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Reposted by Ryan P. O’Donnell

Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson @hilaryrosed.bsky.social · 20d

I just passed my 50,000th identification on @inaturalist.bsky.social! Identifying is a huge but often ignored part of the #iNaturalist community and dataset so I wanted to share why and how I identify. 1/14

🧪 #ecology #taxonomy #botany #CommunityScience

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Bret Beheim @babeheim.bsky.social · 23d

How to quantify the impact of AI on long-run cultural evolution? Published today, I give it a go!

400+ years of strategic dynamics in the game of Go (Baduk/Weiqi), from feudalism to AlphaGo!

Miyagawa Shuntei's 1898 painting, "Playing Go (Japanese Chess)"

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Adam Frew @frewecologist.bsky.social · 22d

Most of us use rDNA for community analyses of AM fungi. Intragenomic variation in rDNA of AM fungi can be pretty huge, depending on the region.

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

The pitfalls of rDNA‐based AMF identification: a comparative analysis of rDNA and protein‐coding genes

Intragenomic polymorphism of rDNA in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) has been largely overlooked in ecological and taxonomic studies, and the reliability of nuclear rDNA regions for species ident.....

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · 27d

Will phylogeny for food

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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · 27d

Thanks to everyone who came along/tuned in to my PhD exit seminar! What a thing to do at the end of almost four years. So close to submitting, just need to tidy up this last chapter and I’m done! PS does anyone need a mycology/botany genomics/systematics postdoc? 👀

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Reposted by Ryan P. O’Donnell

Mario Fernández-Mazuecos @mfmazuecos.bsky.social · 29d

A meme for #phylogenetics people.

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Reposted by Ryan P. O’Donnell

Francis Markham @francismarkham.bsky.social · Sep 7

Australian universities are in a governance crisis. VC pay blowouts, scandals, mission drift — these aren’t random, they’re structural.

This new working paper with @marijataflaga.bsky.social & Keith Dowding digs into why the system is broken, and how to fix it.

doi.org/10.25911/MWW...

A thread:

Neither corporate nor government: Why university governance needs to be different, and better
Marija Taflaga, Francis Markham and Keith Dowding.

Preprint, 29 August 2025. https://doi.org/10.25911/MWW4-9781

Abstract
Australian universities face a governance crisis rooted in failures of accountability. Unlike parliaments and corporate boards, university councils lack effective mechanisms for principals to discipline agents. In parliaments, voters can replace elected representatives; in corporations, shareholders can vote out directors. Both systems close the delegation–accountability loop, ensuring alignment between principals and outcomes. University councils, however, are self-perpetuating bodies dominated by external appointees, and in recent decades they are typically from corporate backgrounds. As neither producers nor consumers of universities’ core product—knowledge creation and dissemination—they have minimal intrinsic stake in academic outcomes leaving councils detached from the university’s core mission. This misalignment fosters mission drift, weakens oversight, and contributes to repeated scandals. Because councils largely appoint their own successors, they remain insulated from meaningful scrutiny, unlike boards or parliaments where underperformance is sanctioned externally. Restoring accountability requires giving academic staff and students a renewed oversight role, alongside clear safeguards for the public interest. Because academics and students are both producers and consumers of knowledge, they have a direct and enduring stake in its quality. We recommend two mechanisms to do this are:
1. Academic Senates empowered to appoint and review council members, ensuring councils reflect the university’s purpose.
2. Robust Committee Systems that embed staff and student voices in decision-making, reduce information asymmetries, and align incentives with academic purposes.

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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · Sep 2

My final PhD exit seminar is fast approaching! Tune in if you’d like to hear what I’ve been up to the last four years. There’s something for everyone: fungal genomics and species delimitation (38 new Rhizoctonia genomes), orchid phylogenomics and popgen, fungal taxonomy, it’s gonna be fun 🤙

ANU Research School of Biology @biologyanu.bsky.social · Aug 29

Join us on campus & online on Thursday, 11 Sept 2025 at 3pm for a seminar by Ryan O'Donnell, PhD Candidate from RSB's Linde Group! Details: rb.gy/zij7xp

E&E PhD Exit Seminar: Understanding Australian Orchids & Their Mycorrhizal Fungi – Macro to Microevolutionary Perspectives

The majority of studies into the Australian orchid flora and associated funga have thus far been narrow in scope and focused either on a macro- or microevolutionary scale. In this thesis, I studied th...

rb.gy

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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · Sep 2

Would love to be added please!

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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · Aug 16

A lot of it comes down to the initial cost and time investment. It takes a lot to inoculate the trees and treat the soil so that it’s right, but it may be years before you will know whether your setup has worked successfully.

Reposted by Ryan P. O’Donnell

ANU Research School of Biology @biologyanu.bsky.social · Jul 22

Join us on campus & online on Thursday, 31 July 2025 at 1pm for a seminar by Dr Darren Wong, Postdoctoral Fellow from the Peakall Group, RSB, ANU. Details: tiny.cc/gizp001

E&E Seminar Series: A symphony of colour and scents: Complex anthocyanin and terpene synthase mechanisms underpin the evolution of species-rich Australian orchids

Many flowering plants have evolved diverse strategies to communicate with and attract animal pollinators. We have discovered exciting new evidence for the role of anthocyanins and terpenes in the evol...

tiny.cc

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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · Jul 19

Would love to be added, thanks!

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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · Jul 11

Thanks @westerdijkinst.bsky.social !

The Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute @westerdijkinst.bsky.social · Jul 10

𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 🚨
What happened to Rhizoctonia and its Thanatephorus sexual morph?

In this paper, Rhizoctonia and allied genera are reviewed, and 32 new combinations are proposed in Rhizoctonia

🔗 𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞:
https://doi.org/10.3114/persoonia.2025.54.09

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬

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Biodiversity Heritage Library @biodivlibrary.bsky.social · Jun 11

📢 The #BiodiversityHeritageLibrary is entering a bold new chapter – and we need your help! Today we release our official Call for Support. We’re seeking new hosts for BHL’s staff, infrastructure, and services. Learn more: blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2025/06/tran... #BHLTransition #ILoveBHL

A red flower on a green stem withe the words: BHL Call for support now open overlayed.

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Reposted by Ryan P. O’Donnell

Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · Jul 2

In an unconscionable decision, the Smithsonian Institute has decided to no longer support the Biodiversity Heritage Library from 1 Jan 2026. Please someone step up and take it over.

Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · Jul 2

Foundations: please step up and take over the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL). This is an absolutely essential scanned archive of all of the old journals and books from the 1500s to about 1920. Has been indispensable for my research.
about.biodiversitylibrary.org/call-for-sup...

Call for Support: – About BHL

about.biodiversitylibrary.org

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Ashley B. Cohen @ashleybrookecohen.bsky.social · Jun 19

so cool! academic.oup.com/gbe/article/... Nice work @martinsteinegger.bsky.social et al :)

Unicore Enables Scalable and Accurate Phylogenetic Reconstruction with Structural Core Genes

Abstract. The analysis of single-copy core genes, common to most members of a clade, is important for key tasks in biology including phylogenetic reconstru

academic.oup.com

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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · Jun 24

We argue that the continued use of anamorph/teleomorph-typified generic names in #Ceratobasidiaceae hinders a holistic understanding of this family, when it is clear that pathogenic and symbiotic species are likely united in their fundamental biology.

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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · Jun 24

We also found a distinct difference in the way certain names are used in the literature: pathogen researchers are more likely to use Rhizoctonia and Thanatephorus; while orchid mycorrhizal researchers are more likely to use Ceratobasidium and Ceratorhiza.

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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · Jun 24

Names transferred to #Rhizoctonia include species formerly circumscribed within #Ceratobasidium, #Ceratorhiza, #Moniliopsis, #Thanatephorus, #Tofispora, and #Ypsilonidium (among other synonyms).

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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · Jun 24

We reiterate the fact that the genera within Ceratobasidiaceae are paraphyletic, and formalise the recognition of a single genus; Rhizoctonia. We present 32 new combinations, to make a total of 52 accepted species of Rhizoctonia.

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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · Jun 24

At long last, our manuscript ‘Rise up, Rhizoctonia: moving to one fungus, one name in the Ceratobasidiaceae’ has finally been published in Persoonia 🎉
Here we resolve several longstanding taxonomic issues within Ceratobasidiaceae and present a unified Rhizoctonia
www.persoonia.org/images/Volum...

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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · May 11

#mycosky #mycology bluesky! I’m looking for some inspiration - what are some of your favourite recent (published within the last 1–3 years) fungal comparative phylogenomic studies that you’ve read?

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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · May 7

26 freshly sequenced whole genomes of undescribed orchid-associated Rhizoctonia spp. 🤙 14 more genomes to go and then I’m on the home stretch for the PhD 🫨

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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · Mar 13

After 372 days since submission, and 14 reviewers who committed to reviewing but didn’t wind up submitting a review, our Rhizoctonia nomenclature manuscript has finally been accepted for publication in Persoonia! 🥲

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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · Mar 11

Had such a great time over the weekend talking with artist Keg de Souza and panel chair Richard Morecroft about fungi and the intersections of art and science for ‘Magic Mycelium’ at the Bundanon Art Museum - such an incredible art space and landscape.

Panel discussion at the Bundanon art museum with three people, Richard Morecroft, Keg de Souza, and Ryan O’Donnell seated left to right in that order

Richard Morecroft, Keg de Souza and Ryan O’Donnell standing left to right in front of the Shoalhaven River at the Bundanon Art Museum

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