Not all nuclei are the same. We went to some of biology’s most exceptional nuclei
👉 dinoflagellates with genomes 80× ours
👉 Giardia’s twin nuclei
👉 ciliates carrying two nuclei in one cytoplasm
& asked a simple question: what sets nuclear density?
🧵 Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
👉 dinoflagellates with genomes 80× ours
👉 Giardia’s twin nuclei
👉 ciliates carrying two nuclei in one cytoplasm
& asked a simple question: what sets nuclear density?
🧵 Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
October 26, 2026 at 10:47 AM
Not all nuclei are the same. We went to some of biology’s most exceptional nuclei
👉 dinoflagellates with genomes 80× ours
👉 Giardia’s twin nuclei
👉 ciliates carrying two nuclei in one cytoplasm
& asked a simple question: what sets nuclear density?
🧵 Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
👉 dinoflagellates with genomes 80× ours
👉 Giardia’s twin nuclei
👉 ciliates carrying two nuclei in one cytoplasm
& asked a simple question: what sets nuclear density?
🧵 Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
A meta-analysis of environmental sequencing data reveals the global distribution and hidden diversity of marine anaerobic ciliates
#ciliates #protists #eukaryotes #MicroSky #ProtistsOnSky
@isme-microbes.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1093/isme...
#ciliates #protists #eukaryotes #MicroSky #ProtistsOnSky
@isme-microbes.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1093/isme...
A meta-analysis of environmental sequencing data reveals the global distribution and hidden diversity of marine anaerobic ciliates
Abstract. Anaerobic protists are diverse, ecologically important members of oxygen-depleted microbial communities, acting as grazers, nutrient cyclers, and
doi.org
October 26, 2026 at 7:31 AM
A meta-analysis of environmental sequencing data reveals the global distribution and hidden diversity of marine anaerobic ciliates
#ciliates #protists #eukaryotes #MicroSky #ProtistsOnSky
@isme-microbes.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1093/isme...
#ciliates #protists #eukaryotes #MicroSky #ProtistsOnSky
@isme-microbes.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1093/isme...
A meta-analysis of environmental sequencing data reveals the global distribution and hidden diversity of marine anaerobic ciliates academic.oup.com/ismecommun/a... #jcampubs 🌊
October 26, 2026 at 4:30 PM
A meta-analysis of environmental sequencing data reveals the global distribution and hidden diversity of marine anaerobic ciliates academic.oup.com/ismecommun/a... #jcampubs 🌊
Zhou et al. investigate intron evolution in ciliates, a morphologically and genetically diverse unicellular lineage, using a newly sequenced high-quality genome and comparative genomic data from derived and deep-branching lineages.
🔗️ academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...
#societyjournal #evobio #molbio
🔗️ academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...
#societyjournal #evobio #molbio
October 27, 2026 at 2:01 PM
Zhou et al. investigate intron evolution in ciliates, a morphologically and genetically diverse unicellular lineage, using a newly sequenced high-quality genome and comparative genomic data from derived and deep-branching lineages.
🔗️ academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...
#societyjournal #evobio #molbio
🔗️ academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...
#societyjournal #evobio #molbio
Happy to see @annaschreck.bsky.social's paper with Erin Frates, Alia Al-Haj, and @wallyfulweiler.bsky.social out in @isme-microbes.bsky.social Communications! Check it out if you like anaerobic ciliates or meta-analysis of 18S rRNA datasets for diversity discovery!
academic.oup.com/ismecommun/a...
academic.oup.com/ismecommun/a...
A meta-analysis of environmental sequencing data reveals the global distribution and hidden diversity of marine anaerobic ciliates
Abstract. Anaerobic protists are diverse, ecologically important members of oxygen-depleted microbial communities, acting as grazers, nutrient cyclers, and
academic.oup.com
October 22, 2026 at 2:36 PM
Happy to see @annaschreck.bsky.social's paper with Erin Frates, Alia Al-Haj, and @wallyfulweiler.bsky.social out in @isme-microbes.bsky.social Communications! Check it out if you like anaerobic ciliates or meta-analysis of 18S rRNA datasets for diversity discovery!
academic.oup.com/ismecommun/a...
academic.oup.com/ismecommun/a...
Contrasting modes of intron evolution in an evolutionarily distinct eukaryotic lineage revealed by comparative genomics of ciliated protists
#evolution #eukaryotes #protists #ciliates #MicroSky #ProtistsOnSky
doi.org/10.1093/molb...
#evolution #eukaryotes #protists #ciliates #MicroSky #ProtistsOnSky
doi.org/10.1093/molb...
Contrasting modes of intron evolution in an evolutionarily distinct eukaryotic lineage revealed by comparative genomics of ciliated protists
Abstract. Introns are widespread in eukaryotic genomes and play important roles in gene regulation, making intron evolution a long-standing focus of genome
doi.org
October 23, 2026 at 10:56 AM
Contrasting modes of intron evolution in an evolutionarily distinct eukaryotic lineage revealed by comparative genomics of ciliated protists
#evolution #eukaryotes #protists #ciliates #MicroSky #ProtistsOnSky
doi.org/10.1093/molb...
#evolution #eukaryotes #protists #ciliates #MicroSky #ProtistsOnSky
doi.org/10.1093/molb...
reminds me of rich people making pills and powder 'health supplements' out of limnospira cyanobacteria, which on one hand, water bears/ciliates/ect do make cyanobacteria chlorophyll look kinda tasty, but on the other hand I dont trust anything marketing itself as a health tonic
October 22, 2026 at 11:40 PM
reminds me of rich people making pills and powder 'health supplements' out of limnospira cyanobacteria, which on one hand, water bears/ciliates/ect do make cyanobacteria chlorophyll look kinda tasty, but on the other hand I dont trust anything marketing itself as a health tonic
Yeah, ciliates count. But I’m thinking about translational movement here so sinking and rising is not really mobility then, but more movement in place.
October 19, 2026 at 10:34 PM
Yeah, ciliates count. But I’m thinking about translational movement here so sinking and rising is not really mobility then, but more movement in place.
I know of very few examples! If you count sinking / rising as mobility (lol), then I guess jelly tubes are the 2nd "macro mobile non-animal"
and there's a bunch of millimeter-scale ciliates that can barely be seen by the naked eye... do they count?
and there's a bunch of millimeter-scale ciliates that can barely be seen by the naked eye... do they count?
October 19, 2026 at 8:20 PM
I know of very few examples! If you count sinking / rising as mobility (lol), then I guess jelly tubes are the 2nd "macro mobile non-animal"
and there's a bunch of millimeter-scale ciliates that can barely be seen by the naked eye... do they count?
and there's a bunch of millimeter-scale ciliates that can barely be seen by the naked eye... do they count?
Also taking refuge in outflow culvert in Upper Nar valley were many Water Boatman Sigara lateralis, the walls coated in typical Freshwater Sponges (Spongillidae) and abundant colonies of Sessilida ciliates, single-celled eukaryotic microorganisms created by binary fission of daughter cells. #inverts
October 18, 2026 at 1:28 PM
Also taking refuge in outflow culvert in Upper Nar valley were many Water Boatman Sigara lateralis, the walls coated in typical Freshwater Sponges (Spongillidae) and abundant colonies of Sessilida ciliates, single-celled eukaryotic microorganisms created by binary fission of daughter cells. #inverts
its so awesome how you can just leave a tub of water on your windowsill and in a year it's a whole ecosystem full of nematodes and mosquito larva happily feeding and ciliates swimming around and algae and macro plants growing
October 18, 2026 at 2:28 AM
its so awesome how you can just leave a tub of water on your windowsill and in a year it's a whole ecosystem full of nematodes and mosquito larva happily feeding and ciliates swimming around and algae and macro plants growing
Assume this is Fish Leech (Piscicola geometra) on Grayling in the River Nar. Plenty of Brown Sedge (Anabolia nervosa) caddisfly larvae, their cases well protected with built-in sticks to avoid fish predation. On the submerged large woody debris, Sessilida ciliates. Plus mystery granules?? #invert
October 18, 2026 at 11:06 AM
Assume this is Fish Leech (Piscicola geometra) on Grayling in the River Nar. Plenty of Brown Sedge (Anabolia nervosa) caddisfly larvae, their cases well protected with built-in sticks to avoid fish predation. On the submerged large woody debris, Sessilida ciliates. Plus mystery granules?? #invert
#Ciliates are really three dimensional! So many details visible with the opal blue staining of Bresslau – and a permanent slide in just a few minutes#Ciliophorar#protiststs
October 13, 2026 at 10:38 AM
#Ciliates are really three dimensional! So many details visible with the opal blue staining of Bresslau – and a permanent slide in just a few minutes#Ciliophorar#protiststs
#Desmodorids are usually parasited by #epibionts (suctorian ciliates). This is so common, that you can find them drawn on the original description of desmodorid species.
Picture: Ciliophora, Suctorea of a desmodorid #nematode from Selvagens.
Picture: Ciliophora, Suctorea of a desmodorid #nematode from Selvagens.
October 8, 2026 at 2:31 PM
#Desmodorids are usually parasited by #epibionts (suctorian ciliates). This is so common, that you can find them drawn on the original description of desmodorid species.
Picture: Ciliophora, Suctorea of a desmodorid #nematode from Selvagens.
Picture: Ciliophora, Suctorea of a desmodorid #nematode from Selvagens.
Maybe same that some ciliates fix themselves to large diatoms; it increases the flow around the epibiont compared to just floating around?
October 8, 2026 at 4:15 PM
Maybe same that some ciliates fix themselves to large diatoms; it increases the flow around the epibiont compared to just floating around?
Here a checklist of suctorian epibiont ciliates (Ciliophora) found on meiobenthic marine nematodes
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com
October 8, 2026 at 2:33 PM
Here a checklist of suctorian epibiont ciliates (Ciliophora) found on meiobenthic marine nematodes
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
In this issue: Metabolically favorable weight loss in mice, dual-phase gel organization of chromosomes, and the source of Shang Dynasty tin. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/I5Vv50ZVXtF
October 8, 2026 at 9:00 PM
In this issue: Metabolically favorable weight loss in mice, dual-phase gel organization of chromosomes, and the source of Shang Dynasty tin. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/I5Vv50ZVXtF
Enthusiastic ovations for the plenary of Ursula Gaedke at #DGL2026 on:
"Lessons from the past for the future: 40 years of synthesizing data from Lake Constance and other lakes".
Her conclusions: Try to get the full picture, #ciliates remain mysterious – and publish your data.
#Limnology
"Lessons from the past for the future: 40 years of synthesizing data from Lake Constance and other lakes".
Her conclusions: Try to get the full picture, #ciliates remain mysterious – and publish your data.
#Limnology
October 6, 2026 at 5:56 AM
Enthusiastic ovations for the plenary of Ursula Gaedke at #DGL2026 on:
"Lessons from the past for the future: 40 years of synthesizing data from Lake Constance and other lakes".
Her conclusions: Try to get the full picture, #ciliates remain mysterious – and publish your data.
#Limnology
"Lessons from the past for the future: 40 years of synthesizing data from Lake Constance and other lakes".
Her conclusions: Try to get the full picture, #ciliates remain mysterious – and publish your data.
#Limnology
Thrilled to share our paper "A conserved GTPase complex gates exocytosis for defence and parasitism across alveolates" Ciliates are fantastic to understand rhoptry exocytosis, and cryo-ET once again reveals so much🤩 Thanks to all who contributed. @martacova.bsky.social @yiweichang.bsky.social
Out Now! A conserved GTPase complex gates exocytosis for defence and parasitism across alveolates #MicroSky
A conserved GTPase complex gates exocytosis for defence and parasitism across alveolates
Nature Microbiology, Published online: 02 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41564-026-02501-5A GTPase complex conserved across alveolates gates exocytosis in the parasite Toxoplasma and the ciliate Tetrahymena. In Toxoplasma, an added apical vesicle tightens control over rhoptry secretion, a process critical to host cell invasion.
go.nature.com
October 2, 2026 at 1:48 PM
Thrilled to share our paper "A conserved GTPase complex gates exocytosis for defence and parasitism across alveolates" Ciliates are fantastic to understand rhoptry exocytosis, and cryo-ET once again reveals so much🤩 Thanks to all who contributed. @martacova.bsky.social @yiweichang.bsky.social
Probing the genomic and proteomic basis of encystment in Oxytricha granulifera
#microbiology #ciliates #protists #eukaryotes #MicroSky #ProtistsOnSky
@asm.org
doi.org/10.1128/msys...
#microbiology #ciliates #protists #eukaryotes #MicroSky #ProtistsOnSky
@asm.org
doi.org/10.1128/msys...
Probing the genomic and proteomic basis of encystment in Oxytricha granulifera | mSystems
Oxytricha species are widely distributed in freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems, playing
significant ecological roles in microbial communities. Their ability to undergo encystment
provides a powerfu...
doi.org
October 1, 2026 at 6:34 AM
Probing the genomic and proteomic basis of encystment in Oxytricha granulifera
#microbiology #ciliates #protists #eukaryotes #MicroSky #ProtistsOnSky
@asm.org
doi.org/10.1128/msys...
#microbiology #ciliates #protists #eukaryotes #MicroSky #ProtistsOnSky
@asm.org
doi.org/10.1128/msys...
you're right! I found some more info about this sample, it was more likely #Stylonychia mytilus, here's a picture of a whole cell, sadly being fed with chlamy (?) as food... (no scalebar sorry!) #ciliates #protistsonsky
September 28, 2026 at 8:10 AM
you're right! I found some more info about this sample, it was more likely #Stylonychia mytilus, here's a picture of a whole cell, sadly being fed with chlamy (?) as food... (no scalebar sorry!) #ciliates #protistsonsky
Tons of ciliates man ! We are here next week still. Fly over ?
September 25, 2026 at 3:31 PM
Tons of ciliates man ! We are here next week still. Fly over ?
Esteban, G. F., Fenchel, T., & Finlay, B. J. (2010). Mixotrophy in ciliates. Protist, 161(5), 621–641. doi.org/10.1016/j.pr...
September 24, 2026 at 7:08 PM
Esteban, G. F., Fenchel, T., & Finlay, B. J. (2010). Mixotrophy in ciliates. Protist, 161(5), 621–641. doi.org/10.1016/j.pr...
In this preprint (doi.org/10.64898/202...) we used it to survey anaerobic ciliates, so there is truly no organism too niche for EukCHARMer. We used it with the 18S rRNA gene, but it can certainly be used for other marker genes -- you just need to supply robust phylogenetic reference trees
(4/5)
(4/5)
September 24, 2026 at 3:56 PM
In this preprint (doi.org/10.64898/202...) we used it to survey anaerobic ciliates, so there is truly no organism too niche for EukCHARMer. We used it with the 18S rRNA gene, but it can certainly be used for other marker genes -- you just need to supply robust phylogenetic reference trees
(4/5)
(4/5)