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Reposted by Erica Dinatale

Riccardo Pianezza @rpianezza.bsky.social · 4d

We discovered an endogenous retrovirus that's still spreading in natural D. melanogaster populations! It was horizontally transferred from D. erecta in Central Africa, so we named it "Kuruka", which means "jump" in Swahili. Read its cool story here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Reposted by Erica Dinatale

Hajk-Georg Drost @hajkdrost.bsky.social · 6d

Thrilled to share what we learned from re-annotating the mobilome of the brown algae model [Ectocarpus] 🌊🌿🏖️

genomebiology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

A wonderful collaboration with @ericadinatale.bsky.social, @cssmartinho.bsky.social, @rorycraig.bsky.social, and Susana Coelho! 🎉

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Reposted by Erica Dinatale

Hajk-Georg Drost @hajkdrost.bsky.social · 6d

It would be exciting to study whether there are clear "causal" links between TE regulation and body plan formation in brown algae, where 'artificial' mobilisation of young TEs can drive innovation (and overcome constraints) in the formation of multicellular phenotypes.

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Erica Dinatale @ericadinatale.bsky.social · 7d

Thank you!!

Erica Dinatale @ericadinatale.bsky.social · 7d

Thank you Vangeli!

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Erica Dinatale @ericadinatale.bsky.social · 7d

Huge thanks to Susana Coelho, @hajkdrost.bsky.social, @cssmartinho.bsky.social and @rorycraig.bsky.social for their guidance and support throughout this massive work!

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Erica Dinatale @ericadinatale.bsky.social · 7d

5/5 🔮 Brown algae are a unique lineage in the tree of life, and working on them gave me a new perspective on the diversity of TE landscapes and regulation mechanisms across eukaryotes!

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Erica Dinatale @ericadinatale.bsky.social · 7d

4/5 ✨ And my favourite part: intact TEs are preferentially associated with small RNAs and with the histone modification H3K79me2. Their interplay offers a curious insight into alternative regulatory strategies.

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Erica Dinatale @ericadinatale.bsky.social · 7d

3/5 🧬 Over 80% of genes contain at least one intronic TE insertion. These intronic elements are shorter and more degraded than intergenic TEs, and overall they show minimal impact on gene expression.

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Erica Dinatale @ericadinatale.bsky.social · 7d

2/5 🧜 TEs form discrete, repeat-rich islands that don’t correspond to centromeres. We also found an interesting enrichment in the pseudo-autosomal region of the sex chromosome, likely fueled by local hopping of DNA transposons from the sex-determining region.

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Erica Dinatale @ericadinatale.bsky.social · 7d

1/5 🌊 The Ectocarpus genome harbors a high diversity of evolutionarily young TEs. DNA transposons dominate, but Gypsy elements carrying a Tudor domain caught our eye!

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Erica Dinatale @ericadinatale.bsky.social · 7d

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 Erica Dinatale

MPI for Biology Tübingen & Friedrich Miescher Laboratory @mpi-bio-fml.bsky.social · Aug 27

New research: With ancient origins & surprising flexibility, #BrownAlgae reveal a compelling story of sex chromosome evolution. This could rewrite how we view sex determination. Learn more: s.gwdg.de/YDoZ3L
Congrats to @agalip.bsky.social & Josue Barrera for their work in @natecoevo.nature.com

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Reposted by Erica Dinatale

Nature Ecology & Evolution @natecoevo.nature.com · Aug 25

Genomes of brown algae with different sex determination systems show that U/V sex chromosomes evolved 450–224 million years ago and show remarkable conservation of genes within the sex-determining region, despite independent expansions of the sex locus in each lineage

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

Origin and evolutionary trajectories of brown algal sex chromosomes - Nature Ecology & Evolution

Genomes of nine brown algal species with different sex determination systems show that U/V sex chromosomes evolved 450–224 Ma and show remarkable conservation of genes within the sex-determining regio...

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Erica Dinatale

Ming Tommy Tang @tommytang.bsky.social · Aug 22

Free online ebook: R and python comparisons side by side
www.anotherbookondatascience.com/chapter1.html

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Erica Dinatale @ericadinatale.bsky.social · Aug 21

Thank you Toby! Brown algae and TEs make a cool combo 🌊🦘🪅

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Reposted by Erica Dinatale

Yi-Jyun Luo @yjluo.bsky.social · Aug 18

Delighted to share the peer-reviewed version of our study led by @tomlewin.bsky.social now out in Genome Biology @bmc.springernature.com! We analyzed 64 chromosome-level genomes across 15 animal phyla and found that extensive genome rearrangements are the norm in bilaterians.
doi.org/10.1186/s130...

Conservation of bilaterian genome structure is the exception, not the rule - Genome Biology

Species from diverse animal lineages have conserved groups of orthologous genes together on the same chromosome for over half a billion years since the last common ancestor of bilaterians. Although no...

doi.org

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Reposted by Erica Dinatale

Cedric Feschotte @cedricfeschotte.bsky.social · Apr 30

💥🥳 At long last, our latest paper is out!

Gag proteins of endogenous retroviruses are required for zebrafish development

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Led heroically by Sylvia Chang & @jonowells.bsky.social

A study which has changed the way I think of #transposons! No less! 🧵 1/n

Gag proteins encoded by endogenous retroviruses are required for zebrafish development | PNAS

Transposable elements (TEs) make up the bulk of eukaryotic genomes and examples abound of TE-derived sequences repurposed for organismal function. ...

www.pnas.org

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Erica Dinatale @ericadinatale.bsky.social · Aug 19

Transposable elements in brown algae? 🌊
Yes, they’re full of surprises ✨
Come meet Ectocarpus at #ESEB2025!

📍Room 113 - S28.03
🗓️ Thursday, 2:30pm

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Erica Dinatale @ericadinatale.bsky.social · Aug 19

#ESEB2025 check out poster 221!
The amazing work of @petrollromy.bsky.social and @borglab.bsky.social is also here ⤵️

www.cell.com/current-biol...

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Reposted by Erica Dinatale

Amelia Cervera 🍉 @ameliacervera.bsky.social · Aug 18

#TEsky #RNAsky #RNAbiology

Cell - a Cell Press journal @cp-cell.bsky.social · Aug 6

Now online! Composite transposons with bivalent histone marks function as RNA-dependent enhancers in cell fate regulation

Composite transposons with bivalent histone marks function as RNA-dependent enhancers in cell fate regulation

This study reveals that composite transposons with bivalent histone marks can serve as RNA-dependent enhancers, controlling key developmental and aging-related gene programs.

dlvr.it

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Reposted by Erica Dinatale

Toni Gabaldón @tonigabaldon.bsky.social · Aug 17

#eseb2025 has started. So many friends and colleagues around. This is amazing. Welcome everyone to Barcelona!

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Reposted by Erica Dinatale

KetrinaDrawsALot @ketrinadrawsalot.bsky.social · May 19

Know your insect antennae!
#insects #bugs #antennae #entomology #education #art #SciArt

A chart of the different types of insect antennae
First row:
Setaceous (like a bristle)
Filiform (like a thread)
Moniliform (beaded)
Serrate (toothy)
Second row:
Pectinate (comb-like)
Bipectinate (double combs!)
Clavate (club-like)
Capitate (club-ended)
Third row:
Aristate (a nub with a hair stuck to it)
Pilose (brushy)
Plumose (feathery)
Geniculate (bendy straw)
Fourth row:
Stylate (small and pointy)
Flabellate (fan-shaped)
Lamellate (stack of plates)

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Reposted by Erica Dinatale

Maya Voichek @mayavoichek.bsky.social · Mar 17

1/ Transposable elements are often called "jumping genes" because they mobilize within genomes. 🧬
But did you know they can also jump 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 cells? 🤯
Our new study reveals how retrotransposons invade the germline directly from somatic cells.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A short thread 🧵👇

Drosophila follicle showing retrotransposons (pink & yellow) expressed in somatic cells infecting the oocyte

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Reposted by Erica Dinatale

Clément Goubert @clementgoubert.bsky.social · Mar 10

DFAM (database of transposable elements) 3.9 is out! A lot of cool new stuff and a special update for Drosophila melanogaster... 1/2 #Transposon #DFAM

Dfam Database of Transposable Elements @dfam.bsky.social · Mar 10

Today we released Dfam 3.9 with many new community submissions and the result of a thorough curation and update of the Drosophila Melanogaster library. www.dfam.org (release notes: www.dfam.org/releases/Dfa...)

Dfam

Open database of transposable elements and repetitive DNA families

www.dfam.org

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