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charlottewright.bsky.social
Charlotte Wright
@charlottewright.bsky.social
670 followers 280 following 53 posts
Evolution, genomics, butterflies and moths 🦋 Postdoc in the Tree of Life, Wellcome Sanger Institute & Research fellow at Darwin College, University of Cambridge
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charlottewright.bsky.social
Charlotte Wright @charlottewright.bsky.social · 27d
How many chromosomes can an animal have?

In our paper out now in @currentbiology.bsky.social we show that the Atlas blue butterfly has 229 chromosome pairs- the highest in diploid Metazoa! These arose by rapid autosome fragmentation while sex chromosomes stayed intact.
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Constraints on chromosome evolution revealed by the 229 chromosome pairs of the Atlas blue butterfly
The genome of the Atlas blue butterfly contains ten times more chromosomes than most butterflies, and more than any other known diploid animal. Wright et al. show that this extraordinary karyotype is ...
tinyurl.com
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Reposted by Charlotte Wright
mattneville.bsky.social
Matthew Neville @mattneville.bsky.social · 5h
Now published! Our paper on:
(1) Accurate sequencing of sperm at scale
(2) Positive selection of spermatogenesis driver mutations across the exome
(3) Offspring disease risks from male reproductive aging
[1/n]
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Sperm sequencing reveals extensive positive selection in the male germline - Nature
A combination of whole-genome NanoSeq with deep whole-exome and targeted NanoSeq is used to accurately characterize mutation rates and genes under positive selection in sperm cells.
www.nature.com
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Reposted by Charlotte Wright
zikan.bsky.social
Márcio Zikán Cardoso @zikan.bsky.social · 2d
Today´s Guardian has an article about our study on butterfly colors, where we compare butterfly colors in native forest to those in eucalyptus plantations. This is study is a partnership between labs from Denmark, Spain, and Brazil.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
As forests are cut down, butterflies are losing their colours
The insects’ brilliant hues evolved in lush ecosystems to help them survive. Now they are becoming more muted to adapt to degraded landscapes – and they are not the only things dulling down
www.theguardian.com
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Reposted by Charlotte Wright
marcelauliano.bsky.social
Marcela Uliano-Silva @marcelauliano.bsky.social · 5d
Preprint Alert! 🦥
We produced complete genomes for 2 Xenarthra and placed them in a mammalian comparative framework. We found that Xenarthra harbour the largest number of retrocopies in mammals! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Retrocopy formation and domestication shape genome evolution in sloths and other xenarthrans
Xenarthrans, comprising sloths, anteaters, and armadillos, represent one of the most morphologically and physiologically specialised mammalian clades, yet the genomic basis of their adaptations remain...
www.biorxiv.org
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Reposted by Charlotte Wright
projectpsyche.bsky.social
Project Psyche @projectpsyche.bsky.social · 5d
Project Psyche is featured in a new article out now on @spectrum.ieee.org! Check it out to get an insight into the efforts of @ebpgenome.bsky.social and the milestones achieved during the fieldtrip of #ProjectPsyche and @10klepgenomes.bsky.social to the Italian Alps 🦋
spectrum.ieee.org
IEEE Spectrum @spectrum.ieee.org · 6d
Whole Genome Sequencing Will Transform Our Understanding of Life. The Earth BioGenome Project is using cutting-edge tech like long-read sequencing to map the DNA of 1.8 million organisms. Researchers anticipate major discoveries in evolution and medicine.
Mass-Scale Genome Sequencing Will Change Our Understanding of Life
The Earth BioGenome Project aims to sequence 1.8 million species. It's one of the most ambitious science projects ever, and it will revolutionize biology
spectrum.ieee.org
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Reposted by Charlotte Wright
anaserrasilva.bsky.social
Ana Serra Silva @anaserrasilva.bsky.social · 9d
If you're interested in understanding discordance in phylogenomic analyses, the @evojlinnsoc.bsky.social's special issue 'Phylogenomic Discordance: Patterns, Processes, and Solutions' is for you!

tinyurl.com/v2eces3s

I'll be sharing a few articles a week until we're through the issue! (1/n)🧪
Phylogenomic Discordance: Patterns, Processes, and Solutions
Phylogenomics, the study of evolutionary relationships using genomic data, has revolutionized our understanding of the Tree of Life. As a field, phylogenomics h
academic.oup.com
1 3 7
Reposted by Charlotte Wright
popgroup2026.bsky.social
POPGROUP59 @popgroup2026.bsky.social · 9d
Exciting news!
The next #PopGroup meeting will take place in Lille 🍟, France, 7–9 January 2026 – just 1 hour by train from London, Brussels, and Paris.

This year, PopGroup will also host ALPHY, the annual meeting of Evolutionary Genomics.

More info: populationgeneticsgroup.org.uk

See you there !
Population Genetics group 59
populationgeneticsgroup.org.uk
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Reposted by Charlotte Wright
henrylnorth.bsky.social
Henry North @henrylnorth.bsky.social · 12d
k-mer-based diversity scales with population size proxies more than nucleotide diversity in a meta-analysis of 98 plant species.

academic.oup.com/evlett/artic...
k-mer-based diversity scales with population size proxies more than nucleotide diversity in a meta-analysis of 98 plant species
Abstract. A key prediction of neutral theory is that the level of genetic diversity in a population should scale with population size. However, as was note
academic.oup.com
2 8 14
Reposted by Charlotte Wright
melbrien.bsky.social
Melanie Brien @melbrien.bsky.social · 14d
Funded PhD position available 🎉 Come and work with me in Helsinki to uncover the pathways producing colourful tiger moth wings. Lots of options for genomics, CRISPR, fieldwork, behaviour experiments… Email with questions! jobs.helsinki.fi/job/Helsinki...
Wood tiger moth on leaf. Photo: Juhani Maamela.
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Reposted by Charlotte Wright
genomebiolevol.bsky.social
Genome Biology and Evolution @genomebiolevol.bsky.social · 16d
Hospodářská, @petrnguyen.bsky.social et al. investigated genome size and karyotype in Polyommatus and Lysandra butterflies, rejecting polyploidy to confirm karyotypic diversification via chromosome fragmentation in Polyommatinae butterflies.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf157

#genome #evolution
GBE | Polyommatine Blue Butterflies Reveal Unexpected Integrity of the W Sex Chromosome Amid Extensive Chromosomal Fragmentation Linked to Telomere Restoration
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charlottewright.bsky.social
Charlotte Wright @charlottewright.bsky.social · 14d
Join us at #Biodiversity25 !

Interested in Lepidoptera? There will be the session on @projectpsyche.bsky.social with project updates, the highly anticipated re-launch of Lepbase and discussions on the analysis of the first 1,000 lep genomes. Plus there's a keynote by @lepphylo.bsky.social!🦋
petermulhair.bsky.social
Peter Mulhair @petermulhair.bsky.social · 14d
Last chance to join us next month for the #Biodiversity25 conference.

A fantastic set of speakers, mix of talks & focused workshops, and the chance to meet others in the field of biodiversity genomics 🧬

In-person registration closes next Monday 29th September!

Registration 🔗: bit.ly/4j3vAZ9
Understanding Life: Using Largescale Biodiversity Reference Genomes — 20251027
Understanding life: Using largescale biodiversity reference genomes
bit.ly
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Reposted by Charlotte Wright
entomoprofessor.bsky.social
Mónica Doblas-Bajo | Entomologist (she/her) | 🇵🇸 @entomoprofessor.bsky.social · 17d
Celebrating the first 1,000 sequenced genomes on @projectpsyche.bsky.social 😎🧬🦋 #ProjectPsyche #MothStitching
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Reposted by Charlotte Wright
biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social
bioRxiv Evolutionary Biology @biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social · 17d
Hybridogenesis as an intermediate step between sexual reproduction and parthenogenesis https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.19.677091v1
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Reposted by Charlotte Wright
mariloumercedes.bsky.social
marilou boddé @mariloumercedes.bsky.social · 20d
Our paper Genomic diversity of the African malaria vector Anopheles funestus was published in Science today! It features inversions, selection in action, museum specimens and putative new ecotypes. doi.org/10.1126/scie...
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charlottewright.bsky.social
Charlotte Wright @charlottewright.bsky.social · 20d
To celebrate the genomes for 1,000 (!) species of Lepidoptera in Europe, Project Psyche has released a preprint outlining our ambitions to jointly sequence & leverage genomes of all 11,000 species in Europe to propel science, conservation & society.

This was a joy to write together as a community!
projectpsyche.bsky.social
Project Psyche @projectpsyche.bsky.social · 25d
(6/6)📄 In our new whitepaper (EcoEvoRxiv) we discuss our aims to coordinate this collaborative analysis of Lepidoptera genomes, turning data into impact for science, conservation and society.
Now available at 👉 ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...

#ProjectPsyche #Genomics
Project Psyche: Generating and utilising reference genomes for all Lepidoptera in Europe
ecoevorxiv.org
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charlottewright.bsky.social
Charlotte Wright @charlottewright.bsky.social · 20d
Thank you! All butterflies/moths considered holocentric (centromeric activity along chr lengths) so lack point centromeres to interact via. I don't think mitosis has been studied in this species (I'd also love to see this!) but see chr spreads in meiosis here: doi: 10.3897/CompCytogen.v9i4.5760.
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charlottewright.bsky.social
Charlotte Wright @charlottewright.bsky.social · 27d
This work was made possible by wonderful co-authors @rogervilalab.bsky.social at @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social and Martin Gascoigne-Pees. Thank you to Dom Absolon for expertly and painstakingly curating this genome and to Mark Blaxter and @marakat.bsky.social @sangerinstitute.bsky.social!
Photo of a female individual of Polyommatus atlantica. Image credit: Martin Gascoigne-Pees.
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charlottewright.bsky.social
Charlotte Wright @charlottewright.bsky.social · 27d
Do the same features and patterns underlie other instances of rapid chromosomal change?

High-quality genomes by @ebpgenome.bsky.social across eukaryotes will allow us to explore this. In particular, @projectpsyche.bsky.social is sequencing all species of Lepidoptera in Europe. Exciting times ahead!
Photo of Project Psyche members at a fieldwork trip in Tyrol, Italy.
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charlottewright.bsky.social
Charlotte Wright @charlottewright.bsky.social · 27d
The patterns that we see in the Atlas blue butterfly highlight key constraints on genome evolution such as the stability of sex chromosomes.

These patterns also provide clues to the mechanisms that give rise to rapid chromosomal change.
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charlottewright.bsky.social
Charlotte Wright @charlottewright.bsky.social · 27d
What else could underlie many fissions?

It could be that fissions are fixed by drift in species with low population sizes. We found the Atlas blue had similar genetic diversity to closely-related species with stable karyotypes, suggesting genetic diversity does not correlate with extreme fission.
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charlottewright.bsky.social
Charlotte Wright @charlottewright.bsky.social · 27d
Surprisingly, we found telomeric repeat arrays scattered across its chromosomes.

We found a similar pattern in other butterflies which have experienced fission.

These telomeric repeats may facilitate or stabilise chromosome fissions, or alternatively are scars of fissions which were repaired.
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charlottewright.bsky.social
Charlotte Wright @charlottewright.bsky.social · 27d
Key gene clusters like the Hox genes have remained together. However, we didn't find evidence of related gene sets being preserved genome-wide. This suggests cis-regulation does not impose a strong constraint on fission.
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charlottewright.bsky.social
Charlotte Wright @charlottewright.bsky.social · 27d
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charlottewright.bsky.social
Charlotte Wright @charlottewright.bsky.social · 27d
Where in the genome do fissions occur?

We find that fission often took place in the loosely-packed, euchromatic A compartment rather than the tightly-packed heterochromatic B compartment.
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charlottewright.bsky.social
Charlotte Wright @charlottewright.bsky.social · 27d
W chromosomes are expected to degenerate due to the absence of recombination in female butterflies.

However, we find interesting patterns of degeneration - potentially consistent with a history of recombination between the Z and W chromosomes.
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charlottewright.bsky.social
Charlotte Wright @charlottewright.bsky.social · 27d
We reconstructed the history of the sex chromosomes. We found that the W chromosomes are derived from homologs of the three autosomes that became sex-linked.
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