Nicole Dubilier
nicoledubilier.bsky.social
Nicole Dubilier
@nicoledubilier.bsky.social

Director Max Planck Institute Marine Microbiology
Head of Symbiosis Department
https://www.mpi-bremen.de/en/Department-of-Symbiosis.html
Prof at Uni Bremen, MARUM
symbiosis, microbiome, marine microbiology

Nicole Dubilier is a marine microbiologist and director of the Symbiosis Department at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology since 2013 and a Professor of Microbial Symbioses at the University of Bremen. She is a pioneer in ecological and evolutionary symbiotic relationships between sea animals and their microbial partners inhabiting environments that harbour low nutrient concentrations. She was responsible for the discovery of a new form of symbiosis between two kinds of bacteria and the marine oligochaete Olavius algarvensis. .. more

Environmental science 46%
Geography 14%
This is pure, unabashed bigotry.

If a politician said this about any other faith, they would rightfully be run out of their party.

But this kind of despicable anti-Muslim rhetoric is so normalized that a sitting Senator uses it without consequence.

A stain on our Congress.

Such an incredible loss. Peer was an amazing scientist with endless amounts of energy, who was incredibly generous in his service to the EMBL and the scientific community.

Reposted by Nicole Dubilier

Toby Kiers is the Jane Goodall of underground fungi
(paraphrasing @rosemarcario.bsky.social)
The Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement names Toby Kiers as the 2026 Laureate.

Her research reveals how underground fungal networks support life on Earth.

Explore the hidden world beneath our feet:
tylerprize.org/laureates/toby-kiers
spun.earth/underground-atlas
@spun.earth

Reposted by Nicole Dubilier

The Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement names Toby Kiers as the 2026 Laureate.

Her research reveals how underground fungal networks support life on Earth.

Explore the hidden world beneath our feet:
tylerprize.org/laureates/toby-kiers
spun.earth/underground-atlas
@spun.earth
Now published in Nature Biotechnology:
go.nature.com/44P7nSm
If you missed it, the TL;DR is in my April thread below

Reposted by Nicole Dubilier

in 2013, Elio was so fascinated by the 'heterologous multicellularity' of 𝘊𝘩𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘶𝘮 𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘮 that he chose a cross-section to celebrate STC's 10th anniversary 🙂
👉 smallthingsconsidered.blog/schaechter/2...
#MicroSky

Reposted by Nicole Dubilier

all fans of 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘹 take note 👇(including @nikobiota.bsky.social, @nicoledubilier.bsky.social, @grubervodicka.bsky.social et al.)

super cute video by charlotte brannon and great 🧵from manu prakash's lab

#MicroSky

Reposted by Nicole Dubilier

45 people out to the native plant prep party tonight and packaged a collective 3400 packets of native seeds and folded 200 zines. Absolutely killer work by this crew.

Urlaubsreifheitserscheinungen. As in "Ich leide unter fortgeschrittenen Urlaubsreifheitserscheinungen". Sadly not recognized by HR.

Reposted by Nicole Dubilier

🎉 The #SeqCode has reached a significant milestone: with the validation of the genus Skiveiella, a total of 1,000 #names have now been validly published under the SeqCode.

This achievement marks a major step forward in the adoption and impact of the SeqCode within the scientific community.

Reposted by Nicole Dubilier

Our recent collaborative paper is now published in the latest issue of Cell Reports @cp-cellreports.bsky.social accompanied by a cover image highlighting how Bacillus gathers iron in the biofilm for promoting plant growth
www.cell.com/issue/S2211-...

Reposted by Nicole Dubilier

It’s exciting to see converging evidence across systems! 😀
Alongside the new work on gutless worms, our study shows that organosulfur cycling is also essential in lucinid holobionts. Lucinid host provides DMSP to its symbionts, sulphur-oxidising Thiodiazotropha and, a new member, Endozoicomonas.

Reposted by Nicole Dubilier

New preprint!
We explore how gutless marine worms and their bacterial symbionts use organosulfur compounds like DMSP and DMS - key molecules in marine sulfur cycling.
Our results show that these compounds support carbon and energy metabolism in the Olavius algarvensis symbiosis.

And vice versa, sulfur-oxidizing bacteria are masters of colonizing marine hosts!
This was a wonderful collaboration with Sam Vohsen, Eslam Osman, Mandy Joye, Matt Saxton, grubervodicka.bsky.social, @ibaums.bsky.social
Corals are masters of obtaining nutrition via symbioses, in the light and in the dark: deep sea corals can associate with sulfur-oxidizing chemoautotrophs, expressing pathways that oxidize sulfur and fix C. Corals hosting them derive some carbon from chemosynthesis. link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Deep-sea corals near cold seeps associate with sulfur-oxidizing chemoautotrophs in the family Ca. Thioglobaceae - Microbiome
Background Corals are known for their symbiotic relationships, yet there is limited evidence of chemoautotrophic associations. This is despite some corals occurring near cold seeps where chemosymbiotic fauna abound including mussels that host sulfur-oxidizing chemoautotrophs from the SUP05 cluster (family Ca. Thioglobaceae). We investigated whether corals near cold seeps associate with related bacteria and report here that these associations are widespread. Results We screened corals, water, and sediment for Thioglobaceae using 16S metabarcoding and found ASVs associated with corals at high relative abundance (10 – 91%). These ASVs were specific to coral hosts, absent in water samples, and rare or absent in sediment samples. Using metagenomics and transcriptomics, we assembled the genome of one phylotype associated with Paramuricea sp. B3 (ASV 4) which contained the genetic potential to oxidize sulfur and fix carbon, and confirmed that these pathways were transcriptionally active. Furthermore, its relative abundance was negatively correlated with the stable isotopic composition of its host coral’s tissue suggesting some contribution of chemoautotrophy to the coral holobiont. Conclusions We propose that some lineages of Thioglobaceae may facultatively supplement the diet of their host corals through chemoautotrophy at seeps or may provide essential amino acids or vitamins. This is the first documented association between chemoautotrophic symbionts and corals at seeps and suggests that the footprint of chemosynthetic environments is wider than currently understood.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40168-025-02254-z?utm_source=rct_congratem[…]ampaign=oa_20251113&utm_content=10.1186%2Fs40168-025-02254-z

Reposted by Nicole Dubilier

Corals are masters of obtaining nutrition via symbioses, in the light and in the dark: deep sea corals can associate with sulfur-oxidizing chemoautotrophs, expressing pathways that oxidize sulfur and fix C. Corals hosting them derive some carbon from chemosynthesis. link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Deep-sea corals near cold seeps associate with sulfur-oxidizing chemoautotrophs in the family Ca. Thioglobaceae - Microbiome
Background Corals are known for their symbiotic relationships, yet there is limited evidence of chemoautotrophic associations. This is despite some corals occurring near cold seeps where chemosymbiotic fauna abound including mussels that host sulfur-oxidizing chemoautotrophs from the SUP05 cluster (family Ca. Thioglobaceae). We investigated whether corals near cold seeps associate with related bacteria and report here that these associations are widespread. Results We screened corals, water, and sediment for Thioglobaceae using 16S metabarcoding and found ASVs associated with corals at high relative abundance (10 – 91%). These ASVs were specific to coral hosts, absent in water samples, and rare or absent in sediment samples. Using metagenomics and transcriptomics, we assembled the genome of one phylotype associated with Paramuricea sp. B3 (ASV 4) which contained the genetic potential to oxidize sulfur and fix carbon, and confirmed that these pathways were transcriptionally active. Furthermore, its relative abundance was negatively correlated with the stable isotopic composition of its host coral’s tissue suggesting some contribution of chemoautotrophy to the coral holobiont. Conclusions We propose that some lineages of Thioglobaceae may facultatively supplement the diet of their host corals through chemoautotrophy at seeps or may provide essential amino acids or vitamins. This is the first documented association between chemoautotrophic symbionts and corals at seeps and suggests that the footprint of chemosynthetic environments is wider than currently understood.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40168-025-02254-z?utm_source=rct_congratem[…]ampaign=oa_20251113&utm_content=10.1186%2Fs40168-025-02254-z
ASM @asm.org · Oct 30
How did life begin, and why does it matter? Scientists are tracing early microbial life–from LUCA to multicellularity–to unlock insights for biotech, climate science and even space exploration. Read the article: asm.org/articles/202...
Early Microbial Evolution | ASM.org
How did life begin, and why does it matter? Scientists are tracing early microbial life—from LUCA to multicellularity—to unlock insights for biotech, climate science and even space exploration.
asm.org

What a fruitful and valuable meeting - so grateful to @memartino.bsky.social and Raquel Peixoto for organizing! I learned so much about #marine #symbiosis. Looking forward to the next meeting!
The #TMHMS25 has just wrapped up!
It’s been four amazing days of stimulating discussions and sharing our science in a wonderfully relaxed and supportive atmosphere.
There was a truly genuine sense of community among all participants, which I really cherish.

Cheers, to the next one! 🌊

Reposted by Nicole Dubilier

Thank you to our inspiring, diverse, and brilliant keynote speakers @symbionticism.bsky.social @momedinamunoz.bsky.social @jcamthrash.bsky.social Laura Steindler, Morten Limborg, Lone Gram, @cibiocm.bsky.social, @nicoledubilier.bsky.social, Jens Walter, @reefgenomics.bsky.social, Torsten Thomas.
The #TMHMS25 has just wrapped up!
It’s been four amazing days of stimulating discussions and sharing our science in a wonderfully relaxed and supportive atmosphere.
There was a truly genuine sense of community among all participants, which I really cherish.

Cheers, to the next one! 🌊

Reposted by Nicole Dubilier

🚨 We’re hiring! 🚨 @bruzos.bsky.social lab is seeking a highly motivated #PostDoc & a #PhD student to investigate the marine transmissible cancers. 🧬🌊

#sciencejobs #jobalert #researchjob #cancer #marinescience #symbiosis #bioinformatics #MaxPlanck
These. Were. Men. In. Their. 30s.

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
No one in the GOP Hitler chat was a "kid"
We checked. Sorry, JD Vance.
www.motherjones.com

Reposted by Nicole Dubilier

Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE
nyti.ms
I will not back down.

Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power.

What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?

Reposted by Nicole Dubilier

🪸🧪 We’re hiring! Join our ERC-funded group at the @hifmb.de in Oldenburg, Germany to explore the cellular origins of photosymbiosis:⁣

𝟏 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐝𝐨𝐜 + 𝟐 𝐏𝐡𝐃𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.⁣
Deadlines: Oct 29 & Nov 5. Links below. ⁣

Questions: nils.raedecker@hifmb.de⁣
#Photosymbiosis #HIFMB #ERC #AcademicJobs

Yup
If you’re applying to your dream lab for an internship/PhD/postdoc, always send a second email 1-2 weeks after the first one if you don’t hear back.

I promise we will be grateful rather than annoyed. My email inbox is a disaster and I’m quite junior - and very few of us have secretarial support

So much wisdom from Jane Goodall over the years. But I believe the 'difficult women' quote, @jay.bsky.team, is by Karen Karbo. Still iconic.