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Belen Pachano @belenpachano.bsky.social · Sep 6

I’m excited to share our new preprint!

We’ve been investigating a specific domain in TgSNF2L that forms decamers in vitro. Every time we attempted to break them apart, they just snapped back together. That tenacity earned it the nickname Hydra. 🐉

🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Hydra domain drives SNF2L multimerization and marks ISWI diversification in parasites

ISWI chromatin remodelers are conserved regulators of nucleosome positioning and chromatin accessibility across eukaryotes, yet their evolutionary diversification is poorly understood. In the apicompl...

www.biorxiv.org

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Reposted by Belen Pachano

Mohamed-Ali HAKIMI @hakimi.bsky.social · Sep 6

Zeus had his Hydra ⚔️, now Toxoplasma has its own.

Meet Hydra: not a monster, but a brand-new protein domain.
It multimerizes like crazy & rewrites the chromatin landscape 🧬 in Toxoplasma.

Our team and colleagues from @embl.org #Grenoble just dropped the preprint 👉
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Belen Pachano @belenpachano.bsky.social · Aug 30

Thrilled to share our latest review! 🎉 It captures the ideas and discussions that have shaped our work in recent years. Big shoutout to the amazing authors 👏 @hakimi.bsky.social

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Decoding the epigenetic blueprint behind Toxoplasma (pre)sexual commitment and chronic persistence

Toxoplasma gondii, a widespread apicomplexan parasite, navigates a complex life cycle in which it switches back and forth between tachyzoites and brad…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Belen Pachano @belenpachano.bsky.social · Jul 25

Thank you for providing me an amazing environment to learn and work. I could not have asked for a better mentor!

Mohamed-Ali HAKIMI @hakimi.bsky.social · Jul 5

Huge congrats @belenpachano.bsky.social on your PhD! Honored to have shared the journey. Your brilliance shines through your articles — past and future. You’ll be missed, but my lab will always be your home. Come back anytime. You’ve earned every success!

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Belen Pachano @belenpachano.bsky.social · May 19

Glad to have contributed to this amazing work out now in
@embomolmed.org ! 🎉 Big shoutout to Marie G. Robert & Christopher Swale and @hakimi.bsky.social !

www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

Uncovering biomarkers for chronic toxoplasmosis detection highlights alternative pathways shaping parasite dormancy | EMBO Molecular Medicine

imageimageDespite their clinical relevance, bradyzoite-filled cysts - the hallmark of chronic toxoplasmosis - are largely overlooked in current diagnostics. This study highlights bradyzoite serologica...

www.embopress.org

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Reposted by Belen Pachano

Mohamed-Ali HAKIMI @hakimi.bsky.social · May 19

🧵 Ever wondered what Toxoplasma is doing in your brain years after that undercooked steak 🥩 or a sip of contaminated water? Turns out, it's been hiding in your brain 🧠and we finally have a way to spot it. New study just dropped in EMBO Molecular Medicine 👇
doi.org/10.1038/s443...

Uncovering biomarkers for chronic toxoplasmosis detection highlights alternative pathways shaping parasite dormancy | EMBO Molecular Medicine

imageimageDespite their clinical relevance, bradyzoite-filled cysts - the hallmark of chronic toxoplasmosis - are largely overlooked in current diagnostics. This study highlights bradyzoite serologica...

doi.org

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Reposted by Belen Pachano

LabEx ParaFrap @parafrap.bsky.social · Apr 22

An ISWI-related chromatin remodeller regulates stage-specific gene expression in #Toxoplasma gondii. By Belen Pachano (ParaFrap PhD student) et al., team @hakimi.bsky.social. In @natmicrobiol.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Toxoplasma gondii evolved two ISWI remodellers, TgSNF2h and TgSNF2L. TgSNF2h forms a complex that insulates active genes, regulates MORC-driven sexual commitment and ensures precise gene expression, s...

www.nature.com

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Belen Pachano @belenpachano.bsky.social · Apr 13

Open Sesame: The Protein Behind Parasite Stage Switching

"To make sense of this genomic jungle, the parasite relies on an extra layer of regulation to ensure precise gene activation at the right time and in the right place"

go.nature.com/3RJNMfb

Open Sesame: The Protein Behind Parasite Stage Switching

go.nature.com

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Belen Pachano @belenpachano.bsky.social · Apr 13

Thrilled to share my first paper, now out in
@natmicrobiol.nature.com! Huge thanks to my amazing supervisor @hakimi.bsky.social and everyone who contributed to this work!

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Toxoplasma gondii evolved two ISWI remodellers, TgSNF2h and TgSNF2L. TgSNF2h forms a complex that insulates active genes, regulates MORC-driven sexual commitment and ensures precise gene expression, s...

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Belen Pachano

Mohamed-Ali HAKIMI @hakimi.bsky.social · Apr 11

In the silence of chromatin, Toxoplasma whispers change.
TgSNF2h sculpts the genome - MORC in the backseat.
Some genes wake. Others sleep.
A dance of nucleosomes shaping space for life parasite stages to unfold.

Now in Nature Microbiology:
rdcu.be/ehkWp

Nature Microbiology - Toxoplasma gondii evolved two ISWI remodellers, TgSNF2h and TgSNF2L. TgSNF2h forms a complex that insulates active genes, regulates MORC-driven sexual commitment and ensures...

rdcu.be

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Reposted by Belen Pachano

Mohamed-Ali HAKIMI @hakimi.bsky.social · Apr 11

A humorous reflection on the first article from my stellar PhD student, Belen Pachano.

communities.springernature.com/posts/open-s...

Open Sesame: The Protein Behind Parasite Stage Switching

communities.springernature.com

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