Luke Hillary
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lukehillary.bsky.social
Luke Hillary
@lukehillary.bsky.social
Viral ecology of "brown stuff" 🏞️💩😷. Interested in how viruses impact their hosts in soils, sludge and stool. Particularly fascinated in RNA viruses. Postdoc at UC Davis working on the impacts of wildfire on soil virus communities.
Pinned
See what happens to soil viruses when you set their habitat on fire! #FEMS2025

Super excited to be presenting my work on DNA/ RNA viruses and how they respond to wildfire.

Talk is 13:00 on Thursday, Brown 1&2

Massive thanks to @femsmicro.org for supporting my attendance!
Reposted by Luke Hillary
PhD opportunity with me at University of Edinburgh linked with Forest Research, funded by E5 DTP.

On the microbial mechanisms of soil carbon cycling in tree-planted upland soils. Apply before 14th Dec. Please share with your network.

Pic: one of our Scottish sites.

e5-dtp.ed.ac.uk/project?item...
October 17, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Reposted by Luke Hillary
We're hiring for several positions (a post-bac researcher in #transcriptomics, a #phage #postdoc, a senior researcher (broad topics) and a graduate student to work on #ciliates) - find info here: www.marine.usf.edu/genomics/app...
Apply - Genomics
www.marine.usf.edu
October 2, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Love this new paper from @gtrubl.bsky.social and @alexjprobst.bsky.social on the importance of accurate use of terminology in microbial ecology. I’ve seen a lot of use of lysogenic instead of temperate recently so it’s nice to see that distinction being made. doi.org/10.1111/1462...
Clarifying Terminology in Microbial Ecology: A Call for Precision in Scientific Communication
The rapid evolution of microbiology as a field of research has led to the introduction of new terminology and the adaptation of existing terms. However, inconsistencies in the use of these terms, inc...
doi.org
September 21, 2025 at 2:28 AM
🎉Woot woot 🎉Finished a 2 week writing challenge with sending a manuscript off to co-authors/ submitting data to NCBI. Onto the next one 😁
September 20, 2025 at 12:17 AM
Reposted by Luke Hillary
Learn more about EcoFABs in this episode of our #GenomeInsider podcast ⬇️ 🖥️🧬
September 10, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Fitting that Google has DNA in today’s doodle,the same day Marie Skłodowska-Curie postdoc fellowship proposals are due in 😁🧬
September 10, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Reposted by Luke Hillary
📢 We are thrilled to announce the International Soil Virus Conference 2026 in conjunction with the Saint Loup Research Institute.
🗓️ June 16 – 18, 2026
📍 Château de Saint Loup sur Thouet, France
👇 RSVP by October 31st, 2025
#virus #phage #ISVC2026
ISVC2026
International Soil Virus Conference 2026! We are excited to announce and provide RSVP details for the next International Soil Virus Conference that will be held in Saint-Loup Lamaire, France on Jun…
soilmicrobes.fr
September 9, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Reposted by Luke Hillary
The Department of Biology at Colorado State University is hiring an Assistant Professor in the area of plant-microbe interactions! Please spread the word!

jobs.colostate.edu/postings/165...
Assistant Professor Plant-Microbe Interactions
We seek a creative, collaborative, and visionary plant biologist to establish an internationally recognized research program at the forefront of plant-microbe interactions aimed at understanding how t...
jobs.colostate.edu
September 8, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Reposted by Luke Hillary
#Perspective

A discussion on virus-encoded auxiliary metabolic genes and a framework for the biological interpretation of these genes.

#MicroSky 🦠

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A call for caution in the biological interpretation of viral auxiliary metabolic genes - Nature Microbiology
This Perspective discusses virus-encoded auxiliary metabolic genes and provides a framework for the biological interpretation of these genes.
www.nature.com
September 8, 2025 at 6:01 AM
Reposted by Luke Hillary
A new theme issue of #PhilTransB examines the evolutionary history of bacterial immune systems, their modes of action, and the patterns how different bacterial immune systems are distributed across different ecosystems. Read: buff.ly/Z4qdxY1
September 5, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Reposted by Luke Hillary
🚨 New preprint! 🧬

𝐏𝐡𝐚𝐠𝐞-𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐬 (𝐏-𝐏𝐬) are fascinating elements: both 𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 and 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐬 ➡️ tricky to detect.

We present 𝐭𝐲𝐏𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐠 — the first 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐥 🛠️designed specifically for P-Ps:
✅ Accurate
✅ Sensitive
✅ Easy to use

📖 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Efficient detection and typing of phage-plasmids
Phage-plasmids are temperate phages that replicate as plasmids during lysogeny. Despite their high diversity, they carry genes similar to phages and plasmids. This leads to gene exchanges, and to the ...
www.biorxiv.org
September 3, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Reposted by Luke Hillary
🌎👩‍🔬 For 15+ years biology has accumulated petabytes (million gigabytes) of🧬DNA sequencing data🧬 from the far reaches of our planet.🦠🍄🌵

Logan now democratizes efficient access to the world’s most comprehensive genetics dataset. Free and open.

doi.org/10.1101/2024...
September 3, 2025 at 8:39 AM
It’s life @jgi.doe.gov 🖖 but not as we know it. This symposium looks fascinating! (couldn’t resist making the Trek reference)
Abstracts are due Oct. 19 for the 2025 New Lineages of Life Symposium — 80 slots available!

See speakers below.

More info: jgi.doe.gov/work-with-us...

Full Agenda: jgi.doe.gov/work-with-us...

@axelvisel.bsky.social 🖥️🧬
September 3, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Reposted by Luke Hillary
BLOG - Seven ingredients for a Neuroinclusive research organisation

In our latest #JICNeurodiversity blog, we reflect on the remarkable impact and success of our BBSRC @ukri.org funded “Understanding, Valuing and Celebrating Neurodiversity” project 🌈🧠

Watch full video: youtu.be/bwUEJju9XQ4?...
Understanding, Valuing and Celebrating Neurodiversity – Impact of our BBSRC Connecting Culture grant
YouTube video by John Innes Centre
youtu.be
August 29, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Reposted by Luke Hillary
Save the Date: #MMEG2025 is coming to Birmingham!

Join us on 15–16 December 2025 for the 31st edition of MMEG. This year's event is your chance to:
🔬 Share your research
🤝 Connect with peers
🦠 Discover the latest in molecular microbial ecology

Register now: appliedmicrobiology.org/ems-event-ca...
September 1, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Reposted by Luke Hillary
The microbial composition of metagenomes is identified in seconds by profiling against large databases go.nature.com/3BBVqDC
rdcu.be/eCbj4
Rapid species-level metagenome profiling and containment estimation with sylph - Nature Biotechnology
The microbial composition of metagenomes is identified in seconds by profiling against large databases.
go.nature.com
August 27, 2025 at 1:14 AM
Reposted by Luke Hillary
Soil is the most diverse microbial ecosystem, which makes microbiome studies with shotgun sequencing extremely tricky!
In our last paper @imetascience.bsky.social, we show that co-assembly increases gene and genome recovery
tinyurl.com/59t4z8fh
#soilmicrobiome #metagenomics
Unveiling soil microbial diversity through ultra‐deep short‐read metagenomic sequencing and co‐assembly
By combining ultra-deep short-read shotgun metagenomic sequencing with 5-sample co-assembly across 600 agricultural soil samples, we significantly enhanced the representation and recovery of microbia....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
August 26, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Reposted by Luke Hillary
🍄 UGA Plant Pathology is hiring TT faculty in Mycology/Fungal Biology/Fungal Ecology at the Asst/Assc level! Please pass along this opportunity to anyone you know who may be interested. I'm on the search committee and happy to answer questions. 🍄 www.ugajobsearch.com/postings/445...
Assistant or Associate Professor - Fungal Biology/Mycology
The Department of Plant Pathology in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) at the University of Georgia is recruiting for the position of Assistant or Associate Professor in Fu...
www.ugajobsearch.com
August 21, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Reposted by Luke Hillary
𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗵𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗟𝘆𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 🦠🧬

Dive into the lytic cycle! A bacteriophage injects DNA, hijacks the host, and rapidly replicates until the bacterium lyses, releasing a new swarm of virulent phages!

#blender #3D #cgi #science #research #biology #phage #lyticcycle #bacteria #scicomm #sciart
July 30, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Reposted by Luke Hillary
Do you love phage? I have an opening for a postdoc in my lab at the University of South Florida College of Marine Science (@cmarinescience.bsky.social) looking at interactions between marine phage and iron, which is an important limiting trace metal in the oceans (1/5) 🧵#phagesky 🦠🌊
August 1, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Reposted by Luke Hillary
🧪 New research confirms climate change is a primary driver of worsening forest fires. The likelihood of extreme fire weather has doubled since the preindustrial era, contributing to a dramatic increase in burned forest area globally.
#Climate #Fires
Climate Change Is Making Fire Weather Worse for World’s Forests
www.nytimes.com
July 22, 2025 at 1:22 AM
A really great review written by @simrouxvirus.bsky.social and Clement Coclet on the state of the field of viromics and viral ecology. Well worth a look, and provides a solid reading list for those entering the field wanting more background on how it has developed and what tools are available.
July 22, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Reposted by Luke Hillary
Exciting news: over £59m announced to support the Government’s new compute roadmap.

Our investment will support the career development of researchers and innovators, enabling UK-wide capability and access to digital infrastructure.

More: www.ukri.org/news/governm...

or ⬇️🧵1/
July 18, 2025 at 9:15 AM