PriME - Principles of Microbial Ecosystems

A collaboration @SimonsFdn which investigates the principles underpinning the self-organization, structure, and function of #microbial communities in the #ocean

[PriME - Principles of Microbial Ecosystems @PriME_SimFdn]

We gladly introduce PriME, an international and interdisciplinary collaboration which aims to derive fundamental principles of how microbial ecosystems assemble and function, with a primary focus on #marinemicrobes and #carboncycling 🦠🌊

Stay tuned!👀

[PriME - Principles of Microbial Ecosystems @PriME_SimFdn]

From microbial communities to climate science and policy! 🌊🌍

After helping shape PriME as co-PI, Olga Schubert begins a new chapter at the ETH Klima Hub. Thank you, Olga, for your science, ideas and collaborations—we wish you every success 🤗!

[PriME - Principles of Microbial Ecosystems @PriME_SimFdn]

10 years of science, collaboration and shared experiences! 🌊🔬

At the recent Annual Meeting, we celebrated what we’ve achieved—and looked ahead to the exciting work still to come as projects and connections will continue.

Thank you @SimonsFdn for making this journey possible!

[PriME - Principles of Microbial Ecosystems @PriME_SimFdn]

How does a bacterium breach a diatom’s glass-like shell? 🦠

New PriME work in @NatureComms shows how A. macleodii triggers cell death in T. rotula��with consequences for ocean carbon cycling.

Congratulations to Isobel Short and team! 👏
https://t.co/NSejECWTHK

[Science Magazine @ScienceMagazine]

"I did not need to disguise the constraints of my career to prove I was a devoted mother, just as I do not need to disguise the demands of motherhood to prove I am a serious scientist." #ScienceWorkingLife https://t.co/eLseTagvVk

[PriME - Principles of Microbial Ecosystems @PriME_SimFdn]

When does having a microbial “backup” actually make a community more robust? 🦠

A new review from PriME and @NCCRMicrobiomes by Anna Weiss 👏and colleagues takes an ecological look at functional redundancy 👇
https://t.co/sG94bPhVTu

[PriME - Principles of Microbial Ecosystems @PriME_SimFdn]

After 8 wonderful years with PriME, Johannes Keegstra is moving to @QMUL as a Royal Society Newton International Fellow 👏

Thank you for your science, ideas, support and humour—and for all you brought to our community!

See what Johannes is up to next:
https://t.co/p81jbRcbQo

[Otto X. Cordero @oxcordero]

New KITP summer program: Phenotypic Heterogeneity & Collective Behavior in Biofilms — summer 2027 at UCSB.
Weeks of seminars, blackboard sessions, and time to think. Apply: https://t.co/M46GZ7ao0Q

[PriME - Principles of Microbial Ecosystems @PriME_SimFdn]

Congratulations 👏to PriME members Hagen Buck-Wiese and Naomi Levine on this publication, in which they call for moving beyond “optimal” phenotypes measured under fixed conditions to capture microbial plasticity in a changing ocean. 🌊🦠

[Cell Host & Microbe @cellhostmicrobe]

Life out of equilibrium: Rethinking how we quantify & model marine microbial phenotypes

Forum examines marine microbial physiology,arguing for quantification of phenotypic plasticity to ID strategies across environments &parameterize biogeochemical models
https://t.co/vGIEUrGeVS

[PriME - Principles of Microbial Ecosystems @PriME_SimFdn]

Congratulations to the whole PriME crew 😃

[Otto X. Cordero @oxcordero]

Excited to share our latest paper in @Nature, featuring the fantastic work of Andi Sichert. A systems ecology approach to understanding how microbial communities digest complex carbohydrates in the ocean:

https://t.co/inXvDjdgwi

[PriME - Principles of Microbial Ecosystems @PriME_SimFdn]

Welcome to PriME, McKenzie @microbe__mom! 🎉

McKenzie has joined the Moran Lab, where she studies interactions between marine phytoplankton and heterotrophic bacteria — and how they shape organic matter cycling in the ocean 🌊🦠

Great to have you with us! 🤗

[PriME - Principles of Microbial Ecosystems @PriME_SimFdn]

Congratulations to Yamini @iitbyamini and many other PriME alumni and current members, for this new study 👏😃

Check out the paper to learn more about this deep-sea PriME microbial teamwork 🤗👇

[Cameron Thrash @jcamthrash]

Deep-sea anaerobic microbial communities couple degradation of insoluble chitin to extracellular electron transfer https://t.co/SQbkdoDgBq

[PriME - Principles of Microbial Ecosystems @PriME_SimFdn]

Congratulations to Harish on successfully defending his PhD thesis, "Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Bacterial Colony Development" 👏🎉👨‍🎓

He'll be heading in the fall to the University of Chicago as a Postdoctoral Fellow.

All the best for this exciting new chapter! 🍀🚀

[PriME - Principles of Microbial Ecosystems @PriME_SimFdn]

❓Can we predict ocean carbon cycling by looking at what microbes do rather than who they are?🌊

During his PhD in PriME, Ryan Reynolds explored this question by combining global metagenomic with metabolic modeling 😀

Check out his last publication 👇
https://t.co/Ao2tRpHh5a

[PriME - Principles of Microbial Ecosystems @PriME_SimFdn]

🌊 Are bacterial attachments to phytoplankton just microscopic travel companions — or a key driver of marine ecosystem functioning? 🦠

PriME alumnus Mathieu Forget explores this question in a new review 👏👇

https://t.co/4C4f67UbJO

[Sammy Pontrelli @sammy_pontrelli]

We're hiring a new postdoc! Are you experienced in genetically modifying non-model microbes? Do you have experience in leading a molecular level project, possibly dealing with metabolism? Then this is perfect for you!

https://t.co/56jHy1KHt9

[PriME - Principles of Microbial Ecosystems @PriME_SimFdn]

Congratulations to Astrid Stubbusch for receiving the Prix Schläfli 2026 in Biology for her outstanding PhD work made in PriME 😉 👏😃🦠

Amazing achievement, Astrid — so well deserved!

https://t.co/WPnwn4cOXA

[PriME - Principles of Microbial Ecosystems @PriME_SimFdn]

Welcome to PriME, Dieter! 🎉

Dieter joins the Orphan Lab @OrphanANME as a Postdoc, working at the interface of microbiology, biophysics & fluid dynamics to study microbial interactions and processes like marine snow formation ��🌊

Great to have you on board 🤗!

[PriME - Principles of Microbial Ecosystems @PriME_SimFdn]

It's time to say goodbye to @JonaszSlomka — a PriME member since the early days 👏

He will start his own #bioencounters lab at the University of Warsaw, exploring microbial interactions at the physics–biology interface 🦠.

All the best for this exciting new chapter! 🚀

[PriME - Principles of Microbial Ecosystems @PriME_SimFdn]

PriME members in Zurich gathered last week for the PriME Mini-Symposium!
Interactive poster sessions, review paper discussions, and plenty of networking made for a lively afternoon of science and collaboration 🤗
Thanks to everyone who joined! 🌊🦠

[PriME - Principles of Microbial Ecosystems @PriME_SimFdn]

Most marine bacteria never find a food particle. Some do—and that’s enough 😉

A PriME team uncovers stochastic resilience: rare, high-reward encounters sustain bacterial populations in nutrient-poor oceans.🌊🦠

Out now in @PNASNews !
https://t.co/37htmLyjHi