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Reposted by Maya Voichek

Baptiste Rafanel @baptisterafanel.bsky.social · Aug 14

1/ How do animals develop immunity against a newly encountered transposable element from scratch? Our study reveals that the mobility of TEs is their Achilles heel, allowing hosts to develop a powerful small RNA-mediated silencing response.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Sorek Lab @soreklab.bsky.social · Jul 30

We wrote a review on the free nucleotide pool as a central playground in human, bacterial, and plant immunity – now out in Nature Reviews in Immunology

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

Was fun to write this piece with Dina Hochhauser!

Here is a thread to explain the premises

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Manipulation of the nucleotide pool in human, bacterial and plant immunity - Nature Reviews Immunology

Modification of the nucleotide pool is emerging as key to innate immunity in animals, plants and bacteria. This Review explains how immune pathways conserved from bacteria to humans manipulate the nuc...

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Maya Voichek

Tugce Aktas @aktast.bsky.social · Jun 30

We wrote a review on Transposable Elements (TEs) and almost all aspects of TE silencing and their roles in biological processes & disease.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of transposable elements and their roles in development and disease - Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology

Transposable elements (TEs) comprise nearly half of the human genome. This Review discusses transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms that repress TE activity, how TEs escape this suppressio...

www.nature.com

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Kasia Siudeja @ksiudeja.bsky.social · Jun 26

Although we didn't make it to a cover, it was so wonderful to work with @mariadiazillus.bsky.social on designing an artwork inspired by our work. Thank you Maria! We love it and will be proudly showing it around.

Rover ERV wandering around the chromatin rapped around the moons of the solar system:

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Institute of Molecular Biotechnology @imbavienna.bsky.social · Jun 16

🚨📢 New paper alert!
A study led by Kirsten Senti and Julius Brennecke offers new insights into how ancient endogenous retroviruses diversified to exploit different cell “niches” in the fruit fly ovary, and how the host’s defenses adapted in return. https://imba.science/Brennecke_EMBOJ

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The EMBO Journal @embojournal.org · Jun 6

REFEREE 1: “I conclude with a simple, direct statement - this is the best paper I have read all year!”
#TransparentPeerReview

Co-evolving infectivity and expression patterns drive the diversification of endogenous retroviruses
@juliusbrennecke.bsky.social et al

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

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Dmitri Petrov @petrovadmitri.bsky.social · Jun 3

Flybase lost all of the NIH support overnight - it is a disaster for the community. Please consider donating. I just did! www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk/give-to-camb...

Drosophila Genetic Database

The Drosophila Genetic Database, FlyBase, is on the brink of collapse due to the sudden termination of the FlyBase NIH grant, which includes salaries for 5 literature curators based at the University ...

www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk

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Maik Bischoff @maikbischoff.bsky.social · Jun 6

Happy #FluorescenceFriday !🌈

Today, sperm cells & developing gametes (Dapi, 🟢🟡🟠🔴) and testis muscles (Phalloidin (🔵🟢) in/on a #Drosophila non-melanogaster (guess the species and you’re the 🐐)
#cellbio #devbio #science #sciart #microscopy

Scope: Zeiss Airyscan 980❤️@zeiss-microscopy.bsky.social

Microscopic picture of Drosophila Sperm (green, yellow, orange, red) and Muscle cells (teal, blue). Depth coded.

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Eva Schmid @evaschmid7.bsky.social · Jun 6

📣 Our new VIP3 Postdoc program is accepting applications! Wondering what's it's like to do a postdoc at the Vienna Biocenter? Find out here👇 🎉

Vienna BioCenter Scientific Training @vbcscitraining.bsky.social · Jun 6

What’s it like to be a postdoc at the Vienna BioCenter? Anna Osnato shares her experience from joining the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology.

The VIP³ PostDoc Program call is open – apply now for this unique opportunity! training.vbc.ac.at/post-docs/vi...

#VBCPostDoc

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Lucas Waltzer @lucaswaltzer.bsky.social · Jun 3

#drosophila @flybase.bsky.social request emergency funding:
"As it stands, by the end of July, 2025, there will be no future updates to FlyBase, and in the worst case scenario access to the website will also be lost" => please donate!

www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk/give-to-camb...

Drosophila Genetic Database

The Drosophila Genetic Database, FlyBase, is on the brink of collapse due to the sudden termination of the FlyBase NIH grant, which includes salaries for 5 literature curators based at the University ...

www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk

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Reposted by Maya Voichek

MwahahahahahadScientist @mads100tist.bsky.social · May 27

Did you know? 🧪 "The Interactive Fly" is a wonderful website hosted by @socdevbio.bsky.social where you can learn about their development, the history of gene discovery/name, and it is full of super useful resources for the #DevBio community 🪰https://www.sdbonline.org/sites/fly/aimain/1aahome.htm

A screencapture of the page dedicated to the transcription factor isl1/tailup. There is information about the flybase ID, function, classification, keywords, and a very long wall of text under BIOLOGICAL OVERVIEW. Fly people rock tbh

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preLights @prelights.bsky.social · May 21

Blurring the lines between retrotransposons & viruses!

sORF2 enables direct transmission of retrotransposons challenging our understanding of mobile genetic elements. #preprint @juliusbrennecke.bsky.social Lab

#preLight from Ally Simpson & Alyss Humphrey!
👉 prelights.biologists.com/highlights/d...

Direct cell-to-cell transmission of retrotransposons - preLights

Blurring the lines between retrotransposons & viruses! sORF2 enables envelope-independent, direct cell-to-cell transmission of retrotransposons in Drosophila, challenging our understanding of mobile g...

prelights.biologists.com

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Maya Voichek @mayavoichek.bsky.social · May 23

Thanks Sonya! Indeed this story had its share of twists and turns... Very kind of you :)

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Reposted by Maya Voichek

SalehLab @salehlabparis.bsky.social · May 20

Stop for a second and try to imagine this: a heat shock protein relocalizes to the cell surface and mediates dsRNA binding and internalization!
Intrigued? Read our newly minted paper in Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Congrats to all the authors and thanks to reviewers and editor!

Hsc70-4: An unanticipated mediator of dsRNA internalization in Drosophila

Hsc70-4 localizes to the cell surface of Drosophila cells, binds to exogenous dsRNA, and mediates its internalization.

www.science.org

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Institute of Molecular Biotechnology @imbavienna.bsky.social · May 15

We are hiring! Join the BioOptics team as a Data Scientist in Image Analysis and contribute to the team’s mission of providing microscopy applications, flow cytometry, and image analysis services. Link below. #europe #research #lifesciences

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Mike Fainzilber @mfainzilber.bsky.social · May 16

Online now at @cp-cell.bsky.social , the culmination of a 12-year effort. 🧵 to follow later this evening

www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Repeat-element RNAs integrate a neuronal growth circuit

SINEs of recovery: A subset of small RNAs encoded by repetitive genomic elements are induced by nerve lesion to regulate protein synthesis and enhance axonal growth.

www.cell.com

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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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Harmit Singh Malik @harmitmalik.bsky.social · Apr 18

I have exhorted others to share positive news even in these uncertain times for US science.

I am really excited that @tamanash.bsky.social’s first paper on the remarkable evolutionary gymnastics of dual-host viruses (even in single codons) is now online.

Follow along here 🧪🧵

Tamanash Bhattacharya @tamanash.bsky.social · Apr 18

Our study exploring the evolutionary mechanism of alphavirus opal codon retention is now online! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

A conserved opal termination codon optimizes a temperature-dependent trade-off between protein production and processing in alphaviruses

Alphaviruses optimize viral polymerase production and polyprotein processing at distinct temperatures via a premature stop codon.

www.science.org

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Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · Apr 16

Our field has lost an amazing scientist, mentor, and old friend. Benny, along with Mike Hoffman, had a brilliant idea in the early 1980s. The first oncogenes were being cloned and they realized if we wanted to understand their roles in cancer, we needed to understand their normal function 1/n 🧪

Our colleague Prof. Benny (Ben Zion) Shilo passed away this morning
@WeizmannScience
. Benny worked at the forefront of world science in the study of molecular and developmental genetics. Among other things, he won the A.M.T. Prize in the field of genetics in 2013. He was also a great explainer of science, a kind teacher - and an artist photographer with a sharp eye and a sensitive soul. Benny, we will miss you very much. May his memory be blessed.

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Deborah Bourc’his @deborahbourchis.bsky.social · Apr 2

Do you have transposon-related research cooking, with some cool results you are exciting to share? Start thinking about registering to #EMBOMobileGenome workshop! Nov 4-7 2025 in Heidelberg. One of the historical TE meetings, with a diverse and welcoming community. www.embl.org/about/info/c...
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The mobile genome: genetic and physiological impacts of transposable elements

www.embl.org

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Julius Brennecke @juliusbrennecke.bsky.social · Mar 20

we received so many nice comments for this work on this platform, it is really wonderful. Thank you all so much!!

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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Maya Voichek @mayavoichek.bsky.social · Mar 20

Thank you so much Peiwei! I hope you're having lots of fun at #Dros25 :)

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Maya Voichek @mayavoichek.bsky.social · Mar 19

Thanks Alexandros! Indeed, it would be really interesting to look at these short ORFs as well, although with plasmodesmata as far as I understand there would already be a way to move between plant cells.... :)

Maya Voichek @mayavoichek.bsky.social · Mar 18

Thank you so much Silvia :) It's a lot of fun working in such a supportive environment!

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Maya Voichek @mayavoichek.bsky.social · Mar 18

Thanks Katherine! It's really a lot of fun imaging Drosophila ovaries, highly recommended! :)

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