We just received funding for a 2yr postdoc position on cryoEM of fungal gpcrs. Official call will open soon.

Contact me if you‘re interested!

1/8 🔥 New preprint dropped: Dynamic co-existence of bacteriophages and their hosts 🦠 in the Arabidopsis thaliana 🌱 phyllosphere
Work led by the indomitable @sheilaroitman.bsky.social‬
#plantscience #microbiome #holobiont
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Really nice (and beautiful figures! 😍) Congratulations Cecile, Alice and the whole team! 🥳

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...

A national crop wild relative checklist for Zimbabwe reveals edible crop wild relative diversity of regional and global importance | Dr Patience Chatukuta 📢 Check out this checklist of crop wild relatives in Zimbabwe! 💡 Crop wild relatives are the untamed cousins of our cultivated crops. 📊 The checklist provides baseline data for crop improvement and...

Check out our paper on the diversity of crop wild relatives in Zimbabwe!

#CropWildRelatives #PlantScience #Biodiversity #Conservation #ClimateResilience #Zimbabwe

www.linkedin.com/posts/dr-pat...

Antimicrobial effectors of plant-associated fungi: multipurpose proteins with fast-evolving surfaces and structurally conserved cores Plants are exposed to a variety of devastating pathogens, causing significant yearly yield losses. In order to facilitate infections, plant pathogens …

So diverse and yet conserved. Check out opinion paper by Leonhard Pachinger @leopach.bsky.social on antimicrobial effectors produced by fungal pathogens: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Now that it's official i've got some news! Our group has moved from @mpi-bio-fml.bsky.social to @unihalle.bsky.social where I am now leading the department for phytopathology and plant protection 🍄🌾🧬

It’s time to say farewell to ERC Research Group Leader Thorsten Langner after nearly 3 years at the institute. He reflects on his time here, key milestones, and what’s next: tinyurl.com/2vce2d6k
Congratulations on your new position—we wish you and your team all the best for the future!

Advances in molecular tools for elucidating nucleic acid biology in fungal pathogens Check out this new review highlighting advances in DNA-, RNA-, and chromatin-based technologies and how they are used to keep pace with the emerging threat

Check out our new review on exciting advances in molecular tools for studying DNA and RNA biology of fungal pathogens!
w/ Matthew Blango
@femsjournals.bsky.social
@trr124-funginet.bsky.social @leibniz-hki.de

academic.oup.com/microlife/ar...

MycoMobilome: a community-focused non-redundant database of transposable element consensus sequences for the fungal kingdom Abstract. Transposable elements (TEs) are found in nearly all eukaryotic genomes. Despite significant advances in the sequencing of genomes, TE resources r

Need to annotate transposons in fungal genomes? 🧬
Good news #MycoMobilome is now live! Check it out here: doi.org/10.1093/narg...
Access the sequences through our Zenodo community (you can also contribute seqs with credit), and synchronisation with @dfam.bsky.social!

w/ @danielcroll.bsky.social

There is a week left to apply for two available positions in my lab @ipbhalle.bsky.social

- PhD: ipb-halle.mhm.jobs/12-phd-posit...

- Postdoc: ipb-halle.mhm.jobs/13-postdocto...
Earliest start date: 01/05/2026.

We are interested in plant immune receptor biochemistry and evolution. Please share!

@thaisdalsasso.bsky.social is applying new tools to address the evolution and functional diversification of secreted proteins of fungal plant pathogen. Preprint here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Honored and over the moon to add another Chronobiology talk to the TEDx universe at Aberystwyth next week! 🌓🦟 There are still some tickets left!

tedxaberystwyth.com

@aberuni.bsky.social @mpi-evolbio.bsky.social @clocksevolution.bsky.social @bioclocksuk.bsky.social

📣 Our latest story just dropped on bioRxiv:: A structurally unique effector shared between Verticillium dahliae and Fusarium oxysporum is involved in cotton defoliation and virulence on other hosts www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 🧵

Today is the #InternationalDayofWomenandGirlsinScience ✨
To celebrate, we’re opening registration for our workshop "Women in Evolutionary Biology II" — keynotes, research, networking, and discussions on equality & inclusion in science.
📍 Plön (Germany) | 🔗 workshops.evolbio.mpg.de/event/144/ov...

PhD position in biology (m/f/d) (1/2026) Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry (Halle) offers a PhD position in Biology

Please share! We are looking for a PhD student (4 years) starting from 01/05/2026 at @ipbhalle.bsky.social!
If you are interested in plant immunity, receptor biochemistry and evolution, consider applying! Deadline 09/03/2026.

Application portal: ipb-halle.mhm.jobs/10-phd-posit...

Postdoctoral position in biology (m/f/d) (2/2026) Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry (Halle) offers a Postdoctoral position in Biology

Please share! We are looking for a postdoctoral scientist (2 years, extension possible) starting from 01/05/2026 at
@ipbhalle.bsky.social! The project focuses on plant immune receptor biochemistry and structural biology.
Deadline 09/03/2026.

Apply at: ipb-halle.mhm.jobs/11-postdocto...

Women in Evolutionary Biology II Women in Evolutionary Biology is an event to promote diversity and equality in the field. For this purpose, we invited 6 outstanding women as keynote speakers, offering a unique opportunity to learn from their experiences and celebrate their achievements. While all keynote speakers are women, scientists of all genders and backgrounds in evolutionary biology are welcome to participate in scientific presentations and discussion sessions on topics relevant for women in science. The workshop’s...

Join the Women in Evolutionary Biology II workshop from June 1-3, 2026, at the Max Planck Institute in Plön, Germany. Open to all genders. More info: https://workshops.evolbio.mpg.de/event/144/overview Registration closes on Feb 20, 2026. #workshop

Please share!
My group at @zmbp-tuebingen.bsky.social is offering a post-doctoral position (4 years). We look for a structural biologist with experience in Cryo-EM/Cryo-ET to investigate the mechanisms of host invasion by pathogenic fungi. Deadline February 28th!
uni-tuebingen.de/universitaet...

Congratulations @marco-guerreiro.bsky.social, @estukenbrock.bsky.social and everyone involved! Great to see this study out! 🥳

Congrats @marco-guerreiro.bsky.social. @estukenbrock.bsky.social and colleagues on this exciting study linking codon optimization and adaptive translation to lifestyle transitions in a group of fungi.

Directors

Expressions of interest: Director at MPI EvolBio (f/m/d) — We invite expressions of interest from distinguished scientists in evolutionary biology with a bold, long-term research vision that complements our Institute. More information: www.evolbio.mpg.de/3856225/Dire...

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/...

#TEsky #TEworldwide #Transposons #Bioinformatics #Bioconda #GenomeAnnotation #TransposableElements #Genomics #ComparativeGenomics

Just a few days left to apply to the PhD position in our group. It focuses on selfish genes in #fungi and how they might affect the spread of giant #TEs called Starships.

New genomic techniques for plant breeding New genomic techniques can increase food security and mitigate climate change effects. EU rules aim to regulate these plant breeding methods.

Great news for new plant breeding technologies in Europe! 🥳 EU reaches preliminary deal on gene editing!
www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/...

This week we had a blast during our very first postdoc retreat of the MPI for Biology Tübingen and the Friedrich Miescher Laboratory! 🎊 We were honored to host Prof. Dr. Nadine Ziemert as our… | Had... This week we had a blast during our very first postdoc retreat of the MPI for Biology Tübingen and the Friedrich Miescher Laboratory! 🎊 We were honored to host Prof. Dr. Nadine Ziemert as our guest ...

Congratulations to the organizing committee for putting together an excellent first postdoc retreat for MPI-Bio and FML postdocs! Great to see such inspiring talks, strong community building, and clear dedication behind the scenes. Well done to everyone involved🎊
www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

A large European diversity panel reveals complex azole fungicide resistance gains of a major wheat pathogen | mBio Sustainable food production requires the management of disease agents attacking crops. Application of antifungal compounds is among the key elements of pathogen containment; however, resistance can ri...

Finally out!
A large European diversity panel reveals complex azole fungicide resistance gains of a major wheat pathogen
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

A big thanks to @danielcroll.bsky.social & @GabrielScalliet

#azole #DMI #GWAS #fungicide #resistance #zymoseptoria #Europe

Responses to Temperature Shocks in Zymoseptoria tritici Reveal Specific Transcriptional Reprogramming and Novel Candidate Genes for Thermal Adaptation | Phytopathology® Pathogens’ responses to sudden temperature fluctuations, spanning various temporal scales, are critical determinants of their survival, growth, reproduction, and homeostasis. Here, we combined phenoty...

Responses to Temperature Shocks in Zymoseptoria tritici Reveal Specific Transcriptional Reprogramming and Novel Candidate Genes for Thermal Adaptation | Phytopathology® apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/full/10....

Historic transposon mobilisation waves create distinct pools of adaptive variants in a major crop pathogen - Nature Communications In this study, the authors analysed a large genomic dataset to trace how jumping genes shaped the global spread of a major wheat pathogen and reveal bursts of activity over decades that drove adaptati...

TEs aren’t just genomic parasites, they’re also engines of genomic novelty.

Our new study with ~2,000 Z. tritici genomes shows repeated TE mobilization waves during global expansion.

With @danielcroll.bsky.social & @guidopuccetti.bsky.social

🧬 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#TEworldwide