Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Leonora Bittleston

Chang-Yu Chang 張昌祐 @changyuchang.bsky.social · 1d

Excited to share that I’ll be starting my research group in Nov 2025 at the Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica in Taipei🎉

We study how eco & evo rules govern complex systems layered by hosts🌱& symbionts🦠 & mobile genes🧬

Recruiting soon at all levels!
🔗 chang-yu-chang.github.io/changlab/

Laboratory of Microbial Symbiosis, Ecology, and Evolution

chang-yu-chang.github.io

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Reposted by Leonora Bittleston

Filip Husnik @filiphusnik.bsky.social · 1d

OIST is seeking up to four tenure-track or tenured faculty in Ecology, Environmental Science, Earth Science, and Oceanography. Application deadline: Oct 15. Please share. Thx!
www.oist.jp/careers/facu...

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Paul Carini @uncultured.carinilab.com · 1d

Good opportunity!

Nagissa Mahmoudi @nagissa.bsky.social · 1d

Interested in life’s co-evolution with planetary environments?
🌎🦠🧪

I'm looking for a postdoc to join my group at #McGill and happy to sponsor applicants for the TSI fellowship.

Please reach out if interested!

academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30777

McGill University, Trottier Space Institute

Job #AJO30777, Trottier Space Institute Postdoctoral Fellow, Trottier Space Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, CA

academicjobsonline.org

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Reposted by Leonora Bittleston

Jarrett Byrnes @jebyrnes.bsky.social · 1d

Heeeeey #Microbial #Ecology folk! My department has a job opening for a tenure track Microbial Ecologist! Feel free to DM me with questions. Come join our awesome supportive whip-smart & kind crew in the Biology Department of @umassboston.bsky.social! employmentopportunities.umb.edu/boston/en-us...

The ISC - your new home at UMass Boston?

The view of Boston Harbor from front of campus

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Reposted by Leonora Bittleston

Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 1d

Apply to become the next MSU EEB Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow!

These are two year positions with research stipend, working with 2+ MSU EEB faculty. Applications due 10 November 2025. More here:

eeb.msu.edu/initiatives/...

Postdoctoral Fellowship - Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior

eeb.msu.edu

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Helen McAra @hedgerownibbler.bsky.social · 4d

Happy UK Fungus Day! All of these were photographed by me in the UK. Aren’t they beautiful!
#ukfungi #ukfungusday

Lots of different coloured mushrooms in a whole range of different shapes and sizes. Some look like coral, others like cauliflowers or little cream coloured balls. There are some that look like jellies or turkey’s tails.

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Brian O'Meara @omearabrian.bsky.social · 6d

Webpage on the hidden curriculum of applying to ecology and evolution grad programs in the US (a lot of the info applies to other fields too, but perhaps less well): applyingtoeeb.info

#AcademicSky 🧪

Applying to US Graduate School in Ecology, Evolution, and Related Fields

applyingtoeeb.info

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Cameron Thrash @jcamthrash.bsky.social · 6d

Cell size matters: a unifying theory across the tree of life www.cell.com/trends/ecolo... #jcampubs

Cell size matters: a unifying theory across the tree of life

Cell size shapes how organisms interact with their environment, yet our understanding of these effects remains fragmented. We synthesise these effects into a Theory of Optimal Cell Size (TOCS), predic...

www.cell.com

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Reposted by Leonora Bittleston

Rosana Zenil-Ferguson @roszenil.bsky.social · 7d

The Department of Biology at the University of Kentucky is hiring a Microbiologist (broadly defined). Microbial eco-evo folks, this is your sign to come work with us. Not in the search committee, but happy to answer questions.
ukjobs.uky.edu/postings/600...
#microbiology #ecology

Assistant or Associate Professor in Microbiology

The Department of Biology in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, KY seeks to fill a tenure-eligible faculty position at the Assistant or Associate Professor le...

ukjobs.uky.edu

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Reposted by Leonora Bittleston

Prof. Keiko Torii @keikoutorii.bsky.social · 7d

🌱Tenure-track Assistant Professor Position OPEN🌱
-Plant Interkingdom/Environment Interactions & Plant Immunity- at The Univ. Texas at Austin, Molecular BioSciences.
Deadline Nov 1st. Please spread the words and APPLY! Contact me if you have any questions.
apply.interfolio.com/175001

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Vaughn Cooper @vscooper.micropopbio.org · 9d

View from the lab now. Did I mention that we are recruiting faculty microbiologists?

www.linkedin.com/posts/vaughn...

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Ákos T Kovács @evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social · 11d

Microbes without borders: uniting societies for climate action

@femsjournals.bsky.social Microbiol Ecol by @jaytlennon.bsky.social et al @leonorabit.bsky.social @vscooper.micropopbio.org @gilbertjacka.bsky.social

academic.oup.com/femsec/artic...

Microbes without borders: uniting societies for climate action

The climate crisis is one of the most urgent and complex challenges of our time. Although often overlooked in models and policy, microorganisms play a crit

academic.oup.com

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Reposted by Leonora Bittleston

Vaughn Cooper @vscooper.micropopbio.org · 13d

Microbiology societies from five continents recently met at @asm.org HQ in DC for the inaugural Global Strategy Meeting on Microbes and Climate Change. This initiative marks the beginning of coordinated global action to harness microbial life for climate solutions.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Microbes without borders: uniting societies for climate action | mBio

The climate crisis is one of the most urgent and complex challenges of our time. Although often overlooked in models and policy, microorganisms play a critical role in climate dynamics. They are sensi...

journals.asm.org

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Reposted by Leonora Bittleston

Ákos T Kovács @evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social · 13d

Cool PNAS paper by @jordivangestel.bsky.social and colleagues
Contributed by Carol Gross
[reviewed by @polzlab.bsky.social and @wcratcliff.bsky.social]

Bacillus subtilis in defense mode: Switch-like adaptations to protistan predation

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

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Reposted by Leonora Bittleston

ISME - International Society for Microbial Ecology @isme-microbes.bsky.social · 20d

Two weeks left for students and postdocs to apply to receive support for international research, training, or lab visits.
Submit your application by 1 October 2025!
Learn more and apply:
isme-microbes.org/isme-scholar...
#MicrobialEcology #microbes

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Reposted by Leonora Bittleston

Jason Stajich @hyphaltip.bsky.social · 22d

Assistant Professor (Quantitative Microbe-Plant-Environment Interactions), Dept of Microbiology, Fall 2026 apply.interfolio.com/173345 at University of Tennessee - Knoxville. Position is part of a faculty cluster hire in Bioinformatics, Genomics and Quantitative-based Solutions for Food Security.

Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio

apply.interfolio.com

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Dave Armitage @darmitage.bsky.social · 23d

Please consider applying to our open faculty position call that includes Ecology!

apply.interfolio.com/172075

Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio

apply.interfolio.com

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Ben Sheldon @sheldonbirds.bsky.social · 23d

Come and work with us! Three new academic posts (including Animal Behaviour) and superb facilities in the new Life & Mind Building

Oxford Biology @biology.ox.ac.uk · 23d

Oxford Biology is growing 📢

We’re appointing 3 Associate Professors in:
🌱 Plant Sciences
🦉 Animal Behaviour
🔬 Molecular Cell Biology

3 fields. 3 opportunities. One new home for Oxford Biology.

Learn more 👉 bit.ly/41S2Tc7
Apply now 👉 bit.ly/488CNW3

Photo showing the inside atrium of the new Life and Mind Building

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Leonora Bittleston @leonorabit.bsky.social · 26d

Interested in how multiple stresses interact to affect bacterial communities? Check out our new paper!
This is the 3rd and final chapter to be published from @jess-bernardin.bsky.social's PhD. Definitely biased, but I think it's a super cool study 😀

Jessica Bernardin @jess-bernardin.bsky.social · 26d

📝 Excited to share our new paper in Molecular Ecology! 📝

We tested how multiple environmental stressors influence plant-associated microbial communities.

🌟 Each stressor mattered on its own, but their interactions often produced very different outcomes.🌟

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Environmental Stress Shapes Bacterial Community Structure and Function Through Interactive Abiotic Effects

Microbial communities play critical roles in ecosystem functioning across a wide range of environmental conditions. The physiological stress imposed by temperature, pH and resource levels can shape t...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Qing (Andie) Zhang @zqing.bsky.social · 29d

Did you know tiny algae can "skate" within Arctic sea ice? ⛸️ Our new study in @pnas.org reveals the secret life of ice diatoms: they are actively gliding to navigate the ice! This adds a new dimension to the sea ice ecosystem, revealing an active, dynamic ecological niche. @prakashlab.bsky.social

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Nature @nature.com · Sep 3

A common type of ant in Europe breaks a fundamental rule in biology: its queens can produce male offspring that are a whole different species

go.nature.com/4mOb5T9

‘Almost unimaginable’: these ants are different species but share a mother

Ant queens of one species clone ants of another to create hybrid workers that do their bidding.

go.nature.com

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Cameron Thrash @jcamthrash.bsky.social · 29d

Ecosystem consequences of a nitrogen-fixing proto-organelle www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1... #jcampubs

Ecosystem consequences of a nitrogen-fixing proto-organelle | PNAS

Microscale symbioses can be critical to ecosystem functions, but the mechanisms of these interactions in nature are often cryptic. Here, we use a c...

www.pnas.org

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Ákos T Kovács @evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social · 29d

Comparing EcoFab 2.0 results from 5 labs on 3 continents‼️

Breaking the reproducibility barrier with standardized protocols for plant–microbiome research

@plosbiology.org by Vlastimil Novak et al from Trent Northen @jgi.doe.gov

journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

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Dan Sloan @sloanevolab.bsky.social · Sep 8

The Department of Biology at Colorado State University is hiring an Assistant Professor in the area of plant-microbe interactions! Please spread the word!

jobs.colostate.edu/postings/165...

Assistant Professor Plant-Microbe Interactions

We seek a creative, collaborative, and visionary plant biologist to establish an internationally recognized research program at the forefront of plant-microbe interactions aimed at understanding how t...

jobs.colostate.edu

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Steven Robbins @stevenjrobbins.bsky.social · Sep 4

Side note: One often thinks they're not recovering low-abundance taxa because they're low-abundance. But with Illumina, it's also likely because they're low-GC and Illumina has strong GC bias. You can fix this with wetlab intervention like this, or using ONT instead, which doesn't have a GC-bias.🧵

Tominaga K. (tomiken) @pacyc184.bsky.social · Sep 3

Genomic recovery from rare terrestrial microbes enabled by DNA-based GC-fractionation | ISME Communications | Oxford Academic https://academic.oup.com/ismecommun/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ismeco/ycaf152/8246624?rss=1&login=false

Genomic recovery from rare terrestrial microbes enabled by DNA-based GC-fractionation

Abstract. Genome reconstruction from metagenomic samples has dramatically increased our understanding of uncultivated lineages of life. However, untargeted

dx.doi.org

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