🦈 Happy Shark Week! 🦈 Did you know sharks have been around for over 400 million years? Fascinatingly, DNA helps scientists identify species, understand genetic diversity, and support conservation. Preserving shark DNA today helps protect shark biodiversity for future generations. #SharkWeek

The #Arthropod #Genomics i5K Community -🦋🧬🕷️🧬🪲🧬🦀- opportunities to harmonise reporting standards & promote their dissemination, ensuring that future arthropod #genomes are both comparable & maximally reusable for large-scale comparative & applied research academic.oup.com/genetics/adv...

Toward standardization in arthropod and biodiversity genome projects

Abstract. In recent years, many high-quality reference genome sequences for arthropod species have been generated. Although most genome papers describe the

academic.oup.com

📢 New Paper @royalsociety.org Our new study traces palm evolution to uncover how genome size, trait evolution, and allometry have shaped biodiversity @renskeonstein.bsky.social @biggenomes.bsky.social WilliamBaker SidonieBellot Link: doi.org/10.1098/rspb... @idiv-research.bsky.social #sDiv

Agreed! And we are trying to contribute to it with our project to sequence all Drosophila species and get polymorphism data for as many as possible! @bernardkim.bsky.social journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

Single-fly genome assemblies fill major phylogenomic gaps across the Drosophilidae Tree of Life

Sequencing of species that can be cultured in the laboratory results in a bias in taxon sampling. This study uses cost-effective, amplification-free, low-input sequencing methods to assemble genomes o...

journals.plos.org

My take-away from #SMBE2026 after 3 days: biodiversity genome projects such as Darwin Tree of Life @ergabiodiv.bsky.social @vertebrategenomes.bsky.social et al are no longer promises, but are changing how we do molecular evolution. I hope biodiversity gene expression will be next 😎 .

Hot off the press @official-smbe.bsky.social MBE - a phylum-wide assessment to systematically evaluate, refine, and revise current understanding of the evolutionary dynamics of the #arthropod moulting genetic toolkit! academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-...

Evolutionary dynamics of the arthropod moulting machinery

Abstract. Exoskeletons define arthropods, providing support for segmented bodies and appendages while protecting against environmental stress and predation

academic.oup.com

Excited to share that our paper on Horizontal Gene Transfer is now out in its final form in @gigascience.bsky.social! 🥳 By analysing 163 high-quality ant genomes, we show that HGT from bacteria is widespread across the ants and likely has adaptive functions! doi.org/10.1093/giga... 🐜📸: Alex Wild

#ERGAReads | ntSynt: multi-genome synteny detection using minimizer graph mappings link.springer.com/article/10.1... #genomes #synteny #graphmaps #genomeassemblies #assembly #BMCBiology

ntSynt: multi-genome synteny detection using minimizer graph mappings - BMC Biology

Background With the growing availability of reference-grade genome assemblies across diverse taxa, there is an increasing need for efficient and scalable tools for multi-species comparative genomics,…

link.springer.com

Professor Mark Blaxter shares the story behind a career shaped by curiosity – from childhood encyclopaedias and nematodes to leading Sanger’s Tree of Life programme. A fascinating read on science, collaboration and biodiversity. Read more 👉 https://bit.ly/4pFJoOs

“I stand on the shoulders of giants”: Mark Blaxter on being a bookworm, building a programme from scratch and his love of small wiggly creatures - Wellcome Sanger Institute Blog

Professor Mark Blaxter, Head of the Tree of Life programme at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, traces a path from books to nematodes, community gardens to new technologies – guided by a lifelong interest in the world around him.

sangerinstitute.blog

🎥🧬 Every living thing has a story. Every genome helps us read it. The Catalan Initiative for the Earth BioGenome Project is building high-quality reference genomes for the biodiversity of the Catalan-speaking territories. Cada ésser viu conté una història. Watch the video ⬇️ lnkd.in/gcfWsMDS

Our DNA library is made possible thanks to the support of our funding partners. Learn more about our funding partner, Genome Canada: 🔗https://genomecanada.ca/

Canada.ca

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Canada's federal funding agency for university-based research and student training in natural sciences and engineering. It's…

nserc-crsng.canada.ca

Do not hesitate to submit to this MBE special series if you have original research articles, reviews, or perspectives that use high-quality vertebrate genomes to draw inferences about evolutionary processes! Call will open on August 1, 2026 academic.oup.com/mbe/pages/ca...

Call for Papers: Evolutionary Genomics of Vertebrates: Inferring Process from a New Generation of Reference Genomes

Molecular Biology and Evolution (MBE) invites submissions for a special series on the evolutionary inferences made possible by the new generation of high-qualit

academic.oup.com

🚨 Last call to have your donation to our #Indigenous led Bosenge tree 🐛🌳 planting & sequencing project for #food security in the Congo Basin #rainforest multiplied! Learn more about our project & donate: maearth.com/wise-ancesto... Thanks to @maearth.com for making this possible! #crowdfund

Check out Genome Insider, the JGI’s podcast. Hear directly from users about how the JGI supports powering our future. Listen and follow on Apple, Spotify or wherever you find podcasts. 🖥️ 🧬 More: jointgeno.me/GenomeInsider

Genome Insider | Joint Genome Institute

Our podcast features JGI users discovering the expertise encoded in our environment.

jointgeno.me

Just in time for #SMBE2026, our new preprint is out: using 130 genomes spanning ~200 years, fitness data and simulations, we show that conservation rescued the Mauritius kestrel from extinction, but not from genomic erosion. 🧵 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... #popgen #consgen #conservation

ERGA @ergabiodiv.bsky.social COST Action: CONSENSA Consensus Standards for Applied #Biodiversity #Genomics www.cost.eu/actions/CA25... Establishing standards for generating, analysing, interpreting, & applying genome-wide data, making evidence accurate, comparable, interoperable, & reusable

🐦 Why are bird genomes so difficult to assemble? Birds have dozens of tiny, gene-rich microchromosomes that are frequently fragmented, misplaced, or missing from genome assemblies despite containing important genetic information. 📖 Read the publication: lnkd.in/gar-GrKZ #BirdGenomics #Biodiversity

What is a reference #genome & why do we need them to address #biodiversity loss & support #conservation? Wise Ancestors’ #Genomics Director, Dr. Solenne Correard explains! Visit maearth.com/wise-ancesto... to learn more about our 🐛🌳 #crowdfunding project & donate on @maearth.com! #Africa

#ERGAReads | 🐦‍⬛ 🦜 🪶 Insights into Convergent Evolution From Studying Amino Acid Patterns in Independent Lineages of Birds academic.oup.com/gbe/article/... #genomes #birds #convergentevolution #birdgenomics @genomebiolevol.bsky.social @erichjarvis.bsky.social

Insights into Convergent Evolution From Studying Amino Acid Patterns in Independent Lineages of Birds

Abstract. Vocal learning, the ability to imitate sounds, is a complex convergent trait crucial for spoken language and observed in a few independent lineag

academic.oup.com

Happy Shark Awareness Day! Today, we’re highlighting a few of the incredible shark species whose genomes have been sequenced for the VGP. Each of these species helps expand our understanding of shark evolution, biodiversity, and conservation.

Great work from ERGA Members Irena Klečková & Pável Matos-Maraví on the Alcon blue (Phengaris alcon) in Czechia! #biodiversity #genomics @pavelmatosm.bsky.social

Pável Matos@pavelmatosm.bsky.social · 3w ago

A glimpse of our work on the population genomics of the critically endangered Alcon blue (Phengaris alcon) in Czechia. Many thanks to Jihoceska televize for featuring our research! 🦋

❄️🧬 Can we generate high-quality reference genomes without the cold chain? A new study suggests the answer is yes. DNA preserved at room temperature for up to one week produced chromosome-scale reference genomes. 📖 tinyurl.com/3zwtj9ka #Genomes @gigascience.bsky.social @sangerinstitute.bsky.social

On June 20, OGL tabled at Seacoast Science Center's Annual World Ocean Day Event! We had a wonderful time sharing the importance of preserving and studying marine biodiversity with those in attendance! Thank you Seacoast Science Center for having us! #NUexperience #COSconnects #WorldOceanDay

🧬 We know how to generate high-quality reference genomes. The bigger challenge is deciding which species to sequence next. As biodiversity genomics scales, strategic species selection will have as much impact as sequencing technology itself. #Genomics #Biodiversity #EarthBioGenomeProject

🚨Registrations are now open for the course on Genome assembly using @pacbio.bsky.social and Hi-C with @marcelauliano.bsky.social & @ferreiranunesjoao.bsky.social In Nov For more info: www.physalia-courses.org/courses-work... #GenomeAssembly #LongReads

Eukaryotic genome assembly using Pacbio and Hi-C

Dates 9-13 November 2026 To foster international participation, this course will be held online

physalia-courses.org

A new species of "killer fungus" has been discovered in Britain that destroys an aggressively invasive plant, raising hopes that decimated native habitats could be restored. #invasivespecies #fungus

Killer fungus discovered that destroys UK invasive plant

A newly discovered species raises hope that some native British habitats could be restored.

bbc.com

Joe Lopez (NSU) now giving #GIGAVI an update on the Earth Biogenome Project @ebpgenome.bsky.social as it moves into its second phase. Joe is the GIGA representative in EBP, bringing this consortium in via role as a “network of networks”

🐦 Why are bird genomes so difficult to assemble? Birds have dozens of tiny, gene-rich microchromosomes that are frequently fragmented, misplaced, or missing from genome assemblies despite containing important genetic information. 📖 Read the publication: lnkd.in/gar-GrKZ #BirdGenomics #Biodiversity

Last week, members of the Vertebrate Genome Lab attended the 2026 Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution conference in Copenhagen. Check out the exciting work they presented! 🇩🇰 @official-smbe.bsky.social #SMBE2026

TRAINING: DNA barcoding and metabarcoding using ONTOLOGY™ biodiversitygenomics.eu/2026/07/09/d... Join us October 5-7 @nhm-london.bsky.social for a 3-day course on #ONTOLOGY a new platform for distributed #DNAbarcoding & #metabarcoding from our partners @cbg-uofg.bsky.social. @iboleurope.bsky.social

BGE+ NEW COURSE: DNA barcoding and metabarcoding using ONTOLOGY™ - Biodiversity Genomics Europe

ONTOLOGY is a new platform for distributed DNA barcoding and metabarcoding—is integrates freeze-dried ‘just-add-water’ PCR plates that complete indexing and amplification in one step, and software tha...

biodiversitygenomics.eu