Genome–host association mapping reveals wheat pathogen genes involved in host specialization - Nature Plants This study introduces genome–host association (GHA), leveraging natural epidemics to map the genetic landscape of host adaptation in the pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici. Applied to 832 wheat fungal stra...

Thrilled to share our paper now out in Nature Plants 🎉
We developed a genome-host association (GHA) approach to study pathogen adaptation directly from field metadata by using the originating host cultivar as phenotype.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Interested in B chromosomes in plants/animals or accessory chromosomes in fungi? Don't miss the 6th B Chromosome Conference in Olomouc, Czech Republic! The abstract submission deadline is April 15th. Come and join this great research community!

Details and registration: olomouc.ueb.cas.cz/en/6bcc

PhD Position in Computational Modelling of Fungal Evolution How do giant mobile elements called ‘Starships’ reshape fungal plant pathogens? Help us computationally model their spread and impact in nature and agriculture!

Phd Position alert 🚨

Join our project ASTRAfun (Adaptation and Starship Traffic in Root-Associated fungi), in which we will use computational models to unveil the hidden dynamics of fungal evolution.

It’s not going to be just regular fun. It’s going to ASTRAfun. 🤓

www.uu.nl/en/organisat...

Transposable elements hitchhike on Starships across fungal genomes - Nature Communications Large mobile genetic elements known as Starships act as vehicles for transferring transposable elements (TEs) between fungi. Here, Griem-Krey et al. show that these ‘hitchhiking’ TEs can drive rapid e...

Now out!
We show that TEs can be horizontally transferred between fungal species via Starships. Once transferred, these TEs can become active, changing the genome organization and affecting the lifestyle of the recipient fungus.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@oggenfussursula.bsky.social #TEsky

Now up on bioRxiv!

Working with @dianzheng.bsky.social and Jan van Kan, we tested how DNA is distributed between nuclei in multinucleate fungal spores.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Please share widely! We think MycoMobilome can go a long way to support high-quality TE annotations across fungi!

Also, try it on your favorite 🍄 genome and tell us what you think 😉

Join us at this year's meeting of the International Society of Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health - ISEMPH 2026 in Kiel. See: isemph.org/page-18356

Facultative heterochromatin mediated by core and accessory chromosome-encoded H3K27-specific methyltransferases controls virulence in a fungal phytopathogen Abstract. In many fungal phytopathogens, infection is regulated by accessory genomic regions enriched in facultative heterochromatin, but the precise role

Beyond excited to see this work finally out in @narjournal.bsky.social! We show that epigenetic modifiers on fungal accessory chromosomes can contribute to the overall epigenetic profile. Many thanks to @gomezlucia93.bsky.social and our other amazing collaborators 👏🏻

academic.oup.com/nar/article/...

Three-dimensional genome architecture connects chromatin structure and function in a major wheat pathogen - BMC Biology Background Genome spatial organization plays a fundamental role in biological function across all domains of life. While the principles of nuclear architecture have been well-characterized in animals ...

Our paper on Zymoseptoria tritici 3D genome organization is officially out! @iglavincheska.bsky.social
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

1/ Ever needed to annotate TEs in a fungal genome, but didn't know where to start?

We have released #MycoMobilome, a community-focused non-redundant database of transposable element consensus sequences for the fungal kingdom, constructed from >4,000 fungal genomes!

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

📣 I’m excited to share two open positions in my lab @leibniz-hki.de. For this interdisciplinary project with @luziagyr.bsky.social, I’m seeking (1) an enthusiastic PhD student interested in fungal natural product research and genetic engineering, as well as (2) a technical assistant 👇🏻

Open Positions ERC-funded project on the mechanism of horizontal transfer of entire fungal chromosomes PhD PostDoc

Want to understand how entire fungal chromosomes can be horizontally transferred?
Join us to unravel the mechanism/consequences of horizontal chromosome transfer in a fungal pathogen as part of an ERC-funded project. Postdoc/PhD positions available.
fungal-evolutionary-genetics.de/open-positio...

Congrats!!!

W 3 professorship in Molecular and Evolutionary Zoology - Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein (DE) job with Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel | 12844416 Kiel University aims to attract more qualified women to professorship positions. The Institute of Zoology at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural...

We are welcoming applications for a full professorship on Molecular and Evolutionary Zoology at Kiel Univerdity, Northern Germany, with fantastic facilities and infrastructure! @uni-kiel.de @crc1182.bsky.social @transevo.bsky.social www.nature.com/naturecareer...

Lediga jobb vid Stockholms universitet Jobb

We have several open positions in my group, funded from the ERC Grant on the Early Sequestered Germline of Fungi. We search broadly for applicants at both PhD and master-level, with a dedicated interest in fungal evolutionary biology. Please forward and RT!
Find the positions here: su.varbi.com

Thrilled and honoured to have received an #ERCStG from @erc.europa.eu for my project MobiChrom on horizontal chromosome transfer in fungal pathogens. We’ll explore key questions: What is the mechanism? How is specificity regulated? Are these selfish elements? Exciting times ahead - job ads soon!

Commensal yeast promotes Salmonella Typhimurium virulence - Nature Commensal Candida albicans enhances the virulence and dissemination of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium.

Excited to share our new publication, out today in Nature! www.nature.com/articles/s41.... @kanchanj.bsky.social led this fascinating fungal-bacterial interaction project. We are grateful for our wonderful collaborators Brian Peters and David Underhill.

Molecular mimicry of plant cell-surface immune receptors by fungal secreted leucine-rich repeat proteins Leucine-rich repeat (LRR) receptor-like kinases (LRR-RLKs) are important plant immunity proteins. The wheat pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici produces many virulence effectors during infection; however, m...

Really happy this is out in preprint - Congratulations to @graemekettles.bsky.social @zymohaider.bsky.social, and everyone involved for their hard work completing this study! It examines a Z. tritici effector that is a molecular mimic of plant LRRs, and suppresses PTI www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Fucus algal meadow in the Baltic Sea

Doctoral position on genomic basis of Fucus (brown algal) local adaptation - join our exciting #Fubluc team! Fully funded for 3.5 years & we also consider candidates with strong molecular or bioinformatic skillls but no marine / algal experience, see www.geomar.de/en/karriere/...

AI-generated drawing of a woman looking through a microscope with DNA and fungi drawn in the background. The text contains the same content as the bsky post.

My group at is hiring a PhD student to explore how fungal pathogens that live in the environment will adapt their genomes, acquire new phenotypes, and perhaps even increased infectivity as a result of climate change. Please share!

More info and applications at @ jobs.uni-jena.de/vrbup

Starship giant transposons dominate plastic genomic regions in a fungal plant pathogen and drive virulence evolution Nature Communications - Giant transposons, known as ‘Starships’, mediate horizontal gene transfer between fungal genomes. Here, Sato et al. show that Starships occupy genome regions...

📣 Happy to see the journal publication 📄 of our work on Starships 🚀 in Verticillium fungi: terrific work led by @yukiyosato.bsky.social
rdcu.be/exBSp

Job opportunity Postdoctoral Researcher (m/w/div) in “Microbial Infection Strategies” at Leibniz HKI Jobportal Wissenschaft/Forschung in Jena

📣 I’m recruiting a #Postdoc to help us further our understanding on the infection strategies of our human fungal pathogen. If you’re enthusiastic about research, our interdisciplinary group @leibniz-hki.de will be a good fit for you! Please share!
jobs.hki-jena.de/jobs/Postdoc...

The July cover of Genome Biology and Evolution features the work of Dubin, @oliviaroth.bsky.social et al., who investigate sexual antagonism and sex determination in syngnathids with differences in how male pregnancy develops.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf103

📷 Olivia Roth

#genome #evolution

Distribution of haploid chromosomes into separate nuclei in two pathogenic fungi Nuclei define eukaryotes, enabling macromolecular compartmentalization and cellular regulation. Each nucleus is believed to contain one or more haploid sets of chromosomes (1N). However, we discovered...

Wow: check it out; these fungi distribute their chromosomes across different nuclei!

Normally each nucleus has a complete set of all chromosomes.

Distribution of haploid chromosomes into separate nuclei in two pathogenic fungi | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Junior faculty job alert in Germany - Marine Evolutionary Genomics @geomarkiel.bsky.social / University of Kiel www.geomar.de/en/karriere/... Marine study system of your choice (no microbes, sorry…), excellent infrastructure and ship access, moderate teaching requirements, closing date 6 June

@guidopuccetti.bsky.social, Gabriel Scalliet and I are excited to share our latest work.

Resistance in agriculture emerges fast, but we fail to grasp how the myriad mutations in pathogen populations contribute to this.

Please check out and share our latest preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

📣Call for Abstracts for the Mycological Society of America 2025 Annual Meeting this summer in Madison, Wisconsin. Submit your abstract by March 17th! #MSAfungi25

msa.joynconference.com/v2/

Thank You!

Horizontal transfer of accessory chromosomes in fungi – a regulated process for exchange of genetic material? Heredity - Horizontal transfer of accessory chromosomes in fungi – a regulated process for exchange of genetic material?

Our perspective on the horizontal transfer of accessory chromosomes in fungi is now available in Heredity: rdcu.be/d9jOR. It may be a regulated process. Very proud of this collaborative effort with Henrik de Fine Licht (@henriklicht.bsky.social) and Remco Stam (@rstam.bsky.social)!

Germline-restricted chromosome of songbirds has different centromere compared to regular chromosomes www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.01....