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Reposted by Alex de Mendoza

Thibaut Brunet @thibautbrunet.bsky.social · 7d

Latest from ours: www.cell.com/cell-reports...

This is two stories in one: a case study/cautionary tale on developing genetic tools in new organisms, and the first hint at a gene regulatory network for choanoflagellate multicellular development (which turn out to involve a Hippo/YAP/ECM loop!) A 🧵

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Reposted by Alex de Mendoza

Thiago Carvalho @cyrilpedia.bsky.social · 3d

"(...) an extremely large transposon, Teratorn, containing a herpesvirus genome, was inserted into the hoxc12a 3' UTR. This insertion decreased hoxc12a expression & (...) also affected neighboring hox genes, resulting in variations in fin size and the presence or absence of dorsal fins."

The phenotypic variation of widefins medaka is due to the insertion of a giant transposon containing a viral genome within hoxca cluster

Abstract. Phenotypic variation in species arises from genetic differences and environmental influences on gene expression. Differences in epigenetic modifi

academic.oup.com

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Reposted by Alex de Mendoza

Michael Sars Centre @msarscentre.bsky.social · 2d

It was fantastic welcoming back Chema Martin @chemamd.bsky.social from @qmulsbbs.bsky.social at the Centre today 👏 He shared with us his latest work on spiralian larvae evolution, with fascinating insights on the timing of gene expression during development. Thank you for visiting us!

Chema Martin, wearing a dark blue sweater and green trousers, presents his work in front of a seated audience. Behind him, parts of a slide is visible on a screen. It shows a schematic of a planktonic larva.

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Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · 1d

Connecting different “neighborhoods” of a genome has many benefits. For one, it can allow a gene to be regulated by multiple sources, increasing the possibility for more complexity.

Loops of DNA Equipped Ancient Life To Become Complex | Quanta Magazine

New work shows that physical folding of the genome to control genes located far away may have been an early evolutionary development.

www.quantamagazine.org

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Reposted by Alex de Mendoza

Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge @gurdoninstitute.bsky.social · 3d

A Nobel-winning scientist of great modesty and humour, John Gurdon died on 7 Oct. Not only did he make a discovery that laid the foundations for stem cell research, he also created one of the best environments for research at the Wellcome/CRUK Gurdon Institute wellcome.org/news/sir-joh...

Sir John Gurdon, 1933-2025 | Wellcome

A Nobel-winning scientist of great modesty and humour, John Gurdon died on 7 October. He made a discovery that opened up the field of cloning research, and created one of the best environments for res...

wellcome.org

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RobertoFeuda @robertofeuda.bsky.social · 1d

Our latest: combining single-cell RNA-seq from 16 species and HCR validation, we show that monoaminergic neurons share a conserved transcriptional identity across Bilateria. In contrast, we find no evidence for this program in non-bilaterian metazoans. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Monoaminergic neurons share transcriptional identity across Bilaterian animals

The evolutionary conservation of cell types over deep time has long been theorised but remains difficult to demonstrate. Monoaminergic neurons, which produce molecules such as serotonin and dopamine, ...

www.biorxiv.org

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Alex de Mendoza @alexdemendoza.bsky.social · 2d

Thanks Uri, your advice was really useful.

Reposted by Alex de Mendoza

Nat Clarke @natclarke.bsky.social · 4d

🚨 My lab is hiring at all levels!

Interested in animal origins & evolutionary cell biology?

I'm recruiting a postdoc, PhD students & a research assistant to study the molecular evolution of cell adhesion using marine invertebrates + comparative genomics.

🔗: clarkelab.com/join/

Please repost!

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Alex de Mendoza @alexdemendoza.bsky.social · 4d

Thrilled to share that the lab has been awarded a @wellcometrust.bsky.social Discovery Award to keep exploring the evolution of 6-methyladenine #6mA in Eukaryotes. We'll open postdoc (3️⃣) and tech (1️⃣) positions to start in 2026, please share with candidates or reach out if you’d like to join us.

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Reposted by Alex de Mendoza

Thomas Mock @thomasmock.bsky.social · 10d

Our latest #preprint led by Yumary M. Vasquez & Frederik Schulz @jgi.doe.gov

The largest database of giant #virus MAGs (GVMAGs V2) with >18,000 genomes from #marine, freshwater, anthropogenic and terrestrial environments.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Raquel Fueyo @fueyoraquel.bsky.social · 11d

Today in @nature.com, we present our work leveraging functional genomics and human blastoids to uncover a human-specific mechanism in preimplantation development driven by the endogenous retrovirus HERVK.
Special thanks to the reviewers whose comments improved our manuscript a lot! rdcu.be/eI3tD

A human-specific regulatory mechanism revealed in a pre-implantation model

Nature - Genetic manipulation of blastoids reveals the role of recently emerged transposable elements and genes in human development.

rdcu.be

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Reposted by Alex de Mendoza

Erica Dinatale @ericadinatale.bsky.social · 11d

So happy to see my first first-author paper published! 🎈
A short thread on how Ectocarpus and its TE secrets have kept me busy lately:

rdcu.be/eITQH

Characterization of the transposable element landscape shaping the Ectocarpus genome | Genome Biology

rdcu.be

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Reposted by Alex de Mendoza

Harvard Med Cell Biology @harvardcellbio.bsky.social · 10d

Historically, viruses were thought to primarily use host cell's translational machinery. New work from @harvardcellbio.bsky.social faculty Amy Lee reveals that a giant DNA virus encodes its own IF4F initiation complex, suggesting an unexpected evolutionary innovation. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Giant DNA viruses encode a hallmark translation initiation complex of eukaryotic life

In contrast to living organisms, viruses were long thought to lack protein synthesis machinery and instead depend on host factors to translate viral transcripts. Here, we discover that giant DNA virus...

www.biorxiv.org

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Reposted by Alex de Mendoza

Dimitrije @biodimi.bsky.social · 10d

Check out our latest work on the discovery and engineering of PiggyBac transposases! 🧵

Nature Biotechnology @natbiotech.nature.com · 10d

Discovery and protein language model-guided design of hyperactive transposases - @marcguellc.bsky.social @upf.edu @icreacommunity.bsky.social @crg.eu go.nature.com/4gXLGEw

Discovery and protein language model-guided design of hyperactive transposases - Nature Biotechnology

Phylogenetic mining and protein language models uncover improved PiggyBac transposase sequences.

go.nature.com

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Reposted by Alex de Mendoza

Transposon and Cancer Epigenetics Group @deniz-lab.bsky.social · 9d

We have a new PhD studentship in the lab on the immunogenic roles of transposable elements in paediatric acute myeloid leukaemia! Come and work with us! www.colcc.ac.uk/2026-cyp-phd...

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Arnau Sebé-Pedrós @arnausebe.bsky.social · 28d

Registration deadline for @embo.org workshop EvoChromo extended until September 30.

meetings.embo.org/event/24-evo...

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Manuel Irimia @mirimiam.bsky.social · 20d

Last days to apply! Cool project, cool cities! :-)

(Please repost! 🙏)

Manuel Irimia @mirimiam.bsky.social · Jul 23

🚨🚨🚨

Please RT!

We're looking for a postdoc to join an exciting joint project between our lab @upf.edu & @crg.eu (Barcelona) and the Sander lab @mdc-berlin.bsky.social (Berlin) investigating how alternative splicing and microexons influences the maturation of pancreatic islets.

Deadline: 30/09/25👇

www.upf.edu

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Alex de Mendoza @alexdemendoza.bsky.social · 16d

Congrats! Great university, beautiful building, superb colleagues, enjoy!

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Vengamanaidu Modepalli @venky-vnm.bsky.social · 27d

Exciting news to share! I have started my new role as a Lecturer in Evolutionary Biology / Director of MSc Bioinformatics program at the School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol @bristolbiosci.bsky.social

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Alex de Mendoza @alexdemendoza.bsky.social · Sep 12

Congrats, really cool! Comparing paper length vs Bluesky 🧵 length, and how much better are the videos integrated here, maybe we should drop even BioRxiv and just post science here. The flagellum that unilaterally decides to secede (for nobody's gain) is the proof that protists are bit crazy.

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Thibaut Brunet @thibautbrunet.bsky.social · Sep 9

New short paper from our lab @currentbiology.bsky.social, in which we discover of a new mode of cell motility for choanoflagellates: flagellar gliding. www.cell.com/current-biol... - A 🧵

Flagellar gliding in choanoflagellates

Freire-Delgado and Brunet discover a new mode of cell motility in choanoflagellates, the closest relatives of animals. Under mild confinement, choanoflagellate move over surfaces without cell deformat...

www.cell.com

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Reposted by Alex de Mendoza

ulrichtechnau.bsky.social @ulrichtechnau.bsky.social · Sep 11

We knew that cnidarians have stunning regenerative capacities. But the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the self-organization of gastruloids of Nematostella surprised us. A story of cell sorting and Notch signaling. Please check out the work of Sanjay's PhD work: doi.org/10.1101/2025...

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Casey Dunn @caseywdunn.bsky.social · Sep 11

Interested in joining our lab (dunnlab.org) as a postdoc to work on siphonophores, processes that structure diversity in the open ocean, or natural history? If so, please reach out to discuss a nomination for the Donnelley Postdoctoral Fellowship - yibs.yale.edu/donnelley-fe...

The Dunn Lab

Casey Dunn's laboratory in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale University.

dunnlab.org

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Alex de Mendoza @alexdemendoza.bsky.social · Sep 11

Very happy to have contributed to this review on "non-CG" #methylation in animals now out in @natgenet.nature.com. Working again with @obog.bsky.social and Tirsa is always a pleasure. We think this not so well studied form of methylation should be more widely considered, please read: rdcu.be/eFAEk

Non-CG DNA methylation in animal genomes

Nature Genetics - This Review discusses noncanonical DNA methylation (mCH) in animal genomes and highlights the remaining need to clarify whether mCH represents a conserved regulatory layer or a...

rdcu.be

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Molecular Biology and Evolution @molbioevol.bsky.social · Sep 5

Red devil spiders from the Canary Islands have a genome half the size of mainland counterparts - Pisarenco, @jrozasub.bsky.social et al. show how purifying selection against slightly deleterious DNA and TE insertions is the primary mechanism.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf206

#evobio #molbio #TEsky

How Did Evolution Halve Genome Size During an Oceanic Island Colonization?

Abstract. Red devil spiders of the genus Dysdera colonized the Canary Islands and underwent an extraordinary diversification. Notably, their genomes are ne

doi.org

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