In this issue of Molecular Cell, Ollikainen et al. combine computational simulations with empirical data to reveal how the dynamics of chromatin loop extrusion at the immunoglobulin heavy chain locus enable comparable frequencies of VDJ recombination across megabases of chromatin.

Liu et al. develop a structure database of human gut microbial proteins and a structure-aware AI model for remote homolog detection. They demonstrate the power of structure-guided approach in discover...

PhD Project - Nutrient uptake in commensal bacteria: exploring uncharacterised TonB-dependent transporters. at Newcastle University, listed on FindAPhD.com

The emergence of internal membrane systems was a defining step in eukaryogenesis, but how pre-eukaryotic proteins were adapted to these novel compartm…

Archaeal extrachromosomal elements (ECEs) are arguably the least well understood of all genetic elements, and few have > 200 kbp ("jumbo") genomes. Here, we report circular, jumbo ECEs with genomes of up to 535 kbp in length that associate with anaerobic methane-oxidizing Methanoperedens archaea. Notably, a 409-kbp genome related to jumbo ECEs is integrated into a subset of the ~4.2 Mbp Methanoperedens chromosomes at the tRNA-Asp genes. This represents the largest integrative element in Archaea and supports the jumbo ECE - host association. Multiple genome alignment and phylogenetic analyses suggest that the large sizes were developed by extensive DNA acquisition from Methanoperedens. The newly identified ECEs encode, and in some cases express, metabolic genes such as tetrahydromethanopterin S-methyltransferase exclusively involved in methane oxidation, and genes for nitrogen and sulfur compound transformations. Also encoded are defense systems, some of which are absent in hosts, such as hybrid Type I/Type III-A CRISPR-Cas systems. In contrast to viruses and plasmids, they have host-like replication machinery and occur at stable copy ratios of 1.44 ± 0.24 : 1 to the host. Overall, our results reveal a spectrum of jumbo ECEs of Methanoperedens, ranging from plasmid-like to minichromosome-like. ### Competing Interest Statement J.F.B. is a co-founder of Metagenomi. The remaining authors declare no competing interests. Emerson Collective (United States)

Sidewinder enables high-fidelity DNA assembly by separating the information that guides assembly from the final assembled sequence.

“Period of transition” at funding agency sees some Medical Research Council funding opportunities on hiatus

Funding agency has “been using alternative platforms” amid ongoing controversies over social media company

This video is the culmination of several years attempting to: (1) Figure out best practices for modeling protein-protein interactions; (2) Understand the This video is the culmination of several years...

Nature Microbiology, Published online: 16 January 2026; doi:10.1038/s41564-025-02239-6A library of 400 phage protein-coding genes is used to find a trove of antiphage systems, revealing systems that target tail fibre and major capsid proteins.