Nicole Coots
@nicolecoots.bsky.social
Postdoctoral Researcher @UBC in Patrick Keeling's Lab || PhD earned @ASU in Gillian Gile's Lab || Interested in endosymbiosis, plastid evolution, marine microbial ecology, and all things protists 🦠
Reposted by Nicole Coots
Half of microbial eukaryote literature focuses on only twelve human parasites
#microbiology #protists #eukaryotes
@isme-microbes.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/ismej/articl...
#microbiology #protists #eukaryotes
@isme-microbes.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/ismej/articl...
Half of microbial eukaryote literature focuses on only 12 human parasites
Abstract. Although microbial eukaryotes comprise the majority of eukaryotic phylogenetic diversity and inhabit nearly all ecosystems globally, most researc
academic.oup.com
November 9, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Half of microbial eukaryote literature focuses on only twelve human parasites
#microbiology #protists #eukaryotes
@isme-microbes.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/ismej/articl...
#microbiology #protists #eukaryotes
@isme-microbes.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/ismej/articl...
found this lil guy in a sand sample recently 😍🦑
#protistsonsky
#protistsonsky
September 12, 2025 at 8:33 PM
found this lil guy in a sand sample recently 😍🦑
#protistsonsky
#protistsonsky
Reposted by Nicole Coots
Our 2nd heterotrophic #Paulinella culture!
Really proud of this one. After days at the microscope picking cells, I finally got it growing happily :)
#protistsonsky
Really proud of this one. After days at the microscope picking cells, I finally got it growing happily :)
#protistsonsky
September 11, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Our 2nd heterotrophic #Paulinella culture!
Really proud of this one. After days at the microscope picking cells, I finally got it growing happily :)
#protistsonsky
Really proud of this one. After days at the microscope picking cells, I finally got it growing happily :)
#protistsonsky
Made some cyanotype prints from a figure I pulled from @sandinmm.bsky.social 's 2019 paper on the morpho-molecular classification of Nassellaria. #protistsonsky
Those SEMs are so stunning, they were just begging to be turned into art!
doi.org/10.1016/j.pr...
Those SEMs are so stunning, they were just begging to be turned into art!
doi.org/10.1016/j.pr...
August 31, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Made some cyanotype prints from a figure I pulled from @sandinmm.bsky.social 's 2019 paper on the morpho-molecular classification of Nassellaria. #protistsonsky
Those SEMs are so stunning, they were just begging to be turned into art!
doi.org/10.1016/j.pr...
Those SEMs are so stunning, they were just begging to be turned into art!
doi.org/10.1016/j.pr...
Gave a talk about mixotrophy earlier this month to the Thetis Island Nature Conservancy. My postdoc has been so 100% focused on research that I almost forgot how much fun scientific outreach can be!!! 🤩
August 27, 2025 at 10:53 PM
Gave a talk about mixotrophy earlier this month to the Thetis Island Nature Conservancy. My postdoc has been so 100% focused on research that I almost forgot how much fun scientific outreach can be!!! 🤩
Reposted by Nicole Coots
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... Genomes of nitrogen-fixing eukaryotes reveal an alternate path for organellogenesis #protistsonsky
Genomes of nitrogen-fixing eukaryotes reveal an alternate path for organellogenesis | PNAS
Endosymbiotic gene transfer (EGT) and import of host-encoded proteins have been considered
hallmarks of organelles necessary for stable integration...
www.pnas.org
August 14, 2025 at 3:55 AM
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... Genomes of nitrogen-fixing eukaryotes reveal an alternate path for organellogenesis #protistsonsky
Reposted by Nicole Coots
Promethea = PROvora + MEteora + HEmimastigophora. The new supergroup, unifying previously “orphan” lineages with gene-rich mitogenomes. Position of #telonemids is still uncertain. #protistsonsky tinyurl.com/yk9xkt49
July 24, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Promethea = PROvora + MEteora + HEmimastigophora. The new supergroup, unifying previously “orphan” lineages with gene-rich mitogenomes. Position of #telonemids is still uncertain. #protistsonsky tinyurl.com/yk9xkt49
Currently geeking out over this recent paper from the @mixotrophe.bsky.social lab!:
Environmental Fluctuations Promote Host Reward Strategies That Maintain Partner Diversity in Multispecies Mutualisms
By Bethany LF Stevens et al.
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
Environmental Fluctuations Promote Host Reward Strategies That Maintain Partner Diversity in Multispecies Mutualisms
By Bethany LF Stevens et al.
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
Environmental Fluctuations Promote Host Reward Strategies That Maintain Partner Diversity in Multispecies Mutualisms | The American Naturalist: Vol 205, No 2
Abstract In multispecies mutualisms, hosts might be expected to reward only the highest-quality partner in order to maximize benefits and prevent the proliferation of cheaters. In a fluctuating enviro...
www.journals.uchicago.edu
June 16, 2025 at 11:37 PM
Currently geeking out over this recent paper from the @mixotrophe.bsky.social lab!:
Environmental Fluctuations Promote Host Reward Strategies That Maintain Partner Diversity in Multispecies Mutualisms
By Bethany LF Stevens et al.
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
Environmental Fluctuations Promote Host Reward Strategies That Maintain Partner Diversity in Multispecies Mutualisms
By Bethany LF Stevens et al.
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
Was literally just panicking about this over the weekend 💩
Never in a million years did I think I’d be having regular conversations with my peers (most of them are other PRFB postdocs) about what we plan to do with our lives if we can’t be scientists anymore, i.e., if all the jobs continue disappearing. It’s all very bleak as an ECR right now.
June 12, 2025 at 1:33 AM
Was literally just panicking about this over the weekend 💩
I love the way they move
This week’s sample was teeming with amoebae! I know nothing about marine amoebae and I rarely see them, so this was unusual for me. Do you think their presence is associated with the Phaeocystis bloom happening right now? Timelapse videos of their movement. 🦑 #plankton
June 5, 2025 at 8:02 AM
I love the way they move
Reposted by Nicole Coots
Thrilled to have won @nature.com 2025 #ScientistAtWork photo competition! 🧪🐳📷 www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
Six striking images showcase scientific fieldwork
The winners of Nature’s 2025 photo competition braved crashing waves and misty mountains to capture their science.
www.nature.com
May 13, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Thrilled to have won @nature.com 2025 #ScientistAtWork photo competition! 🧪🐳📷 www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
My friends in the Life of Retaria group decided to make a podcast! In the first episode, they interview @fabnot.bsky.social about his journey as a scientist. I loved the first episode, hope you do too! @juliemeilland.bsky.social @sandinmm.bsky.social et al.
thelifeofretaria.github.io/podcast.html
thelifeofretaria.github.io/podcast.html
The Life of Retaria Experience
thelifeofretaria.github.io
May 12, 2025 at 5:29 PM
My friends in the Life of Retaria group decided to make a podcast! In the first episode, they interview @fabnot.bsky.social about his journey as a scientist. I loved the first episode, hope you do too! @juliemeilland.bsky.social @sandinmm.bsky.social et al.
thelifeofretaria.github.io/podcast.html
thelifeofretaria.github.io/podcast.html
testate amoebae are my fave 🤩
Some specimens of a shelled amoeba called Heleopera sphagni, from a northern fen. The shell is assembled from jagged siliceous plates, but where did they come from? Stolen from a prey organism, or generated by the amoeba itself? I have no idea! #protistsonsky #amoebae #peatlands
May 8, 2025 at 4:06 PM
testate amoebae are my fave 🤩
Reposted by Nicole Coots
Reposted by Nicole Coots
Why do some planktonic protists develop a gelatinous matrix? We suggest that this original adaptation is a strategy to cope with ocean oligotrophy: doi.org/10.1111/1462...
Led by @n-llopis-m.bsky.social, and thanks to all co-authors, I'm very happy to finally see it out!
#protistsonsky
Led by @n-llopis-m.bsky.social, and thanks to all co-authors, I'm very happy to finally see it out!
#protistsonsky
May 5, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Why do some planktonic protists develop a gelatinous matrix? We suggest that this original adaptation is a strategy to cope with ocean oligotrophy: doi.org/10.1111/1462...
Led by @n-llopis-m.bsky.social, and thanks to all co-authors, I'm very happy to finally see it out!
#protistsonsky
Led by @n-llopis-m.bsky.social, and thanks to all co-authors, I'm very happy to finally see it out!
#protistsonsky
Reposted by Nicole Coots
Pause for a minute to appreciate the valiant Program Officers still at NSF, who are doing their utmost to preserve what they can. They’re in the stinking rotting belly of the beast, laboring on our behalf.
❤️❤️❤️❤️ to them
❤️❤️❤️❤️ to them
May 2, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Pause for a minute to appreciate the valiant Program Officers still at NSF, who are doing their utmost to preserve what they can. They’re in the stinking rotting belly of the beast, laboring on our behalf.
❤️❤️❤️❤️ to them
❤️❤️❤️❤️ to them
It's an incredibly depressing time to be an American scientist
Science news is particularly grim this week. For NSF funding, 2 key fronts:
1) freeze on ALL existing grants (portal is down - no $$ going out, including reimbursements) www.nature.com/articles/d41...
2) budget proposes 40% overall cut & 15% cap on indirects (lawsuits blocked same for NIH in Feb)
1) freeze on ALL existing grants (portal is down - no $$ going out, including reimbursements) www.nature.com/articles/d41...
2) budget proposes 40% overall cut & 15% cap on indirects (lawsuits blocked same for NIH in Feb)
May 2, 2025 at 6:00 PM
It's an incredibly depressing time to be an American scientist
Reposted by Nicole Coots
Lichen collage. Northwest Territories, Canada.
April 25, 2025 at 11:44 PM
Lichen collage. Northwest Territories, Canada.
Reposted by Nicole Coots
These guys got the first living footage of the Indonesian coelacanth! Amazing work.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
First record of a living coelacanth from North Maluku, Indonesia - Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports - First record of a living coelacanth from North Maluku, Indonesia
www.nature.com
April 26, 2025 at 7:37 PM
These guys got the first living footage of the Indonesian coelacanth! Amazing work.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Algal symbiont diversity and host fitness variation in the amoebozoan photosymbiosis 🦠
by Yamagishi et al.
@jeukmicro.bsky.social
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
by Yamagishi et al.
@jeukmicro.bsky.social
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Algal Symbiont Diversity and Host Fitness Variation in Amoebozoan Photosymbiosis
Photosymbioses, the symbiotic relationships between microalgae and non-photosynthetic eukaryotes, are sporadically found in many eukaryotic lineages. Only a few taxa, such as cnidarians and ciliates ....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
April 28, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Algal symbiont diversity and host fitness variation in the amoebozoan photosymbiosis 🦠
by Yamagishi et al.
@jeukmicro.bsky.social
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
by Yamagishi et al.
@jeukmicro.bsky.social
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Nicole Coots
🚨🧵 Out now in ISMEJ (@ismepublications.bsky.social)!
We find abundant corallicolid sequences within bearded fireworms (𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘢) across reefs and years in Curaçao 🇨🇼!
🪱🪸 This is the first report of corallicolids inside a non-anthozoan host!
#ProtistsOnSky #MicroSky #SymbioSky #Corals
We find abundant corallicolid sequences within bearded fireworms (𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘢) across reefs and years in Curaçao 🇨🇼!
🪱🪸 This is the first report of corallicolids inside a non-anthozoan host!
#ProtistsOnSky #MicroSky #SymbioSky #Corals
Fireworms are a reservoir and potential vector for coral-infecting apicomplexans
Abstract. Corals (Cnidaria; Anthozoa) play critical roles as habitat-forming species with a wide range, from warm shallow-water tropical coral reefs to col
academic.oup.com
April 28, 2025 at 12:53 PM
🚨🧵 Out now in ISMEJ (@ismepublications.bsky.social)!
We find abundant corallicolid sequences within bearded fireworms (𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘢) across reefs and years in Curaçao 🇨🇼!
🪱🪸 This is the first report of corallicolids inside a non-anthozoan host!
#ProtistsOnSky #MicroSky #SymbioSky #Corals
We find abundant corallicolid sequences within bearded fireworms (𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘢) across reefs and years in Curaçao 🇨🇼!
🪱🪸 This is the first report of corallicolids inside a non-anthozoan host!
#ProtistsOnSky #MicroSky #SymbioSky #Corals
Reposted by Nicole Coots
Nitrogen isotopes are a promising tool to reconstruct symbiosis in planktic foraminifera!
Check out our latest paper:
bg.copernicus.org/articles/22/...
Check out our latest paper:
bg.copernicus.org/articles/22/...
April 22, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Nitrogen isotopes are a promising tool to reconstruct symbiosis in planktic foraminifera!
Check out our latest paper:
bg.copernicus.org/articles/22/...
Check out our latest paper:
bg.copernicus.org/articles/22/...
Reposted by Nicole Coots
A dream come true: the first expansion microscopy images of C. flexa 🤩 Generated by Mylan & Uzuki who learned from the best (@hiralshah.bsky.social @gautamdey.bsky.social @dudinlab.bsky.social). We will learn so much from these!
April 22, 2025 at 4:36 PM
A dream come true: the first expansion microscopy images of C. flexa 🤩 Generated by Mylan & Uzuki who learned from the best (@hiralshah.bsky.social @gautamdey.bsky.social @dudinlab.bsky.social). We will learn so much from these!
Reposted by Nicole Coots
New lab preprint! Unveiling the Molecular Architecture of T Cells and Immune Synapses with Cryo-Expansion Microscopy (Cryo-ExM). A fantastic collaboration with Dr. Benita Wolf. Congratulations to all authors, especially Florent Lemaitre, for leading this amazing work! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
April 23, 2025 at 2:04 PM
New lab preprint! Unveiling the Molecular Architecture of T Cells and Immune Synapses with Cryo-Expansion Microscopy (Cryo-ExM). A fantastic collaboration with Dr. Benita Wolf. Congratulations to all authors, especially Florent Lemaitre, for leading this amazing work! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...