Sign in

Rowena Hill

@rowenahill.bsky.social
169 followers 83 following 20 posts

Researching fungi @earlhaminst.bsky.social 📍 Norwich, UK 🔗 rowena-h.github.io

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Andrew Urquhart @starships-andrew.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Another step in the #Starship story - they move via a circular intermediate. Helps explain how these elements horizontally transfer and means that we can modify them into transformation vectors (starmids). www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
06136
Reposted by Rowena Hill
British Mycological Society @britmycolsoc.org.uk · 18/09/2026
Opportunity: seeking Senior Editors (Editors-in-Chief) for our international journal, Fungal Biology, taking responsibility for the overall scientific direction, quality and future development. Find out more: www.britmycolsoc.org.uk/vacancies.html #FungalBiology #Mycology @elsevierlsj.bsky.social
Cover of Fungal Biology journal with images of fungi on a black background
175
Reposted by Rowena Hill
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) @ukceh.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
🍄‍🟫💻 Explore UKCEH’s new Fungi Explorer, an interactive tool revealing the hidden world of soil fungi across Great Britain using DNA data from 1,000+ Countryside Survey soil samples. Search species, map distributions, or match your own DNA sequences. connect-apps.ceh.ac.uk/fungal-explo…
23226
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Nick Talbot @talbotlabtsl.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Developing Epichloë endophytic strains to provide protection to wheat from insects and fungal diseases, building on its success in ryegrass where the majority in New Zealand is not protected from insect herbivory in this way. Richard Johnson #PPATH2026
161
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Neil Hall @neilhall.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Biological Databases are critical infrastructure - not projects. As so much effort is put into harnessing AI to solve all our problems, we are allowing the foundational data resources crumble. Treat biological databases as infrastructure, not projects www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Treat biological databases as infrastructure, not projects
Letter to the Editor
35436
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Department of Plant Sciences Cambridge @camplantsci.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Fabulous film about @jenmcgaley.bsky.social's work in the @paszkowskilab.bsky.social. Jen has captured arbuscular mycorrhiza in motion for the first time. Find out more 👉https://tinyurl.com/yc2brzcu 🧪 @cambridgebiosci.bsky.social
1137
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Laura Kelly @laura-j-kelly.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Delighted that this paper from my brilliant former PhD student Elvira Hernandez-Gutierrez is now published in @newphyt.bsky.social 😀 Elvira built a model to predict novel pest-host interactions between Agrilus beetles and oak trees 🪲🌳🪾 we hope the approach will be useful in other systems too!
0105
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Thomas Badet @tbadet.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Nearly a year after our symposium on Repeat-Induced Point (RIP) mutations, I’m happy to share the fruit of some of our discussions. The fungal RIP hypermutator mechanism has deep eukaryotic roots www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... We hope to spark interest in this underappreciated mechanism.
Evolution of major eukaryotic genome defense systems.
The figure is organized along two axes representing core mechanistic features (homology recognition, small interfering RNA, and
heterochromatin assembly) and their lineage-specific elaborations. We hypothesize that a recombination-independent DNA
homology recognition system present in the eukaryotic common ancestor facilitated the emergence of both heterochromatin
assembly and small RNA-based repeat silencing. From this conserved ancestral core, lineage-specific gene neofunctionalizations
gave rise to distinct defense pathways: the RdDM pathway in plants; the piRNA and KRAB–ZFP pathways in vertebrates; and the
repeat-induced point mutation (RIP), methylation induced premeiotically (MIP), MSUD, and tandem repeat-induced sexual silencing
(TRISS) systems in filamentous ascomycete fungi. Question marks indicate steps for which the molecular mechanisms remain
unknown.
14622
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Laurent Jacob @laurentjacob.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
The video recordings of the legend 2025 conference held last December on machine learning for evolutionary genomics are now online ! Feel free to have a look if you missed the conference. www.canal-u.tv/chaines/lisn...
The legend 2025 conference logo showing a legendary being holding a tree in the palm of their hand, with snowy mountains in the background.
1107
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Earlham Institute @earlhaminst.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
📃 A new study in @fungal-ecology.bsky.social from @rowenahill.bsky.social uses GlobalFungi sequencing data to provide the first global assessment of Gaeumannomyces incidence, and reviews current understanding of host interactions and lifestyle.
buff.ly
Host range and global distribution of Gaeumannomyces root fungi of cereal crops and wild grasses
Gaeumannomyces species (Magnaporthales, Ascomycota) occur worldwide as both pathogenic and commensal root-associates of cereal crops and wild grasses,…
086
Rowena Hill @rowenahill.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
New little data synthesis out in @fungal-ecology.bsky.social on Gaeumannomyces root fungi of cereals/wild grasses, using GlobalFungi to identify global incidence and summarising what we know about host/lifestyle range 🍄🌾🌍 👉 doi.org/10.1016/j.fu... @earlhaminst.bsky.social @dsw-isp.bsky.social
283
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Torda Varga @vtorda.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
📝We’ve finished the first draft of our Ganoderma lucidum “origin” article: “A historical specimen of False Lingzhi (Ganoderma lucidum) resolves a 245-year-old confusion within an important medicinal mushroom group.” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
142
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Team Thomma @teamthomma.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Hot off the press #ScienceAdvancesResearch @science.org www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... we show that pathogens and non-pathogens share many effectors, and with subtle changes effectors from non-pathogens may become host immune modulators
science.org
Plant-associated fungi co-opt ancient antimicrobials for host manipulation
Fungal effectors may have evolved from ancient antimicrobials, shaping plant microbiota and immunity during infection.
272
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Cecile Lorrain @ccilelorrain.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
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...
nature.com
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...
35231
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Rothamsted Research @rothamsted.ac.uk · 14/04/2026
Applications for paid summer research projects from the Royal Society of Biology are now open, closing 28th April! Work with leading plant health researchers on 8-10 week placements, including Rothamsted. Apply now: www.rsb.org.uk/plant-health-ug-studentships.html #studentship #internship
013
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Natalie Cooper @nhcooper123.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Hi all. I am very excited that after 6 years I finally got my phylogenetic comparative methods book and online exercises online. Feel free to use and share. The book is here: nhcooper123.github.io/pcm-primer/. Note that it is not finished, we had to abandon it before the sunk costs fallacy broke us
nhcooper123.github.io
Phylogenetic Comparative Methods
Phylogenetic Comparative Methods
9288182
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Sally Warring @sallywarring.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
So nice to see this out in print, and thanks to @microbiologysociety.org for the smooth publish process! Single-cell sequencing reveals unexpected genetic diversity among Bodo spp. flagellates and their bacterial endosymbionts - www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour...
microbiologyresearch.org
Single-cell sequencing reveals unexpected genetic diversity among Bodo spp. flagellates and their bacterial endosymbionts
Bodo is a cosmopolitan genus of free-living bacterivorous single-celled flagellates in the class Kinetoplastea. Genus Bodo is considered the closest free-living lineage to the parasitic lineages Trypa...
095
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Mark McMullan @mcmullan0.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
How does root invasion differ between endophyte & pathogen? We are interested in this dichotomy of expression in the most important root disease of wheat, take-all: Stealth vs SEVs Exceptional tenacity from Stella (looking for a PhD) and the team @earlhaminst.bsky.social @rothamsted.bsky.social 🙏
035
Rowena Hill @rowenahill.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Year in industry student Poppy Leslie is presenting her great work on the evolution of wheat-infecting root fungi, check it out at poster 47! 🌾🍄 #CMINorwich26 @earlhaminst.bsky.social @norwichmicro.bsky.social @dsw-isp.bsky.social @mcmullan0.bsky.social
073
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Andrew Rambaut (🐏🎀) @arambaut.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
So I pleased to announce the conceptual spawn of FigTree: PearTree (acronym still to be finalised). If you want to dive right in it is hosted as a web app here: artic-network.github.io/peartree (click the “Example...” button for immediate candy and then click every button you can find).
artic-network.github.io
PearTree — Phylogenetic Tree Viewer
5166101
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Carlos Aguilar-Trigueros @aguilart.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
Disperal ecology meets fungi! It is more than just spores people! Check this paper led by ECR @sarahcuprewich.bsky.social and Kristin Barbour! Fun collab supported @cu-esiil.bsky.social One hundred unanswered questions on the dispersal ecology of fungi url: academic.oup.com/ismej/articl...
academic.oup.com
One hundred unanswered questions on the dispersal ecology of fungi
Abstract. Fungi comprise millions of species that play numerous varied roles in Earth’s natural and managed ecosystems, engaging in a multitude of positive
0147
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Santa Walker @santa-walker.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
Article out about our work on #protists at the Earlham Institute🦠🧬 #protistsonsky @earlhaminst.bsky.social @nrpdtp.bsky.social @norwichmicro.bsky.social
0135
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Alice Laigle @alicelaigle.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
Hi everyone! The talk I had the chance to give with @fnucleosome.bsky.social last October is now out on Youtube! If you like evolution, 3D genomics, biodiversity and/or fungi, I think you might like it! 🧬🧪🍄 The submission of this paper has never been that close! www.youtube.com/watch?v=Plez...
1279
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Laurie Belcher @lauriebelch.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Calling all OrthoFinder users! We’ve just released GLADE, a tool to infer gene gains, losses, duplications, and ancestral genomes across a phylogeny. GLADE runs directly on OrthoFinder results. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... github.com/lauriebelch/... (1/10)
biorxiv.org
110548
Reposted by Rowena Hill
John Lovell @jotlovell.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
This article is now published! academic.oup.com/nargab/artic... We’ve added a few new analyses. First off, we show that, while gene presence absence variation (PAV) scales with evolutionary distance in both plants and animals, the base level and rate of accrual are both twice as high in plants.
academic.oup.com
Evolutionary and methodological considerations when interpreting gene presence–absence variation in pangenomes
Abstract. While graph-based pangenomes have become a standard and interoperable foundation for comparisons across multiple reference genomes, integrating p
22417
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Eva Stukenbrock @estukenbrock.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
What enables a fungus to invade a mammal host? @marco-guerreiro.bsky.social unravels signatures of translation adaptation among pathogenic and non-pathogenic species of Trichosporonales. See more: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Genomic and physiological signatures of adaptation in pathogenic fungi - Nature Communications
Emerging fungal pathogens have detrimental impacts on crops, animals, and humans, however little is known about their transition to a pathogenic lifestyle. This study demonstrates that the transition ...
03522
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Francis M. Martin @fmartin54.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
I'm delighted to inform you that our paper "Ecological genomics of saprotrophy to biotrophy transitions in the genus Clitopilus" was published in IMA Fungus. A long standing collaboration with Zhilin Yuan at RISF, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Hangzhou: imafungus.pensoft.net/articles.php...
imafungus.pensoft.net
Ecological genomics of saprotrophy to biotrophy transitions in the genus Clitopilus (Fr. ex Rabenh.) P. Kumm. (Agaricales, Entolomataceae)
Transitions between saprotrophic and biotrophic lifestyles represent pivotal evolutionary events in fungal ecology; however, the genomic and physiological mechanisms underlying such shifts remain poor...
0105
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Fungal Ecology 🍄 @fungal-ecology.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
In this review in Fungal Ecology, Håvard Kauserud (@drhyfe.bsky.social) argues that while the ITS region is by far the best DNA (meta)barcoding marker for fungi, we should not use it naively or simplistically doi.org/10.1016/j.fu...
03618
Reposted by Rowena Hill
British Mycological Society @britmycolsoc.org.uk · 16/01/2026
Open for applications: Massee Arts Grant: up to £5000 to support novel arts projects focused on fungi. For artists from all disciplines & all geographic locations who can help us encourage engagement and learning about mycology. Find out more & apply here: www.britmycolsoc.org.uk/massee-arts-...
Black and white photo of an actor in the centre of a woodland of tall tree trunks, accompanied by a musician in a long coat playing a violin. Credit: Jack Parris, 2025 Massee Arts Grant awardee. https://www.instagram.com/jackparrisd/
35235
Reposted by Rowena Hill
bioRxiv Evolutionary Biology @biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Mutualistic microbes drive niche expansion yet constrain diversification www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20…
012
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Frances Pitsillides @francespi.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
Very excited to share this article written with my PhD advisor @hassansalem.bsky.social, highlighting the amazing work on organ remodeling for symbiosis by Nishino et al @fkttkm.bsky.social. A fascinating system to think about!
0105
Reposted by Rowena Hill
bioRxiv Ecology @biorxiv-ecology.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
Why Ambrosia Beetles Keep Only One Fungus: Competitive Asymmetry, Bottleneck Drift, and Eco-Evolutionary Fixation www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20…
022
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Alexis Stamatakis @stamatak.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
Our raxtax tool for taxonomic classification is published: it is 2.7–100 times faster than competing tools but equally accurate - raxtax has increasing speedups with growing query and reference sequence numbers compared to existing tools: academic.oup.com/bioinformati...
0146
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Dan Udwary @danudwary.secondarymetabolism.com · 15/12/2025
DOE's Office of Science is making a big push into AI, and that includes our work at the @jgi.doe.gov . We want to hear your thoughts (+ and -) on AI-enabled biological data. Consider joining one of our interviews or focus groups by filling out this form! 🧪🧬🦠🖥️ #secmet jointgeno.me/PortalStorie...
jointgeno.me
Tell Us Your JGI Portal Stories
The JGI Portal teams (IMG, Mycocosm, Phycocosm, Phytozome, and SMC) would love to sit with you (over Zoom) to hear your stories relating to your usage of the portals, your unsupported use cases, and p...
1713
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Quadram Institute @quadraminstitute.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
⏰ Closing soon! We're looking for a Research Scientist to work on novel platforms for sustainable myco-food production and precision fermentation. 💷 £37,500 to £40,240 🗓️ Apply by 30 November 2025 ➡️ buff.ly/WDsrbgl
A social card with images of plant based sausages on a lentil based dish and the text "Research Scientist, to work on novel platforms for sustainable myco-food production and precision fermentation. Salary: £37,500 to £40,240, Contract length: 18 months, Apply by 30 November 2025"
053
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Francis M. Martin @fmartin54.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
Another fine outcome of my long-standing collaboration with Zhilin Yuan and Long Peng at RISF in Hangzhou: Endophytes with mycorrhizal potentials: biological and ecological implications - New Phytologist nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
093
Reposted by Rowena Hill
estergaya.bsky.social @estergaya.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
🚨 PhD project offer linked to Fungarium Sequencing Project! Do you like bioinformatics? fungal genomics? historical DNA? check this out 👇 www.trees-dla.ac.uk/projects/imp...
trees-dla.ac.uk
Improving methodologies of whole genome assembly and data processing of historical fungal collections to accelerate species discovery | TREES DLA
Fungi are essential components of ecosystems, driving nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, and countless symbiotic interactions. Yet, fewer than 10% of the estimated three million fungal species ha...
033
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Saloni @scientificdiscovery.dev · 19/11/2025
I'm surprised I only came across it now, but this review on improving communication in data visualization is excellent. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com
The Science of Visual Data Communication: What Works - Steven L. Franconeri, Lace M. Padilla, Priti Shah, Jeffrey M. Zacks, Jessica Hullman, 2021
Effectively designed data visualizations allow viewers to use their powerful visual systems to understand patterns in data across science, education, health, an...
29030
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Aaron Vogan @fungage-lab.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
We're looking for a PhD student! If you're interested in #fungal #genomics & #TEs, meiotic drive, or pathogens, please consider applying. The project is about toxin/antidote genes in the human fungal pathogen A. fumigatus. uu.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
Image of yeast spotted on an agar plate. Some grow well, others are dying.
12130
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Megan McDonald @mcdonaldmeganc.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
Our latest pre-print on TE-mediated tandem duplication of the ToxB effector is now online...still a puzzle for us but we think it is in a Helitron! Together with amazing collaborators, Reem Aboukhaddour and Ryan Gourlie #TE #fungi www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
biorxiv.org
The virulence gene ToxB is both amplified and disrupted by transposons in the wheat pathogen Pyrenophora tritici-repentis
### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, https://ror.org/051dzs374 Alberta Grain Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commissio...
03414
Reposted by Rowena Hill
British Mycological Society @britmycolsoc.org.uk · 13/11/2025
Fungal fossils tell a story of resilience: research by Worobiec et al. published in #FungalBiology (Aug 2025) traces dark septate endophytic (DSE) microsclerotia from the Eocene to today, revealing long-term plant–fungus associations. 👉 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Figure 3 from the paper by Worobeic et al in Fungal Biology (August 2025) showing 10 pictures of fossil microsclerotia of dark septate endophytic fungi.
0135
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Richard Leggett @richardmleggett.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
Know metagenomics and could spare 2 mins? I'm applying for funding to build a visual repository for metagenomic classification data (not sequence data). To support the application, I have a short 2 minute survey and it would be a big help if you could fill it in: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
0210
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Stephanie Watts-Fawkes @mycoresearch.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
New study from @mvanderheijden.bsky.social lab, showing that many commercial mycorrhizal inoculants are snake oil. So important for this data to be published! Between this, @lizkoziol.bsky.social and Matt Salomon’s work… well I think we make a strong point. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Poor Quality of Commercial Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Inoculants Used for Agriculture and Home Gardening
There is an urgent need to develop microbial inoculants that can consistently improve crop performance as part of efforts to implement sustainable agricultural practices and reduce the environmental ...
3158
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Katie Field @katiefield4.bsky.social · 08/11/2025
🌿🍄‍🟫🌱🍄We’re recruiting!!🌿🍄‍🟫🌱🍄 I’m looking for two postdocs and a technician to join my group @sheffielduni.bsky.social @sheffieldpps.bsky.social to work with me on my exciting @royalsociety.org Faraday Discovery Fellowship project, details for each post as follows:
12634
Rowena Hill @rowenahill.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
A quick tutorial blog on a method I haven't seen before to plot gene gain/loss from e.g. CAFE5 across a phylogeny - and clearly shows I always have fungi on the mind 🤓🍄 #rstats #ggplot2 rowena-h.github.io/data-visuali...
rowena-h.github.io
Mushroom plots to visualise gain and loss on a phylogenetic tree
A tutorial on how to visualise gene gain and loss on a phylogenetic tree
083
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Earlham Institute @earlhaminst.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
PHD: Based at the Earlham Institute with @neilhall.bsky.social and @rowenahill.bsky.social, and in collaboration with @rbgkew.bsky.social, we're seeking a #PhDstudent interested in #fungal #ecology and evolution to study functional diversity in root #symbiotic fungi. @aries-dtp.bsky.social
earlham.ac.uk
Genomic signatures underlying functional diversity in root symbiotic fungi
043
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Toby Baril @tobybarilbio.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
1/ Ever needed to annotate TEs in a fungal genome, but didn't know where to start? We have released #MycoMobilome, a community-focused non-redundant database of transposable element consensus sequences for the fungal kingdom, constructed from >4,000 fungal genomes! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
16738
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Team Thomma @teamthomma.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
📣 Now announcing the journal publication 📄 of our work in @newphyt.bsky.social on how Verticillium undermines the plant's 🌱 "cry for help": terrific work by @antonkraege.bsky.social & @wolki95.bsky.social doi.org/10.1111/nph....
doi.org
Undermining the cry for help: the phytopathogenic fungus Verticillium dahliae secretes an antimicrobial effector protein to undermine host recruitment of antagonistic Pseudomonas bacteria
During pathogen attack, plants recruit beneficial microbes in a ‘cry for help’ to mitigate disease development. Simultaneously, pathogens secrete effectors to promote host colonisation through vario...
25226
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Richard Leggett @richardmleggett.bsky.social · 28/10/2025
Our MARTi @nanoporetech.com paper is now out in @genomeresearch.bsky.social after several years of development (particularly Ned Peel and Sam Martin). We'd love to hear from users about how you're using it, or suggestions for new features. @earlhaminst.bsky.social genome.cshlp.org/content/earl...
genome.cshlp.org
Real-time analysis and visualization of nanopore metagenomic samples with MARTi
An international, peer-reviewed genome sciences journal featuring outstanding original research that offers novel insights into the biology of all organisms
078
Reposted by Rowena Hill
Earlham Institute @earlhaminst.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
PHD: What does an ‘optimal’ community of #bacteria and #fungi look like for #pathogen suppression? That's a key question to explore in this fully-funded #PhDproject with @neilhall.bsky.social, @mcmullan0.bsky.social and @rowenahill.bsky.social at the Earlham Institute.
buff.ly
Combatting wheat take-all disease with in-field and synthetic microbial communities
4-year Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership (NRPDTP) PhD
046