Jo Rhodes

Jo Rhodes

@drjorhodes.com

Yoga bunny. Cake guru. Scientist by day. Assistant Professor at @unibirmingham.bsky.social Interested in fungal ‘omics and One Health, evolutionary biology and popgen, epidemiology and promoting women in STEM 🏳️‍🌈

3.1K followers386 following418 posts

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Jo Rhodes
@drjorhodes.com

Excited to share our latest work: “Antarctic marine microplastics reveals environmental persistence and rapid evolution of Candida auris.” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... This study explores how environmental microplastics may act as reservoirs for Candida auris. 🧵

biorxiv.orgAntarctic marine microplastics reveals environmental persistence and rapid evolution of Candida aurisCandida ( Candidozyma ) auris is a critical priority fungal pathogen that emerged two decades ago near simultaneously on multiple continents. Since emergence, C. auris resistance to all four classes of antifungal drugs has been described, including pan-drug resistant isolates, sometimes evolving in-patient. Here, we confirm the first isolation of C. auris from Antarctica and show cold-adapted phenotypes and an affinity for binding to nylon. We also provide evidence to suggest mutator phenotypes contribute to the rapid evolution in C. auris and are responsible for the emergence of multiple, distinct genetic clades worldwide. Isolates in clades I, III and IV with a mutator phenotype displayed elevated mutation rates compared to non-auris Candida species. This phenotype had a complex genetic basis and was associated with drug resistance mutations. We postulate that the mutator phenotype has a significant effect on evolutionary potential and is responsible for the emergence and rapid spread of drug-resistance C. auris and novel genetic clades. ### Competing Interest Statement This work was partially support by a Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Fung Springboard Fellowship awarded to JR. PH and JR were funded through a JPIAMR IMPACT grant (JPIAMR2024_IMPACT-197 Consortium grant: FuGACI) and the Dutch Organisation for knowledge and innovation in health, healthcare and wellbeing (ZonMw) under project number 10570172410003. NvR is supported by a Wellcome Trust fellowship (226408/Z/22/Z). MCF is a fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR). RAF is supported by a Wellcome Trust Career Development Award (225303/Z/22/Z). JLS is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Awardee of the Life Sciences Research Foundation. SD and HG are supported by the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology at the University of Exeter (MR/N006364/2 and MR/V033417/1), and the MRC Doctoral Training Grant (MR/P501955/2), and the NIHR Exeter Biomedical Research Centre. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. We also thank the Exeter Sequencing Service facility and support from Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Fund (WT097835MF), Wellcome Trust Multi User Equipment Awards (WT101650MA and 218247/Z/19/Z), Medical Research Council Clinical Infrastructure Funding (MR/M008924/1) and BBSRC LOLA award (BB/K003240/1), as well as the University of Exeter High-Performance Computing (HPC) facility, funded by the UK MRC Clinical Research Infrastructure Initiative (award number MR/M008924/1). Wellcome Trust, https://ror.org/029chgv08, Strategic Fung Springboard, 226408/Z/22/Z, 225303/Z/22/Z JPI-AMR, JPIAMR2024_IMPACT-197 Consortium grant: FuGACI ZonMw, The Dutch Organisation for knowledge and innovation in health, healthcare and well-being, 10570172410003 CIFAR Howard Hughes Medical Institute Awardee of the Life Sciences Research Foundation MRC Centre for Medical Mycology at the University of Exeter, MR/N006364/2, MR/V033417/1 MRC Doctoral Training Grant, MR/P501955/2 NIHR Exeter Biomedical Research Centre BBSRC, BB/W009625/1 MRC, MR/4002163/1

Jo Rhodes reposted

Camille Delavaux
@camilledelavaux.bsky.social

We are searching for a curious and motivated PhD candidate to work on the biogeography of plant-associated fungi on the Galapagos: if you are excited to develop diverse skills in big data, bioinformatics, field work, and experiments, please apply! vacatures.knaw.nl/job/PhD-posi...

vacatures.knaw.nlPhD position: Biogeography of plant-associated fungi on the Galápagos islandsPhD position: Biogeography of plant-associated fungi on the Galápagos islands

Jo Rhodes reposted

Sophien Kamoun
@kamounlab.bsky.social

Hey mycology community, Can you please email / DM me nominations of speakers that I can pass along to the organisers. They been made aware of the issue and let's turn this into a teaching moment. And thanks @mcmomany.bsky.social for sharing this list: fungalgenomes.org/wrifo/direct...

fungalgenomes.orgWRIFO directoryTools, data, and notes for researchers working on fungal and oomycete genomes.
Jo Rhodes@drjorhodes.com

It's 2026 and diversity is still an issue in mycology, and probably beyond. 17 invited plenary & keynote speakers for IMC13, only 2 are women (<12%). There are 0 Latin-American speakers, & 2 from Africa (I'm including @kamounlab.bsky.social in this count). www.imc13.kr/html/?pmode=...

imc13.krKeynote&Plenary Speakers > IMC13IMC13

Jo Rhodes reposted

Julia Koricheva
@juliakoricheva.bsky.social

Yesterday we hosted 2nd stakeholder workshop for the Finnish case study of @trees4adapt.eu project. We visited Satakunta forest diversity experiment & discussed how to facilitate forest diversification in Finland. Great group representing forest owners, forest industry etc. Thanks to the attendees!

Jo Rhodes
@drjorhodes.com

After many, many years, my RSS feed app is no longer supported on the latest OS version. Any recommendations for apps to push new paper notifications to my desktop?

Jo Rhodes
@drjorhodes.com

To add: Also zero South Asian speakers invited. It’s not that there are no possible contenders who are women, or from Latin America, Africa or South Asia either. There are amazing mycologists in these areas.

Jo Rhodes
@drjorhodes.com

Do we boycott? But then our voices won't be heard? But then spending our hard-won funding money on attendance feels icky.

Jo Rhodes
@drjorhodes.com

Justin Beardsley (Sydney Vietnam Institute) led this Perspective detailing a One Health attribution framework targetting surveillance, interventions and resource allocation in SEASia, which is an hotspot of emerging antifungal resistance www.nature.com/articles/s44...

nature.comFrom emergence to exposure: one health attribution of azole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus in Southeast Asia - npj Fungal Sciencenpj Fungal Science - From emergence to exposure: one health attribution of azole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus in Southeast Asia
Jo Rhodes
@drjorhodes.com

The second international report of a pan-drug (resistant to 4 antifungal drug classes) Candida/ozyma auris infection www.nature.com/articles/s41... Important to note that this is the second *report*; how many are flying under the radar due to inconsistencies in reporting and lack of surveillance?

nature.comEmergence of pan-drug resistant Candidozyma auris in Kenya, the second globally documented case - Scientific ReportsScientific Reports - Emergence of pan-drug resistant Candidozyma auris in Kenya, the second globally documented case

Jo Rhodes reposted

Roland Pierik
@roleo.eurosky.social

The number of cases of cervical cancer reported in Scotland among women given the HPV vaccine at 12-13 years of age is now zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. www.bbc.com/news/article...

bbc.comNo cervical cancer cases in fully HPV-vaccinated women in ScotlandA study published by Public Health Scotland finds that the HPV vaccine is "highly effective".
Jo Rhodes
@drjorhodes.com

In person meetings & interviews could require a lot more behind the scene logistical considerations. Make meetings & grant panels/interviews hybrid. I guarantee you’ll make lives easier www.linkedin.com/posts/johann...

linkedin.comToday I am exactly six months postpartum and I find myself in Brussels for in person interviews for the ERC Synergy grant. Interviews for the Synergy grant are in person with no option for remote… | ...Today I am exactly six months postpartum and I find myself in Brussels for in person interviews for the ERC Synergy grant. Interviews for the Synergy grant are in person with no option for remote par...

Jo Rhodes reposted

James Cotton
@jamesacotton.bsky.social

A post-doctoral position is available with Liz Thiele and I working on Guinea worm population genetics in support of the eradication program. Currently funded for a fairly short time, but with prospects of funding renewal.

Jo Rhodes reposted

Ben Martin
@benjaminmartin.bsky.social

Come be my colleague! Montreal is a great place to live and work! Tenure Track position at @mcgill.ca in quantitative cell biology with a research program to address fundamental questions in biology. @futurepislack.bsky.social mcgill.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/McGill_Caree...

mcgill.wd3.myworkdayjobs.comAssistant Professor in Quantitative Cell Biology - Department of BiologyPlease refer to the How to Apply for a Job (for External Candidates) job aid for instructions on how to apply. If you are an active McGill employee (ie: currently in an active contract or position at ...

Jo Rhodes reposted

Peter Solomon
@plantpathpete.bsky.social

We're recruiting a Postdoctoral Fellow at ANU to help strengthen Australia's preparedness for wheat blast. The project spans plant pathology, genetics, breeding and biosecurity, with collaborators in Australia and Brazil. Apply here: tinyurl.com/25zcj9yy #PlantScience #Postdoc #Biosecurity

tinyurl.comPostdoctoral Fellow - Canberra / ACT, ACT, AustraliaClassification: Academic Level ASalary package: $91,546 - $114,906 per annum plus 17% superannuationTerm: Full-Time, Continuing (Contingent Funded) Note: This position will be primarily based at the N...

Jo Rhodes reposted

Arnau Sebé-Pedrós
@arnausebe.bsky.social

Happy to share the final version of our study on the evolution of chromatin states across eukaryotes, out today in @natgenet.nature.com Led by @crisnava.bsky.social and @seanamontgomery.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41... Some highlights below

nature.comDiversity and evolution of chromatin regulatory states across eukaryotes - Nature GeneticsThis study introduces iChIP2, a low-input chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing method that profiles histone post-translational modifications (hPTMs) simultaneously across diverse eukar...

Jo Rhodes reposted

Yann Bourgeois
@bourgeoisyann.bsky.social

Multispecies pangenomes reveal a pervasive influence of population size on structural variation | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

science.orgMultispecies pangenomes reveal a pervasive influence of population size on structural variationStructural variants (SVs) are widespread in vertebrate genomes, yet their evolutionary dynamics remain poorly understood. Using 45 long-read de novo genome assemblies and pangenome tools, we analyze S...

Jo Rhodes reposted

The Linnean Society of London
@linneansociety.bsky.social

New Blog! 📣 There isn't much room for fungi in the fossil record, yet here Isabelle Pola discusses the discovery of one of the oldest ever found! From Cretaceous period sedimentary rock, these fossils help to reshape our understanding of how modern ecosystems developed. buff.ly/3hp1vOd 🧪

buff.lyIn Early Cretaceous Forests: There's Mushroom for FossilsDiscover the latest news from The Linnean Society of London.

Jo Rhodes reposted

Julia Sero
@cellmorphosero.bsky.social

Thing that people were saying was going to happen for forty years happens roughly when they said it would happen; humanity shocked.

Dave Johnson@dcjohnson.bsky.social

It is extremely important that people understand what is happening with the climate and start demanding their governments act against the oil companies. www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...

bloomberg.comExtreme Heat Stuns Even Climate Scientists Who Saw It ComingRecord-breaking heat waves are even stunning scientists monitoring the acceleration of climate change.

Jo Rhodes reposted

The MRC Centre for Medical Mycology
@mrccmm.bsky.social

🧫 Congratulations to @seanaduggan.bsky.social and collaborators, who have found that two common microbes cooperate using copper 🤝 these insights could point to ways to disrupt them, with better outcomes for patients. buff.ly/LfhIg0e @orlandorosss.bsky.social @microbiologysociety.org

news.exeter.ac.ukA “Copper Economy” helps fungi and bacteria build better biofilmsScientists have discovered that two common human pathogens can work together by managing copper in their shared environment - a finding that could open new ways to break down stubborn mixed biofilms.…
Jo Rhodes
@drjorhodes.com

Still no UK passport for my daughter because HMPO today requested a HANDWRITTEN letter confirming my mothers details…. She’s British enough to be denied entry into the U.K. but not British enough with a British parent and grandparent. Make it make sense.

Jo Rhodes@drjorhodes.com

My daughter, a dual Dutch and British citizen, can currently travel to any country apart from the UK because of some stupid law Labour approved to appease Reform voters. Make it make sense.