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Fig. 3 shows that this is not indiscriminate secretion. Secreted CAZymes and transporters are more highly expressed than the genomic background, while specific CAZyme families dominate transcript abundance. The cell selectively deploys machinery to process its surroundings.

So what does this protist do to its surroundings? Fig. 2 gives the answer: it exports enzymes into the environment. #CAZymes, #proteases, #lipases and oxidoreductases break extracellular polymers into sugars, amino acids and lipids that the cell can import.

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S. psychra does not engulf prey, instead it feeds osmotrophically, and forms dense colonies and cellular aggregates. Its 61.7-Mb genome includes 22 telomere-to-telomere scaffolds, reaches 94.2% BUSCO completeness and encodes 17,680 genes. The best Cercozoa genome to date!

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Kenneth Dumack @dumack.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

New preprint! 🧵 Best #Cercozoa genome alert! For a decade, I’ve studied protist ecology through questions like who eats whom. But beyond “they eat this, they eat that,” what do #protists do to their environment, biochemically speaking? #protistsonsky @huesnaoeztoprak.bsky.social

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Great news for our lab at the University of Koblenz! We have now received approval to work with potentially infectious Risk Group 2 biological material! It substantially expands the experimental possibilities for research on microbial communities, protists, and aquatic systems, including wastewater.

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Kenneth Dumack @dumack.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

Five days left to apply! 🌊 Exciting #PhDPosition in #PlanktonEcology at the University of Koblenz, Germany! Work on #marine #protists with a mix of 🔬 wet lab and 💻 bioinformatics in a 3-year, 60% position. 📅 Apply by 20 May 2026 Please repost/share 🙌 Link: tinyurl.com/yu27knau #ProtistsOnSky

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Kenneth Dumack @dumack.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Two weeks left to apply! 🌊 Exciting #PhDPosition in #PlanktonEcology at the University of Koblenz, Germany! Work on #marine #protists with a mix of 🔬 wet lab and 💻 bioinformatics in a 3-year, 60% position. 📅 Apply by 20 May 2026 Please repost/share 🙌 Link: tinyurl.com/yu27knau #ProtistsOnSky

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Kenneth Dumack @dumack.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

🌊 Exciting #PhDPosition in #PlanktonEcology at the University of Koblenz, Germany! Work on marine protists with a mix of 🔬 wet lab and 💻 bioinformatics in a 3-year, 60% position. 📅 Apply by 20 May 2026 Please repost/share 🙌 Link: tinyurl.com/yu27knau #Protists #MicrobialEcology #PhD #Ecology

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Kenneth Dumack @dumack.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

Protists accounted for ~20.1% of reads, while fungi accounted for merely ~9.1%. Among eukaryotes, Arcellinida stood out as the most abundant order, not fungi! Protists are not just bystanders, they are important predators that may strongly shape forest soil food webs! (pic:Arcellinida feeding hypha)

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Kenneth Dumack @dumack.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

We all know #fungi are the dominant microbial #eukaryotes in #forest #soils… or are they really? In our new paper, we revisited 51 forest metatranscriptomes from 4 European and North American forest regions - and found that protistan predators outshine fungi in activity!

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Kenneth Dumack @dumack.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

If you rotate this image by 90°, it resembles a menacing smiley face in Mesodinium. Scary!

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Kenneth Dumack @dumack.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

Following up on my last post, here is a glimpse into the culture room, where our protists are now growing and awaiting exploration. Excited to see everything fully operational! As you see, there is still a lot of shelf space to fill - one step at a time. Now back to proposal writing 🫡 #protists

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Kenneth Dumack @dumack.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

The molecular lab, culture and microscopy rooms, and bioinformatic server, are now fully set up! I’m very grateful for my new position 🎉 We’re already generating results and insights in Koblenz, and I’m looking forward to the years ahead! Now, I "just" need to get the proposals funded 🫡 #protists

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Kenneth Dumack @dumack.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

In case anyone’s wondering how things are going in my new position at the University of Koblenz - I think this picture makes it pretty clear we’re in great spirits! 😄 Julia and I are out sampling #cyanobacteria and #protistsonsky on local lakes :)

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Kenneth Dumack @dumack.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

🚨 We’re hiring! Join our Aquatic Ecosystem Analysis group #UniversityKoblenz,Germany as a PhD researcher (m/f/d) in #plankton #ecology. Dive into #protist- #algae interactions, molecular ecology & sustainable water management. Apply by 14.08.2025! 🌊🔬 #protistsonsky #parasites #microbiology

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Kenneth Dumack @dumack.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

New logo for my new workgroup :) Yes, it's abstract, but I have the feeling it draws attention #protistsonsky

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Kenneth Dumack @dumack.bsky.social · 28/06/2025

Thanks ICOP/ISOP2025! I had a blast. See you in Prague! #protistsonsky

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Kenneth Dumack @dumack.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

Today is the last day of #ICOP-ISOP2025! It was a blast, I enjoyed it a lot, feel very motivated, met and talked with plenty of fellow scientists, but also regret I couldn't discuss with even more people! Until next time :) #protistsonsky

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Kenneth Dumack @dumack.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

Evidence for #recombination, and maybe #meiosis, in free-living #Rhizaria! I wish the results were clearer. As so often we raised more questions than we could answer :) If you are into #sex and the #meiosis-toolkit, this is an important read! #ProtistsOnSky link.springer.com/article/10.1...

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Kenneth Dumack @dumack.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

My good friend and former colleague Fionn Clissmann painted a testate #amoeba shell for my formerly very empty walls in my new office. Love it! Stunning colours! #ProtistsOnSky

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Kenneth Dumack @dumack.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

Only 1 week left to apply for both advertised researcher positions in my new lab! If you're excited about #microbial #eukaryotes and #ecological #interactions, don’t miss the deadline - spread the word! For more info, visit my website: www.kennethdumack.de

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Kenneth Dumack @dumack.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

🚨 2.5-year PhD or Postdoc Opportunity! Join me and the Aquatic Ecosystem Analysis group @UniKoblenz. 🔬 Microbial #ecology, #bioindicators, #protists, #wastewater 🌊 | German language skills are necessary,Apply by May 16 | 🔗 kennethdumack.de | tinyurl.com/dumack2 Please share! #MicroSky #ProtistsOnSky

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Kenneth Dumack @dumack.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

Friday was a special day for us! My first non-shared PhD student, Ana Cristina Martínez Rendón, concluded her work with us and earned her doctorate! Congratulations Cristina, and I wish you all the best for your future in the private sector! One of my last duties in Cologne!

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Kenneth Dumack @dumack.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

🚨 3-year Postdoc Opportunity! Join me and the Aquatic Ecosystem Analysis group @UniKoblenz. 🔬 Microbial #ecology, #protist predation, #algae #plankton & flexibility | 💻 Environmental -omics | 🌊 Rivers 📅 Apply by May 15 | 🔗 kennethdumack.de | tinyurl.com/dumack Please share! #MicroSky #ProtistsOnSky

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Kenneth Dumack @dumack.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

See figure J from our new publication. Looks rather similar! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

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Kenneth Dumack @dumack.bsky.social · 05/04/2025

Very proud to announce that my first (shared) doctoral student, Dr. Jule Freudenthal, finished her doctoral studies! 🎉 She did amazing work! I know my recent shift to a professorship is for certain parts due to her work. We both align very well which is why I am happy that she is now my postdoc :) 🎊

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We applied the database to metatranscriptomes from soil, bark, and litter. Result? Trait profiles vary hugely by habitat. On bark, we found a spike in spore-forming and saprotrophic Amoebozoa. In soil: more pathogens.

Our key finding: Cell size predicts feeding mode in Amoebozoa. Small cells = bacterivores. Big ones? They go after everything - bacteria, fungi, even animals. Cercozoa are selective irrespective of size, Amoebozoa more opportunistic. Size = strategy! Almost no specialized eukaryvores in Amoebozoa!

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Amoebozoa with Cercozoa (Rhizaria) are the main soil protist taxa, which is why we compared them: We found both functional redundancy and complementarity. They share forms—naked, testate, flagellated—but differ in habitats and feeding strategies. So far, not too suprising for experts, but see this:

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🧠🦠🚨 New preprint alert! We’ve built the first trait database for Amoebozoa, and showcase ecological insights and evolutionary patterns. If you're into protists, soil ecology, or functional biodiversity - this is for you! #ProtistsOnSky #MicroSky 🧵👇

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Here is a time series of Arcella consuming about ten (!) bacterial filaments in about a minute. Since it feeds simultaneously on several filaments, Arcella feeds a filament every three (!) seconds. Mindblowing numbers. Voracious little critter!

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In microcosms, we added Arcella hemisphaerica to activated sludge and - boom - filamentous bacteria dropped significantly after 19 days. Predation confirmed via microscopy and video. Amoeba vs filament = mismatch!

We used SEM to dig deeper: temperature affects both groups, but Arcella also independently affects Ca. M. parvicella abundance. The kicker? No such effect from rotifers, long thought potential biocontrol agents.

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Strong negative correlations between Arcella spp. and both filament density and Ca. M. parvicella. Suggests more Arcella = less filamentous bacteria. But is it causation or just a seasonal pattern?

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Over a decade of data from 4 German WWTPs, we saw clear seasonal cycles in microbial communities. Cold = high Ca. M. parvicella, warm = more Arcella. The two correlate negatively. Suspicious? We thought so too.

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Kenneth Dumack @dumack.bsky.social · 27/03/2025

🚨New preprint out! We show that Arcella spp., a shell-bearing amoeba, controls the abundance of the filamentous bacterium Ca. Microthrix parvicella, the main culprit behind sludge bulking in wastewater treatment plants. Interested in applicability of protists? Read along! #protistsonsky #microsky 🧵👇

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I'm starting my research group in Koblenz on April 1st (no April Fools' joke!) and will soon advertise two postdoc positions in #protist #ecology and/or #genomics. If you're a (soon-to-be?) postdoc-level #protistologist looking for a job, get in touch! One position on wastewater, the other flexible!

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Lastly a very hypothetical, but interesting observation. The predators' growth rates correlated with their network statistics, the stress value and betweenness centrality. This observation might mean the following: Maybe you can identify the most vicious predators in your system by calculating.

Then we did what nobody does, we validated the results. We found that 82% of the microbial interactions which we seem possible could be verified as predator-prey interactions.

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We analysed the occurrence of putative algae predators and their potential prey, #green_algae and #Ochrophytes. For this we sampled #Antarctica and the #Arctic to have a comparatively lowly diverse habitat. Nonetheless, we found thousands of species, how to deal with them?

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Here we used #protists and their interactions with their food #algae. There #Cercozoa contain algae-feeding taxa and bacteria-feeding taxa and we can quite reliably distinguish these traits. See here some Cercozoa with ingested algae.

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Kenneth Dumack @dumack.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

Have you used #network_analyses in the past to analyse your #ecology data? Have you wondered how many of those correlations actually represent interactions between #microorganisms? Here I present a paper how we leveraged #protistsonsky to evaluate the validity of the method. A thread:

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Haha, I created a quick AI art Image based on your article :D

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My conclusion: The shell is an anchor point for actin to pull on prey, the edges of the shell opening are breaking points, where the prey is broken if it can not be pulled entirely through the shell's opening.

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The related #Phryganella_paradoxa partially inserts it's #diatom #prey into the opening of its shell and #breaks the shell of its prey. I hypothesized that the partial insertion is necessary to exert force. Here the shell is not only an anchor point, but also a fracture point.

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See this individual pulling a #yeast cell through the opening of the shell. You see strongly pulsating circular blebs, indicating that actin is repurposed, and the yeast is heavily deformed, confirming mechanical manipulation.

These actin bundles also connect to the opposite sides of the shell! It seems therefore that Arcellinida use actin to #pull their prey in! For this, the shell is needed as an anchor point.

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Suddenly there is actin in the cell body! This actin forms these conical bundles that attach with the prey.