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Reposted by Miguel V. Almeida

Dr. Tyler A. Elliott @transposableman.bsky.social · 1d

#TEsky The phenotypic variation of widefins medaka is due to the insertion of a giant transposon containing a viral genome within hoxca cluster doi.org/10.1093/gene...

The phenotypic variation of widefins medaka is due to the insertion of a giant transposon containing a viral genome within hoxca cluster

Abstract. Phenotypic variation in species arises from genetic differences and environmental influences on gene expression. Differences in epigenetic modifi

doi.org

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James Briscoe @jamesbriscoe.bsky.social · 1d

Very sad news, John Gurdon has died.

A developmental biologist's developmental biologist, Nobel prize winner

His work is the foundation of much of today's dev & stem cell bio.

An inspiration to many, including me. Always asking questions & wanting the answers

www.magd.cam.ac.uk/news/profess...

Professor Sir John Gurdon FRS (1933-2025) | Magdalene College

Magdalene College is deeply saddened to announce the death of Professor Sir John Gurdon FRS, who served as Master of the College from 1995 to 2002.

www.magd.cam.ac.uk

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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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Marcela Uliano-Silva @marcelauliano.bsky.social · 6d

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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Celja Uebel @celjauebel.bsky.social · 7d

Hi fellow C. elegans scientists, I've made a few videos that may be of use for new trainees working in worm labs. Hoping to add more in the future, but figured I'd share this resource as is in case it's helpful :)
www.youtube.com/@Workingwith...

Working with C. elegans

This channel provides clear demonstrations of core C. elegans lab skills, including: recognizing life stages and common phenotypes, picking and manipulating worms, and maintaining healthy cultures. De...

www.youtube.com

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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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Matt Rockman @wormsrock.bsky.social · 14d

C. elegans is a real animal and we set out to understand how it comes to have its distinctive biogeography. Its ancestral center of diversity is in the higher elevation forests of Hawaii. Its closest relatives are spread across east Asia. Did they travel from Asia? [Preprint 🧵]

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Cedric Feschotte @cedricfeschotte.bsky.social · 15d

📣 Our department is hiring an Assistant Professor in Evolutionary Cell and Molecular Biology to join the @weillinstitute.bsky.social PLS spread the word!
academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30607

Cornell University, Molecular Biology & Genetics

Job #AJO30607, WDR-00055221 Assistant Professor, Molecular Biology & Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, US

academicjobsonline.org

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Marco Trizzino @marcotrizzino.bsky.social · 16d

Our study on the role of LTR5HS and SVAs in regulation of human neural crest migration is now published as peer-reviewed paper on @molsystbiol.org!
Congrats to first author brilliant postdoc Laura Deelen, and all the authors involved! @imperialsci.bsky.social
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

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Julius Brennecke @juliusbrennecke.bsky.social · 21d

PIWI clade Argonautes are essential for transposon silencing. Without them, animals are sterile due to massive transposon activity.

But how does piRNA-guided target interaction translate into silencing?

PhD student Júlia Portell Montserrat has an intriguing answer

www.cell.com/molecular-ce...

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Navin B. Ramakrishna @navinbr.bsky.social · 26d

Excited to share our Review on human PGC development covering the latest in vivo observations & in vitro developments, esp. in the last 5 years. Have a read! journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
From: @astar-gis.bsky.social @ki.se Warwick University, @gurdoninstitute.bsky.social

Emerging principles and models of human primordial germ cell development

Summary: This Review examines recent insights into early human germ cell development and how these regulatory principles guide stem cell-derived models aiming to reconstitute human gametogenesis in vi...

journals.biologists.com

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Christian Landry @christianlandry.bsky.social · 28d

Really excited to share our latest paper led by @simonaube.bsky.social. Fascinating results examining whether regulatory mutations can lead to adaptation as fast as coding mutations do. #mevosky #evobio #evoSky

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Adaptation is less accessible through mutations in promoters than in coding sequences when large effect sizes are needed

Mutations within promoters and coding sequences are both involved in adaptation, but their relative contributions remain to be compared directly. Using the fungal enzyme cytosine deaminase, we examine...

www.biorxiv.org

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Alex de Mendoza @alexdemendoza.bsky.social · 27d

Very happy to have contributed to this review on "non-CG" #methylation in animals now out in @natgenet.nature.com. Working again with @obog.bsky.social and Tirsa is always a pleasure. We think this not so well studied form of methylation should be more widely considered, please read: rdcu.be/eFAEk

Non-CG DNA methylation in animal genomes

Nature Genetics - This Review discusses noncanonical DNA methylation (mCH) in animal genomes and highlights the remaining need to clarify whether mCH represents a conserved regulatory layer or a...

rdcu.be

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Marc Bühler @marcbuhler.bsky.social · Sep 8

We are hiring-join us!

FMI science @fmiscience.bsky.social · Sep 8

🚨 We're hiring, please share! The FMI seeks a tenure-track Group Leader (Assistant Prof) in Structural Biology 🔬
Innovative scientists in genome regulation, RNA metabolism, or protein homeostasis—especially using cutting-edge approaches—apply now at www.fmi.ch/education-ca...

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Alexandra Dallaire @alexdallaire.bsky.social · Sep 3

I’m super happy to present the first discoveries of the RIKEN-Cambridge Joint Crop Symbiosis Research Team, based in Japan 🇯🇵

doi.org/10.1101/2025...

A thread 👇

Reductive evolution of the DNA replication machinery in endosymbiotic fungi

The molecular machinery for replicating and repairing DNA accurately is critically important for life and highly conserved across the Tree of Life. Here we show that two major lineages of fungi, Glome...

doi.org

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Luisa Cochella @lcochella.bsky.social · Sep 3

Our work on the function of miR-51/miR-100 is out! miR-100 is widely conserved across eumetazoans but its function has been mysterious. Emilio Santillán found in worms it regulates signaling and extracellular matrix genes, some of which seem to be conserved targets! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

An ancient and essential miRNA family controls cellular interaction pathways in C. elegans

A microRNA that arose at the origin of eumetazoans regulates cell adhesion and signaling in C. elegans through conserved targets.

www.science.org

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Martin Genner @mgenner.bsky.social · Aug 28

In crater Lake Masoko one fish species is splitting into shallow and deep-living ecotypes occupying different light environments. New research shows their visual systems are diverging, and how colours of male eggspots have changed to maximise their visibility. doi.org/10.1093/molb...

Lake Masoko in Southern Tanzania, also known as Lake Kisiba, is only ~40m deep and 600m in diameter. It was formed around 50,000 years ago, and is isolated from all nearby rivers and lakes. Genetic data suggest it was colonised by Astatotilapia calliptera around 10,000 years ago.

In Lake Masoko, Astatotilapia calliptera has two ecotypes. The shallow living "littoral" ecotype has yellowish males, while the deep living "benthic" ecotype has blueish males. Recently published research led by Madeleine Carruthers and colleagues shows how these fish occupy different light regimes, and have correspondingly different visual sensitivities. Males of these ecotypes have brightly coloured eggspots, used to signal their prowess. The colours of those spots have shifted to maximise their visibility to other fish of the same ecotype. Genetic data suggest these ecotypes are largely reproductively isolated, and started to separate only 1000 years ago. Photos are kindly provided by Ad Konings.

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Maxwell Shafer @maxshafer.bsky.social · Aug 28

Now published @natecoevo.nature.com with @annika-nichols.bsky.social, our latest on the evolution of 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 across 𝟲𝟬 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀 of cichlid fishes! doi.org/10.1038/s415...
with members of the @schierlab.bsky.social and Salzburger labs, as well as the burgeoning Shafer lab @uoftcellsysbiol.bsky.social

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Johan Jakobsson @jakobssonlab.bsky.social · Aug 23

New paper from our lab! We found that LINE-1 transposons contribute to early human brain development.

Funded by @asapresearch.parkinsonsroadmap.org

www.cell.com/cell-genomic...

LINE-1 retrotransposons mediate cis-acting transcriptional control in human pluripotent stem cells and regulate early brain development

Adami et al. demonstrate that evolutionarily young L1s are expressed in human pluripotent stem cells and are dynamically regulated throughout neural differentiation. The study examines the role of L1s...

www.cell.com

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Colin Conine @colinconine.bsky.social · Aug 23

New from the lab led by @natrigg.bsky.social. We started by characterizing mRNA in sperm, EVs, and the epithelium across epididymal transit. This revealed evidence that sperm acquire specific mRNAs through fusion with epididymal EVs, which we further established with in vitro co-incubation assays

bioRxivpreprint @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social · Aug 22

Epididymal extracellular vesicles harbor and convey mRNA to sperm for transfer to zygotes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.18.670952v1

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Toby Baril @tobybarilbio.bsky.social · Aug 20

Thrilled to have been selected for a short talk at the EMBO mobile genome meeting in Heidelberg in November!

Want to hear about the adaptive potential of TEs but can’t wait til then, and happen to be at #ESEB2025? Come and see my talk at 16.20 today, room 120+121!

#TEsky #TEworldwide

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Ethan (Chee Kiang) Ewe @ethanewe.bsky.social · Aug 11

🔥my latest paper from @odedrechavi.bsky.social lab🔥
we found small RNAs act across tissues to regulate fertlity in C. elegans 🪱. Surprisingly, we also found that O2-sensing neurons inhibit germline maintenance. Follow along our journey👇https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.07.669182v1

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Ralf Jansen @ralfjansen.bsky.social · Aug 2

My colleagues Baptise Rafanel et al. investigated how a newly invading transposon can be silenced. They found that not only antisense insertions in piRNA clusters such as flamenco, but also insertions in the 3‘UTR of genes can drive potent silencing.

bioRxiv Genetics @biorxiv-genetic.bsky.social · Aug 1

Antisense transposon insertions into host genes trigger piRNA mediated immunity https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.28.667215v1

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Erich M. Schwarz @erichmschwarz.bsky.social · Aug 1

After 10 years of work, a complete telomere-to-telomere gap-free genome for C. elegans finally exists: it has 106 Mb rather than the textbook 100.3 Mb, and up to 366 additional genes.
genome.cshlp.org/content/35/8...

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