WWF What’s your take on this? Tell us! 👇

🚨 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 🦠

The cellular mechanics of symbiosis: sensing friend from foe

embl.org

Last Wednesday, my first Ph.D. Student, Junchen Deng, defended his thesis! So proud! Check some of the underlying papers - on planthopper phylogenomics doi.org/10.1111/syen..., origins of Auchenorrhynchan symbionts doi.org/10.1093/gbe/..., and planthopper symbiont evolution doi.org/10.1101/2025... !

Phylogenomic insights into the relationship and the evolutionary history of planthoppers (Insecta: Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha)

Using genomic data from 285 species across 19 planthopper families, we conducted the first phylogenomic study targeting global planthoppers and inferred their phylogeny with the highest resolution s...

doi.org

Institute of Environmental Sciences JU@ioes-ju.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Congratulations Junchen Deng! Fantastic PhD defence! Congratulation also to the supervisor form our Institute @sympiotr.bsky.social

New preprint from our lab! We show that #Bartonellaceae bacteria, mostly known as mammalian #pathogens, also colonizes #planthoppers. The planthopper #symbionts typically resemble related ant symbionts in nutritional functions, but show a much greater breadth of #genome sizes and functions. 1/2

bioRxivpreprint@biorxivpreprint.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Contrasting genomic trajectories of Bartonellaceae symbionts of planthoppers https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.24.672000v1

A new paper by our team @ioes-ju.bsky.social just published in J Invert Pathol @jinvertpathol.bsky.social! In Diptera-#Entomophthora system, we show how simultaneously #sequencing #insect, #fungal #pathogen, and bacterial marker genes can aid biodiversity and biological interaction discovery.

The 2025-26 Eco-Evo job list is out. Good luck to those applying! docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

ecoevojobs.net 2025-26

docs.google.com

NEW PAPER, JUST OUT! 👀 Insects from the '70s and '80s were already collecting microplastic, decades before the term microplastic even existed. 🤯 A thread on the surprising history of this pollutant and the incredible insect larvae that helped us uncover it. 🐛 Let's dive in! 🧵👇 1/x

New preprint by our team @ioes-ju.bsky.social! Using custom multi-target amplicon sequencing on diverse pathogen-killed dipterans from Greenland, we find multiple #Entomophthora genotypes with notable host specificity, and reconstruct bacterial communities associated with the killed insects.

bioRxivpreprint@biorxivpreprint.bsky.social · last yr.

Dissecting multitrophic interactions: the relationships among Entomophthora, their dipteran hosts, and associated bacteria https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.03.20.644288v1

A convincing demonstration of a unique transmission strategy of a widespread #insect #endosymbiont --- check out the recent publication in @currentbiology.bsky.social @kaltenpoth-lab.bsky.social et al. www.cell.com/current-biol...

Maternal symbiont transmission via envenomation in the parasitoid wasp Spalangia cameroni

Intracellular symbionts of insects are typically transmitted transovarially. Weiss et al. find that in a nascent symbiosis between a Sodalis bacterium and a parasitoid wasp, Sodalis is injected with w...

cell.com

Thank you, @einsteinberlin.bsky.social, for recognizing the importance of raising concerns about scientific papers. Often, science sleuths face professional, personal, and legal threats. Awards like these are vital to acknowledging the significance of our work.

Einstein Foundation Berlin@einsteinberlin.bsky.social · last yr.

🏆 Research integrity consultant and image forensics expert @elisabethbik.bsky.social has uncovered fraudulent data in over 7,600 scientific papers and exposed the practices of ‘paper mills’ that produce counterfeit scientific articles. She is honoured with the €200K Individual Award. Congrats!

Our new #OpenAccess paper How can long-term #ecology studies survive & resist political & social change, authoritarianism, war, but also embrace positive change? The Białowieża Forest as an example of the resilience of long-term studies in a changing world: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 1/

Recommended read: A @theguardian.com interactive mapped the record heat experienced by two-thirds of the Earth’s surface in 2024.

Two-thirds of the Earth’s surface experienced record heat in 2024. See where and by how much – visualised

In oceans and on land, from the north to the south pole, records were smashed for the monthly average temperature

buff.ly

Dark Taxonomy: From unknown to ready for biomonitoring in 5 steps. By describing 120 species, most species of fungus gnats routinely caught in Malaise traps in Singapore now have names. Bees, butterflies and birds, make room for your new friends. Read here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

It’s not the head, it’s the butt! Meet a completely unknown organism: a blow fly (Calliphoridae) that evolved social integration in termite nests using a false termite head in the posterior part of the body. @CurrentBiology www.cell.com/current-biol...

Hardly new info, but BSky should know: Warsaw's water quality is monitored by eight clams with magnets attached to their shells. If contamination in the water causes the clams to close, the magnets trigger an alarm and shut off the city's water supply. Thank you, little guardian molluscs. 🧪🌏🚰

A #gingerbread Christmas #cicada - a sure sign that the much-needed vacation is just around the corner!

How to write a grant? 1. The application is for the reviewer, not you, the applicant. 2. Communicate in stories. 3. Make your story cohesive—leave no puzzling gaps. 4. Make your story resonate to keep the reviewer reading. 5. Accept chance and noise in peer-review. www.pnas.org/doi/epub/10....

A forest of neurons inside your head, happy #FluorescenceFriday! 🔬🧪🧠

Hope I'm the first to post this all time classic on this platform

Three (!) positions as Assistant Professor in #Biodiversity We hope to get one to our department #biogeography A super recruitment within Life sciences. Maximum of 7 since PhD 🌍🧪 #biodiversity #academic #climatechange #lifescience #ecology #StockholmUniversity Please re-🦋 www.su.se/english/news...

Faculty of Science is recruiting Assistant Professors in Biodiversity - Stockholm University

Faculty of Science is recruiting Assistant Professors in Biodiversity - Stockholm University

su.se