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Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)

@dackslabecb.bsky.social
610 followers 341 following 108 posts

This is the professional account for the Evolutionary Cell Biology lab of Prof. Joel Dacks.

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Reposted by Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
Ben Long @botbml.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Spatial proteomics reveals carboxysome adaptation and mitochondrial proteome in Paulinella chromatophora www.cell.com/current-biol...
cell.com
Spatial proteomics reveals carboxysome adaptation and mitochondrial proteome in Paulinella chromatophora
Using LOPIT-DC-based spatial proteomics, Cadena et al. map the sub-organellar protein landscape of Paulinella chromatophora, a cercozoan with evolutionary-early-stage photosynthetic organelles. They f...
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Reposted by Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
H. B. Beryl Rappaport @hbrappap.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Our description of fire amoeba, 𝘐𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘦𝘣𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴, is now online at Cell! Thanks @oliverio.bsky.social and amazing team for questioning the limits of eukaryotes! 🔥 www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
cell.com
A geothermal amoeba sets a new upper temperature limit for eukaryotes
The amoeba Incendiamoeba cascadensis demonstrates that eukaryotic life can withstand temperatures beyond what was thought possible and sheds light on molecular strategies for survival in extreme heat.
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Reposted by Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
Javier del Campo @fonamental.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
CoMR: an integrative scoring pipeline for comprehensive mitochondrial proteome reconstruction across eukaryotes #protists academic.oup.com/bib/article/...
academic.oup.com
CoMR: an integrative scoring pipeline for comprehensive mitochondrial proteome reconstruction across eukaryotes
Abstract. Mitochondrial proteome reconstruction from eukaryotic sequence data typically relies on prediction of mitochondrial targeting signals (MTSs). How
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Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology) @dackslabecb.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
My Summer 2026 Editor in Chief Message for the Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology is now available. It talks about exciting developments at JEM over the past year (higher IF, the Trager Award) and things that we will launch soon. I hope that you enjoy it:) onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Summer 2026 Editor‐In‐Chief Message
Click on the article title to read more.
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Reposted by Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
Anthony M. Bonacolta @ambonacolta.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Discovery of an Undocumented Symbiosis Between Arcellinida and a Flagellate Using Single-Cell Transcriptomics - Ani et al. (2026) Free link: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/QBTIVR... #ProtistsOnSky
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Discovery of an Undocumented Symbiosis Between Arcellinida and a Flagellate Using Single‐Cell Transcriptomics
Symbiotic interactions involving single-celled eukaryotes have been studied for over a century. This is in part because these microbes occupy nearly all environments and have adapted to survive throu...
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Reposted by Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
Jennifer Anderson @jandbio.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I'm a huge fan of #AquaticFungi, but do you know what else are amazing, important, and understudied? #Protists. I'm having a protist-filled Friday, starting with the fantastic ongoing defense of soon to be 'Dr.' @annewalraven.bsky.social of the @fburki.bsky.social lab. Check out her fantastic work 🎉
uu.se
Anne Walraven: Revealing the plastid symbioses in the marine centrohelid Meringosphaera: a novel model system for plastid evolution – Uppsala University
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Reposted by Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
Nicole Coots @nicolecoots.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
The International Society of Protistology is funding community initiatives like workshops and symposia! The deadline is soon (09/30) but the funding will also be available next year :-) Send to anyone that might benefit from this/plz retweet! #ProtistsonSky protistologists.org/call-for-app...
protistologists.org
Call for Applications: Community Initiative Support Fund - International Society of Protistologists
The International Society of Protistologists is an association of scientists devoted to research on single-celled eukaryotes, or protists. The ISOP promotes the presentation and discussion of new or i...
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Reposted by Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
Earlham Institute @earlhaminst.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
The extraordinary diversity, biology and complexity of #protists pose significant challenges to the #genomics community. That’s why a new collaboration will look to address some of the major technical barriers for sequencing protists from bulk cultures and the environment.
earlham.ac.uk
Major investment to unlock the potential of protist research
A new collaboration will tackle major technical challenges currently limiting protist genomics, helping to unlock the potential of protist research for biomanufacturing, sustainable agriculture and en...
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Reposted by Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
Varsha Mathur @varshamathur.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Love to see this 🤩 #protistsonsky
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Reposted by Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
Fabien Burki @fburki.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
💯% going the right way. I’m excited that the @earlhaminst.bsky.social recognizes the critical importance of protists for science and society #protistsonsky
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Reposted by Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
Evgenii Protasov @evgenii-protasov.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
A Pan-European Whole-Microbiome Study of Wastewater Influent: Prokaryotes, Protists, Fungi, and Metazoa #microbiology #microbiome #wastewater #prokaryotes #protists #fungi #MicroSky onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
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Reposted by Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
Ian Senior @ians4ad.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
I had fun at the NH museum today putting faces to names at this year's @protistologyuk.bsky.social conference. Talking about Aggi's Tiny Friends game and how we can promote it & develop it further. Had a quick look around the museum too. #ProtistsOnSky store.steampowered.com/app/3190840/...
store.steampowered.com
Aggi's Tiny Friends on Steam
Join Aggi and dive into a world that lies just out of sight. Customize your own cell and see it thrive in a vibrant ecosystem. Discover a wide variety of organisms like you've never seen before. And l...
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Reposted by Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
Julia Van Etten @couchmicroscopy.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Our paper describing two new photosynthetic Paulinella species is out today in JPhycol! This is the kind of work I love to do and even it though took many years to finish, we had a lot of fun stomping around together in the marsh! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #protistsonsky
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Reposted by Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
STCmicrobeblog @stcmicrobeblog.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
wonderful! 𝘗𝘢𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘢 no longer a rare outlier, but member of a worldwide (maybe) distributed clade.. #MicroSky #ProtistsOnSky #SymbioSky
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Reposted by Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
Kenneth Dumack @dumack.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
🎉 New paper out! A pan-European study of the whole microbiome of wastewater influent - bacteria protists, fungi & metazoa - reveals geographic and seasonal patterns. It is @niklasnett.bsky.social Master’s thesis! 🥳 See my favorites, Rhogostoma and Arcella, in the figure! :) doi.org/10.1111/jeu....
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Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology) @dackslabecb.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Wow!
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Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology) @dackslabecb.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Driving to Elk Island park with my family on Canada Day (sons) for kayaking and discussing aquatic microbes. Some things got misheard and so anyway, I am now duty-bound to call for formalization of the concept of Dinoflattulates (particularly gas-producing members of the myzozoa). #protistsonsky
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Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology) @dackslabecb.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
This was an exciting result to get in this year's IF scores, made possible because of all of you fantastic people who submit your great papers to JEM!! Please send more:)
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Reposted by Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
ISEP @isepprotists.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
New #ISEPpapers! Single-cell transcriptomics reveals lateral transfers of multiple functional genes from prokaryotes to free-living ciliated protists in detrital food webs link.springer.com/article/10.1... #Protists #Ciliates #Microbes #Evolution
metabolic schematics of microbes
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Reposted by Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
ISEP @isepprotists.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
New #ISEPpapers! Eukaryovorous Predation in Evolutionarily Significant Excavate‐Like Flagellates pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC... #Protists #Microbes #Evolution
schematic drawings of microbial cells
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Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology) @dackslabecb.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
WOW! Congratulations to you both!!
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Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology) @dackslabecb.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
New paper alert! Led by David Montagnes, this one is for scientists and non-scientists alike. The history, benefits, and future of Learned Societies. We need community, fostering of critical thinking, and communication, more than ever! link.springer.com/article/10.1... #protistsonsky
link.springer.com
The value of learned societies in the biological sciences: benefits, threats, and futures - BMC Biology
Learned societies play a vital role in fostering interactions that are important in scholarly discourse and the advancement of biological sciences. However, they now face threats from declining fundin...
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Reposted by Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
Mukund Thattai @thattai.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
How did eukaryotic cells get their Golgi, endosomes, lysosomes and other endomembrane compartments? We show that endomembrane evolution depends on long periods of neutral molecular exploration, punctuated by sudden leaps. New preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Evolutionary landscape of endomembrane systems. On top are two possible endomembrane systems, represented as directed graphs (pER: proto-endoplasmic reticulum; PM: plasma membrane; IC: intracellular compartment). In the layer below, endomembrane graphs are represented as nodes (white dots) connected by evolutionarily viable transitions (red lines). Collectively these dots and lines define an evolutionary landscape. The landscape breaks up into less functional (left) and more functional (right) endomembrane systems, introducing a selective bias.
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Reposted by Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
Miguel Méndez Sandín @sandinmm.eurosky.social · 15/12/2025
New preprint out! Using ~75k environmental OTUs + 77 fossil calibrations, we reconstructed a Proterozoic timeline of eukaryote evolution. Our results show crown eukaryotes were already diversifying >1.6 Ga, long before the first undisputed fossils (~1.05 Ga). 🔗 DOI: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
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Reposted by Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology @jeukmicro.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
A nice tribute to Frank John Rupert “Max” Taylor by Juan F. Saldarriaga and Rowan Haigh. Feel free to share your own remembrances in the comments. #protistsonsky @dackslabecb.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
OBITUARY: Frank John Rupert “Max” Taylor (July 17, 1939–February 18, 2026)
Click on the article title to read more.
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Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology) @dackslabecb.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
I have such fond memories of Max from my time as an MSc student at UBC. Hours of thought-provoking discussion were passed in his office, particularly when I was actually supposed to be writing my thesis ;) Thank you Max for your gifts to protistology. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
OBITUARY: Frank John Rupert “Max” Taylor (July 17, 1939–February 18, 2026)
Click on the article title to read more.
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Reposted by Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
Anthony M. Bonacolta @ambonacolta.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
Attending Protistology Open? Check out @nicolecoots.bsky.social & I's ISOP-sponsored symposium "The Symbiotic Continuum across the Tree of Life" (April 20th @ 11 AM)! We have an amazing lineup of speakers including Ondřej Pomahač, @mixotrophe.bsky.social, & Gillian Gile #ProtistsOnSky #Symbiosis
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Reposted by Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
ISEP @isepprotists.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
New #ISEPpapers! Single‐Cell Transcriptomes and Phylogenomic Analysis of Uncultivated #Oxymonads: Morelia Trznadel et al. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC... #Protists #Microbes #Evolution #TreeOfLife #Phylogeny
evolutionary tree of a group of microbes
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Reposted by Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
#Ichthyosporea are not just the 5–6 species we and others have helped establish as models. Our recent synthesis suggests that ~95% of their species-level diversity remains uncultivated. In other words, we still know only a fraction of the map! #protistsonSky @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social @prbb.org
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Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology) @dackslabecb.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Congratulations Fabien! Well deserved :)
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Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology) @dackslabecb.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
I have to say, I expected more engagement with myPi day post. It was an all 'round disappointment.
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Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology) @dackslabecb.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
Happy Holidays to those who celebrate!
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Reposted by Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
John Burns @burnsajohn.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
In a study led by @choannaflagellate.bsky.social and @evocellbio.bsky.social using samples from a local mudflat in Maine, we found evidence of a new lineage of #protistsonsky that helps fill in gaps in our understanding of breviate (+Obozoa) mitochondrial evolution. www.bigelow.org/news/article...
bigelow.org
New Study Traces how Cells Learned to Live Without Oxygen - Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
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Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology) @dackslabecb.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
An unexpected encounter with a former Editor in Chief of JEM while hiking with my son. I insisted on taking the extra detour and told him stories of one of my great mentors and role models.
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Reposted by Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
Gautam Dey @gautamdey.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Thank you @mollyherring.bsky.social for the stunning showcase 😍 Like what you see? Come ExM with us! Let’s flood the internet with microbial marvels 🦠 #ProtistsOnSky #MicroEvoSky 🧪🔬🌍 @dudinlab.bsky.social @centriolelab.bsky.social @moorefound.bsky.social @embl.org @erc.europa.eu @embo.org
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Javier del Campo @fonamental.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
The Microbiome Within a Microbe: Rethinking Blastocystis Biology onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #protists #microbiome
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Reposted by Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
Fabien Burki @fburki.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #protistsonsky
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
A Practical Approach to Study Uncultivated Protists Using Single‐Cell Techniques for Electron Microscopy
Protists represent a significant portion of eukaryotic diversity with a wide range of ecological roles, lifestyles, and diverse morphological traits. Despite their widespread importance in ecological....
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Reposted by Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
Evgenii Protasov @evgenii-protasov.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
The Romantic Discovery of Radiolaria in the Ocean #microbiology #Radiolaria #protists #MicroSky doi.org/10.1111/jeu....
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Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology) @dackslabecb.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
My first bluesky post of 2026. I was away in the UK, for meetings with colleagues but also got to sneak in a few visits with more friends, old and new alike. In what has been a turbulent and disquieting year across the world already, personal connections and support are more important than ever.
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Reposted by Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
Claudio Slamovits 🇦🇷🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈 @cslamo.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
🎄 Just published 🎉! Our ongoing genome sequencing of the basal dinoflagellate Oxyrrhis marina uncovered a new lineage of endogenized Polinton-like viruses, OmPLV. Notably, OmPLV encodes ... [cont] #VirEvol #MicroSky #Mevosky #SymbioSky #ProtistsOnSky
doi.org
Endogenized polinton-like viruses in the dinoflagellate Oxyrrhis marina uncover novel PolB fusion
Marine viruses are ubiquitous entities that impact the biology of a large fraction of prokaryotic and eukaryotic diversity. Dinoflagellates are heterotrophic, mixotrophic and photosynthetic eukaryotes...
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Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology) @dackslabecb.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
What a great way to end the year! This work, with a superb team, gave us the chance to put out some ideas about the evolution of meiosis (and other organellar systems) during eukaryogenesis. Congratulations especially to our undergrad Lisa Matsuo on her first ever paper:) @cloeucl.bsky.social
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Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology) @dackslabecb.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
Wow! Super exciting science:)
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Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology) @dackslabecb.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
The first candle of Channukah; the lights on a Christmas tree; the solstice as the time when the days get brighter; they are about finding a light in the darkest of times. Intentionally looking for, and appreciating something positive, when things seem dire can be a powerful act. Now and always.
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Reposted by Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 14/12/2025
This is fucking grim. Somebody invented a white guy, an "IT professional" named Edward Crabtree, who stopped the Bondi shooting and spread it all over the internet, which was picked up by AI agents and slop aggregation sites. The real hero is a fruit stand owner named Ahmed el Ahmed.
A wrong Grok post making up a white guy who stopped the Australian mass shooting.BBC
'Hero' who wrestled gun from Bondi shooter named as Ahmed al Ahmed
Emily Atkinson
Sun, December 14, 2025 at 1:06 p.m. CST
2 min read

A "hero" bystander who was filmed wrestling a gun from one of the Bondi Beach attackers has been named as 43-year-old Ahmed al Ahmed.

Video verified by the BBC showed Mr Ahmed run at the gunman and seize his weapon, before turning the gun round on him, forcing his retreat.

Mr Ahmed, a fruit shop owner and father of two, remains in hospital, where he has undergone surgery for bullet wounds to his arm and hand, his family told 7News Australia.
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Reposted by Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
Buzz Baum @buzzbaum.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
And another Asgard paper. Cells in motion! Wow! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
biorxiv.org
Dynamic protrusions mediate unique crawling motility in Asgard Archaea (Promethearchaeota)
Crawling motility is a hallmark of eukaryotic cells and requires a dynamic actin cytoskeleton, regulated adhesion, and spatially organized signalling pathways. Asgard archaea (phylum Promethearchaeota...
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Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology) @dackslabecb.bsky.social · 22/11/2025
Haven't posted here in a bit. But the public school teachers' strike is over, my program grant is submitted, and our household is now COVID-free. Heard a great seminar today, had a catch up with a long-time collaborator, and taught a grad class to a very talented set of students. Happy Friday!
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Reposted by Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
Fabien Burki @fburki.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
We are looking for a PhD student to work on an exciting plastid endosymbiosis in microbial eukaryotes. This position involves sampling, exciting microscopy such as CARDFISH, ExM and FIBSEM, single-cell transcriptomics and more. #protistsonsky 1/2
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Reposted by Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
Gulnara Tagirdzhanova @metalichen.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
Our paper on the #genome of the Trebouxia #photobiont from Xanthoria is now out in @newphyt.bsky.social! Check below for a near-chromosome level assembly, secretome analysis, evidence of ancient HGT, and transcriptomic comparison of the alga in symbiosis and in pure culture doi.org/10.1111/nph.70728
the top half shows two panels with microscopy images. Left is a light-microscopy image of a group of algal cells. The cells are round with different sizes. Two arrows point at sporangia: one looks as if someone stuffed 8 footballs in a thin elastic bag. The other is perfectly round and contains many small spores within. The right panel shows the same group of cells, but in fluorescent microscopy, where green color shows chloroplasts. In each cell the chloroplasts are globular with small lobes sticking out. The bottom half shows a photo of Xanthoria lichen - bright yellow and leafy growing on a tree branch
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Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology) @dackslabecb.bsky.social · 08/11/2025
Holy smokes!!!!
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Reposted by Dacks Lab (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
Flora Vincent @floravincent.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
Exciting day for the lab: our 1rst paper is officially out in @currentbiology.bsky.social 🥳 Wonderful collaboration wt @gautamdey.bsky.social showing how Cryo-ExM achieves consistent immunostaining in diverse diatoms, from the lab and the natural environment 1/n #ProtistsOnSky tinyurl.com/2zxaund7
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