I was delighted to provide the ‘Cultural Intermezzo’ at the annual conference of the Netherlands Society of Evolutionary Biologists (NLSEB) in Wageningen.

Thanks @vkokkoris.bsky.social for the invitation to present my work in relation to evolution and @verahesen.bsky.social for the mention.

Can we use plant relatedness as a shortcut to predict root microbiomes?

In our new study, we tested this idea directly. Out now in ISME Communications.

Here we used machine learning, phylogenies, and root traits for 22 plant species covering 135 million years evolution.

doi.org/10.1093/isme...

Thanks to @diegromero.bsky.social, Paolina Garbeva, @vkokkoris.bsky.social, and Yixu Wang for the superb talks exploring the various faces of bacteria-fungi interaction at #KNVM2026

I was glad to chair the session together with Vasilis

Not Extremely Plastic: Testing the Limits of Morphological Plasticity in Fungal Mycelia in Response to Soil Grazers Using image analysis to track the development of fungal networks in the presence of predators, we found that even in modular organisms, plasticity is more nuanced and limited than previously assumed....

Excited to share our new paper! (1/4)

Fungi grow as networks, but how much these networks actually vary?
Turns out: not as much as we think.
Across four species, network traits stayed consistent, even when grazed by soil fauna!

doing.https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.70281

Induced endosymbiosis between a fungus and bacterium reveals a shift from antagonism to commensalism - Nature Communications Gassler et al. implant a free-living bacterium into fungal cells to study early steps in the establishment of an endosymbiosis. They observe vertical transmission of the bacteria despite initial host ...

Induced endosymbiosis between a fungus and bacterium reveals a shift from antagonism to commensalism

@natcomms.nature.com by Thomas Gassler et al from Julia Vorholt

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

Ralstonia pickettii in the fungus Rhizopus microsporus

#Endofungal

Coming to the @egu.eu General Assembly in 2026? Consider submitting an abstract to our mycorrhizae session if you are working on these organisms and their linkages to ecosystem functioning. Last year, this new session was a huge hit, so let's make year two even better!

Ignoring non‐English‐language studies may bias ecological meta‐analyses Ignoring non-English-language literature may bias outcomes of ecological meta-analyses, due to systematic differences in effect sizes between studies published in English and non-English languages.

Ignoring non-English-language studies may bias ecological meta-analyses. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

I had such fun thinking, reading and writing this Tansley Review on #arbuscular #mycorrhizal #fungal mycelia. We need a more fungal-centric view to better understand not only the AM fungi, but also their many ecological roles.
@newphyt.bsky.social

🔗 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/DHGB3S....

The honor is all mine! You are such an inspiration @tobykiers.bsky.social

Thank you, awesome friend!

Hopefully very soon! Thank you @hassansalem.bsky.social

Thank you Michael!

Thank you, Justin!

Thanks @anilevetu.bsky.social 😀

Thank you @hernandezaguero.com !

Grateful to receive the KNAW Early Career Award 2025, recognizing my research on fungi and commitment to mentorship! Special thanks to @tobykiers.bsky.social, @thomasshimizu.bsky.social, @anilevetu.bsky.social and to our amazing lab team @vuamsterdam.bsky.social

Vikos Gorge is the deepest canyon in the world relative to its width — a UNESCO Global Geopark and a natural wonder carved by the Voidomatis River! Thrilled to be out here with @spun.earth mapping endemic fungal networks and sampling in this incredible ecosystem 🇬🇷 #Zagori #VikosGorge #biodiversity

The cellular mechanics of symbiosis: sensing friend from foe

🚨 Save the date! Thrilled to be co-organizing the next iteration of the @embl.org Symposium on the Cellular Mechanics of Symbiosis (📅 March 17-20), w/ @floravincent.bsky.social, @hassansalem.bsky.social & Tom Richards.
www.embl.org/about/info/c...
#EESSymbiosis #Symbiosis #SymbioSky #MicroSky 🦠

Map of unsampled ecosystems for AM fungal eDNA from the GlobalAMFungi database.

Over 70% of Earth's ecoregions have yet to be sampled for arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.

By analyzing eDNA sample locations, we found most soils are unsampled. Drylands are especially overlooked despite covering almost 1/3 of the Earth's terrestrial land.

academic.oup.com/femsle/artic...

Celebrating the small wins in academia A little reminder...

Celebrating the small wins in academia….a reminder to myself (and maybe you….)

Please share with someone you think might also need this reminder :)

open.substack.com/pub/matthias...

Text reads: 'life is more than machinery and genetic information'.

#Viewpoint: Bring back the #phenotype

César Marín & Michael J. Wade 👇

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

#LatestIssue #PlantScience

Our new newsletter is now published!
Dig into the latest updates on IMS’s 20th anniversary, ICOM2026 preparations, our new website & logo, top 10 research papers, and upcoming events. Read more at mycorrhizas.org/news. Stay connected! #Mycorrhiza

Who lives underground?

Find out now in our new paper published in @nature.com.

Key finding: 90% of predicted mycorrhizal biodiversity hotspots lie outside protected areas.

Read here: buff.ly/WmDqAP3 🧵

AusAMF: The Database of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Communities in Australia Motivation Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are central to plant nutrient acquisition, soil carbon dynamics, and ecosystem resilience. Yet, their biogeography remains incompletely characterised, pa...

The database of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in Australia is out!

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

You can access data summaries via the website www.ausamf.com

We have data from 610 sites with data from another 500 locations to be added by the end of the year!

Thanks to all collaborators

I found a cool cordyceps on a stink bug the other day! Pretty rad! What do you think?

🚨 Final days to register! ⌛️
Don’t wait until the last minute ⏰ —secure your spot and get ready to connect with scientists from around the world in stunning Crete! 🌍🧫

Let’s advance fungal biology together!
🔗 ifbc2025.maich.gr
📣 REGISTER NOW!

🔁 Share to reach the whole myco-community!

#IFBC25

🌱 Hello, BlueSky! 👋
We’re excited to join this space and connect with new communities!
To celebrate, we’re launching our new logo and completely redesigned website
Now available in English, Spanish & French
Take a look 👉 mycorrhizas.org
We’re just getting started here — follow us for updates!

Connecting the dots: Network structure as a functional trait in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi Soil health and sustainable land management are critical to addressing global challenges such as food security, climate resilience, and biodiversity loss. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi form under...

New paper out! @plantspeopleplanet.bsky.social
Led by @aguilart.bsky.social

We argue mycelial network connectivity can define functional groups of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. We explore how different fungi balance efficiency vs. resilience.

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

July issue of @cp-trendsmicrobiol.bsky.social is now online, with our review by @xinmingxu.bsky.social @neftalyl.bsky.social on Composing a microbial symphony and a matching cover illustration by @lizahaart.bsky.social

#SynCom #PlantMicrobiome #MicrobiomeEcology at #LeidenBiology