Thank you to organisers to James Hombría and Antónia Monteiro @monteirolab.bsky.social and everyone who joined us at this week's Workshop on 'Novelty, Co-option and Divergence During Gene Network Evolution' biologists.com/workshops #BiologistsWorkshops

📢 New pre-print alert! Most spiders have eight eyes, but not all - PhD researcher Antonio Galán Sánchez and Dr Andres Rivera Quiroz @naturalis.bsky.social led an exciting new analysis of the evolution of eye number and losses in spiders on a truly incredible scale! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Thrilled to present our comparative study on the evolution of zygotic genome activation (ZGA)!! 🥚🧬 Amazing PhD work of @campobes.bsky.social together with @fedemantica.bsky.social and many collaborators! @melisupf.bsky.social @crg.eu. Thread below 1/15 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Check out our new preprint on the evolution of enhancer loss. Turns out there are 50 ways to lose a function. We found four of them. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Distinct mechanisms decommission redundant enhancers to facilitate phenotypic evolution

The evolutionary loss of morphological traits is often driven by changes in gene regulation. Many developmental genes are controlled by multiple, redundant enhancers, raising the question of how robus...

biorxiv.org

Exciting times ahead - I'm beyond delighted to be joining @bristolbiosci.bsky.social in 2026! 🎉🕷️🎉🐌🎉 I'm also looking for a PhD student to join @multipleye-lab.bsky.social in our new home! Come and study the effects of light pollution on the evolution and development of spider eyes with us 🌃🕷️👀 👇

Funded PhD - The impacts of light pollution on plasticity and evolution in spider visual systems at University of Bristol on FindAPhD.com

PhD Project - Funded PhD - The impacts of light pollution on plasticity and evolution in spider visual systems at University of Bristol, listed on FindAPhD.com

findaphd.com

MultiplEye Lab@multipleye-lab.bsky.social · 10mo ago

🎉 Big news! 🎉 We will be moving to @bristolbiosci.bsky.social @bristoluni.bsky.social in 2026!! We're so excited to be joining such a dynamic and thriving department, university, and city - thank you to everyone who has already been so welcoming! 📢 But that's not all - come and join us! 👇

Applications are open for 10 ECR funded places at The Company of Biologists Workshop on 'Novelty, Co-option and Divergence During Gene Network Evolution', organised by James Hombría and Antónia Monteiro. 📅 Deadline: Friday 5 December Further information: www.biologists.com/workshops/ju...

Novelty, Co-option and Divergence During Gene Network Evolution

Novelty, Co-option and Divergence During Gene Network Evolution Recent studies on the evolution of novel traits provide a window of opportunity to understand how existing gene-regulatory networks (GRN...

biologists.com

The Company of Biologists@biologists.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Calling early-career developmental biologists! Apply for a funded place at our #Workshop, Novelty, Co-option and Divergence During Gene Network Evolution. Application deadline: 5 December www.biologists.com/workshops/ju... #DevBio #BiologistsWorkshops #Collaboration #Networking

How did evolution drive massive genome contraction during oceanic island colonization? A new paper from our lab. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Interested in a PhD connecting sensory ecology and evolutionary genetics? Applications are now open for a project on the Speciation Genomics of Eye Size Variation in Heliconius Butterflies in our lab at LMU Munich: www.evol.bio.lmu.de/research/mer... Please repost!

🚨Registration for the UK #EvoDevo meeting is open! Join us on July 11th in London to enjoy an exciting day of talks, posters, friends, and superb science! -Registration (only £5!): shorturl.at/9cQGL -More info: londonevodevo.ac.uk

Very happy to have been part of this fantastic collaboration!

MultiplEye Lab@multipleye-lab.bsky.social · last yr.

This work was led by Luis Baudouin Gonzalez, @laurensr.bsky.social and @mcgregorlab.bsky.social, with coauthors Anna Schoenauer, Amber Harper, @saadarif.bsky.social, Daniel Leite, Philip Steinhoff, Madda Aase-Remedios, Zoe Schultz, Matthias Pechmann, Atal Pande, Lera Telizhenko, and Carolin Kosiol 🥰

Gene editing technology began by people studying salt marshes. Ozempic began by folks studying the venom of Gila Monsters. Support for basic science has empowered us to understand our world. Tethering it to applications health has transformed and saved countless lives.

Congrats on the paper! Really nice work!

Prashant Sharma@prashantpsharma.bsky.social · last yr.

The lab is delighted to release the first genome for the giant American vinegaroon! The slowly-evolving order Uropygi captures the strongest signature yet of the arachnopulmonate whole genome duplication. #biodiversity #genomics academic.oup.com/jhered/advan...

3D printed fly ommatidium generated by our Wellcome Optical biology PhD student Courtney Lancaster @courtneyl7a7.bsky.social @lmcb-ucl.bsky.social @ucllifesciences.bsky.social @wellcometrust.bsky.social Visualising 3d bioimaging data !

Very happy to share our paper on the sense of smell in spiders. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... #chemicalecology, #pheromon, #sensoryorgans #spiders,

New preprint from our lab. Great work by @maaseremedios.bsky.social in collaboration with Ralf Janssen looking at gene regulation and expression after whole genome duplication by comparing a spider and harvestman: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Assessing the impact of whole genome duplication on gene expression and regulation during arachnid development

Whole genome duplication (WGD) generates new genetic material that can contribute to the evolution of the regulation of developmental processes and phenotypic diversification. A WGD occurred in an anc...

biorxiv.org

A shared developmental genetic basis for sexually antagonistic male and female adaptations in the toothed water strider doi.org/10.1093/evle... Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Claudia Pruvôt et al.

A shared developmental genetic basis for sexually antagonistic male and female adaptations in the toothed water strider

Abstract. Sexual conflict can drive the divergence of male and female phenotypes and cross-species comparative analyses have documented patterns of correla

doi.org

Postdoc @ evol-lab. A Leverhulme funded 3-year postdoc studying body shape evolution (through a sexual conflict lens) on Exeter's Penryn (UK) campus. Starts April 2025. Contact David Hosken @ U of Exeter for detail.

Great opportunity to do a #PhD with me! Think #Drosophila #eyes are fun to work with? Love to do #microscopy? Want to look into organ size regulation and evolution? Maybe even in a pest species? Get in touch and check out how to apply via Oxford Brookes University: tinyurl.com/37h7pudv

Oxford Brookes Helps Train Future Science Leaders - Oxford Brookes University

Oxford Brookes partners with leading institutions to train the next generation of researchers addressing global challenges in life and environmental sciences.

tinyurl.com

Our miRNA story is now in @science.org ! We found a microRNA, not a protein, that finally solved a long-standing evolutionary mystery of wing coloration in butterflies and moths. (1/n) www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

A microRNA is the effector gene of a classic evolutionary hotspot locus

In Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), the genomic region around the gene cortex is a “hotspot” locus, repeatedly implicated in generating intraspecific melanic wing color polymorphisms across 100 mi...

science.org

What better way to start on 🦋 than by sharing our new publication? www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Entangled and non-modular enhancer sequences producing independent spatial activities

Regulatory mapping at a developmental gene reveals an unexpected architecture of entangled, rather than modular, enhancers.

science.org

Come look at some cute spider embryos with stunning 🧬expression with me! This gene is very exciting, and will be a major part of my PhD research! Watch this space for new updates🔬 @mcgregorlab.bsky.social #EvoDevo #Biology #phdlife

A really exciting new study: evidence that males evolve better sight in order to detect female dishonesty in dance flies. One for the textbooks! A male resistance trait! Great one from @rosalindmurray @luc_bussiere @dtgwynne & team academic.oup.com/evolut/advan...

Sexually antagonistic coevolution can explain female display signals and male sensory adaptations

Abstract. The prevalence and diversity of female ornaments pose a challenge to evolutionary theory because males should prefer mates that spend resources o

academic.oup.com

New review on the evolution of insect male terminalia I wrote with Daniela Nunes: www.cell.com/trends/genet...

Developmental evolution in fast-forward: insect male genital diversification

Insect male genitalia are among the fastest evolving structures of animals. Studying these changes among closely related species represents a powerful approach to dissect developmental processes and g...

cell.com

@mcgregorlab.bsky.social and I had the pleasure of writing a dispatch article discussing the latest work from @gavinrrice.bsky.social and @rebeizlab.bsky.social. You can find it over on this link: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

If you're interested in the evolution of sex determination, check out this opinion piece from Tom Kocher, @tonygamble.bsky.social , @behrenskristen.bsky.social , Will Gammerdinger, and me. We argue that genetic variation in sex determination is probably more prevalent that most people think.

Yes, polygenic sex determination is a thing!

The process of sexual development in animals is modulated by a variety of mechanisms. Some species respond to environmental cues, while, in others, sex determination is thought to be controlled by a s...

cell.com

Drosophila and IF staining folks: any recommendations for antibody generation companies? I would also be looking to get the company (or a different company) to express and purify the target antigen too. Thanks in advance!!

Analysis of implications for science spend of UK budget Appears worst fears of folding in Horizon Europe/ERC budget are not going to happen www.sciencecampaign.org.uk/analysis-and...

CaSE responds to the 2024 Autumn Budget - CaSE

sciencecampaign.org.uk

Such a wonderful piece of research! Great work yet again by @gavinrrice.bsky.social and the @rebeizlab.bsky.social lab

Mark Rebeiz@rebeizlab.bsky.social · 2y ago

Our new @CurrentBiology paper provides a rare glimpse into a morphological novelty in Drosophila eugracilis In it, @gavinrrice and colleagues, infer and reproduce the likely initial steps of a novelty's formation www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Job Alert! New postdoc position in our lab investigating cognitive biases in wild bumblebees. Thanks to Wild Animal Initiative for the funding. Position for 31 months. Deadline: December 9th. Please apply/boost #PostdocJob #AcademicJobs #Bees jobs.ncl.ac.uk/job/Newcastl...

Our paper, identifying all the cell types in the Drosophila melanogaster female reproductive tract (uterus, female-limited glands, sperm storage organs) is out today! We used single-nuclei RNA sequencing and a lot of in situ cross-validation www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2409850121 🪰 🧬🧪 1/n