Benjamin Wolfe
@benwolfe.bsky.social
Associate Professor Tufts University
Ecology/evolution of microbes in food systems. Constant gardener.
Ecology/evolution of microbes in food systems. Constant gardener.
Pinned
Benjamin Wolfe
@benwolfe.bsky.social
· Sep 16
Long-term monitoring of a North American cheese cave reveals mechanisms and consequences of fungal adaptation
Using a unique longitudinal sampling approach, Louw et al. demonstrate how a cheese-associated
Penicillium population has adapted in an artisan cheese production facility in Vermont,
USA. Adaptation i...
www.cell.com
Such a delight to share our work on the evolution of a cheese rind fungus in @currentbiology.bsky.social.
This is the fantastic PhD work of @nicolasleonlouw.bsky.social and resulted from amazing collaborations, a wedding proposal(!), an undergrad course, & more!
🧵
www.cell.com/current-biol...
This is the fantastic PhD work of @nicolasleonlouw.bsky.social and resulted from amazing collaborations, a wedding proposal(!), an undergrad course, & more!
🧵
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Reposted by Benjamin Wolfe
It’s bad. At least a dozen people have ingested Death Cap mushrooms in the Bay Area, especially in the South Bay. We are trying to get the word out with local health and parks agencies and distributing a warning poster in Spanish. Please be careful when picking wild mushrooms. bayareamushrooms.org.
Bay Area Mycological Society
The Bay Area Mycological Society is a group of mushroom enthusiasts, based in the East Bay, dedicated the art and science of wild mushrooms. We sponsor local mushroom walks, meet at UC Berkeley, and p...
bayareamushrooms.org
December 5, 2025 at 11:32 PM
It’s bad. At least a dozen people have ingested Death Cap mushrooms in the Bay Area, especially in the South Bay. We are trying to get the word out with local health and parks agencies and distributing a warning poster in Spanish. Please be careful when picking wild mushrooms. bayareamushrooms.org.
Reposted by Benjamin Wolfe
Registration open for #Fungal26 genetics-gsa.org/fungal-2026/ at Asilomar.
Homepage - 33rd Fungal Genetics Conference
Visit our website to learn more.
genetics-gsa.org
October 16, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Registration open for #Fungal26 genetics-gsa.org/fungal-2026/ at Asilomar.
Reposted by Benjamin Wolfe
🍄🌱 Gardens can be fungal hotspots — if we let them! In this blog for #UKFungusDay, Jassy Drakulic @jassydrak.bsky.social at The RHS explores how garden practices can encourage (or suppress) fungi & why that matters for #SoilHealth & #Biodiversity. www.ukfungusday.co.uk/fungiingardens
#Gardening
#Gardening
September 19, 2025 at 12:45 PM
🍄🌱 Gardens can be fungal hotspots — if we let them! In this blog for #UKFungusDay, Jassy Drakulic @jassydrak.bsky.social at The RHS explores how garden practices can encourage (or suppress) fungi & why that matters for #SoilHealth & #Biodiversity. www.ukfungusday.co.uk/fungiingardens
#Gardening
#Gardening
Such a delight to share our work on the evolution of a cheese rind fungus in @currentbiology.bsky.social.
This is the fantastic PhD work of @nicolasleonlouw.bsky.social and resulted from amazing collaborations, a wedding proposal(!), an undergrad course, & more!
🧵
www.cell.com/current-biol...
This is the fantastic PhD work of @nicolasleonlouw.bsky.social and resulted from amazing collaborations, a wedding proposal(!), an undergrad course, & more!
🧵
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Long-term monitoring of a North American cheese cave reveals mechanisms and consequences of fungal adaptation
Using a unique longitudinal sampling approach, Louw et al. demonstrate how a cheese-associated
Penicillium population has adapted in an artisan cheese production facility in Vermont,
USA. Adaptation i...
www.cell.com
September 16, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Such a delight to share our work on the evolution of a cheese rind fungus in @currentbiology.bsky.social.
This is the fantastic PhD work of @nicolasleonlouw.bsky.social and resulted from amazing collaborations, a wedding proposal(!), an undergrad course, & more!
🧵
www.cell.com/current-biol...
This is the fantastic PhD work of @nicolasleonlouw.bsky.social and resulted from amazing collaborations, a wedding proposal(!), an undergrad course, & more!
🧵
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Reposted by Benjamin Wolfe
📣 Call for papers! Special issue of #FungalEcology on “Fungal conservation: from knowledge to actions” co-edited by Susana C. Gonçalves @cfemycolab.bsky.social & Jonathan Cazabonne @jonathancazabonne.bsky.social. Deadline for manuscripts: 31 Jan 2026. Find out more: www.linkedin.com/company/brit...
August 28, 2025 at 4:49 PM
📣 Call for papers! Special issue of #FungalEcology on “Fungal conservation: from knowledge to actions” co-edited by Susana C. Gonçalves @cfemycolab.bsky.social & Jonathan Cazabonne @jonathancazabonne.bsky.social. Deadline for manuscripts: 31 Jan 2026. Find out more: www.linkedin.com/company/brit...
Reposted by Benjamin Wolfe
Thrilled to announce that the special issue on fungal #conservation that @cfemycolab.bsky.social and I are co-editing for the @britmycolsoc.org.uk c.org.uk journal Fungal Ecology is open for submissions!
www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...
www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...
August 25, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Thrilled to announce that the special issue on fungal #conservation that @cfemycolab.bsky.social and I are co-editing for the @britmycolsoc.org.uk c.org.uk journal Fungal Ecology is open for submissions!
www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...
www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...
Reposted by Benjamin Wolfe
New lab pre-print up! "Twelve species of human parasites make up half the literature on microbial eukaryotes"
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
We (led by UG Joanna Lepper and with @hbrappap.bsky.social) quantified all mentions of protist species in the scientific literature 🧵
#protistsonsky #microsky
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
We (led by UG Joanna Lepper and with @hbrappap.bsky.social) quantified all mentions of protist species in the scientific literature 🧵
#protistsonsky #microsky
Twelve species of human parasites make up half of the literature on microbial eukaryotes
Although microbial eukaryotes comprise the majority of eukaryotic phylogenetic diversity and inhabit nearly all ecosystems globally, most research focuses on only a few species of human parasites. Her...
doi.org
August 22, 2025 at 11:07 AM
New lab pre-print up! "Twelve species of human parasites make up half the literature on microbial eukaryotes"
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
We (led by UG Joanna Lepper and with @hbrappap.bsky.social) quantified all mentions of protist species in the scientific literature 🧵
#protistsonsky #microsky
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
We (led by UG Joanna Lepper and with @hbrappap.bsky.social) quantified all mentions of protist species in the scientific literature 🧵
#protistsonsky #microsky
Reposted by Benjamin Wolfe
We are on the lookout for postdocs for two different projects at the intersection of ecology, evolution, and the human microbiome.
See thread for more information and reach out!
See thread for more information and reach out!
July 22, 2025 at 7:34 PM
We are on the lookout for postdocs for two different projects at the intersection of ecology, evolution, and the human microbiome.
See thread for more information and reach out!
See thread for more information and reach out!
Huge thanks to the amazing team at @currentbiology.bsky.social for highlighting fungi in this special issue. Many excellent reviews and perspectives from so many mycological heroes. Lots of great material to use in teaching/outreach. 🍄
Our newest special issue is now live! Check it out to discover more about diverse and beautiful Fungi🍄🍄🟫🍄 On the cover: the fly agaric, Amanita muscaria, releasing its spores in the early morning light. www.cell.com/current-biol...
June 9, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Huge thanks to the amazing team at @currentbiology.bsky.social for highlighting fungi in this special issue. Many excellent reviews and perspectives from so many mycological heroes. Lots of great material to use in teaching/outreach. 🍄
Reposted by Benjamin Wolfe
We are hiring a postdoctoral scholar to join us in the sometime in the next ~6 months. oliveriolab.org with a focus on microbial eukaryotes in extreme environments.
Please email w/CV if you'd like to chat. Official ad soon.
#MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky #ProtistsOnSky
Please email w/CV if you'd like to chat. Official ad soon.
#MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky #ProtistsOnSky
March 25, 2025 at 9:04 PM
We are hiring a postdoctoral scholar to join us in the sometime in the next ~6 months. oliveriolab.org with a focus on microbial eukaryotes in extreme environments.
Please email w/CV if you'd like to chat. Official ad soon.
#MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky #ProtistsOnSky
Please email w/CV if you'd like to chat. Official ad soon.
#MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky #ProtistsOnSky
Reposted by Benjamin Wolfe
Check out my latest paper on fitness costs and benefits of hosting a killer virus if you're a yeast in the forest!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
March 8, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Check out my latest paper on fitness costs and benefits of hosting a killer virus if you're a yeast in the forest!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Benjamin Wolfe
Send us your exciting microbial ecology and evolution manuscripts!
Embracing the systems complexity of microbial ecology and evolution: call for papers | mSystems journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Embracing the systems complexity of microbial ecology and evolution: call for papers | mSystems journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Embracing the systems complexity of microbial ecology and evolution: call for papers | mSystems
Microbial ecology and evolution are broad disciplines that seek to understand the
underlying processes that drive the diversification, distributions, and dynamics of
microbial cells, populations, comm...
journals.asm.org
February 20, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Send us your exciting microbial ecology and evolution manuscripts!
Embracing the systems complexity of microbial ecology and evolution: call for papers | mSystems journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Embracing the systems complexity of microbial ecology and evolution: call for papers | mSystems journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Reposted by Benjamin Wolfe
Get in dorks, we're going protesting!
STAND UP FOR SCIENCE WITH US ON MARCH 7TH, 2025
WASHINGTON DC AND EVERY STATE CAPITOL
Because science is for everyone!
Find us at standupforscience2025.org
#standupforscience2025 #scienceforall #sciencenotsilence
STAND UP FOR SCIENCE WITH US ON MARCH 7TH, 2025
WASHINGTON DC AND EVERY STATE CAPITOL
Because science is for everyone!
Find us at standupforscience2025.org
#standupforscience2025 #scienceforall #sciencenotsilence
February 10, 2025 at 11:40 PM
Get in dorks, we're going protesting!
STAND UP FOR SCIENCE WITH US ON MARCH 7TH, 2025
WASHINGTON DC AND EVERY STATE CAPITOL
Because science is for everyone!
Find us at standupforscience2025.org
#standupforscience2025 #scienceforall #sciencenotsilence
STAND UP FOR SCIENCE WITH US ON MARCH 7TH, 2025
WASHINGTON DC AND EVERY STATE CAPITOL
Because science is for everyone!
Find us at standupforscience2025.org
#standupforscience2025 #scienceforall #sciencenotsilence
Reposted by Benjamin Wolfe
Get in Dorks, we are going protesting.
STAND UP FOR SCIENCE. MARCH 7th 12-4pm. DC AND YOUR STATE CAPITALS.
More information to come.
STAND UP FOR SCIENCE. MARCH 7th 12-4pm. DC AND YOUR STATE CAPITALS.
More information to come.
February 9, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Get in Dorks, we are going protesting.
STAND UP FOR SCIENCE. MARCH 7th 12-4pm. DC AND YOUR STATE CAPITALS.
More information to come.
STAND UP FOR SCIENCE. MARCH 7th 12-4pm. DC AND YOUR STATE CAPITALS.
More information to come.
Reposted by Benjamin Wolfe
Intraspecies associations from strain-rich metagenome samples https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.02.07.636498v1
February 8, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Intraspecies associations from strain-rich metagenome samples https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.02.07.636498v1
Reposted by Benjamin Wolfe
And Academic T&P committees, maybe take a beat & consider how the continuous & unsustainable push for CV conspicuous production has been a competitive inhibitor of scientists & scholars being engaged in their communities in meaningful ways as a bulwark to the shitstorm happening now.
a woman in a black and white jacket is sitting at a table in a diner .
Alt: a woman in a black and white jacket is sitting at a table in a diner saying "There, I said it."
media.tenor.com
February 8, 2025 at 4:52 PM
And Academic T&P committees, maybe take a beat & consider how the continuous & unsustainable push for CV conspicuous production has been a competitive inhibitor of scientists & scholars being engaged in their communities in meaningful ways as a bulwark to the shitstorm happening now.
Reposted by Benjamin Wolfe
That's how it's done! Nice and easy.
Good job Mycological Society of America.
Good job Mycological Society of America.
February 7, 2025 at 12:24 AM
That's how it's done! Nice and easy.
Good job Mycological Society of America.
Good job Mycological Society of America.
Reposted by Benjamin Wolfe
Interested in doing a postdoc at the intersection of microbial ecology and agricultural engineering? We are recruiting for a collaborative project with me and Chris Voigt, Darcy McRose, Dave DesMarias, and Sixian You. See project announcement and reach out: jwafs.mit.edu/projects/202...
Food security in Africa through microbiome engineering | Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS)
jwafs.mit.edu
January 31, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Interested in doing a postdoc at the intersection of microbial ecology and agricultural engineering? We are recruiting for a collaborative project with me and Chris Voigt, Darcy McRose, Dave DesMarias, and Sixian You. See project announcement and reach out: jwafs.mit.edu/projects/202...
Our NSF-funded basic research in microbiology is providing useful knowledge/training/data for US food businesses that support rural economies. This workshop was one of the most rewarding projects I've worked on as a scientist. now.tufts.edu/2025/01/28/t...
‘These Cheeses Have a Life, They Have a Story’
After a microbiology workshop, cheesemakers and mongers have a new way to talk about their tasty, funky products.
now.tufts.edu
January 31, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Our NSF-funded basic research in microbiology is providing useful knowledge/training/data for US food businesses that support rural economies. This workshop was one of the most rewarding projects I've worked on as a scientist. now.tufts.edu/2025/01/28/t...
Reposted by Benjamin Wolfe
How does variation in ectomycorrhizal fungal diversity affect tree growth? What are the knowledge gaps to more fully answering this question?
See my review out today in Fungal Ecology: doi.org/10.1016/j.fu...
See my review out today in Fungal Ecology: doi.org/10.1016/j.fu...
January 24, 2025 at 8:00 AM
How does variation in ectomycorrhizal fungal diversity affect tree growth? What are the knowledge gaps to more fully answering this question?
See my review out today in Fungal Ecology: doi.org/10.1016/j.fu...
See my review out today in Fungal Ecology: doi.org/10.1016/j.fu...
Reposted by Benjamin Wolfe
Gentle reminder that if you truly value diversity in the workforce, top down executive orders may/will change implementation but it shouldn’t change your dedication to building the best possible team/group/cohort/generation of researchers
January 23, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Gentle reminder that if you truly value diversity in the workforce, top down executive orders may/will change implementation but it shouldn’t change your dedication to building the best possible team/group/cohort/generation of researchers
I am super excited to work with @fungaldreamteam.bsky.social
as co-EIC at Fungal Ecology! We have amazing editors who prioritize high-quality science and careful review of your manuscripts. Please consider sending your work to Fungal Ecology in 2025!
as co-EIC at Fungal Ecology! We have amazing editors who prioritize high-quality science and careful review of your manuscripts. Please consider sending your work to Fungal Ecology in 2025!
Honoured to be incoming co-Editor-in-Chief of Fungal Ecology! Send us your best work. 🍄https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/fungal-ecology @benwolfe.bsky.social
December 19, 2024 at 3:19 PM
I am super excited to work with @fungaldreamteam.bsky.social
as co-EIC at Fungal Ecology! We have amazing editors who prioritize high-quality science and careful review of your manuscripts. Please consider sending your work to Fungal Ecology in 2025!
as co-EIC at Fungal Ecology! We have amazing editors who prioritize high-quality science and careful review of your manuscripts. Please consider sending your work to Fungal Ecology in 2025!
Reposted by Benjamin Wolfe
Have questions about #bioinformatics, #genomics, #evolution or stuck on a project? 🧬💻
I want to help!
Happy to discuss data, figures, writing, academia/industry or chatting just for kicks—no strings attached
Drop questions below, DM, or schedule a meeting
Science together is better than alone 🙌
I want to help!
Happy to discuss data, figures, writing, academia/industry or chatting just for kicks—no strings attached
Drop questions below, DM, or schedule a meeting
Science together is better than alone 🙌
December 8, 2024 at 5:53 PM
Have questions about #bioinformatics, #genomics, #evolution or stuck on a project? 🧬💻
I want to help!
Happy to discuss data, figures, writing, academia/industry or chatting just for kicks—no strings attached
Drop questions below, DM, or schedule a meeting
Science together is better than alone 🙌
I want to help!
Happy to discuss data, figures, writing, academia/industry or chatting just for kicks—no strings attached
Drop questions below, DM, or schedule a meeting
Science together is better than alone 🙌
Reposted by Benjamin Wolfe
Everyone talks about "strains", but what are they? Within the lab, we often come back to the review "Diversity within species: interpreting strains in microbiomes" by Thea Van Rossum (2020) when discussing at which phylogenetic resolution we do see different signals
www.nature.com/artic...
www.nature.com/artic...
Diversity within species: interpreting strains in microbiomes
Nature Reviews Microbiology - Large-scale metagenomic analyses are vastly increasing the rate of discovery of variation within species but they are also leading to scientific and semantic...
www.nature.com
December 7, 2024 at 2:00 PM
Everyone talks about "strains", but what are they? Within the lab, we often come back to the review "Diversity within species: interpreting strains in microbiomes" by Thea Van Rossum (2020) when discussing at which phylogenetic resolution we do see different signals
www.nature.com/artic...
www.nature.com/artic...
Reposted by Benjamin Wolfe
RP PLS! Iʻm hiring 3 postdocs at U Hawaiʻi to study yeast diversity and evolution, marine fungi, and the genomics of microbiomes in experimental foodwebs. All of these projects have existing datasets and LATITUDE to pursue individual interests and "blue sky" ideas www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/5d7u4...
November 26, 2024 at 7:19 PM
RP PLS! Iʻm hiring 3 postdocs at U Hawaiʻi to study yeast diversity and evolution, marine fungi, and the genomics of microbiomes in experimental foodwebs. All of these projects have existing datasets and LATITUDE to pursue individual interests and "blue sky" ideas www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/5d7u4...