H. B. Beryl Rappaport

cell.comA geothermal amoeba sets a new upper temperature limit for eukaryotesThe amoeba Incendiamoeba cascadensis demonstrates that eukaryotic life can withstand temperatures beyond what was thought possible and sheds light on molecular strategies for survival in extreme heat.

Our description of fire amoeba, 𝘐𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘦𝘣𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴, is now online at Cell! Thanks @oliverio.bsky.social and amazing team for questioning the limits of eukaryotes! 🔥 www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

H. B. Beryl Rappaport reposted

Joshua Weitz

@joshuasweitz.bsky.social

Wonderful profile of our new colleague in the Dept. of Biology in Maryland, @couchmicroscopy.bsky.social with secrets yet to be uncovered into a major evolutionary transition hanging out in murky waters. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/26/s...

nytimes.comIn an $80 Motel Room, a Discovery to Shed Light on the Origins of Life (Gift Article)A scrappy science project led to a significant discovery: two new species of a rare organism that could elucidate a fundamental transition in the history of life on our planet.

n.prThis 'fire amoeba' pushes the limit of what's possible for complex lifeScientists have found a species they've named the fire amoeba, which is capable of reproducing at 145°F and continuing to move up to temperatures of 147°F — a record for complex eukaryotic life.

thank you for the thoughtful coverage @npr.org ! really enjoyed talking with Ari & @oliverio.bsky.social #protistsonsky

NPR@npr.org

Scientists have found a species they've named the fire amoeba, which is capable of reproducing at 145°F and continuing to move up to temperatures of 147°F — a record for complex eukaryotic life. n.pr/4h8AWoj

adding a note on “complex life” and capturing nuance when talking with different audiences: for the record, I do not think any form of life is simple. bacteria, archaea, & eukaryotes are complex in their own ways

H. B. Beryl Rappaport reposted

Jess Niblo

@jessniblo.bsky.social

Replying to @jessniblo.bsky.social

Our work showcases the power of protein language models to uncover new biology, and points at extremophile eukaryotes as an untapped source of interesting protein biophysics. We’re currently working on an expanded, openly available version of our pipeline. Reach out if interested in learning more!

Plus new discussion & other new analyses including from @skruberk.bsky.social & Ethan MacVicar showing surface bacterial density was associated with amoeba velocity but not with temperature!

🧡🔥

Since the preprint, we’ve added RNAseq experiments from @negilbert.bsky.social showing pathways upregulated at high temperature including proteostasis and membrane trafficking!

Also a highly expanded analysis of predicted proteins from @shaharsu.bsky.social @jessniblo.bsky.social comparing the fire amoeba to other organisms and revealing potential convergent mechanisms with hyperthermophilic bacteria & archaea

17 Sept

Back to Syracuse from Aotearoa-New Zealand! Thanks #ISME20 for the great extremophiles turnout and Stott Lab for bringing me along sampling - excited to learn more about the geothermal amoebae from this beautiful country!

@couchmicroscopy.bsky.social

20 May

hi #abscicon26! I’m looking forward to talking about Incendiamoeba and friends (“Microbial eukaryotic interactions in geothermal springs”) in tomorrow’s 2-3:30 Symbioses session

H. B. Beryl Rappaport reposted

Rachel Shepherd 🪴

@rmshepherd.bsky.social

27 Mar

Undergraduate researcher extraordinaire @melpaige05.bsky.social presented some of her recent findings on the role of temperature for the three life stages of a Heterolobosean protist (Fumarolamoeba sp.) today! Melanie's passion for pink posters and characterizing this amoeba is inspiring 💓🦠

H. B. Beryl Rappaport reposted

Julia Van Etten

14 Mar

I have a new review out in TiG titled, “The ecology of horizontal gene transfer”! I’ve been thinking about these ideas for years and this field is growing so fast it’s becoming impossible to review it. I hope this paper sparks discussion on different ways we can look at DNA transfer!

sciencedirect.comThe ecology of horizontal gene transferHorizontal gene transfer (HGT) generates genetic variation in populations across all domains of life; however, most studies focus on individual transf…

H. B. Beryl Rappaport reposted

Rachel Shepherd 🪴

@rmshepherd.bsky.social

27 Feb

Hot off the press! If you’ve ever wondered how ecosystem-engineering gopher tortoises shape soil microbial and nematode communities, this paper is for you! 🐢💚 link.springer.com/article/10.1...

link.springer.comGopher tortoise influence on soil biodiversity is constrained by historical land use - Biodiversity and ConservationKeystone species and ecosystem engineers play critical roles in maintaining and enhancing biodiversity by modifying their environment and creating ecological niches that support a wide range of organi...

H. B. Beryl Rappaport reposted

Gautam Dey

@gautamdey.bsky.social

4 Feb

Thank you @mollyherring.bsky.social for the stunning showcase 😍 Like what you see? Come ExM with us! Let’s flood the internet with microbial marvels 🦠 #ProtistsOnSky #MicroEvoSky 🧪🔬🌍 @dudinlab.bsky.social @centriolelab.bsky.social @moorefound.bsky.social @embl.org @erc.europa.eu @embo.org

Quanta Magazine@quantamagazine.org

Even with the largest zoom on a classic compound optical system, scientists struggle to make sense of finer details. Microbiologists are turning to an unexpected source to clear things up: a moisture-absorbing material found in diapers. www.quantamagazine.org/expansion-mi...

quantamagazine.orgExpansion Microscopy Has Transformed How We See the Cellular World | Quanta MagazineHow physically magnifying objects using a key ingredient in diapers has opened an unprecedented view of the microbial world.

H. B. Beryl Rappaport reposted

STCmicrobeblog

@stcmicrobeblog.bsky.social

2 Feb

Some like it hot… by Christoph — ...and feel right at home in a tributary of Hot Springs Creek in LVNP (California, USA), where temperatures range between 49 °C and 65 °C You are now going to learn a little bit about the amoeba, which was sampled at these "hot spots" by Rappaport et al.….

smallthingsconsidered.blogSome like it hot…by Christoph — ...and feel right at home in a tributary of Hot Springs Creek in LVNP (California, USA), where temperatures range between 49 °C and 65 °C You are now going to learn a little bit about the amoeba, which was sampled at these "hot spots" by Rappaport et al.….

H. B. Beryl Rappaport reposted

Maximilian Ganser

@mhganser.bsky.social

27 Dec 2025

Finally, we’ve solved a long-standing mystery: what tintinnid shells are actually made of: A new class of biomaterial formed by remarkable structural proteins unique to tintinnids. A major milestone after 3 years of work! Read about it in our preprint: doi.org/10.64898/202... #ProtistsOnSky

H. B. Beryl Rappaport reposted

buff.ly‘Fire Amoeba’ Likes It Hot, And A Faraway Lava PlanetA newly identified amoeba can survive at the temperature of a medium-well steak. Plus, a distant lava planet shows signs of an atmosphere.

18 Dec 2025

"A newly identified amoeba can survive at the temperature of a medium-well done steak" lol @scifri.bsky.social an apt comparison a hadn't previously considered... A pleasure chatting about our research led by @hbrappap.bsky.social & with a wonderful team of colleagues.

Science Friday@scifri.bsky.social

A newly described amoeba came out of a somewhat boring stream. That doesn’t mean it’s not hardcore. 🔥 Plus, does this wet lava ball of an exoplanet, recently observed by #NASAWebb, have an atmosphere?

H. B. Beryl Rappaport reposted

Ocean Hoptimism

@oceanhoptimism.org

6 Dec 2025

Sometimes life finds a way… like this newly discovered “fire amoeba,” thriving at 145 °F deep in the hot springs of Lassen Volcanic National Park 🌋 Even in the harshest places, life endures. That kind of resilience gives us hope. ✨ #OceanHoptimism #NatureFindsAWay #Extremophiles #Resilience

sfgate.comScientists find a startling discovery in a national park's hot watersScientists found a new organism that thrives in a national park's hot waters.

H. B. Beryl Rappaport reposted

5 Dec 2025

Delighted to share some coverage of our new preprint (doi.org/10.1101/2025...) from Scientific American and thank you @sciam.bsky.social @andreatweather.bsky.social for taking the time to chat with @hbrappap.bsky.social and I about why we are so excited about the geothermal 𝘐𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘦𝘣𝘢

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H. B. Beryl Rappaport reposted

go.nature.com‘Fire amoeba’ survives in hotter conditions than any other complex cellThe single-celled organism can grow at 63 °C, a record for eukaryotic life.

2 Dec 2025

Thanks nature news for featuring our recent preprint on 𝘐𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘦𝘣𝘢 led by @hbrappap.bsky.social (check out preprint here: doi.org/10.1101/2025...) #protistsonsky

Nature@nature.com

This single-celled amoeba can thrive at temperatures that kill all other known eukaryotic life go.nature.com/4452LXP

So happy to announce our new preprint, “A geothermal amoeba sets a new upper temperature limit for eukaryotes.” We cultured a novel amoeba from Lassen Volcanic NP (CA, USA) that divides at 63°C (145°F) 🔥 - a new record for euk growth! #protistsonsky 🧵

bioRxiv Microbiology@biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social

A geothermal amoeba sets a new upper temperature limit for eukaryotes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.24.690213v1

@xtremevirusprof.bsky.social @nachopus.bsky.social and team at PSU and Gordon Wolfe at Chico for sampling and extremophile expertise @lauraakatz.bsky.social and Godwin Ani at Smith for phylogenomics

And finally all at SyracuseU - @shaharsu.bsky.social @jessniblo.bsky.social for protein analyses, @rmshepherd.bsky.social for culturing, & @oliverio.bsky.social for leading this effort with me!

bioRxiv Microbiology@biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social

A geothermal amoeba sets a new upper temperature limit for eukaryotes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.24.690213v1

So grateful to all collaborators on this huge effort! @mullinslab.bsky.social at UCSF with Natalie Petek, @samjlord.bsky.social, and @skruberk.bsky.social now at Gonzaga with Ethan MacVicar for microscopy & motility analyses

@fmschu.bsky.social New Lineages of Life group at JGI with Tomas Tyml for culturing, seq prep, & biogeography, and Kurt LaButti also at LBNL for bioinformatics @fmikus.bsky.social @dudinlab.bsky.social at Geneva and @gautamdey.bsky.social at EMBL for beautiful U-ExM

bioRxiv Microbiology@biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social

A geothermal amoeba sets a new upper temperature limit for eukaryotes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.24.690213v1

We assembled the genome of 𝘐. 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴 and found enriched genes that may be associated with thermophily - many involved in signaling and protein stability. 𝘐. 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴 proteins also have higher predicted melting temps and higher net surface charges than 𝘝. 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘴.

𝘐. 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴 makes us think about which factors set the upper temp limit for euks and what the physical limit is - are there relatives that grow even hotter? How do euks adapt to extreme conditions? 🌋🦠

bioRxiv Microbiology@biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social

A geothermal amoeba sets a new upper temperature limit for eukaryotes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.24.690213v1

While 𝘝. 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘴 max temp is around 45°C, we found 𝘐. 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴 grows up to 63°C with optimal growth at 55-57°C🥵. We showed cellular replication via Ultrastructure Expansion Microscopy at 63°C. The previous limit for euks is 60°C!

We tracked the motility of 𝘐. 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴 across temp and found it is active up to 64°C (movie here), with most directed motion from 55-64°C🏃‍♀️! It seems to use the vermiform state to travel quickly and the amoebiform state to explore space.

bioRxiv Microbiology@biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social

A geothermal amoeba sets a new upper temperature limit for eukaryotes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.24.690213v1

In 2023, we first sampled from a geothermal tributary at LVNP and using enrichment culturing, found an amoeba growing at high temp.

Using phylogenomics, we placed the amoeba as a novel genus within #Amoebozoa, which we named 𝘐𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘦𝘣𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴 (left). Its sister is 𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘦𝘣𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘴 (right) - both have a “vermiform” and “amoebiform” state.

H. B. Beryl Rappaport reposted

academic.oup.comHalf of microbial eukaryote literature focuses on only twelve human parasitesAbstract. Although microbial eukaryotes comprise the majority of eukaryotic phylogenetic diversity and inhabit nearly all ecosystems globally, most researc

8 Oct 2025

Accepted version of our article "Half of microbial eukaryote literature focuses on only twelve human parasites" now out in ISMEJ! Awesome effort led by undergrad Joanna Lepper and with @hbrappap.bsky.social.

Ákos T Kovács@evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social

Half of microbial eukaryote literature focuses on only twelve human parasites -in #ISMEJournal by Joanna Lepper, @hbrappap.bsky.social and @oliverio.bsky.social academic.oup.com/ismej/advanc...

H. B. Beryl Rappaport reposted

doi.orgTwelve species of human parasites make up half of the literature on microbial eukaryotesAlthough 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...

22 Aug 2025

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

H. B. Beryl Rappaport reposted

Omaya Dudin 𓂆 ¦🍉¦🦠¦🔬¦

@dudinlab.bsky.social

18 Dec 2024

🍾Our small #UExM adventure is only starting! #ProtistsOnSky We are happy to announce that the Moore Foundation will be funding our efforts in creating an Expansion Microscopy atlas of #Microbial #Eukaryotes with @gautamdey.bsky.social @UNIGE @embl.org LINK: www.unige.ch/sciences/chi... 1/4

H. B. Beryl Rappaport reposted

journals.asm.orgGenomics and synthetic community experiments uncover the key metabolic roles of acetic acid bacteria in sourdough starter microbiomes | mSystemsThis study is a comprehensive genomic and ecological survey of acetic acid bacteria (AAB) isolated from sourdough starters. By combining comparative genomics with manipulative experiments using synthe...

18 Sept 2024

Happy to share our effort to understand the role of acetic acid bacteria in sourdough starter microbiomes using genomics + synthetic experiments! Led by @hbrappap.bsky.social and w/ @benwolfe.bsky.social @nimshika.bsky.social and @saerobe.bsky.social journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/... #microsky

H. B. Beryl Rappaport reposted

15 Nov 2024

Replying to @oliverio.bsky.social

Super cool update!! @rmshepherd.bsky.social was able to culture some thermophilic amoebae from our built environment steam vent samples on campus that can happily grow at at least 50C! They are most closely related to Fumarolamoeba (isolated from... yep... fumaroles!) #protistsOnSky #MicroSky

H. B. Beryl Rappaport reposted

doi.orgLessons from Extremophiles: Functional Adaptations and Genomic Innovations across the Eukaryotic Tree of LifeAbstract. From hydrothermal vents, to glaciers, to deserts, research in extreme environments has reshaped our understanding of how and where life can persi

12 Aug 2024

Paper led by lab member Beryl Rappaport was just published in @genomebiolevol.bsky.social - we synthesized adaptations and genomic innovations across microbial and macrobial eukaryotic lineages that are often in very separate research silos #MicroSky🦠🧫🧪 #MicrobiomeSky doi.org/10.1093/gbe/...

H. B. Beryl Rappaport reposted

18 Sept 2023

Thermophilic amoebae from Lassen Volcanic NP are happy and active today at 57C 😱😍😍 This is quite hot for euks and the current known limit for amoeboid lineages - and we suspect they may be able to withstand even higher temps... stay tuned! Awesome image is from lab member Hannah Rappaport.

H. B. Beryl Rappaport reposted