Leafcutter Ant Farmers Prevent Loss of Edible Symbiotic Structures by Maintaining Allelic Diversity in Their Multinucleate Fungal Crop -in @molecology.bsky.social from @jonathanshik.bsky.social with @vkokkoris.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Leafcutter Ant Farmers Prevent Loss of Edible Symbiotic Structures by Maintaining Allelic Diversity in Their Multinucleate Fungal Crop

Leafcutter ants farm the domesticated fungal cultivar Leucoagaricus gongylophorus in subterranean nests containing up to hundreds of discrete garden chambers. The fungal cultivar produces edible symb...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Global topsoil contains ~110 quadrillion km of fungal threads, roughly one billion times the distance from the Earth to the Sun. A new study in @science.org maps this hidden arbuscular mycorrhizal infrastructure for the first time. Explore the Mycorrhizal Infrastructure Map: buff.ly/PISOj8k

A hidden infrastructure

Mapping Earth’s underground mycorrhizal fungal networks — the hidden infrastructure beneath our feet.

a-hidden-infrastructure.spun.earth

I was delighted to provide the ‘Cultural Intermezzo’ at the annual conference of the Netherlands Society of Evolutionary Biologists (NLSEB) in Wageningen. Thanks @vkokkoris.bsky.social for the invitation to present my work in relation to evolution and @verahesen.bsky.social for the mention.

Can we use plant relatedness as a shortcut to predict root microbiomes? In our new study, we tested this idea directly. Out now in ISME Communications. Here we used machine learning, phylogenies, and root traits for 22 plant species covering 135 million years evolution. doi.org/10.1093/isme...

Thanks to @diegromero.bsky.social, Paolina Garbeva, @vkokkoris.bsky.social, and Yixu Wang for the superb talks exploring the various faces of bacteria-fungi interaction at #KNVM2026 I was glad to chair the session together with Vasilis

Excited to share our new paper! (1/4) Fungi grow as networks, but how much these networks actually vary? Turns out: not as much as we think. Across four species, network traits stayed consistent, even when grazed by soil fauna! doing.https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.70281

Not Extremely Plastic: Testing the Limits of Morphological Plasticity in Fungal Mycelia in Response to Soil Grazers

Using image analysis to track the development of fungal networks in the presence of predators, we found that even in modular organisms, plasticity is more nuanced and limited than previously assumed....

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Induced endosymbiosis between a fungus and bacterium reveals a shift from antagonism to commensalism @natcomms.nature.com by Thomas Gassler et al from Julia Vorholt www.nature.com/articles/s41... Ralstonia pickettii in the fungus Rhizopus microsporus #Endofungal

Induced endosymbiosis between a fungus and bacterium reveals a shift from antagonism to commensalism - Nature Communications

Gassler et al. implant a free-living bacterium into fungal cells to study early steps in the establishment of an endosymbiosis. They observe vertical transmission of the bacteria despite initial host ...

nature.com

Coming to the @egu.eu General Assembly in 2026? Consider submitting an abstract to our mycorrhizae session if you are working on these organisms and their linkages to ecosystem functioning. Last year, this new session was a huge hit, so let's make year two even better!

Ignoring non-English-language studies may bias ecological meta-analyses. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Ignoring non‐English‐language studies may bias ecological meta‐analyses

Ignoring non-English-language literature may bias outcomes of ecological meta-analyses, due to systematic differences in effect sizes between studies published in English and non-English languages.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

I had such fun thinking, reading and writing this Tansley Review on #arbuscular #mycorrhizal #fungal mycelia. We need a more fungal-centric view to better understand not only the AM fungi, but also their many ecological roles. @newphyt.bsky.social 🔗 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/DHGB3S....

New Phytologist@newphyt.bsky.social · 9mo ago

✨ Paper spotlight ✨ Mycelial Dynamics in Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... (🧵 1/5) Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi form vast underground hyphal networks that support plant life.

Grateful to receive the KNAW Early Career Award 2025, recognizing my research on fungi and commitment to mentorship! Special thanks to @tobykiers.bsky.social, @thomasshimizu.bsky.social, @anilevetu.bsky.social and to our amazing lab team @vuamsterdam.bsky.social

KNAW - Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen@knaw-nl.bsky.social · 10mo ago

👏 Twaalf jonge onderzoekers zijn door de KNAW onderscheiden met een 𝗞𝗡𝗔𝗪 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱. Met deze prijs erkent de KNAW hun wetenschappelijke talent maar ook hun rol als bijv. docent. Benieuwd naar hun onderzoek? Kijk dan hier: www.knaw.nl/nl/nieuws/di...

Vikos Gorge is the deepest canyon in the world relative to its width — a UNESCO Global Geopark and a natural wonder carved by the Voidomatis River! Thrilled to be out here with @spun.earth mapping endemic fungal networks and sampling in this incredible ecosystem 🇬🇷 #Zagori #VikosGorge #biodiversity

Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN)@spun.earth · 10mo ago

Recently, we mapped endemic fungal networks in Zagori 🇬🇷 with @seanmaston.bsky.social, @vkokkoris.bsky.social and team. Vikos Gorge is a hotspot for endangered species, with underground systems supported by rock formations ~160 million yrs old. We're now returning to cover more ground.

🚨 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

Over 70% of Earth's ecoregions have yet to be sampled for arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. By analyzing eDNA sample locations, we found most soils are unsampled. Drylands are especially overlooked despite covering almost 1/3 of the Earth's terrestrial land. academic.oup.com/femsle/artic...

Celebrating the small wins in academia….a reminder to myself (and maybe you….) Please share with someone you think might also need this reminder :) open.substack.com/pub/matthias...

Celebrating the small wins in academia

A little reminder...

open.substack.com

#Viewpoint: Bring back the #phenotype César Marín & Michael J. Wade 👇 📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #LatestIssue #PlantScience

Our new newsletter is now published! Dig into the latest updates on IMS’s 20th anniversary, ICOM2026 preparations, our new website & logo, top 10 research papers, and upcoming events. Read more at mycorrhizas.org/news. Stay connected! #Mycorrhiza

Who lives underground? Find out now in our new paper published in @nature.com. Key finding: 90% of predicted mycorrhizal biodiversity hotspots lie outside protected areas. Read here: buff.ly/WmDqAP3 🧵

The database of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in Australia is out! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... You can access data summaries via the website www.ausamf.com We have data from 610 sites with data from another 500 locations to be added by the end of the year! Thanks to all collaborators

AusAMF: The Database of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Communities in Australia

Motivation Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are central to plant nutrient acquisition, soil carbon dynamics, and ecosystem resilience. Yet, their biogeography remains incompletely characterised, pa...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

I found a cool cordyceps on a stink bug the other day! Pretty rad! What do you think?

🚨 Final days to register! ⌛️ Don’t wait until the last minute ⏰ —secure your spot and get ready to connect with scientists from around the world in stunning Crete! 🌍🧫 Let’s advance fungal biology together! 🔗 ifbc2025.maich.gr 📣 REGISTER NOW! 🔁 Share to reach the whole myco-community! #IFBC25

🌱 Hello, BlueSky! 👋 We’re excited to join this space and connect with new communities! To celebrate, we’re launching our new logo and completely redesigned website Now available in English, Spanish & French Take a look 👉 mycorrhizas.org We’re just getting started here — follow us for updates!

New paper out! @plantspeopleplanet.bsky.social Led by @aguilart.bsky.social We argue mycelial network connectivity can define functional groups of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. We explore how different fungi balance efficiency vs. resilience. nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Connecting the dots: Network structure as a functional trait in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

Soil health and sustainable land management are critical to addressing global challenges such as food security, climate resilience, and biodiversity loss. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi form under...

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

July issue of @cp-trendsmicrobiol.bsky.social is now online, with our review by @xinmingxu.bsky.social @neftalyl.bsky.social on Composing a microbial symphony and a matching cover illustration by @lizahaart.bsky.social #SynCom #PlantMicrobiome #MicrobiomeEcology at #LeidenBiology

Spent last week at the microscope 🔬✨, and seeing arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi up close for the first time—hyphae, arbuscules, vesicles—was absolutely mind-blowing. Small but mighty partners of plant roots 🌿. Sharing a few of my favourite shots. #Mycorrhiza #fungi

Measuring physical properties of fungal network has never been easier and with that, an opportunity to re-define fungal functional diversity. Check our contribution on this issue for AMF: nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... As always, a fun collab with @frewecologist.bsky.social

Connecting the dots: Network structure as a functional trait in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

Soil health and sustainable land management are critical to addressing global challenges such as food security, climate resilience, and biodiversity loss. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi form under...

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

‘Wildest thing’: solar-powered slug steals chloroplasts and stores them for emergencies doi.org/10.1038/d415... A comment on this @cellpress.bsky.social paper: "A host organelle integrates stolen chloroplasts for animal photosynthesis" doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...

Excited to share that I am taking on a new role as Editor in Chief of npj Soil Ecology, a new journal dedicated to communicating high-quality research and scholarship exploring all aspects of the ecology of soils from gene to ecosystem scales. www.nature.com/npjsoilecol/

So happy I had a chance to contribute to this review! Nice summary and thoughts on past, present and future attempts to transform #arbuscular #mycorrhizal #fungi 🍄🧬

Vasilis Kokkoris@vkokkoris.bsky.social · last yr.

🧪🧬Should we reignite genetic manipulation attempts on #arbuscular #mycorrhizal #fungi? Our review in @cp-trendsmicrobiol.bsky.social suggests the time is ripe. With: Midge Woodward @paszkowskilab.bsky.social @alexdallaire.bsky.social Open access🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.ti... #scicomm