Soil Microbial Ecology Group

Join Let’s Team Up Vacancies PhD Scholarship: University of Lyon – China Scholarship Council TOPIC: Probing the soil RNA virosphere: Viral interactions with key microbial drivers of biogeoch…

📣 We are happy to announce two University of Lyon-China Scholarship Council-funded #PhD projects examining Soil Virus Ecology! 🦠

✍️ To apply: please send a detailed CV and letter of motivation by January 30, 2026. Interviews will take place in February.

Further details can be found here 👇

🎓 Congrats to Dr. Yuanyuan Zhang and Dr. Huaiyu Wang on successful PhD defenses!! 🎉
Dr. Zhang’s research on soil RNA viruses and Dr. Wang’s work on soil methylotroph viruses represent remarkable scientific achievements. We wish them every success on the next exciting chapters of their careers 🌟🚀

🚀 New INRAE Research Position Likely Opening in 2026 at Our Department!
🎯 Excited to work at the interface of microbial and plant biodiversity, and greenhouse gas emissions?
📍Microbial Ecology Laboratory, University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, France
📅 Offer will be posted end of January 2026

📣 Only a few in-person spots left!
Connect with the soil virus research community at #ISVC2026
Register now 👉 soilmicrobes.fr/internationa...
#Virus #Phage #Virology #SoilMicrobiology

ACTIONr Newsletter #06 (October 2025) - ACTIONr Read the last Newsletter of the ACTIONr network, and discover among others: -Editorial by the ACTIONr team: “Insights from ACTIONr and Side Projects on Nitrification Inhibitors Mechanisms, Performance...

The final edition of the ACTIONr Network Newsletter is now available!

This issue includes the Editorial: “Insights from ACTIONr and Side Projects on Nitrification Inhibitors – Mechanisms, Performance, and Practical Implications”

Read it here: www.actionr.eu/actionr-news...

APPEL A PROJET

📣 PhD Scholarship Opportunity for International Students!
Are you looking to do a PhD in soil microbial and viral ecology?
✍️ Get in touch now!!
✅ Requirements: Masters degree, Distinguished CV, Highly motivated
⏳ Application deadline: November 24
www.univ-lyon1.fr/recherche/fo...

APPEL A PROJET

📣 PhD Scholarship Opportunity for International Students!
Are you looking to do a PhD in soil microbial and viral ecology?
✍️ Get in touch now!!
✅ Requirements: Masters degree, Distinguished CV, Highly motivated
⏳ Application deadline: November 24
www.univ-lyon1.fr/recherche/fo...

Single Species In Vitro Assays with Nitrifying Bacteria and Archaea for Assessing the Toxicity of Pesticides on Soil Microorganisms Single species tests on surrogate organisms from different trophic levels constitute a cornerstone in aquatic and terrestrial ecotoxicology, representing a major tool for assessing pesticide ecotoxici...

Latest publication! 📢
Using nitrifying microbes as a tool for testing the toxicity of agriculture pesticides ☠️!

Congrats Eleftheria Bachtsevani -first paper of your PhD! Great collaboration with co-first author Maria Kolovou, and Dimitrios Karpoyzas & Evangelia Papadopoulou (Univ. of Thessaly)

ISVC2026 International Soil Virus Conference 2026! We are excited to announce and provide RSVP details for the next International Soil Virus Conference that will be held in Saint-Loup Lamaire, France on Jun…

📢 We are thrilled to announce the International Soil Virus Conference 2026 in conjunction with the Saint Loup Research Institute.
🗓️ June 16 – 18, 2026
📍 Château de Saint Loup sur Thouet, France
👇 RSVP by October 31st, 2025
#virus #phage #ISVC2026

Soil pH influences the composition of bacteriophage communities infecting individual hosts Bacteriophages (phages) are predicted to infect a range of hosts in highly diverse soil bacterial communities. However, selection of host communities …

Hot off the press! 📣
We demonstrate that soil physicochemical gradients alter virus community structure but not the presence of those infecting individual (cultivated) bacteria hosts 🦠🧫
@Sungeun Lee @graemenicol.bsky.social @christinahazard.bsky.social

📢 ACTIONr Newsletter #05 is out! Get updates from the network & new research on Nitrification Inhibitors, events, and more.
📝 Editorial by Dr. Chiara Perruchon (UTH) 🔗 Read the full newsletter here: www.actionr.eu/wp-content/u...

The next ACTIONr webinar is today! Don’t miss out!!

A full fun week of nitrification at #ICoN9 in Bremen! We got to share our latest work on nitrifier viruses, NOB-AOA interactions, and discuss BNIs. 😁

Great week at #esm2025 in Helsinki! We shared our latest work on soil methanotroph and nitrifier viruses 🦠😁

We are back from the ACTIONr Summer School! Fantastic week with a great group of early careers researchers studying BNIs!

A few weeks ago we met in the Scottish Highlands to launch our HFSP @hfspo.bsky.social funded project on virus-prokaryotic interactions in wetlands and impact on the methane cycle. What a fantastic team to be part of. @karthik-a.bsky.social @soilmicrobes.bsky.social & Joanne Emerson

📣 PhD Scholarship Funding Opportunity!

Interested in pursuing a PhD in soil virus ecology and biogeochemical cycling? 🦠

Have a Masters degree from abroad and ranked in the top 20% of your class? 🎓

Get in touch now! See our website for further details. Submission deadline in August.

Phosphate amendment drives bloom of RNA viruses after soil wet-up Soil rewetting after a dry period results in a surge of activity and succession in both microbial and DNA virus communities. Less is known about the r…

Our paper is out and is open access!

Phosphate amendment drives bloom of RNA viruses after soil wet-up.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

@sieravirus.bsky.social @jeffinerca.bsky.social @graemenicol.bsky.social @christinahazard.bsky.social

Great week teaching DNA-SIP and participating in a workshop on microbial ecology and biogeochemistry at ESALQ, Uni São Paulo. Great research and hospitality! Thank you @lucascanisares.bsky.social, Tsai Siu Mui, Maurício Roberto Cherubin, @agenciafapesp.bsky.social and CCARBON/USP for hosting us!

Beneath the surface: Unsolved questions in soil virus ecology Soil virus ecology is an exciting but still nascent field of research in soil microbiology. While there has been a recent surge in soil virus research…

Our perspective on soil virus ecology research is out!

Fantastic collab with
@christinahazard.bsky.social @karthik-a.bsky.social @lukehillary.bsky.social @urineri.bsky.social @simrouxvirus.bsky.social @gtrubl.bsky.social @KurtWilliams @jeffinerca.bsky.social @graemenicol.bsky.social @JoanneEmerson

📣 Come join us at the ACTIONr PhD summer school in Greece!

“Biological Nitrification Inhibition: Integrating Microbial Functions, Plant Traits, and Technological Innovations for Sustainable Nitrogen Cycling”

Free registration & lodging! 😁👇

Come join us!!!
🚨 ACTIONr's NI Workshop at ICoN9!
📅 June 27, 2025
📍 Max Planck Institute, Bremen, Germany
Explore nitrification inhibitors in agroecosystems. Limited to 50 participants — register for ICoN9 first!
More info: www.mpi-bremen.de/en/ICoN9-Con...

📣 Exiting news! We have moved to a different university in Lyon. You can now find us at University Claude Bernard Lyon 1 at the Microbial Ecology Laboratory @ecomicrolyon 🇫🇷🦠🍄‍🟫🌱🧫🧬🔬🥼🧪🧑‍🔬

Activity of novel virus families infecting soil nitrifiers is concomitant with host niche differentiation Abstract. Chemolithoautotrophic nitrifiers are model groups for linking phylogeny, evolution, and ecophysiology. Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) typically

Check out our recent publication on our continued research on soil viruses of nitrifers! @MiaSungeunLEE @christinahazard.bsky.social @graemenicol.bsky.social academic.oup.com/ismej/articl...