Very excited to share the first preprint from my PhD with the community! This is also the first paper from the Plant Immunogenomics group with @galofir.bsky.social, so stay tuned for more! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 1/n 🧵

NO VEIN is an ancestral immunity protein involved in plant-virus interaction

The conservation of immune systems from prokaryotes to eukaryotes can guide discovery of immunity genes across the tree of life. Most studies to date have focused on metazoan systems, while the extent...

biorxiv.org

🩸🩸🩸TODAY WE SHARE TWO MAJOR DISCOVERIES🩸🩸🩸 1. We peered into genomes and brains of the rare mosquitoes that QUIT feeding on blood and found what biting is built from 2. Humans got rid of isoleucine in their blood, malaria suffers from it, and mosquito proteomes budget for it THREADS>

Thrilled to see this published today! Truly special because we made the initial discovery >15 yrs ago! We found two copies of a human gene called BC200 embedded in a human poxvirus. BC200 blurs the line between gene & transposon—both functional & mutagenic! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... 🧵1/n

Escape of the BC200 gene to a human poxvirus reveals its persistent transposition in primates

Transposable elements mobilize within and occasionally between genomes, including from host to virus. We identified two insertions of the human BC200 noncoding RNA gene in the poxvirus molluscum conta...

science.org

“Jumping genes” can cut and paste themselves into new locations in the genome. But they’re more than parasites or genetic junk. https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-virus-like-jumping-genes-became-our-partners-in-evolution-20260921/

Now online! Direct cell-to-cell transmission of retrotransposons

Direct cell-to-cell transmission of retrotransposons

Retrotransposons can infect neighboring cells using a mechanism that relies on a small fusogen-like protein rather than on the envelope protein that is typically required for infection.

dlvr.it

Super excited to share my postdoctoral work at @imbavienna.bsky.social @viennabiocenter.bsky.social - We discovered that some retrotransposons, or "jumping genes" 🧬, are able to spread from cell to cell via a new viral infectivity route. A short thread: 🧵👇 (1/7)

Can “jumping genes” spread like viruses? New research from the Brennecke lab at IMBA shows that, in fruit flies, certain transposable elements can break out of their own cell and slip into developing eggs—securing their passage to the next generation. Published in Cell: https://imba.science/4jdMuYQ

The Bioinformatic analysis of TEs is almost full! If interested in TE, you cannot miss this course with such an amazing team of instructors @valentinapeona.bsky.social @ritarebollo.bsky.social & @clementgoubert.bsky.social www.physalia-courses.org/courses-work...

Physalia-courses@ONLINE@physaliacourses.bsky.social · 6mo ago

🧬 Interested in Transposable Elements? Join our course with @valentinapeona.bsky.social @ritarebollo.bsky.social @clementgoubert.bsky.social & learn about TE libraries, genome annotation, insertion polymorphism, transcriptomics, manual curation and much more www.physalia-courses.org/courses-work...

Our paper on the enigmatic alpharetrovirus lineage in bats is out! Huge credit to @emma-harding.bsky.social, and of course all co-authors involved in helping experiment, draft, analyse and discuss. @biology.ox.ac.uk @ox.ac.uk #paleovirology journals.plos.org/plosgenetics...

An ancient alpharetrovirus lineage in bats: Evolutionary insights and possible roles in reproduction

Author summary Retroviruses are important pathogens, providing constant selective pressure and sources of genetic variability throughout vertebrate evolution. Significant evolutionary leaps have been ...

journals.plos.org

Scientists turn mosquitoes into "flying vaccines" www.gavi.org/vaccineswork...

Scientists turn mosquitoes into "flying vaccines"

Researchers are investigating whether vaccine-carrying mosquitoes and edible vaccines could help reduce the spread of rabies and Nipah virus from bats to humans.

gavi.org

We watched piRNAs and transposons across development, saw them dance tightly and wrote a paper about it. It's so cool to see it online and we will make a thread about it all very soon. Stay tuned :-)

bioRxiv Genetics@biorxiv-genetic.bsky.social · last mo.

A developmental switch in the piRNA pathway ensures stage-specific transposon silencing https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.28.747770v1

Now online! Co-option of retrotransposons promotes antibody diversification

Co-option of retrotransposons promotes antibody diversification

A longstanding mystery in antibody diversification is how AID specifically targets immunoglobulin V genes. Ancient LINE-1 retrotransposons embedded within the immunoglobulin locus provide a recruitment platform for the HUSH complex and AID to drive somatic hypermutation.

dlvr.it

The headlines are still covering the cyclosporiasis outbreak from lettuce, but let's talk about a different summer, long ago. The headlines in Bavaria would have called it "summer diarrhea" & it was killing babies. Enter our hero, Professor Theodor Escherich of the Julius Hospital, Würzburg.

Our study published today @science.org shows that X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) attracts L1 mutations to the human X chromosome: doi.org/10.1126/scie... With outstanding Perspective from @aurelien-doucet.bsky.social & @retrogenomics.bsky.social: doi.org/10.1126/scie...

Cool study! TEs in the male Drosophila germline jump in bursts

bioRxiv Genetics@biorxiv-genetic.bsky.social · 3mo ago

piRNA loss unleashes episodic transposition bursts https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.07.11.737971v1

1/10 🚨Preprint! One RING to rule them all (phages)👑💍⚔️ Bacteria build giant DNA-scaffolded RNase rings (larger than the ribosome!) to shut down viral infection🧬🧵👇 biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

📣 Abstract submission deadline for CSHL TEs extended to July 24! Two more weeks to submit your abstract for a short talk or poster — do it! It’s gonna be a fantastic meeting!! meetings.cshl.edu/meetings.asp...

Transposable Elements

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Meetings & Courses -- a private, non-profit institution with research programs in cancer, neuroscience, plant biology, genomics, bioinformatics.

meetings.cshl.edu

Cedric Feschotte@cedricfeschotte.bsky.social · 5mo ago

👋 Transposon lovers: registration is now open for the CSHL TE meeting! We have a 🔥 lineup of invited speakers and many slots for short talks selected upon abstract across all areas of TE biology. 🧬➰🧬 #TEsky Abstract deadline: July 10 meetings.cshl.edu/meetings.asp...

Our paper out in Science today: The Metis defense system senses molecular byproducts released when a phage degrades the bacterial genome, and then prevents replication of the phage in the infected cell Congratulations @ostermanilya.bsky.social and co-authors!

Bacteria sense virus-induced genome degradation via methylated mononucleotides

Phages often degrade the genome of their bacterial host to individual nucleotides. Here we describe Metis, a bacterial defense system that directly senses phage-mediated host genome degradation. Metis...

science.org

Osterman Ilya@ostermanilya.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Excited to share that our Metis story is now published in Science! 🎉 Bacteria can sense phage-induced degradation of their genome and activate immunity. Many thanks to everyone who contributed to this work. 📄 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... More details in my earlier thread 🧵⬇️

www.cell.com/molecular-ce... I'm happy to see our work published! If you are interested in transposons, transcriptional regulation and Pol III come and check it out 👀 🧫 🧬

ChAHP silences SINE retrotransposons by inhibiting TFIIIB recruitment

SINEs are short transposable elements that make up large fractions of mammalian genomes. Known to be transcribed by RNA polymerase III, their regulation has remained largely unexplored. Schnabl-Baumga...

cell.com

Molecular medicine in Berlin. Exchanges with NYU and the Weizmann Institute. Max Delbrück Center: cardiovascular, cancer, neuro, immunology, systems biology. Your PhD. Your city. Your move. Symposium Sept 10 → doctoralinsights.at #DocInsights #MDC

Our evil ORFeome paper is out! In collaboration with @alex-stark.bsky.social, we screened ~4,000 viral proteins and secreted effectors from bacteria and parasites, covering hundreds of diverse pathogens, for phenotypes in human cells.

Very excited for our new paper, now out in @cellcellpress.bsky.social! /🧵 The protein Tau forms intracellular toxic tangles in neurons in Alzheimer’s disease and Tauopathies. Tau pathology slowly spreads from cell-to-cell but the mechanisms are not clear /1 authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...

Arc mediates intercellular tau transmission via extracellular vesicles

Tau pathology spreads cell to cell, but the mechanisms of intercellular tau transmission remain unclear. We find that the neuronal gene Arc is critica…

authors.elsevier.com

a small attempt to capture this enormous loss and what Greg meant and means to so many. www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Gregory J. Hannon (1964–2026)

Gregory J. Hannon passed away in April 2026 at the age of 61. A towering figure in modern molecular biology, Greg influenced remarkably diverse areas of science. His work reshaped our understanding of...

cell.com

Our work is out now! (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...). We discover a selective autophagy pathway that protects plants from the mess caused by RNA viruses. Intrigued? Follow the spaghetti trail for a summary of our findings🧵-->

Selective autophagy fine-tunes plant immunity to promote cell survival during viral infection

RNA viruses co-opt host endomembranes to form replication complexes, often triggering cellular stress and immune responses. Here, we show that Arabidopsis thaliana activates selective autophagy to res...

science.org

📣 POSTDOC position available in the Feschotte Lab at Cornell to work on #TRANSPOSONS! More details below. Pls send informal application or inquiry ASAP by DM or email to cf458_at_cornell.edu. Pls spread the word 🙏 #TEsky www.thefeschottelabatcornell.com

🚨After 4 fantastic years in the Sorek lab @soreklab.bsky.social, I’ll be starting my own group at EMBL @embl.org bl.org Hamburg. www.embl.org/groups/oster... Metabolism-driven immunity: phages, metabolites, and discovery of new enzymes, molecules, and pathways 🦠🧬

With hantavirus, Ebola and meningitis making recent headlines, here's an interactive timeline to explore devastating infections throughout history and the scientific and medical advances to fight and prevent them. www.superbugs.online/timeline 🦠 🧫 🔬 💊 🏥

Timeline 'R' Us — Superbugs - The microbial world in, on and around us

Of superbugs and superheroes. Timeline 'R' Us – Explore devastating infections through the ages, alongside crucial scientific discoveries to help control them.

superbugs.online

How do sperm and egg fuse? Surprisingly, we still don’t fully know… Our field has uncovered many pieces of the fertilization puzzle, but not how they fit together. We identify ✨ SPARK ✨ - a conserved sperm complex that couples sperm-egg binding to fusion. tinyurl.com/34cm4xat Read on! 🧵👇

Host-transposable element coexistence: a matter of resistance, tolerance and trade-off Read this new review by Séverine Chambeyron, Charlotte Grimaud, Mikiko Siomi et al link.springer.com/article/10.1...

🧬 New research from the Burga lab! We took a closer look at a rogue selfish protein and caught evolution in the act of turning something old into something radically new 💡 (a.k.a. neofunctionalization) @imbavienna.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Curious? Here’s a breakdown: