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Ryan P. O’Donnell

@rpodonnell.bsky.social
1.3K followers 784 following 101 posts

Mycologist & botanist @EcoEvo_ANU | Orchids & their mycorrhizal fungi: phylogenomics, genomes, speciation, popgen, systematics & taxonomy | looking for a postdoc 👀 | rpodonnell.github.io 🍄🌿🌷📖🇵🇭🏳️‍🌈∞

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Reposted by Ryan P. O’Donnell
Nick Desnoyer @nickdesnoyer.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
After 10 Fridays, 10 flowers, and 100+ drawings, the Florédex is complete! ✨ Come take a tour of the design and science behind 10 iconic flowers 🌺🧵
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phy_papers @phypapers.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
An early-diverging Caladeniinae orchid reveals diversification of terpene and apocarotenoid pathways underlying floral scent evolution www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20…
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Prof. Keiko Torii @keikoutorii.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
I am proud to announce that I am making non-AI used, hand-drawn (using mouse) figures for a review article. It's very pretty. Stay tuned!🌱😘👩‍🎨
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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08...
abc.net.au
Fungi fans celebrate its recognition as nature's third living kingdom
The Australian Labor Party's national platform now explicitly recognises fungi alongside flora and fauna.
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Genome Biology and Evolution @genomebiolevol.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Zhang et al. generate the first chromosome-scale, haplotype-resolved nuclear genome assembly for any Australian terrestrial orchid 🔗 academic.oup.com/gbe/article/... #societyjournal #genome #evolution
academic.oup.com
Interhaplotype Inversions and Repeat Expansion in the Sexually Deceptive Orchid Chiloglottis trapeziformis
Abstract. High-quality nuclear genome resources remain scarce for most orchids, particularly Australia's diverse terrestrial lineages. Chiloglottis trapezi
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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Congrats to Zirui and the team on the new Chiloglottis genome - the first Australian orchid genome! Huge step forward in the quest to understand the evolution of sexually deceptive pollination and mycorrhizal niche hyperspecificity 👏👏👏
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Erin Cook @erincook.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
incredible way to describe Murnane
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Rafael Marcondes @rafamarcondes.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
To the reviewer and AE who were *adamant* that we should delete these watercolors: FYI im getting loads of compliments on them. Everyone says we need more art like that in peer-reviewed pubs.
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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Incredible
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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Space Quest IV slapped btw
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Dr. Stephanie @punkrockscience.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
I just saw a meme that said “get in losers, we’re reclaiming the emdash”. People. PEOPLE. Where are your STANDARDS? It CLEARLY should be “get in, losers — we’re reclaiming the em dash.”
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The Tattooed Professor @schwessinger.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Celeste Linde on the big stage at #icom2026 talking about orchid mycorrhizal fungi. Pure joy.
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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Very jealous of everyone at #ICOM2026 right now! Sad I can’t be there 😭
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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
By the end of my Arts undergrad, I got good enough at writing to the point that I could smash out a 3000 word essay in the two hours before it was due, armed with nothing but caffeine and cortisol.
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Stephanie Rodgers 🍉 @bootstheory.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
You just gotta let scientists be weird little nerds in their weird little niche interest areas and accept that the benefits to the wider community, and thus to The Economy, will flow naturally from that
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Björn Usadel @usadellab.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
1/8 What if the genomic features we associate with fungal pathogens were also used by mutualists? We assembled 41 scale lichen genomes across 11 Peltigera species with 30 chromosome scale and 5 T2T revealing an unexpected genomic toolkit behind lichen symbiosis. doi.org/10.64898/202... #lichen
doi.org
A chromosome-scale super-pangenome of the lichen genus Peltigera reveals genome architecture and expanded interaction repertoires shared across pathogenic and mutualistic fungi
Fungi engage in associations with other organisms across a continuum from pathogenic to mutualistic lifestyles. Hence, they require a compendium of molecular capacities, including partner recognition,...
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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
All I wanted to do was go outside and look at plants and now I’m stuck inside looking at nerds gummy clusters (bonus points if you can guess the protein from the conserved motif)
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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
I hope this is how science remembers me (also congrats on the paper @ethanbeaver.bsky.social 🦋)
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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Thank you!
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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Revisions accepted, PhD is done and dusted! 🎉🥳
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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Unfortunately, they did not enjoy this pun.
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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
PhD accepted pending minor revisions! 🎉 more importantly, I’m stoked that my reviewers enjoyed my Moby Dick quotes 🐋
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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
After four years of work, I have finally submitted my PhD thesis. At long last, the low res fireworks gif now plays for me 🎆
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Scott 𐚁 🦇 Cave 🦇 @hellabarnes.bsky.social · 18/01/2024
like 50% of orchid pollination is horny male insects having their day ruined
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Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration @lifesciencestudios.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
Check out the recent publication in Annual Reviews of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics where the authors explore genomic species delimitation in depth. You'll see a number of #sciart figures I created to help explain some of the concepts! www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
A scientific figure showing speciation and explaining the concept of species delimitation, and including a quote by the paper's first author.
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Leho Tedersoo @tedersoo.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
Fungal phylum-level classification update now available! Used "innovative taxonomy" to describe >100 taxa, from species to phylum, based on long reads, characteristic nucleotides and env-samples. mycokeys.pensoft.net/article/1616... #fungi #taxonomy #PacBio #classification #eDNA
New fungal phylum-level system, with red font indicating novel taxa and size taxonomic diversity.
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Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson @hilaryrosed.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
I just passed my 50,000th identification on @inaturalist.bsky.social! Identifying is a huge but often ignored part of the #iNaturalist community and dataset so I wanted to share why and how I identify. 1/14 🧪 #ecology #taxonomy #botany #CommunityScience
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Bret Beheim @babeheim.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
How to quantify the impact of AI on long-run cultural evolution? Published today, I give it a go! 400+ years of strategic dynamics in the game of Go (Baduk/Weiqi), from feudalism to AlphaGo!
Miyagawa Shuntei's 1898 painting, "Playing Go (Japanese Chess)"
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Adam Frew @frewecologist.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
Most of us use rDNA for community analyses of AM fungi. Intragenomic variation in rDNA of AM fungi can be pretty huge, depending on the region. nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
The pitfalls of rDNA‐based AMF identification: a comparative analysis of rDNA and protein‐coding genes
Intragenomic polymorphism of rDNA in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) has been largely overlooked in ecological and taxonomic studies, and the reliability of nuclear rDNA regions for species ident.....
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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
Will phylogeny for food
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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
Thanks to everyone who came along/tuned in to my PhD exit seminar! What a thing to do at the end of almost four years. So close to submitting, just need to tidy up this last chapter and I’m done! PS does anyone need a mycology/botany genomics/systematics postdoc? 👀
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Mario Fernández-Mazuecos @mfmazuecos.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
A meme for #phylogenetics people.
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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
My final PhD exit seminar is fast approaching! Tune in if you’d like to hear what I’ve been up to the last four years. There’s something for everyone: fungal genomics and species delimitation (38 new Rhizoctonia genomes), orchid phylogenomics and popgen, fungal taxonomy, it’s gonna be fun 🤙
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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
Would love to be added please!
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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
A lot of it comes down to the initial cost and time investment. It takes a lot to inoculate the trees and treat the soil so that it’s right, but it may be years before you will know whether your setup has worked successfully.
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ANU Research School of Biology @biologyanu.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
Join us on campus & online on Thursday, 31 July 2025 at 1pm for a seminar by Dr Darren Wong, Postdoctoral Fellow from the Peakall Group, RSB, ANU. Details: tiny.cc/gizp001
tiny.cc
E&E Seminar Series: A symphony of colour and scents: Complex anthocyanin and terpene synthase mechanisms underpin the evolution of species-rich Australian orchids
Many flowering plants have evolved diverse strategies to communicate with and attract animal pollinators. We have discovered exciting new evidence for the role of anthocyanins and terpenes in the evol...
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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · 19/07/2025
Would love to be added, thanks!
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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
Thanks @westerdijkinst.bsky.social !
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Biodiversity Heritage Library @biodivlibrary.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
📢 The #BiodiversityHeritageLibrary is entering a bold new chapter – and we need your help! Today we release our official Call for Support. We’re seeking new hosts for BHL’s staff, infrastructure, and services. Learn more: blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2025/06/tran... #BHLTransition #ILoveBHL
A red flower on a green stem withe the words: BHL Call for support now open overlayed.
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Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
In an unconscionable decision, the Smithsonian Institute has decided to no longer support the Biodiversity Heritage Library from 1 Jan 2026. Please someone step up and take it over.
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Ashley B. Cohen @ashleybrookecohen.bsky.social · 19/06/2025
so cool! academic.oup.com/gbe/article/... Nice work @martinsteinegger.bsky.social et al :)
academic.oup.com
Unicore Enables Scalable and Accurate Phylogenetic Reconstruction with Structural Core Genes
Abstract. The analysis of single-copy core genes, common to most members of a clade, is important for key tasks in biology including phylogenetic reconstru
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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
We argue that the continued use of anamorph/teleomorph-typified generic names in #Ceratobasidiaceae hinders a holistic understanding of this family, when it is clear that pathogenic and symbiotic species are likely united in their fundamental biology.
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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
We also found a distinct difference in the way certain names are used in the literature: pathogen researchers are more likely to use Rhizoctonia and Thanatephorus; while orchid mycorrhizal researchers are more likely to use Ceratobasidium and Ceratorhiza.
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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Names transferred to #Rhizoctonia include species formerly circumscribed within #Ceratobasidium, #Ceratorhiza, #Moniliopsis, #Thanatephorus, #Tofispora, and #Ypsilonidium (among other synonyms).
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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
We reiterate the fact that the genera within Ceratobasidiaceae are paraphyletic, and formalise the recognition of a single genus; Rhizoctonia. We present 32 new combinations, to make a total of 52 accepted species of Rhizoctonia.
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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
At long last, our manuscript ‘Rise up, Rhizoctonia: moving to one fungus, one name in the Ceratobasidiaceae’ has finally been published in Persoonia 🎉 Here we resolve several longstanding taxonomic issues within Ceratobasidiaceae and present a unified Rhizoctonia www.persoonia.org/images/Volum...
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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · 12/05/2025
#mycosky #mycology bluesky! I’m looking for some inspiration - what are some of your favourite recent (published within the last 1–3 years) fungal comparative phylogenomic studies that you’ve read?
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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
26 freshly sequenced whole genomes of undescribed orchid-associated Rhizoctonia spp. 🤙 14 more genomes to go and then I’m on the home stretch for the PhD 🫨
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Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
After 372 days since submission, and 14 reviewers who committed to reviewing but didn’t wind up submitting a review, our Rhizoctonia nomenclature manuscript has finally been accepted for publication in Persoonia! 🥲
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