Alberto Orta
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albertoorta.bsky.social
Alberto Orta
@albertoorta.bsky.social
89 followers 110 following 1 posts
PhD student at Bangor University |
Host-associated microbiomes |
Microbial ecologist |
🇲🇽🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏳️‍🌈
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Reposted by Alberto Orta
betternews.bsky.social
Beautiful Australian Frog Returns to the Wild with the Help of ‘Frog Spas’ and ‘Frog Saunas’

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/beautiful-australian-frog-returns-to-the-wild-with-the-help-of-frog-spas-and-frog-saunas/ #goodnews
Beautiful Australian Frog Returns to the Wild with the Help of 'Frog Spas' and 'Frog Saunas'
Called the green and golden bell frog, these animals were bred in captivity and will be released in groups of 15 having been immunized
www.goodnewsnetwork.org
February 10, 2026 at 10:00 PM
Reposted by Alberto Orta
cp-cellhostmicrobe.bsky.social
Our February issue--now live--is deeply rooted in exciting new microbiology!

On the cover: Microbial communities associated with semi-mature oak trees are remarkably resilient in the face of environmental challenges.
www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...
February 11, 2026 at 5:02 PM
Reposted by Alberto Orta
quakerorts.bsky.social
♥️

www.bbc.com/news/article...
Charlcombe Lane in Bath closed for six weeks for toad migration
Thousands of amphibians will cross over the half-mile (0.8km) stretch to their breeding grounds.
www.bbc.com
February 10, 2026 at 5:27 AM
Reposted by Alberto Orta
asm.org
#MicrobiologyMonday: Bacteria and fungi living on and inside Bombax ceiba (a tropical tree) shift dramatically with the seasons and habitat. The findings, published in #JournalSpectrum, have implications for sustainable agriculture and conservation. asm.social/2Nv
Relative abundance of the dominant bacterial phyla and fungal class averaged across endophytic and epiphytic niches of plant parts (nectar, leaf, branch, trunk, coarse root, root tip) and soil in different seasons (autumn and spring) in rice growing fields of B. ceiba.
February 2, 2026 at 6:41 PM
Reposted by Alberto Orta
evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social
Our recent collaborative paper is now published in the latest issue of Cell Reports @cp-cellreports.bsky.social accompanied by a cover image highlighting how Bacillus gathers iron in the biofilm for promoting plant growth
www.cell.com/issue/S2211-...
December 9, 2025 at 8:17 AM
Reposted by Alberto Orta
evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social
Spatial proximity dictates bacterial competition and expansion in microbial communities

@natcomms.nature.com by @esimsek.bsky.social et al from @lingchongyou.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Spatial proximity dictates bacterial competition and expansion in microbial communities - Nature Communications
Here, the authors show that immotile bacteria degrade antibiotics to alter their environment and facilitate nearby motile competitors to expand. As expansion proceeds, the immotile degrader is outcomp...
www.nature.com
December 5, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Reposted by Alberto Orta
sanmillan.bsky.social
New paper with my (amazing) friend and mentor @jrpenades.bsky.social
Really looking forward to see what plasmid aficionados think of this one!!
With @asantoslopez.bsky.social @wfigueroac3.bsky.social Akshay Sabins and others
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Non-conjugative plasmids limit their mobility to persist in nature
Sabnis et al. explain why non-conjugative plasmids move at a low rate in nature. While increased mobility can easily evolve by incorporating phage DNA into plasmids, this is disadvantageous because it...
www.cell.com
October 22, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Reposted by Alberto Orta
jcamthrash.bsky.social
Biosynthesis and function of magnetic organelles in magnetotactic bacteria www.nature.com/articles/s41... #jcampubs
Biosynthesis and function of magnetic organelles in magnetotactic bacteria - Nature Reviews Microbiology
In this Review, Schüler and colleagues summarize our current knowledge of magnetosome formation and organization within the cell, and they explore their function, diversity and potential applications.
www.nature.com
September 19, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Reposted by Alberto Orta
jcamthrash.bsky.social
Microbial conservation is essential for sustaining ecosystem functions and services www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1... #jcampubs
Microbial conservation is essential for sustaining ecosystem functions and services | PNAS
Microbial conservation is essential for sustaining ecosystem functions and services
www.pnas.org
September 19, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Reposted by Alberto Orta
evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social
Microbiome data: tell me which metrics and I will tell you which communities

in #ISMEComms

academic.oup.com/ismecommun/a...
Microbiome data: tell me which metrics and I will tell you which communities
Abstract. In microbial community studies, analyzing diversity is crucial for uncovering ecological complexity. However, the intrinsic characteristics of Ne
academic.oup.com
July 29, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Reposted by Alberto Orta
evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social
Microbial siderophores for One Health
#Pseudomonas

@cp-trendsmicrobiol.bsky.social Opinion by Zhong Wei et al with @rkmicrobes.bsky.social @veraeva.bsky.social

www.cell.com/trends/micro...
Microbial siderophores for One Health
One Health is an integrative concept striving for healthy environments, animals, and humans. Microbes play a fundamental role for this concept as they are key drivers of ecosystem stability and host h...
www.cell.com
June 4, 2025 at 7:44 AM
Reposted by Alberto Orta
hernando-amado.bsky.social
I am very happy to share our latest study on ciprofloxacin resistance instability in P. aeruginosa during periods of drug restriction. A fantastic collaboration @pablolaborda.bsky.social, RuggeroLaRosa, JLMartínez, SørenMolin & HelleJohansen 🥳 @cnb-csic.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Ciprofloxacin resistance rapidly declines in nfxB defective clinical strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa - Nature Communications
Antimicrobial resistance can decline due to compensatory mutations or genetic reversions to wild-type alleles. Here, the authors analyse the decline of ciprofloxacin resistance in nfxB-defective Pseud...
www.nature.com
June 4, 2025 at 9:23 AM
Reposted by Alberto Orta
briangratwicke.bsky.social
Origins of whitenose fungus - we need to keep these other strains out of the USA www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Origins of the ‘vampire fungus’ that causes white-nose syndrome in bats
An emerging fungal infection is endangering bats in America. DNA analysis reveals that the infection first arose in Europe, mediated by two fungal culprits.
www.nature.com
June 4, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Reposted by Alberto Orta
evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social
Distinguishing among evolutionary and ecological processes shaping microbiome dynamics

#ISMEJournal review by Tiffany N Batarseh and @bkoskella.bsky.social

academic.oup.com/ismej/advanc...
Distinguishing among evolutionary and ecological processes shaping microbiome dynamics
Abstract. Evolution is defined as the change in allele frequency over time as a result of either neutral processes, such as genetic drift, or as an adaptiv
academic.oup.com
May 24, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Reposted by Alberto Orta
guimaguade.bsky.social
Microbial communities can harbor many species that do not coexist in pairs, yet can coexist in the full community. Here we provide the mathematical foundations of emergent coexistence, and explain why it can't be predicted from pairwise tests www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
May 20, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Reposted by Alberto Orta
contaminatedsci.bsky.social
Our commentary on the elegant in vitro microbiome coalescence experiments from @goldmandoran.bsky.social @ksxue.bsky.social et al is out.

It was a pleasure to write about one of my favorite microbiome papers of the last few years.

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Mixing microbiomes in vitro reveals rules of community assembly | PNAS
Mixing microbiomes in vitro reveals rules of community assembly
www.pnas.org
April 7, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Reposted by Alberto Orta
karinaxavierlab.bsky.social
Host-Microbe Symbioses- Our favorite summer school is back! Help us spread the word!
symbiosisalumni.bsky.social The Symbiosis Courses Alumni Network @symbiosisalumni.bsky.social · Feb 5
Save the date 📅: The PhD Summer School on Host-microbe Symbioses is taking place from 6-19 of July in Oeiras, Portugal.
Registration is opening soon!
Learn more 👉 gimm.idloom.events/phd-summer-s...

@gimmfoundation.bsky.social @moorefound.bsky.social
@crc1182.bsky.social #CIFAR #CBR
February 11, 2025 at 8:44 AM
Reposted by Alberto Orta
blongdon.bsky.social
From Vincent Doublet et al "Host ecology and phylogeny shape the temporal dynamics of social bee viromes" www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🐝🦠
Host ecology and phylogeny shape the temporal dynamics of social bee viromes - Nature Communications
Viromes, or viral communities, may evolve host-specificity. Here, the authors use 100 plant and insect viral sequences to find that plant-pollinator interactions and phenology shape the plant virus co...
www.nature.com
March 7, 2025 at 10:19 AM
albertoorta.bsky.social
New amphibian paper!! Congrats to PacoMax!! 🐸 (EriaLab)
March 1, 2025 at 5:23 AM
Reposted by Alberto Orta
jcamthrash.bsky.social
Residence Time Structures Microbial Communities Through Niche Partitioning onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #jcampubs
Residence Time Structures Microbial Communities Through Niche Partitioning
Much of life on earth is at the mercy of currents and flow. Residence time (τ) estimates how long organisms and resources remain in a system based on the ratio of volume (V) to flow rate (Q). We test...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
February 27, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Reposted by Alberto Orta
evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social
Experimental evolution of evolvability

@science.org by Michael Barnett, Lena Meister, and paul Rainey at @mpi-evolbio.bsky.social

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Experimental evolution of evolvability
Evolvability—the capacity to generate adaptive variation—is a trait that can itself evolve through natural selection. However, the idea that mutation can become biased toward adaptive outcomes remains...
www.science.org
February 21, 2025 at 7:26 AM
Reposted by Alberto Orta
rheisman.bsky.social
So birds-of-paradise literally glow. Kinda. Man, birds are endlessly amazing. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Many birds-of-paradise species emit light through their plumage, study finds
Researchers found that most birds-of-paradise are biofluorescent – meaning they absorb light through their bodies
www.theguardian.com
February 20, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Reposted by Alberto Orta
karenrlips.bsky.social
Thanks to @jdrakephd.bsky.social for highlighting the importance of #amphibians in the services they provide to humans www.forbes.com/sites/johndr... #malaria #disease #frogs #tropical 🐸🧪🌎🦟
Amphibian Declines Increase Malaria In Costa Rica And Panama
New studies quantify how intact ecosystems improve human health
www.forbes.com
February 20, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Reposted by Alberto Orta
evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social
Gaining insights into the complexity of specialized metabolites and their possible ecological roles These metabolites not only function as antimicrobials, but also as cue molecules among other peculiar functions

-see our paper in microLIFE of @femsjournals.bsky.social on surfactin and subtilosin A
femsjournals.bsky.social FEMS Journals @femsjournals.bsky.social · Feb 11
🦠⚖️ Metabolites crosstalk? @evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social‬ & team latest study reveals that surfactin suppresses subtilosin A production in #Bacillus subtilis! They uncover a new #regulatory link between these key secondary #metabolites.
https://buff.ly/4hCGchN
February 18, 2025 at 5:32 AM
Reposted by Alberto Orta
evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social
Assembly, network and functional compensation of specialists and generalists in poplar rhizosphere under salt stress
[Populus euphratica]

-in NPJ Biofilms and Microbiomes

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Assembly, network and functional compensation of specialists and generalists in poplar rhizosphere under salt stress - npj Biofilms and Microbiomes
npj Biofilms and Microbiomes - Assembly, network and functional compensation of specialists and generalists in poplar rhizosphere under salt stress
www.nature.com
February 14, 2025 at 11:32 AM