Thulani Makhalanyane

See our newest manuscript dissecting emergent functions in a multispecies biofilm (metabolite cross-feeding, siderophore induction and cross-species utilization) that translates to plant growth promotion
Great work by @jiyuxie.bsky.social and Xinli Sun
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Aging but good 😊. Hosting super amazing scientists, that also happen to be great people isn’t a a problem you’re welcome to visit South for winter anytime :-)

Work never stops (somehow) but some weekends are just perfect. Great weather, beautiful South African beaches, with amazing company.

Spatial structure: Shaping the ecology and evolution of microbial communities Abstract. Most microbes grow in spatially structured communities, and this profoundly shapes their ecology and evolution. At the microscale, short interact

Spatial structure: Shaping the ecology and evolution of microbial communities

@femsjournals.bsky.social Microbiology Review by @marcelbaecker.bsky.social et al
from @bedutilh.bsky.social @bramvandijk.bsky.social

academic.oup.com/femsre/advan...

Discovery and cultivation of prokaryotic taxa in the age of metagenomics and artificial intelligence Abstract. Despite advances in sequencing, microbial genomics, and cultivation techniques, the vast majority of prokaryotic species remain uncultured, which

Discovery and cultivation of prokaryotic taxa in the age of metagenomics and artificial intelligence

#ISMEJournal from @alexrosado.bsky.social

academic.oup.com/ismej/advanc...

This Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program is funded by the National Science Foundation to create "points of entry" for students interested in research. Students apply from across the country to spend 10 weeks in Bozeman, Montana this summer (May 26, 2026 - August 1, 2026). Admitted students are paired with a faculty mentor, who serves as an advisor for a student's summer project. Each student receives a stipend ($7000 for 10 wks). Travel compensation, room, and board are also provided. Our program leverages MSU’s unique microbiology expertise, focusing specifically on microbes living with little or no oxygen (like those in the hot springs of nearby Yellowstone). Low oxygen microbes are essential to human and ecosystem health. They influence (or control) such processes as the breakdown of food in the GI tract, removal of toxins from our bodies and the environment, and production of greenhouse gases. They are also models for understanding the origins of life on this planet, and the potential for life on other planets. A key goal of our program is to recruit students from schools with limited research infrastructure. Being in Montana, a state with a vibrant Native American community, we are particularly interested in applications from students at tribal colleges. However, ANYONE with an interest in microbiology - or biology/science in general - can and should apply. If willing and able, please share/tweet/spread the word far and wide. Applications are due February 14, 2026. Full details can be found through our website http://www.montana.edu/mbi/reu/

Friends, please help spread the word about our microbiology REU program at Montana State University.
www.montana.edu/mbi/reu/

Each student receives a stipend ($7000 for 10 wks). Travel compensation, room, and board are also provided.

Details in the attached pic--Feb 14 deadline
🧫🧪🦠#microsky

Stressor Combinations Shift Soil Microbial Communities From Rare to Unknown Taxa and Alter Genomic Strategies Effects of environmental stressor factor number on soil common, rare, and unknown taxa. High-stressor numbers reduce the abundance and diversity of rare taxa but increase unknown taxa and had no effe...

Stressor Combinations Shift Soil Microbial Communities From Rare to Unknown Taxa and Alter Genomic Strategies onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #jcampubs

Early-life colonization by aromatic-lactate-producing bifidobacteria lowers the risk of allergic sensitization - Nature Microbiology Vaginal birth, exclusive breastfeeding and early contact with siblings promote colonization of the infant gut with bifidobacteria capable of producing aromatic lactates, a microbial and metabolite sig...

Gut microbiota has previously been linked to immune developement and allergies. But what is the mechanism behind? Find more about the role of Bifidobacteria 🦠, aromatic lactates and immune resilience in babies 👶 in the recent paper from our group @natmicrobiol.nature.com
shorturl.at/peaI1 #microsky

Habitat and Hydrodynamics Influence Coral Reef and Seagrass Microbial and Exometabolite Dynamics www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... #jcampubs

Nature Microbiology turns 10! 🎂

As a special treat, we take you back to the editorial team that started it all and then fast forward to take a peek into the future of microbiology through some brilliant microbiologists.

#MicroSky 🦠

www.nature.com/nmicrobiol/v...

The first global pandemic treaty — and the woman who made it happen Precious Matsoso is part of Nature’s 10, a list of people who shaped science in 2025.

Precious Matsoso, a public-health official based in Pretoria, South Africa, brokered the world’s first pandemic-preparedness treaty after years of hard-fought negotiations. She’s part of Nature’s 10 for 2025. 🧪

Constructing a “periodic table” of bacteria to map diversity in trait space Abstract. Despite an ever-expanding number of bacterial taxa being discovered, many of these taxa remain uncharacterized with unknown traits and environmen

New paper up - inspired by the periodic table of the elements, we attempted to organize bacterial diversity in genome-inferred trait space academic.oup.com/ismej/advanc...

Comparison of short-read and long-read metagenome assemblies in a natural soil community highlights systematic bias in recovery of high-diversity populations Abstract. Comparisons of long-read and short-read (meta)genome assemblies typically show that short-read sequence assemblies are less error-prone, but stru

🧬🦠🚨 Another new paper alert, this time led by @maureenbug.bsky.social ! In collaboration with the Emerson lab and
@titus.idyll.org lab (@taylorreiter.bsky.social), both at UC Davis. Asking the question: what are we missing in short-read metagenome assembly, and why ?

doi.org/10.1093/narg...

JAMSTEC Young Research Fellow (JYRF) | JAMSTEC - JAPAN AGENCY FOR MARINE-EARTH SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY JAMSTEC Young Research Fellow (JYRF)

Would you like to work with us?
At JAMSTEC, we are recruiting postdoctoral researchers through the Young Research Fellow program.
This program allows fellows to independently pursue their own research projects.
www.jamstec.go.jp/recruit/e/jy...

The position is still open.
Please apply here:
jobs.bc.cas.cz/en/detail/277

This week, we’re in Addis Ababa for an important symposium and workshop. Great to interact with such enthusiastic and exceptional participants. Thanks @amiposts.bsky.social and @isme-microbes.bsky.social for supporting this event!

proGenomes4: providing 2 million accurately and consistently annotated high-quality prokaryotic genomes Abstract. The pervasive availability of publicly available microbial genomes has opened many new avenues for microbiology research, yet it also demands rob

Congrats @fullam.bsky.social @pangenomics.bsky.social @borklab.bsky.social & team(s). Great to see this published!

proGenomes4: providing 2 million accurately and consistently annotated high-quality prokaryotic genomes: academic.oup.com/nar/article/...

List of available cultures

Ecoli cells (Dapi, on left) expressing bacterial (center) and archaeal 16S rRNA.

Clone-FISH paper out: Manuscript/resource alert #microsky 🦠 We present a collection of 30 E. coli (CloneFISH) cultures, each carrying a plasmid for the heterologous expression of a (near) full-length 16S rRNA gene from one of 30 lineages of archaea, including 17 yet uncultured ones.

Comparative genomics reveals adaptive traits in novel Antarctic lithic cyanobacteria - BMC Genomics Terrestrial polar cyanobacteria persist at the cold limits of life, enduring a suite of extreme stressors including sub-zero temperatures, frequent freeze–thaw cycles, oligotrophic soils, variable lig...

EndolithComparative genomics reveals adaptive traitsin novel Antarctic lithic cyanobacteria

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Please share this with anyone who may be interested in a post-doc in Germany:

jobs.awi.de/Vacancies/20...

This is quite an exciting opportunity to push the boundaries of what is known regarding the molecular basis of the formation and demise of photosymbiotic relationships in marine habitats.

To Meet Pledges to Save Forests Spending Must Triple, U.N. Report Says Four years after a global pledge to end deforestation, the amount of money going toward conserving and restoring forests is not enough, the analysis found.

A new UN report found that to meet various international climate, biodiversity and land restoration goals, annual global spending needs to triple to $300 billion by 2030.

Soil microbes: below-ground defenders against desertification Soil microbes act as below-ground defenders against desertification by several mechanisms, such as rhizosheath formation, necromass accumulation, biological soil crusts, exopolysaccharide (EPS) produc...

Soil microbes: below-ground defenders against desertification

@cp-trendsecolevo.bsky.social Forum by Ademir Araujo et al

www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...

We are searching for a 4- year postdoctoral fellow to work us on Microbial Ecology and Crop Disease Management.

More details below. The position will start next year.

Please circulate and repost.

jobs.smartrecruiters.com/WesternSydne...

I get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA

10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia impedes Bacillus biocontrol of tomato wilt disease by degrading its lipopeptide antibiotics Abstract. Harnessing antibiotic-producing microorganisms that antagonize pathogens represents a sustainable approach for plant disease management. However,

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia impedes Bacillus biocontrol of tomato wilt disease by degrading its lipopeptide antibiotics

-in #ISMEJournal

academic.oup.com/ismej/advanc...

Eco-evolutionary strategies drive viral diversification in nutrient-poor soils across elevation gradients

academic.oup.com/nsr/advance-...

Postdoc position available - pls share- to investigate molecular mechanisms of protein homeostasis during S. during infection. Send a CV, list of publications, and a statement about why you would like to join the laboratory.
Eduardo Groisman
Yale Med
eduardo.groisman@yale.edu

Enjoyed being back at the University of Pretoria to celebrate graduations. We had two PhDs (Drs. Mayibongwe Buthelezi and John Paul Makumbi) and a masters student (Michelle Bekker) at this ceremony. Congratulations to the graduates and wishing you all the very best in the next phase of your careers.

NTU shared our DNA alignment tool designed for microbes 🦠🧬☰! #Microbiomesky #Microsky blogs.ntu.edu.sg/science/2025...

How do we correct preprints? Caveat emptor, revisions & withdrawals - what this means for the scientific record. My presentation to the National Academies 1/n vimeo.com/1102568612?s...