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Robert Kofler @rokofler.bsky.social · 4d

I'm wondering if this is not a unique, once in a lifetime opportunity, to study the spread and silencing of an iERV in a natural population. last time we checked it was not yet in Vienna

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 Robert Kofler

Darren Obbard @darrenobbard.bsky.social · 22d

Another preprint from @pankajd.bsky.social !
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Predictors of protein evolution in the drosophilid immune system

The evolutionary dynamics of immune genes are shaped by diverse selective pressures, yet the relative roles of gene-level traits, functional specialization, and pathway context remain poorly understoo...

www.biorxiv.org

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Reposted by Robert Kofler

Yun S. Song @yun-s-song.bsky.social · 27d

SINGER, our ARG inference method, is finally published and freely available online:

doi.org/10.1038/s415...

It was a long journey – 16 months from initial submission to acceptance. Is it just me, or has peer review gotten more arduous lately? 4+ rounds of review isn't so unusual these days...

Robust and accurate Bayesian inference of genome-wide genealogies for hundreds of genomes - Nature Genetics

SINGER is a method for creating ancestral recombination graphs to understand the genealogical history of genomes. The method has increased speed, and thus scalability, without sacrificing accuracy.

doi.org

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Reposted by Robert Kofler

Justin Blumenstiel @bdelloid.bsky.social · Aug 30

In all my obsession with RNA silencing, I realized I became blind to the significance of autoregulation of DNA transposons. Which is funny, because it was characterized in many ways by my Ph.D. advisor. From 2013: elifesciences.org/articles/00668

The autoregulation of a eukaryotic DNA transposon

A DNA transposon, or ‘jumping gene’, controls its amplification within a genome through a competition between the enzyme multimers that are responsible for its mobility.

elifesciences.org

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Reposted by Robert Kofler

Amelia Cervera 🍉 @ameliacervera.bsky.social · Aug 29

#TEsky

Genome Biology and Evolution @genomebiolevol.bsky.social · Aug 11

An & Nam investigated chromosome size and TE organization in ten butterfly species, showing lepidopterans have denser TEs in smaller chromosomes, with nonallelic homologous recombination as a potential driving force.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf137

#genome #evolution #TEsky

Lepidopteran Genomes Have Denser Transposable Elements in Smaller Chromosomes, Likely Driven by Non-allelic Homologous Recombination

Abstract. Transposable elements (TEs) drive major genome size and structural variations, yet evolutionary forces affecting their accumulation and removal r

doi.org

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Reposted by Robert Kofler

Matt Beaumont @mbeaum.bsky.social · Aug 28

Germline defence from TEs largely relies on piRNAs. Yet, @divyaselvaraju.bsky.social and I monitored a P-element invasion in Drosophila that was stopped by an internally deleted copy, no host intervention required!
doi.org/10.1371/jour...
Many thanks to @rpianezza.bsky.social & @rokofler.bsky.social

Rapid emergence of non-autonomous elements may stop P-element invasions in the absence of a piRNA-based host defence

Author summary Transposable elements (TEs) are short, self-replicating DNA sequences found in nearly all genomes. While they can be harmful to their hosts, many organisms have evolved defence systems,...

journals.plos.org

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Reposted by Robert Kofler

Dr. Sarah Signor @signor-molevol.bsky.social · Aug 15

@shashankpritam.bsky.social first research paper on the effect of insertion bias on transposon fitness!! With @almoroscarpa.bsky.social and @rokofler.bsky.social link.springer.com/article/10.1...

The impact of insertion bias into piRNA clusters on the invasion of transposable elements - BMC Biology

Background In our current understanding of transposable element (TE) invasions, TEs move freely until they accidentally insert into a piRNA cluster, where they are silenced by the production of piRNA ...

link.springer.com

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Reposted by Robert Kofler

Julius Brennecke @juliusbrennecke.bsky.social · Aug 3

piRNAs are essential for transposon silencing in the animal germline.
But how do hosts trap transposon sequences in genomic loci that help establish a piRNA response?

Looking at a natural transposon invasion, Baptiste Rafanel and Kirsten Senti made some remarkable observations.

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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Reposted by Robert Kofler

Clément Goubert @clementgoubert.bsky.social · Jul 25

Adaptive P-element insertions in a long non-coding RNA are associated with unique silencing properties

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

Adaptive P-element insertions in a long non-coding RNA are associated with unique silencing properties

Transposable elements are genetic parasites whose mobilization throughout the genome is a major source of deleterious mutations. However, some TE insertions are beneficial because they improve host fi...

www.biorxiv.org

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Reposted by Robert Kofler

Julius Brennecke @juliusbrennecke.bsky.social · Jul 22

@rokofler.bsky.social uncovered a treasure cove in Drosophila populations here. Remarkable and highly relevant findings on horizontal transfer of all kinds of TEs, irrespective of their transposition type.

ravinderkanda.bsky.social @ravinderkanda.bsky.social · Jul 22

@rokofler.bsky.social talks about the spread of TEs in drosophila over time - are humans responsible?? #smbe2025

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Reposted by Robert Kofler

ravinderkanda.bsky.social @ravinderkanda.bsky.social · Jul 22

@rokofler.bsky.social talks about the spread of TEs in drosophila over time - are humans responsible?? #smbe2025

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Reposted by Robert Kofler

Molecular Biology and Evolution @molbioevol.bsky.social · Jul 10

@rpianezza.bsky.social @almoroscarpa.bsky.social, A. Haidar, @signor-molevol.bsky.social ‪& @rokofler.bsky.social investigated 11 TEs in D. melanogaster that added ~1 Mbp via horizontal transfer, likely from other Drosophila spp.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf143

#evobio #drosophila #TEsky

Spatiotemporal Tracking of Three Novel Transposable Element Invasions in Drosophila melanogaster over the Last 30 Years

Abstract. Transposable elements (TEs) are repetitive sequences capable of mobilizing within genomes, exerting a significant influence on evolution througho

doi.org

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Reposted by Robert Kofler

Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution @official-smbe.bsky.social · Jun 30

Talks by:

@gonzalezlabbcn.bsky.social
Yalong Guo
Axel Meyer
Emmanuelle Lerat
Cheng Sun
Qiheng Xu
Jie Cui
Ilia Kirov
Chengyi Song
Li Wang
Jing Wang
@rokofler.bsky.social
Ying Liu
Shengjun Tan

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Robert Kofler @rokofler.bsky.social · Jun 11

thanks :)

Robert Kofler @rokofler.bsky.social · Jun 11

super-happy, three TE invasions in Dmel during the last 30 years; the crazy thing - Transib1 spread in just 2-3years in global populations academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-... great work everyone @rpianezza.bsky.social @almoroscarpa.bsky.social @signor-molevol.bsky.social Anna Haider

Spatio-temporal tracking of three novel transposable element invasions in Drosophila melanogaster over the last 30 years

Abstract. Transposable elements (TEs) are repetitive sequences capable of mobilizing within genomes, exerting a sigfinificant influence on evolution throug

academic.oup.com

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Reposted by Robert Kofler

Dr. Sarah Signor @signor-molevol.bsky.social · Jun 10

The work on TE invasions in D. melanogaster continues! We found three more recent invasions, one of which occurred in ~3 years worldwide. Another great collaboration with @rpianezza.bsky.social @rokofler.bsky.social and others

academic.oup.com

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Reposted by Robert Kofler

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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Robert Kofler @rokofler.bsky.social · Jun 3

great work of Riccardo tracing the origin of D.melanogaster transposons

Riccardo Pianezza @rpianezza.bsky.social · Jun 3

Our new preprint is out! We explored the biogeographic origins of TEs in the D. melanogaster genome.

Most TEs were recently acquired via horizontal transfer, mainly from Afrotropical Drosophila species. Surprisingly, all African drosophilids share some of these TEs!

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

Biogeography shapes the TE landscape of Drosophila melanogaster

The abundance and composition of transposable elements (TEs) varies widely across species, yet the evolutionary forces shaping this diversity remain poorly understood. Using 285 recently published gen...

www.biorxiv.org

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Robert Kofler @rokofler.bsky.social · May 6

this is fantastic news - congrats Philipp :)

Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution @official-smbe.bsky.social · Apr 30

🪰 GSEA winner Philipp Hummer - PhD student @popgenviennaphd.bsky.social - is on today!

Philipp is working at the intersection of genomics, museum collections, insect evolution, and transposable elements.

More on Philipp ⬇️ and follow him: @philipphummer.bsky.social

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Reposted by Robert Kofler

PopGen Vienna @popgenviennaphd.bsky.social · Apr 14

Our #PhD student Almorò Scarpa @almoroscarpa.bsky.social looks forward to #PopGen meeting tomorrow! He will tell us about "Two centuries of transposable element invasions in Drosophila melanogaster"
Full schedule and streaming details at www.popgen-vienna.at/news/seminars/

Seminars

www.popgen-vienna.at

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Robert Kofler @rokofler.bsky.social · Mar 27

Super proud of amazing PhD student Sarah Saadain winning the Carl von Schreibers prize with her cockroach project; Vetmeduni Wien and @nhmwien.bsky.social www.nhm-wien.ac.at/presse/press...

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Reposted by Robert Kofler

Clément Goubert @clementgoubert.bsky.social · Mar 24

Polymorphic transposable elements contribute to variation in recombination landscapes (drosohila 🪰) www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.... #TEsky

PNAS

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...

www.pnas.org

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Reposted by Robert Kofler

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 Robert Kofler

Oded Rechavi @odedrechavi.bsky.social · Mar 7

The truth is that the scientific process is horribly inefficient and wasteful. But the solution is NOT cutting funds and it’s NOT top down guidance of what should be studied. Instead, we should revolutionize how we publish and improve peer review.

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Reposted by Robert Kofler

Cedric Feschotte @cedricfeschotte.bsky.social · Mar 7

Did you know that some bacteria have linear chromosomes? Not only that, but as in certain eukaryotes (most famously 🪰) bacterial telomeres can be capped by specialized transposons!!

Exciting 🤯 work by fellow transposon lovers in the Peters lab @ Cornell - congrats to all!

Joe Peters Lab @joepeterslab.bsky.social · Mar 6

Telomeric transposons are pervasive in linear bacterial genomes | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Telomeric transposons are pervasive in linear bacterial genomes

Eukaryotes have linear DNA and their telomeres are hotspots for transposons, which in some cases took over telomere maintenance. Here we identify several families of independently evolved telomeric tr...

www.science.org

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