banner
markella-morait.bsky.social
Markella Moraitou
@markella-morait.bsky.social
60 followers 160 following 6 posts
PhD student @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social (via 🇬🇷 🇸🇪 🇵🇹 🇹🇹 🇪🇸) studying oral microbiome evolution using museum specimens 💀 #evolution #museomics #microbiome #genomics
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Reposted by Markella Moraitou
astrokatie.com
Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 5d
As a theoretical cosmologist, I'm frequently asked "what is the benefit of the work you're doing for people's lives?" Nothing I work on makes money or cures disease.

There are a few different answers one can give, at various levels of "convincing" / "actually relevant to why the work is done."

1/🧵
53 250 1K
Reposted by Markella Moraitou
natmicrobiol.nature.com
Nature Microbiology @natmicrobiol.nature.com · 26d
#Correspondence

Launching the IUCN Microbial Conservation Specialist Group as a global safeguard for microbial biodiversity

#MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Launching the IUCN Microbial Conservation Specialist Group as a global safeguard for microbial biodiversity - Nature Microbiology
Nature Microbiology - Launching the IUCN Microbial Conservation Specialist Group as a global safeguard for microbial biodiversity
www.nature.com
1 4
Reposted by Markella Moraitou
anniegwest.bsky.social
Annie G West @anniegwest.bsky.social · 28d
One of the seminal projects from my Genomics Aotearoa Postdoc position with Associate Professor Kim Handley is now published online at @isme-microbes.bsky.social Communications!! 🥳🦠 "Salinity-driven niche differentiation within the aquatic Luna-1 subcluster"
New publication!
One of the seminal projects from my Genomics Aotearoa Postdoc position with Associate Professor Kim Handley is now published online at ISMEJ Communications. The background behind this particular paper is that we found clear niche differentiation of two Actinomycetota sister lineages (Aquiluna and Rhodoluna) across the saline divide of the Waiwera River estuary. As both lineages were initially described and isolated from freshwater environments, this natural population represented a great opportu
anniegwest.wixsite.com
1 3 8
markella-morait.bsky.social
Markella Moraitou @markella-morait.bsky.social · Sep 8
Many thanks to my supervisor @kguschan.bsky.social and to our collaborators at @ntlmuseumsscot.bsky.social, @nhmwien.bsky.social, RMCA Belgium, @naturalsciences-be.bsky.social, and @nhm-london.bsky.social for making this project possible!

More about wild mammal microbiomes coming (hopefully) soon!
2
markella-morait.bsky.social
Markella Moraitou @markella-morait.bsky.social · Sep 8
On the other hand, dental calculus from carnivores🍖 tends to give higher yield during DNA extraction -- which is good news given that dental calculus is scarce in wild carnivores (see www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...)
1 1
markella-morait.bsky.social
Markella Moraitou @markella-morait.bsky.social · Sep 8
Not all dental calculus is equal when it comes to lab performance!🧬🧪
Dental calculus from herbivores🌿seems to contain enzymatic inhibitors, which can pose challenges during library preparation.
1 1
markella-morait.bsky.social
Markella Moraitou @markella-morait.bsky.social · Sep 8
New paper out! doi.org/10.1111/1755...
Dental calculus allows us to study the oral microbiome of wild #mammals, but it's still underutilised! 🦷🦠
In this study, we recover oral #microbiome data from the dental calculus of 32 mammal species and share recommendations for future research.
#museomics
Dental calculus deposits on the teeth of a plains zebra (Equus quagga) specimen housed at the Royal Museum for Central Africa, Belgium.
2 5 18
markella-morait.bsky.social
Markella Moraitou @markella-morait.bsky.social · Aug 27
Thanks to everyone who stopped by my poster for your thoughful questions, remarks and suggestions (all duly noted)!
If you didn’t get to see it and are interested in wild animal #microbiomes 🦠🦷 or #museomics 🦴🧬, I’m posting it here -- an attempt to artificially extend its lifespan! #ESEB2025
Poster presentation at ESEB 2025 Poster titled 'The Evolution of the Mammalian Oral Microbiome'
markella-morait.bsky.social
Markella Moraitou @markella-morait.bsky.social · Aug 27
Back to office, but mentally still in Barcelona and #ESEB2025 🦎

The range of questions, approaches and study systems was fascinating -- I got plenty of inspiration for my own work and my reading list has grown quite a lot!
1 2
Reposted by Markella Moraitou
kguschan.bsky.social
Katerina Guschanski @kguschan.bsky.social · Aug 26
Fantastic dental calculus and where to find it

Johnny Richards and team (@markella-morait.bsky.social + curators from 5 museums) survey >140 mammalian species with >1,600 specimens to understand what factors determine dental calculus formation. #aDNA #museomics
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Examples of dental calculus in different mammalian species ranked by amount from 0 (no calculus) to 3 (full incrustation)
1 7 18