Michael Gerth
mgerth.bsky.social
Michael Gerth
@mgerth.bsky.social
Insects, microbes, symbiosis, bioinformatics, molecular approaches in evolution & ecology. Emmy Noether Research Group Leader & Jun.-Prof. @iDiv & MLU Halle. he/him
Reposted by Michael Gerth
📢 We have an open position for a postdoc to join my lab. It's a great position @animecol-uu.bsky.social, fully salaried for 2.5 years with all benefits.

www.uu.se/en/about-uu/...

The project is about transmission patterns of bacteria and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in aquatic insects. 🧬🦠 (1/3)
Postdoctoral researcher in molecular ecology - Uppsala University
Postdoctoral researcher in molecular ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University
www.uu.se
October 27, 2025 at 7:43 AM
Reposted by Michael Gerth
🎉 Big news! 🎉

We will be moving to @bristolbiosci.bsky.social @bristoluni.bsky.social in 2026!!

We're so excited to be joining such a dynamic and thriving department, university, and city - thank you to everyone who has already been so welcoming!

📢 But that's not all - come and join us! 👇
October 17, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Reposted by Michael Gerth
"The untapped potential of short-read sequencing in biodiversity research"
by Christoph Bleidorn (@cblei.bsky.social) et al

"Genomic resources have the potential to transform our understanding of the vast, still largely unknown diversity of species..."

More at:
authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
October 2, 2025 at 8:35 PM
Reposted by Michael Gerth
We are welcoming applications for a full professorship on Molecular and Evolutionary Zoology at Kiel Univerdity, Northern Germany, with fantastic facilities and infrastructure! @uni-kiel.de @crc1182.bsky.social @transevo.bsky.social www.nature.com/naturecareer...
W 3 professorship in Molecular and Evolutionary Zoology - Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein (DE) job with Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel | 12844416
Kiel University aims to attract more qualified women to professorship positions. The Institute of Zoology at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural...
www.nature.com
September 8, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Two fully funded #PhD positions on insect #Symbiosis available in our lab: Spiroplasma in Neotropical Arthropods (tinyurl.com/spiroplasma) & Psyllid symbionts (tinyurl.com/psyllids).
Please contact me for any questions & share widely #symbiosky #academicjobs
tinyurl.com
July 23, 2025 at 8:26 AM
Reposted by Michael Gerth
✨ The Bernhardt Lab at the University of Guelph is recruiting graduate students for 2026! Join us! We have several fully funded grad positions available ✨

Please spread the word!

www.bernhardtlab.org/join-us

#CSEE2025
July 7, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Reposted by Michael Gerth
Awsome job opportunity for a plant ecologist at University of Halle, with many amazing colleagues nearby at @unihalle.bsky.social, @ufz.de and @idiv-research.bsky.social. Halle is a very cool city. Go for it! www.nature.com/naturecareer...
Tenured Professorship „Plant Ecology“ (W2 salary) - Halle (Saale) job with Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg | 12841002
The professorship (successor of Prof. Dr. Isabell Hensen) will play a central role in advancing collaborative research in the field of biodiversity
www.nature.com
July 1, 2025 at 8:27 AM
Reposted by Michael Gerth
I'm very pleased to share the latest paper from my post doc with @kayla-king.bsky.social. We looked at how host microbiota can influence pathogen virulence evolution in a C. elegans model of infection: academic.oup.com/ismej/articl...
Within-host competition causes pathogen molecular evolution and perpetual microbiota dysbiosis
Abstract. Pathogens newly invading a host must compete with resident microbiota. This within-host microbial warfare could lead to more severe disease outco
academic.oup.com
June 18, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Reposted by Michael Gerth
𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗯𝗶𝘇𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘆 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗯𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝘃𝗶𝗿𝘂𝘀
or maybe not. a 🧵

roland @environmicrobio.bsky.social‬ ‪and Krzysztof @ktjurdzinski.bsky.social‬ already commented, please also read their posts.
www.science.org/content/arti...
#MicroSky #SymbioSky #ProtistsOnSky
Microbe with bizarrely tiny genome may be evolving into a virus
With DNA focused almost entirely on replication, newly discovered organism blurs the line between cells and viruses
www.science.org
June 18, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Reposted by Michael Gerth
Our new paper, just out “Superspreaders have lower gut microbial alpha-diversity and distinct gut microbial composition in a natural rodent population”.

Highlights gut microbial signatures for those individuals that have the potential to spread the most infectious disease.

doi.org/10.1186/s425...
Superspreaders have lower gut microbial alpha-diversity and distinct gut microbial composition in a natural rodent population - Animal Microbiome
The microbiome is well known to drive variation in host states (e.g. behaviour, immunity) that would be expected to modulate the spread of infectious disease—but the role of microbiotal interactions i...
doi.org
May 6, 2025 at 8:58 AM
Reposted by Michael Gerth
We have fully funded PhD studentship available for a genomic analysis of the demise of the Mazarine Blue & Large Copper 🦋 in the UK. Interested in conservation genomics, extinction, 🦋, bioinformatics? If so, this might be the PhD for you! Full details: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DML401/n...
Nigel Groome Studentship: Using Museomics to Investigate the Disappearance of the Mazarine Blue and Large Copper Butterflies in the UK at Oxford Brookes University
Explore a Nigel Groome Studentship: Using Museomics to Investigate the Disappearance of the Mazarine Blue and Large Copper Butterflies in the UK on jobs.ac.uk. Discover more PhD opportunities and appl...
www.jobs.ac.uk
March 26, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Reposted by Michael Gerth
I’m recruiting a PhD student in macrogenetics at Dalhousie University 🇨🇦! Focus will be on the biogeography of vertebrate genetic diversity or urban evolutionary ecology.
Full ad: www.schmidt-biodiversity-lab.org/macrogenetic...
If the ad is up, applications are still open.
Please share widely! 🧬🧬
Macrogenetics PhD position | schmidt-biodiversity-lab
www.schmidt-biodiversity-lab.org
April 21, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Reposted by Michael Gerth
Our article is out. Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: Improving gender equity in academia depends on the workplace environment.
www.idiv.de/striving-for...
The Female Scientists initiative at iDiv is connecting women in science. We learned so much from each other and our community along the way.
Striving for Gender Equity in Academia
Insights from the iDiv Female Scientists Initiative
www.idiv.de
April 10, 2025 at 9:38 AM
Reposted by Michael Gerth
@haraipapilio.bsky.social paper on evolution of Wolbachia MK mechanism through prophage acquisition in molina butterflies - avoiding suppression by the host. Now out! #symbiosky www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti.... With @daisukekageyama.bsky.social @bolinabug.bsky.social and others
Evolution of Wolbachia male-killing mechanism within a host species
Male-killing bacterial symbionts, prevalent in arthropods, skew population sex ratios by selectively killing male progeny, profoundly impacting ecolog…
www.sciencedirect.com
April 9, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Reposted by Michael Gerth
The sky’s the limit for biodiversity research! 🌳☀️ Join iDiv on Bluesky and stay informed about new research, upcoming events, and #iDiv initiatives, including sDiv, the #InsideBiodiversity podcast, and the yDiv Graduate School.
April 3, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Reposted by Michael Gerth
PhD Opportunity: Last few days to apply to join my lab to explore the co-evolution of male and female genitalia in Drosophila. Feel free to DM me for more details! 🧬🐝 #PhDposition #EvolutionBiology #Genetics tinyurl.com/PhD-Drosophila
Nigel Groome Studentship: Gene Regulatory Networks Driving Male-Female Genital Co-evolution at Oxford Brookes University
Explore a Nigel Groome Studentship: Gene Regulatory Networks Driving Male-Female Genital Co-evolution. Apply today and discover more PhD opportunities at jobs.ac.uk.
tinyurl.com
January 15, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Reposted by Michael Gerth
Our review is out in Nature Reviews Genetics! rdcu.be/d5AY2

We show how phylogeny-based methods can resolve the problem of non-independence in genomic datasets.

These methods must be considered an essential part of the comparative genomics toolkit.

@lauriebelch.bsky.social @stuwest.bsky.social
A phylogenetic approach to comparative genomics
Nature Reviews Genetics - Controlling for phylogeny is essential in comparative genomics studies, because species, genomes and genes are not independent data points within statistical tests. The...
rdcu.be
January 8, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Reposted by Michael Gerth
Two #postdoc positions available in my lab. Position 1 focusses on #phytoplasma transmission via #insects. Position 2 aims to investigate the dynamics of #symbiont #evolution in #psyllids in collaboration with @mgerth.bsky.social, Martin Kaltenpoth and Liliya Serbina. Please share.
January 3, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Reposted by Michael Gerth
BBSRC funded PhD - evolution in the early stages of symbiosis, using Arsenophonus as model. tinyurl.com/Edgeofsymbio.... Apply by 30/01/2025. Available for UK and International students. With @brockhurstlab.bsky.social and @acdarby.bsky.social. #symbiosky
BBSRC NWD: On the edges of symbiosis: how insect symbionts evolve in newly established interactions at University of Liverpool on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - BBSRC NWD: On the edges of symbiosis: how insect symbionts evolve in newly established interactions at University of Liverpool, listed on FindAPhD.com
tinyurl.com
December 18, 2024 at 5:02 PM
Reposted by Michael Gerth
New review on the evolution of insect male terminalia I wrote with Daniela Nunes: www.cell.com/trends/genet...
Developmental evolution in fast-forward: insect male genital diversification
Insect male genitalia are among the fastest evolving structures of animals. Studying these changes among closely related species represents a powerful approach to dissect developmental processes and g...
www.cell.com
November 22, 2024 at 8:56 AM
Reposted by Michael Gerth
I made ,some time ago, a starter pack for Microbial #Symbiosis. I'm 100% sure it's incomplete, but short on time lately... You can reply and suggest prople/feeds/etc to add!

#MicroSky #SymbioSky

go.bsky.app/T8VUWCz
November 10, 2024 at 7:35 PM
Reposted by Michael Gerth
What happens to the #genome of #bacteria as their association with the host becomes ever more intimate?🧪🦠

A lot: Expansion, pseudogenization and shrinkage, driven by reduction of phage pressure

New by Stefanos Siozios, Greg Hurst &co
#evolution #genomics #microbiology

www.cell.com/current-biol...
November 15, 2024 at 5:08 PM
Reposted by Michael Gerth
In our new study “Wolbachia in Antarctic terrestrial invertebrates: Absent or undiscovered?” doi.org/10.1111/1758... we summarise the diversity of terrestrial #invertebrates and discuss why #Wolbachia - the common #endosymbiont of invertebrates was not found in #Antarctica.
Wolbachia in Antarctic terrestrial invertebrates: Absent or undiscovered?
Endosymbiotic bacteria Wolbachia are recognized for their role in influencing host survival and stress resistance, particularly in cold environmental conditions across various species. However, our a....
doi.org
November 14, 2024 at 1:49 PM
Reposted by Michael Gerth
Congratulations to our Dobzhansky Prize recipient, Chloé Schmidt! Dr. Schmidt will give the joint Dobzhansky Prize/ASN Early Career Investigator Award talk at #Evol2024 on Sunday at 2:30 PM EDT. shorturl.at/D6P1C @chloology.bsky.social
July 23, 2024 at 3:35 PM
Reposted by Michael Gerth
Several positions opening in my lab and the Centre for Functional Genomics at Oxford Brookes:
- 2 PhD positions via the Oxford Bioscience DTP
- a fully funded PhD in my lab, co-supervised by Darren Williams, KCL
- a research tech position (0.5 FTE) to help tagging Drosophila transcription factors
December 21, 2023 at 5:50 PM