Thulani Makhalanyane

Cheers go out to Brielle Hrymoc of Casey Hubert's Lab @ucalgary.bsky.social and Ania Szlembarska of Brett Poulin's Lab @ucdavis.bsky.social for two well-deserved poster prizes for ECRs at the 2025 AEM GRC Conference.

Thanks to #FEMSMicrobiolEcol @femsjournals.bsky.social for sponsoring!

See the accepted paper of Xinli Sun in #ISMEJournal, highlighting how the presence of a biofilm beneficiary alters the evolutionary trajectory of a biofilm former
academic.oup.com/ismej/advanc...

Xinli stayed 2 years at DTU as part of her PhD performing the experimental evolution in the paper
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Open Call for Expressions of Interest in Max Planck Directorships: Expressions of interest can be submitted until 31 October 2025.

Director at Max Planck - a unique position! The Open Call for Expressions of Interest in Max Planck Directorships is open now and can be submitted by the 31st of October 2025. ➡️ mpg.de/directors - Please share the Open Call among potential candidates.

📣 I'm recruiting a postdoc researcher to join my team for a project on mosquito-specific viruses and host interactions. Peep the job description & how to apply below. Perfect for soon-to-be or recent PhD graduates in mosquito vector biology 🦟 or arbovirology 🦠
🗓️ Application deadline 31 August 2025

U.S. Quietly Drafts Plan to End Program That Saved Millions From AIDS

It seems that people are continually trying to find new ways to shut down or massively cut PEPFAR.

The difference between what we could achieve on AIDS vs. the course we're on now is just astonishing.

Happy weekend! Hope you’re able to get a break and talk some time to relax :-)

Deal!

Thanks for your fantastic talk Asaf. Great to meet you!

🌍 African Microbiome Spotlight | Episode 2 | Thulani Makhalanyane 🌍 African Microbiome Spotlight | Episode 2 I met Dr. Rehab Z. Abdallah several years ago and have always been inspired by the important work she is doing in Egypt. Her research continues to push boun...

www.linkedin.com/posts/thulan...

Guidelines for preventing and reporting contamination in low-biomass microbiome studies - Nature Microbiology In this Consensus Statement, the authors outline strategies for processing, analysing and interpreting low-biomass microbiome samples, and provide recommendations to minimize contaminants.

A new Consensus Statement led by @greening.bsky.social and @noahfierer.bsky.social in @natmicrobiol.nature.com

Guidelines for preventing and reporting contamination in low-biomass microbiome studies

❗A must-read for anyone working in this field

#microsky 🧪🦠

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

YouTube video by Kristina Jansson 2013 Gordon Research Conference - "Microbes Microbes"

Remembering the music video we put together for the 2013 AEM GRC - youtu.be/8rkJPnKvRLQ?...

If you have a moment, I’d highly recommend checking out this important new Consensus Statement led by Noah Fierer, Chris Greening and colleagues, focusing on best practices for preventing and reporting contamination in low‑biomass microbiome studies. Please share?

👉 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

They seem to have made a perfect recovery and have eased back to their natural environment.

Rescued a cute stranger today.

Today we commemorated Freedom Day in South Africa. We’re lucky to have a great constitution that values diversity and protects the rights of marginalized people in society, ensuring that we get to live in a country where everyone is free to choose who they love and allowing body autonomy.

Yep! It’s awesome. I will definitely be going back soon.

Really awesome week at a writing retreat in my backyard to finish off some stubborn papers. I may be biased but we live in the most beautiful country on earth, so hard to resist a few hikes during our downtime. #southafrica

LAST CALL to apply to the 2025 Gordon Conference on Applied and Environmental Microbiology "Bridging Scales to Unveil the Power of Environmental Microbiology"! We are filling up quickly. www.grc.org/applied-and-...

Pascal about JK Rowling and the anti trans law on UK:

‘I can't think of anything more vile and small and pathetic than terrorizing the smallest, most vulnerable community of people who want nothing from you, except the right to exist’

Summary of genetic events discussed in the article

Giving up on #photosynthesis: How a borrowed bacterial gene allows marine #diatoms to live on a #seaweed diet phys.org/news/2025-04...

Diatom heterotrophy on brown algal polysaccharides emerged through HGT, gene duplication, & neofunctionalization journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

#algae #protists

From all of us at the African Microbiome Group, wishing you a joyful Easter to those who are celebrating! You’re forgiven if whatever you eat isn’t good for your gut microbiome :-)

And if you’re wondering, the answers is YES. We look this good everyday:-)

#africanmicrobiomes

Adaptive genomic plasticity in large-genome, broad-host-range vibrio phages Abstract. The host range of a bacteriophage—the diversity of hosts it can infect—is central to understanding phage ecology and applications. Whereas most w

Great collaboration with @fredoleroux.bsky.social . Kudos for everyone, esp. Charles Bernard & Yannick Labreuche. Thanks to the funders and @pasteur.fr @cnrsbiologie.bsky.social @umontreal.ca @sbroscoff.bsky.social Here's the paper in OA: doi.org/10.1093/isme...

Senior Lecturer/Reader/Chair in Ecology:Manchester

Job alert ‼️
2x professorships available @uniofmanchester.bsky.social
- ecology www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...
- organismal biology (inc genomics, evolution etc.) www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DMI506/s...

What Musk and Trump describe is not the South Africa I know and love I feel compelled to speak out when Musk labels efforts to undo the legacy of segregation as ‘racism’.

What Musk and Trump describe is not anything like the country I know and love.

www.aljazeera.com/opinions/202...

Great hanging out with some of my favorite peeps in San Diego. @kcwrighton.bsky.social @nicoledubilier.bsky.social @gilbertjacka.bsky.social

Francis Collins, the NIH Director for 12 years, led the Human Genome Project and other NIH efforts for 32 years, resigned today. Key words from his resignation letter
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/u...

Had the pleasure of visiting Addis Ababa Science and Technology University for the first time during my trip to Ethiopia. I’m thoroughly enjoying the amazing food and warm hospitality. My gracious host, Prof. Mesfin Tafesse Gemeda, welcomed me by saying “welcome home,” and I truly feel at home here.

Important member of our team!

africanmicrobiomeproject.org/thandiwe/

Elon Musk is a terrible president.

Trump executive order puts STEM diversity efforts on hold Scientists engaged in work to make research fields more inclusive face canceled contracts and expired grants

www.science.org/content/arti...