Lilian Caesar
@liliancaesar.bsky.social
Assistant Professor at the University of Oklahoma. Ecology and Evolution of host-microbiome interactions in social bees https://liliancaesar.com/
Pinned
Lilian Caesar
@liliancaesar.bsky.social
· Apr 20
I am thrilled to share that this fall I’ll be joining the University of Oklahoma School of Biological Sciences (@ou.edu) as an Assistant Professor! The Caesar Lab will study the ecology and evolution of host-microbiome interactions in social bees (honey bees, stingless bees and more) 🦠🐝
Reposted by Lilian Caesar
apply.interfolio.com/188995
Assoc/Full Prof in microbiome research at OU!
Join our growing microbiome community! From bees and plants to freshwater, bats and soils, you’ll find collabs spanning mechanisms to eco-evo. I’ve just arrived,but can say: outstanding research env and wonderful colleagues!
Assoc/Full Prof in microbiome research at OU!
Join our growing microbiome community! From bees and plants to freshwater, bats and soils, you’ll find collabs spanning mechanisms to eco-evo. I’ve just arrived,but can say: outstanding research env and wonderful colleagues!
Apply - Interfolio
{{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
September 10, 2026 at 2:27 PM
apply.interfolio.com/188995
Assoc/Full Prof in microbiome research at OU!
Join our growing microbiome community! From bees and plants to freshwater, bats and soils, you’ll find collabs spanning mechanisms to eco-evo. I’ve just arrived,but can say: outstanding research env and wonderful colleagues!
Assoc/Full Prof in microbiome research at OU!
Join our growing microbiome community! From bees and plants to freshwater, bats and soils, you’ll find collabs spanning mechanisms to eco-evo. I’ve just arrived,but can say: outstanding research env and wonderful colleagues!
Reposted by Lilian Caesar
Colony morphogenesis regulates sporulation dynamics in bacterial biofilms
-in @cp-cellreports.bsky.social
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
-in @cp-cellreports.bsky.social
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Colony morphogenesis regulates sporulation dynamics in bacterial biofilms
Jones et al. show how the growth dynamics of bacterial biofilms regulate the distribution
of dormant spore production within colonies. Cells are rapidly driven to dormancy
by a wave of sporulation swe...
www.cell.com
September 18, 2026 at 10:54 AM
Colony morphogenesis regulates sporulation dynamics in bacterial biofilms
-in @cp-cellreports.bsky.social
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
-in @cp-cellreports.bsky.social
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Reposted by Lilian Caesar
I'm happy to share my new paper "A new conceptual framework for host-microbe symbiosis"
If you've seen me give a talk in the last 5 years, then you've seen me talk about this. It's been a journey.
academic.oup.com/ismehm/artic...
#MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky
If you've seen me give a talk in the last 5 years, then you've seen me talk about this. It's been a journey.
academic.oup.com/ismehm/artic...
#MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky
A new conceptual framework for host-microbe symbiosis
Abstract. Host-microbe relationships are studied across biological disciplines, with unique but overlapping conceptual frameworks arising from each of them
academic.oup.com
September 15, 2026 at 3:41 PM
I'm happy to share my new paper "A new conceptual framework for host-microbe symbiosis"
If you've seen me give a talk in the last 5 years, then you've seen me talk about this. It's been a journey.
academic.oup.com/ismehm/artic...
#MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky
If you've seen me give a talk in the last 5 years, then you've seen me talk about this. It's been a journey.
academic.oup.com/ismehm/artic...
#MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky
Reposted by Lilian Caesar
Our review is now online! Led by @soobinshin.bsky.social, we dig into the secondary metabolites shaping insect-fungus symbioses, from mutualists to parasites, and how they drive host specificity, behaviour & immunity 🐛🪲🍄🍄🟫 @thesainsburylab.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
September 15, 2026 at 12:15 PM
Our review is now online! Led by @soobinshin.bsky.social, we dig into the secondary metabolites shaping insect-fungus symbioses, from mutualists to parasites, and how they drive host specificity, behaviour & immunity 🐛🪲🍄🍄🟫 @thesainsburylab.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
Reposted by Lilian Caesar
Well, that's refreshing, an ad for a luxury item that features stingless bees.
September 14, 2026 at 1:08 AM
Well, that's refreshing, an ad for a luxury item that features stingless bees.
Reposted by Lilian Caesar
The RAxML-NG v2.0 preprint is out:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
v2.0 features integrated model testing, fast branch support metrics, automatic parallelization, phylogenetic difficulty prediction, genotype evolution models, to name but the most important features. And it is A LOT FASTER of course
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
v2.0 features integrated model testing, fast branch support metrics, automatic parallelization, phylogenetic difficulty prediction, genotype evolution models, to name but the most important features. And it is A LOT FASTER of course
RAxML-NG 2: Automatic model selection, novel tree search heuristics, and fast branch support metrics
RAxML-NG is a widely used tool for maximum likelihood based phylogenetic inference. In the seven years since the last RAxML-NG publication, we have continuously improved and extended the code. Here, w...
www.biorxiv.org
September 12, 2026 at 11:08 AM
The RAxML-NG v2.0 preprint is out:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
v2.0 features integrated model testing, fast branch support metrics, automatic parallelization, phylogenetic difficulty prediction, genotype evolution models, to name but the most important features. And it is A LOT FASTER of course
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
v2.0 features integrated model testing, fast branch support metrics, automatic parallelization, phylogenetic difficulty prediction, genotype evolution models, to name but the most important features. And it is A LOT FASTER of course
apply.interfolio.com/188995
Assoc/Full Prof in microbiome research at OU!
Join our growing microbiome community! From bees and plants to freshwater, bats and soils, you’ll find collabs spanning mechanisms to eco-evo. I’ve just arrived,but can say: outstanding research env and wonderful colleagues!
Assoc/Full Prof in microbiome research at OU!
Join our growing microbiome community! From bees and plants to freshwater, bats and soils, you’ll find collabs spanning mechanisms to eco-evo. I’ve just arrived,but can say: outstanding research env and wonderful colleagues!
Apply - Interfolio
{{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
September 10, 2026 at 2:27 PM
apply.interfolio.com/188995
Assoc/Full Prof in microbiome research at OU!
Join our growing microbiome community! From bees and plants to freshwater, bats and soils, you’ll find collabs spanning mechanisms to eco-evo. I’ve just arrived,but can say: outstanding research env and wonderful colleagues!
Assoc/Full Prof in microbiome research at OU!
Join our growing microbiome community! From bees and plants to freshwater, bats and soils, you’ll find collabs spanning mechanisms to eco-evo. I’ve just arrived,but can say: outstanding research env and wonderful colleagues!
Reposted by Lilian Caesar
Some resources and advice for those considering applying to the NSF GRFP this year (3 year grad school stipend: first year grad students, post-bachelor, and seniors might consider applying): brianomeara.info/posts/grfp_2...
🧪 #AcademicSky
🧪 #AcademicSky
September 8, 2026 at 9:16 PM
Some resources and advice for those considering applying to the NSF GRFP this year (3 year grad school stipend: first year grad students, post-bachelor, and seniors might consider applying): brianomeara.info/posts/grfp_2...
🧪 #AcademicSky
🧪 #AcademicSky
Reposted by Lilian Caesar
Very happy that our paper
Obligate cross-feeding of metabolites is common in soil microbial communities
just came out in Nature Microbiology.
See here 👇
Paywalled version:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Free read-only version:
rdcu.be/fBHAb
Obligate cross-feeding of metabolites is common in soil microbial communities
just came out in Nature Microbiology.
See here 👇
Paywalled version:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Free read-only version:
rdcu.be/fBHAb
Obligate cross-feeding of metabolites is common in soil microbial communities - Nature Microbiology
Cultivation-dependent techniques, computational analyses and genome-scale metabolic models show widespread amino acid auxotrophies, suggesting that soil microorganisms exist within integrated ecologic...
www.nature.com
August 24, 2026 at 10:51 AM
Very happy that our paper
Obligate cross-feeding of metabolites is common in soil microbial communities
just came out in Nature Microbiology.
See here 👇
Paywalled version:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Free read-only version:
rdcu.be/fBHAb
Obligate cross-feeding of metabolites is common in soil microbial communities
just came out in Nature Microbiology.
See here 👇
Paywalled version:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Free read-only version:
rdcu.be/fBHAb
Reposted by Lilian Caesar
New preprint from the lab: The Latent Simplicity of Microbial Ecological Interactions
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
We're excited about this one. We find that high-order microbial interactions often obey simple linear laws making microbial communities far more predictable than one might expect
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
We're excited about this one. We find that high-order microbial interactions often obey simple linear laws making microbial communities far more predictable than one might expect
August 21, 2026 at 2:50 PM
New preprint from the lab: The Latent Simplicity of Microbial Ecological Interactions
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
We're excited about this one. We find that high-order microbial interactions often obey simple linear laws making microbial communities far more predictable than one might expect
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
We're excited about this one. We find that high-order microbial interactions often obey simple linear laws making microbial communities far more predictable than one might expect
Reposted by Lilian Caesar
Come join the @socialfluids.bsky.social lab in Cambridge to study the evolution of Socially Transferred Materials! Fun new HFSP project btwn UK, NL and Costa Rica!
Deadline September 7th #Postdoc #JobAlert #Evolution #Bioinformatics #STM #socialfluids
www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/researc... leboeuflab.com
Deadline September 7th #Postdoc #JobAlert #Evolution #Bioinformatics #STM #socialfluids
www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/researc... leboeuflab.com
Research Associate (Fixed Term)
A Research Associate position is available in the Social Fluids Lab, led by Dr. Adria LeBoeuf, in the Department of Zoology. The post is funded by a new 3-year international Human Frontier Science Pro...
www.cam.ac.uk
August 5, 2026 at 8:14 AM
Come join the @socialfluids.bsky.social lab in Cambridge to study the evolution of Socially Transferred Materials! Fun new HFSP project btwn UK, NL and Costa Rica!
Deadline September 7th #Postdoc #JobAlert #Evolution #Bioinformatics #STM #socialfluids
www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/researc... leboeuflab.com
Deadline September 7th #Postdoc #JobAlert #Evolution #Bioinformatics #STM #socialfluids
www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/researc... leboeuflab.com
Reposted by Lilian Caesar
Ever wondered how new evolutionary individuals arise? Wanted to engineer communities so the parts integrate to form a new whole? Or impose conditions that cause simple chemistries to become Darwinian? New MS shows how. Psst… don’t tell AI
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Forging an evolutionary individual from separate replicators
A central puzzle in the evolution of individuality is the origin of heredity. Egalitarian transitions integrate formerly independent replicators into a higher-level individual, but this requires the c...
www.biorxiv.org
August 9, 2026 at 4:13 PM
Ever wondered how new evolutionary individuals arise? Wanted to engineer communities so the parts integrate to form a new whole? Or impose conditions that cause simple chemistries to become Darwinian? New MS shows how. Psst… don’t tell AI
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Lilian Caesar
Using the largest available species-level insect phylogenies and all available trait data, @sachi1n.bsky.social sky.social and I estimated the number of independent transitions to eusociality and the transition rate in haplodiploid vs. diploid lineages. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 9/10
August 5, 2026 at 8:13 PM
Using the largest available species-level insect phylogenies and all available trait data, @sachi1n.bsky.social sky.social and I estimated the number of independent transitions to eusociality and the transition rate in haplodiploid vs. diploid lineages. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 9/10
Reposted by Lilian Caesar
Heard of the haplodiploid hypothesis (=¾ relatedness hypothesis)? It’s long been a staple of biology textbooks – you may’ve run into it in Intro Biology, Genetics, Evolution, or Behavior. It’s also been very influential on social evolution theory, yet surprisingly, it long remained untested.🧵
August 5, 2026 at 8:13 PM
Heard of the haplodiploid hypothesis (=¾ relatedness hypothesis)? It’s long been a staple of biology textbooks – you may’ve run into it in Intro Biology, Genetics, Evolution, or Behavior. It’s also been very influential on social evolution theory, yet surprisingly, it long remained untested.🧵
Reposted by Lilian Caesar
🚀 Thrilled to share our first metaSPLiT preprint from @annabiosys.bsky.social's lab in collaboration with @gibbological.bsky.social! Explore hidden bacterial phenotypic heterogeneity in the human gut microbiome and discover the concept of "physiological guilds":
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Phenotypic heterogeneity in the human gut microbiome revealed by subspecies-resolution single-cell transcriptomics
Most of our knowledge about bacterial functional roles in microbiomes comes from bulk measurements. Yet microbial communities are complex ecosystems in which functionally distinct bacterial subpopulat...
www.biorxiv.org
August 3, 2026 at 10:16 PM
🚀 Thrilled to share our first metaSPLiT preprint from @annabiosys.bsky.social's lab in collaboration with @gibbological.bsky.social! Explore hidden bacterial phenotypic heterogeneity in the human gut microbiome and discover the concept of "physiological guilds":
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Lilian Caesar
Dear microbiome enthusiasts: I'm excited to be moving my lab to New York University this fall (& the NYU Institute for Engineering Health); with joint-appointment @isbscience.org
I'm hiring a postdoc @ NYU to look at diet-driven evolution in the gut: apply.interfolio.com/189980
Please share! 🦠🤓
I'm hiring a postdoc @ NYU to look at diet-driven evolution in the gut: apply.interfolio.com/189980
Please share! 🦠🤓
Apply - Interfolio
{{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
July 23, 2026 at 8:26 PM
Dear microbiome enthusiasts: I'm excited to be moving my lab to New York University this fall (& the NYU Institute for Engineering Health); with joint-appointment @isbscience.org
I'm hiring a postdoc @ NYU to look at diet-driven evolution in the gut: apply.interfolio.com/189980
Please share! 🦠🤓
I'm hiring a postdoc @ NYU to look at diet-driven evolution in the gut: apply.interfolio.com/189980
Please share! 🦠🤓
Reposted by Lilian Caesar
Excited to announce a new preprint out now. Myself and Laurie Balstad led a group of predominantly early career theoreticians (along with Marissa Baskett and Mikaela Provost) to compile a set of guiding principles for data-model integration in theoretical ecology.
10 simple rules for data-model integration in theoretical ecology
Theoretical ecologists have long leveraged empirical data in various forms to advance ecology. Recently increased volumes and access to ecological data present an expanding set of opportunities for th...
arxiv.org
November 21, 2025 at 2:21 AM
Excited to announce a new preprint out now. Myself and Laurie Balstad led a group of predominantly early career theoreticians (along with Marissa Baskett and Mikaela Provost) to compile a set of guiding principles for data-model integration in theoretical ecology.
Reposted by Lilian Caesar
Happy to announce that a new opinion paper of our group just came out:
A conceptual framework to dissect emergent functions in microbial communities
with @swagatika.bsky.social @sharvari27.bsky.social @anjanaprasad.bsky.social @palshubharthi.bsky.social
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
A conceptual framework to dissect emergent functions in microbial communities
with @swagatika.bsky.social @sharvari27.bsky.social @anjanaprasad.bsky.social @palshubharthi.bsky.social
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
A conceptual framework to dissect emergent functions in microbial communities
Microbial communities play vital roles in diverse ecosystems and are key drivers of numerous industrial or health-related applications. In many cases,…
www.sciencedirect.com
July 8, 2026 at 5:28 AM
Happy to announce that a new opinion paper of our group just came out:
A conceptual framework to dissect emergent functions in microbial communities
with @swagatika.bsky.social @sharvari27.bsky.social @anjanaprasad.bsky.social @palshubharthi.bsky.social
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
A conceptual framework to dissect emergent functions in microbial communities
with @swagatika.bsky.social @sharvari27.bsky.social @anjanaprasad.bsky.social @palshubharthi.bsky.social
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Lilian Caesar
Applications are open for the 2027 Smith Conservation Research Fellowship!
This postdoc supports early-career scientists advancing innovative, applied conservation research across the U.S. & territories.
conbio.org/publications/scb-news-blog/smith-fellows-2027-call-for-proposals-announced
This postdoc supports early-career scientists advancing innovative, applied conservation research across the U.S. & territories.
conbio.org/publications/scb-news-blog/smith-fellows-2027-call-for-proposals-announced
July 2, 2026 at 8:30 PM
Applications are open for the 2027 Smith Conservation Research Fellowship!
This postdoc supports early-career scientists advancing innovative, applied conservation research across the U.S. & territories.
conbio.org/publications/scb-news-blog/smith-fellows-2027-call-for-proposals-announced
This postdoc supports early-career scientists advancing innovative, applied conservation research across the U.S. & territories.
conbio.org/publications/scb-news-blog/smith-fellows-2027-call-for-proposals-announced
Here's a chance to support an inspiring Indigenous-led agroforestry project in the Amazon : )
maearth.com/meli-bees/ag...
maearth.com/meli-bees/ag...
Indigenous agroforestry in Alto Solimões, Amazonas
I started Meli (Meli Bees Network, non-profit recognized by the German government) after growing up in some of the most deforested areas of the Brazilian Amazon, the Arc of Deforestation,...
maearth.com
July 2, 2026 at 7:10 PM
Here's a chance to support an inspiring Indigenous-led agroforestry project in the Amazon : )
maearth.com/meli-bees/ag...
maearth.com/meli-bees/ag...
Reposted by Lilian Caesar
Proposed terminology for referring to the homes of #symbionts within their ( #insect ) hosts
" #Symbiotic organs in #insects: diversity, functional implications, and terminology "
w/ @kaltenpoth-lab.bsky.social and co., not in bsky
doi.org/10.1098/rstb...
#SymbioSky
" #Symbiotic organs in #insects: diversity, functional implications, and terminology "
w/ @kaltenpoth-lab.bsky.social and co., not in bsky
doi.org/10.1098/rstb...
#SymbioSky
Symbiotic organs in insects: diversity, functional implications, and terminology
Abstract. With over a million described species, insects represent the most successful group of animals on Earth. One of the drivers of insect diversity is
doi.org
June 30, 2026 at 10:09 AM
Proposed terminology for referring to the homes of #symbionts within their ( #insect ) hosts
" #Symbiotic organs in #insects: diversity, functional implications, and terminology "
w/ @kaltenpoth-lab.bsky.social and co., not in bsky
doi.org/10.1098/rstb...
#SymbioSky
" #Symbiotic organs in #insects: diversity, functional implications, and terminology "
w/ @kaltenpoth-lab.bsky.social and co., not in bsky
doi.org/10.1098/rstb...
#SymbioSky
Reposted by Lilian Caesar
really lovely piece of work from @raufs.bsky.social et al.,
Complex multicellularity is linked with expanded specialized metabolite production in microorganisms www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Complex multicellularity is linked with expanded specialized metabolite production in microorganisms www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Complex multicellularity is linked with expanded specialized metabolite production in microorganisms - Nature Microbiology
The evolutionary emergence of complex multicellularity in bacteria and fungi, such as the ability for mycelial growth, is strongly associated with increased genomic carriage of biosynthetic machinery ...
www.nature.com
July 1, 2026 at 2:17 PM
really lovely piece of work from @raufs.bsky.social et al.,
Complex multicellularity is linked with expanded specialized metabolite production in microorganisms www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Complex multicellularity is linked with expanded specialized metabolite production in microorganisms www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Lilian Caesar
New preprint from our lab Statistical learning of bacterial growth in combinatorially constructed environments, led by brilliant PhD student Andrea Arrabal.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
We systematically study nutrient-nutrient interactions in bacterial growth under carbon-limiting conditions.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
We systematically study nutrient-nutrient interactions in bacterial growth under carbon-limiting conditions.
www.biorxiv.org
July 1, 2026 at 8:56 AM
New preprint from our lab Statistical learning of bacterial growth in combinatorially constructed environments, led by brilliant PhD student Andrea Arrabal.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
We systematically study nutrient-nutrient interactions in bacterial growth under carbon-limiting conditions.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
We systematically study nutrient-nutrient interactions in bacterial growth under carbon-limiting conditions.
Reposted by Lilian Caesar
We are very excited to share our latest. We thought that soft sweeps would be the only type of sweep spreading across human gut microbiomes. Turns out many are hard! Reach @peterlaurin.bsky.social 's thread on why!
And tomorrow at #SMBE2026 I will share this work and more!
And tomorrow at #SMBE2026 I will share this work and more!
Super excited to share new work with my advisor @nanditagarud.bsky.social!
We re-examine the rapidity of adaptation in the human gut microbiome and begin to characterize the adaptive architecture of selective sweeps spreading across human guts.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10...
1/n:
We re-examine the rapidity of adaptation in the human gut microbiome and begin to characterize the adaptive architecture of selective sweeps spreading across human guts.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10...
1/n:
Complex adaptive architectures constrain the pace of adaptations sweeping across human gut microbiomes
Recent work has shown that commensal gut bacteria can evolve rapidly within hosts on short timescales of days to months, fueled by the enormous mutational input generated daily in the microbiome. Yet ...
www.biorxiv.org
June 30, 2026 at 7:42 PM
We are very excited to share our latest. We thought that soft sweeps would be the only type of sweep spreading across human gut microbiomes. Turns out many are hard! Reach @peterlaurin.bsky.social 's thread on why!
And tomorrow at #SMBE2026 I will share this work and more!
And tomorrow at #SMBE2026 I will share this work and more!
Reposted by Lilian Caesar
Interested in wildlife microbiomes? Check out the latest @microbiomevif.bsky.social podcast episode, where @elinvidevall.bsky.social explains how the #microbiome influences health and survival in wild animal populations, and why microbes matter for #wildlife conservation efforts! 🧪🦒🦌
#MVIFconversations podcast episode 6 with @elinvidevall.bsky.social is OUT!
▶️ Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/39MK...
▶️ Amazon music: music.amazon.com/podcasts/81c...
▶️ Apple Music: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
▶️ YouTube podcast: youtu.be/_wQ4AxWoPTc
1/2
▶️ Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/39MK...
▶️ Amazon music: music.amazon.com/podcasts/81c...
▶️ Apple Music: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
▶️ YouTube podcast: youtu.be/_wQ4AxWoPTc
1/2
Episode 6 - Elin Videvall: “Wild Microbiomes”
MVIF Conversations · Episode
open.spotify.com
June 29, 2026 at 8:33 PM
Interested in wildlife microbiomes? Check out the latest @microbiomevif.bsky.social podcast episode, where @elinvidevall.bsky.social explains how the #microbiome influences health and survival in wild animal populations, and why microbes matter for #wildlife conservation efforts! 🧪🦒🦌