Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Roey Angel @roeyangel.bsky.social · 2d

📣 New PhD student position opening in my lab!
Soils are full of microbes, but how many are active?
Surprisingly, we still lack reliable methods to answer this.
If you are interested in microbial dormancy and are fascinated by the Alps and glacier forefields, contact me.
🏔️ 🦠 💤 🧬 🎓

The team at our research site in the alps

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Reposted by Roey Angel

Evgenii Protasov @evgenii-protasov.bsky.social · 3d

Coevolution and cross-infection patterns between viruses and their host methanogens in paddy soils
#microbiology #virology #methanogens #viruses #phages
@isme-microbes.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/ismecommun/a...

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Reposted by Roey Angel

EGU Soil System Sciences Division @egu-sss.bsky.social · 11d

🆕 New publication in SOIL journal!
📖 Aeration and mineral composition of soil mediate microbial CUE

👥 Niedźwiecka et al.

🔗 soil.copernicus.org/articles/11/...

#SoilScience #SoilJournal #Research #OpenAccess #EGU_SSS

Aeration and mineral composition of soil mediate microbial CUE

Abstract. In ecosystem studies, microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) is often used to estimate the proportion of organic substrate (glucose) consumed by microbial biomass that is not released from so...

soil.copernicus.org

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Roey Angel @roeyangel.bsky.social · 12d

📣Now finally with peer-review stamp of approval.
Thanks @ashish-malik.bsky.social for being the editor for this paper.
soil.copernicus.org/articles/11/...

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Reposted by Roey Angel

Magda(lena) Wutkowska @wutkowska.bsky.social · 16d

🦠 Among #Methylococcales, the genus #Methylobacter has the most genomes and MAGs deposited in the dbs. We found interesting stuff, e.g., some M. spp. encode all three MMOs: pMMO, pXMO, sMMO! Have a look at our ms: doi.org/10.1101/2025...

with @anne-daebeler.bsky.social, Vojta, Justus&Julius

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Reposted by Roey Angel

Ashish Malik @ashish-malik.bsky.social · 28d

📢 Funded PhD opportunities for UK candidates in beautiful Edinburgh. Get in touch if you're interested in a PhD on understanding the mechanisms of soil carbon cycling and the role of microbes. We work in different ecosystems: peatlands, forests and agricultural soils. Please repost/spread the word.

Poster showing the following text: PhD in microbial mechanisms of soil carbon cycling. Soil microbes shape the global carbon cycle in life and death. We study the effect of aboveground land management on belowground soil carbon cycling processes. We aim create a scalable understanding of microbial processes from single cells to populations to communities to ecosystems. Pictures with text: peatland restoration, sustainable agriculture and woodland regeneration.

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Reposted by Roey Angel

Dr. Jennifer Pett-Ridge @jeffinerca.bsky.social · 22d

Microbiome sequencing has come so far in 2 decades. In my PhD— I used TRFLP…. am now doing long read sequencing of entire soil metagenomes! This review was great fun- thanks Gitta Szabó @emileyeloe-fadrosh.bsky.social Tanja Woyke of @jgi.doe.gov

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

A genomic view of Earth’s biomes - Nature Reviews Genetics

Genome-wide approaches have uncovered the vast microbial and viral diversity across ecosystems. This Review explores advances in metagenomics, single-cell sequencing and functional profiling to elucid...

www.nature.com

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Roey Angel @roeyangel.bsky.social · 21d

These methanogens are globally distributed in oxic soils and can withstand frequent desiccation periods and high oxidative stress.
Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Genomes: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sra/?term=PR...
Species description: registry.seqco.de/registers/r:...

Cultivation and genomic characterisation of novel methanogens from a desert biocrust

Methanogens are strictly anaerobic archaea capable of energy conservation by methane production, yet their presence in oxic and arid environments challenges existing paradigms. In this study, we enric...

www.biorxiv.org

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Roey Angel @roeyangel.bsky.social · 21d

📢 🦠 🏜️ Meet the first cultured methanogens from oxic soils! Using cultivation and comparative genomics, we descirbe Methanobacterium limanense sp. nov., Methanocella ebodanensis sp. nov., and a strain of Methanosarcina mazei as dwellers of desert biocrusts.
With @anne-daebeler.bsky.social and other

SEM images of the three newly cultured methanogens
from desert biocrusts. Methanobacterium sp. (A) with a long rod shape, Methanosarcina sp. (B)
with aggregated, coccoid cell clusters, and likely Methanocella sp.

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Roey Angel @roeyangel.bsky.social · 23d

"36% of 7,177 manuscripts submitted between January and June 2025 were flagged by Pangram for suspected AI-generated text" I don't think we're ready for the amount of junk text coming our way 😬
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

AI tool detects LLM-generated text in research papers and peer reviews

Authors and peer reviewers are failing to disclose the use of LLMs despite journal policies limiting their use.

www.nature.com

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Roey Angel @roeyangel.bsky.social · 23d

Unfortunately, the sauna was broken this time, but I guess you can't always have it all...

Anne Daebeler @anne-daebeler.bsky.social · 23d

It was wonderful to take some time to think and develop new ideas ideas together on our annual retreat. And: great vegetarian food, amazing weather, and cats!
@roeyangel.bsky.social, @wutkowska.bsky.social

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Roey Angel @roeyangel.bsky.social · Sep 11

Thanks @luederslab.bsky.social and @femsmicro.org for the opportunity to be a Summer School mentor. I had so much fun and I really hope FEMS will continue this programme in the future.

Tillmann Lueders @luederslab.bsky.social · Sep 8

The @femsmicro.org SSPD 2025 is going strong! 💪

An amazing crowd of postdocs and mentors from all over the globe has gathered for highly inspiring and illuminating discussions of microbiology and career development on the shores of the beautiful Lake of Ohrid - City of Light. 🦠🌞🇲🇰

t1p.de/v7sxs

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Reposted by Roey Angel

Tillmann Lueders @luederslab.bsky.social · Sep 8

The @femsmicro.org SSPD 2025 is going strong! 💪

An amazing crowd of postdocs and mentors from all over the globe has gathered for highly inspiring and illuminating discussions of microbiology and career development on the shores of the beautiful Lake of Ohrid - City of Light. 🦠🌞🇲🇰

t1p.de/v7sxs

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Reposted by Roey Angel

Tillmann Lueders @luederslab.bsky.social · Sep 8

Huge thanks to co-director Joana Falcao Salles and mentors @roeyangel.bsky.social, @gabrieleberg.bsky.social, Martina Cappelletti, Rodrigo Costa, Max Häggblom, @matehg.bsky.social, @kolb2018.bsky.social, @ashley17061.bsky.social, András Táncsics and ofc. Antonio Ventosa for contributing! 🤩

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Reposted by Roey Angel

Anne Daebeler @anne-daebeler.bsky.social · Sep 1

📢 🦠 A new methanotroph from Czech peat! Through an effort led by PhD student in my group Justus Nweze we isolated and describe a new CH4-muncher. Potential for a flexible (annaerobic) metabolisms and cool pH adaptations.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#microbesky #microbiomesky

Genomic and physiological characterization of 'Candidatus Methylocystis sumavensis', a novel acid-tolerant methanotroph from peatland

Methanotrophic bacteria in peatlands mitigate emissions of methane (CH4), a potent greenhouse gas. Yet, the identity, physiology, and adaptive traits of methanotrophs inhabiting acidic peatlands are s...

www.biorxiv.org

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Reposted by Roey Angel

Alex Loy @loyteam.bsky.social · Aug 27

📢 New paper in @nature.com

Microbes rock 🎸🤘 with sulfide and iron minerals

I am very excited to share our recent study, which describes a previously unknown microbial energy metabolism ⚡⚡⚡🦠🧫⚡⚡⚡

🆕 Microbial iron oxide respiration coupled to sulfide oxidation - MISO

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

Microbial iron oxide respiration coupled to sulfide oxidation - Nature

Genomic and biochemical analyses of prokaryotic sulfur metabolism identify diverse microorganisms with the capacity to oxidize sulfide using iron(iii).

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Roey Angel

Karthik Anantharaman @karthik-a.bsky.social · Aug 27

New paper alert! We suggest caution in the analyses of viral auxiliary metabolic genes and propose a new overarching term - 'auxiliary viral genes' (AVGs) to describe different types of such genes. @simrouxvirus.bsky.social #phagesky #Microsky www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A call for caution in the biological interpretation of viral auxiliary metabolic genes - Nature Microbiology

This Perspective discusses virus-encoded auxiliary metabolic genes and provides a framework for the biological interpretation of these genes.

www.nature.com

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Roey Angel @roeyangel.bsky.social · Jul 25

New collaborative work with colleagues from Biology Centre CAS about the role of tree species and soil depth in microbial necromass accumulation.

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

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Reposted by Roey Angel

Ecology of Soil Microorganisms @esmmicrobes.bsky.social · Jun 19

Take-home message from Roey Angel: methanogenic Methanobacterium appears to be very common in upland soils as well. #esm2025

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Reposted by Roey Angel

Ecology of Soil Microorganisms @esmmicrobes.bsky.social · Jun 17

What an inspiring group of researchers! And they are all here in Helsinki for the soil microorganisms! 🤩
#esm2025 #soils

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Reposted by Roey Angel

Ecology of Soil Microorganisms @esmmicrobes.bsky.social · Jun 11

Fresh new abstract books are waiting for the #esm2025 congress, which starts in a few days. Don’t forget to follow us from Sunday onwards!

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Roey Angel @roeyangel.bsky.social · May 5

📣 New collab. work pre-print from my lab:
Impact of Long-Term Mercury Contamination on the Rhizosphere Microbiota of Lotus tenuis: A Pathway to Resilience via Interkingdom Facilitation
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Impact of Long-Term Mercury Contamination on the Rhizosphere Microbiota of Lotus tenuis: A Pathway to Resilience via Interkingdom Facilitation

The rhizosphere microbial communities of Lotus tenuis in Hg-contaminated soils demonstrate remarkable resilience, maintaining stable bacterial and fungal diversity across a broad contamination gradien...

www.biorxiv.org

Reposted by Roey Angel

Ben J Woodcroft @benjwoodcroft.bsky.social · Apr 17

A 1.0 release for Sandpiper. 700,000 microbial community profiles (3x the last version, 4.7 Pbp metaG), searchable via the @ace-gtdb.bsky.social R226 taxonomy that just dropped. MetaGs are going exponential, but we are still nowhere near a MAG for all species. sandpiper.qut.edu.au #microsky 🧬🖥️ 1/2

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Reposted by Roey Angel

Alex Crits-Christoph @acritschristoph.bsky.social · Mar 23

Climate change deniers used grok to generate a fake paper that they promptly published in a fake journal. It'll have >1 million views on X in under 24 hours.

It's not just an example of bad things on X. There are a lot of those. But it also shows that sci comm there is meaningless and futile

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Roey Angel @roeyangel.bsky.social · Mar 22

This is a unique opportunity for young postdocs to network and get career mentoring. Please consider joining or spread it to your colleagues.

Tillmann Lueders @luederslab.bsky.social · Mar 19

Microbiology Postdocs from all over Europe and the Globe!
🦠😎👍
Application for the FEMS SSPD 2025 “Harnessing microbial solutions in environmental research and One Health” is now open 👇
2 – 10 Sept 2025 on Lake Ohrid, North Macedonia
Co-Directors: Joana Falcao Salles and @luederslab.bsky.social

FEMS Summer School for Postdocs 2025 - FEMS

Menu: Introduction – Applications – Programme This has been the most valuable and enjoyable scientific event I’ve attended so far. The atmosphere was incredible, with inspiring co-directors and mentor...

fems-microbiology.org

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