This is Bruno and Rocket. Rocket insists on making a grand entrance. Bruno is happy to help with that. 13/10 for both (IG: bruno_da_doxie_doggie)
Miguel Gómez-Raya
@miguelgrv.bsky.social
Postdoc in the Cell Biology and Virology of Archaea Unit @pasteur.fr Archaea is the coolest domain of life! 🔬🦠 PPU PhD @pasteur.fr, Mart Krupovic MSc Microbiology @helsinki.fi, Mikael Skurnik BSc Biomedicine @UB.edu
1/4 Every good defence needs a backup! 🛡️⚔ Out now in @natrevmicro.nature.com our Comment on "𝗶𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴"! 🎉 🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Immune safeguarding as a conserved principle of antiviral defence - Nature Reviews Microbiology
All organisms defend against viral infections through active immunity mechanisms that clear the virus or population-level mechanisms that cause regulated cell death. Recent research increasingly shows...
nature.com
👏 Congrats to EMBL Group Leader @gautamdey.bsky.social on an ERC Proof of Concept Grant to develop a new way of selecting cells for more efficient and versatile evolutionary biology studies. bit.ly/3Rd3H9m @erc.europa.eu
Our new paper is out in @nature.com! We uncovered how a naked mole-rat queen 👑 controls an entire colony: a natural contraceptive scent that suppresses reproduction in other females! A remarkable mammalian parallel to bees and ants! 🐝🐜 @garyrlewin.bsky.social youtu.be/enfv3zJrWKM?...
Naked mole-rats are ruled by a queen: this chemical puts her in power
YouTube video by nature video
youtu.be
Bacteriophage continue to have so much to teach us. It's in our interest to understand how they work and impact human & environmental health. New joint work led by @mariandm.bsky.social & @rantahan.bsky.social inferring single-cell latent period & burst size heterogeneity from population dynamics.
Inferring single-cell heterogeneity of bacteriophage lysis-associated life-history traits from population-scale dynamics
Theory-guided experiments reveal single-cell heterogeneity of lysis-associated bacteriophage traits from population scale data.
science.org
Wonderful to hear Carl Stetter reminisce on the discovery of Archaea at MBoA2026
Excited to share our new preprint led by Fred and me in collaboration with the archaeal community! We found that the molecular foundation of histone-based chromatin has pre-eukaryotic roots in Asgard archaea. (1/4) #ArchaeaSky www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Emergence of histone-based chromatin complexity in Asgard archaea
The emergence of the eukaryotes coincided with the diversification of histone proteins and their post-translational modifications by enzymes that constitute the core of eukaryotic chromatin. Yet the e...
biorxiv.org
A step forward in discovering Buchnera's key to the aphid's heart, published today! Thanks to Jerry Maeda and other authors--a great team -- and to the helpful reviewers #SymbioSky doi: doi.org/10.1038/s415...
A secreted endosymbiont protein essential for colonizing host cells - Nature
SyeA was present in the Buchnera ancestor, is secreted into the host cytoplasm, is homologous to secreted effectors of bacterial pathogens and is essential for Buchnera transmission.
doi.org
Excited to share our new preprint! 🧬❄️ by brilliant @mdreimann.bsky.social and great collaborators! Using cryo-ET&EM, we reveal archaeal chromatin in a near-native state: variable-beads-on-a-string fibers shaped by growth phase and histone composition #ArchaeaSky www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
1/11 When we think about learning, we think about brains. Neurons. Animals. But what if learning began much earlier? Our paper in PRXLife, led by @maorknak.bsky.social explores whether a unicell relative of animals can use environmental cues to anticipate future stress. 🧵 Link: go.aps.org/4vAU56R
Transcription factor CCTF1 plays a decisive role in regulating the proteasome activity during archaeal cell division https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.06.04.729166v1
I am delighted to share our latest preprint: doi.org/10.64898/202.... Fantastic work from my past and present lab members @flofournes.bsky.social, Sandra Martin and Nicolas Pellaton. Also many thanks to our precious collaborators @gruberlab.bsky.social and to @snsf.ch for funding this research.
Successive waves of transcriptional repression and de-repression license cell cycle progression in an archaeon #microbiology #archaea #MicroSky #ArchaeaSky doi.org/10.1093/nar/...
Successive waves of transcriptional repression and de-repression license cell cycle progression in an archaeon
Abstract. Archaea of the order Sulfolobales execute a well-structured cell cycle program similar to that of eukaryotic cells. Here, we show that three ribb
doi.org
A few months ago, @mkrupovic.bsky.social and I commented on this impressive work and all the new research uncovering the mysteries of the cell cycle in Sulfolobales👇🏻 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... #ArchaeaSky #MicroSky #Microbiology
Joe Parham@joeparham19.bsky.social · last yr.We are excited to share our preprint describing how Sulfolobus cells coordinate DNA segregation with cell division! In eukaryotes this type of regulation involves checkpoints and CDK-cyclins. But how does this work in archaea? This is the question we ask in our paper: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Nature research paper: Early fossil eukaryotes were benthic aerobes go.nature.com/3Rdw9rk
Early fossil eukaryotes were benthic aerobes - Nature
Integrated palaeontological, sedimentological and geochemical analyses of ancient rocks from Australia show that early eukaryotes were largely restricted to oxygenated benthic habitats, probably possessed mitochondria by 1.75 billion years ago, and may have expanded into planktonic habitats much later, perhaps during the Neoproterozoic era.
go.nature.com
A few months ago, @mkrupovic.bsky.social and I commented on this impressive work and all the new research uncovering the mysteries of the cell cycle in Sulfolobales👇🏻 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... #ArchaeaSky #MicroSky #Microbiology
Joe Parham@joeparham19.bsky.social · last yr.We are excited to share our preprint describing how Sulfolobus cells coordinate DNA segregation with cell division! In eukaryotes this type of regulation involves checkpoints and CDK-cyclins. But how does this work in archaea? This is the question we ask in our paper: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Feel lucky to have made a small contribution to nice work from Yulong Shen's group that adds a new piece to the puzzle of the cell cycle in Sulfolobales #ArchaeaSky #MicroSky #Microbiology academic.oup.com/nar/article/...
Successive waves of transcriptional repression and de-repression license cell cycle progression in an archaeon
Abstract. Archaea of the order Sulfolobales execute a well-structured cell cycle program similar to that of eukaryotic cells. Here, we show that three ribb
academic.oup.com
A fossil nervous system meets modern neurobiology. We found that a living comb jelly preserves neural architecture remarkably similar to those inferred from Cambrian fossils over 500 million years old 🤩. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
A nice piece at @science.org covers the exploding field of bacterial immunity, and how it led to the understanding that components of the human immune system evolved from bacterial defenses against phage www.science.org/content/arti...
Ancient wars between microbes gave us key immune defenses
A better understanding of battles between bacteria and viruses could inspire new medicines
science.org
Excited to say that my new paper with @maxlechte.bsky.social (and others not on bluesky) has come out in @nature.com! Study of sediments, geochemistry and fossils from rocks 1.75 to 1.4 billion years old indicate that the oldest known #eukaryotes were aerobic and benthic! #protists rdcu.be/fjNgL
Early fossil eukaryotes were benthic aerobes
Nature - Integrated palaeontological, sedimentological and geochemical analyses of ancient rocks from Australia show that early eukaryotes were largely restricted to oxygenated benthic habitats,...
rdcu.be
New preprint! Cell division has to happen at the right place but how Archaea pick that place is unknown. We now identified a three-protein system, Dip, that positions the divisome at midcell in H. volcanii and is broadly conserved across Archaea. A thread 🧵 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
1/35 New preprint! We show that obligate multicellularity removes fundamental population genetic barriers to multicellular adaptation. Even a brief unicellular phase can dramatically constrain the evolution of beneficial multicellular traits. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Obligate multicellularity circumvents population genetic barriers to collective-level adaptation
Complex multicellularity has evolved in just five lineages (animals, plants, brown algae, red algae, and fungi) and in each case, these organisms develop clonally and are obligately multicellular. While prior work has shown that clonal development plays a critical role in the evolution of complex multicellularity, none has disentangled this from the impact of obligate vs facultative multicellular life cycles. Here we use experimental evolution with engineered snowflake yeast ( Saccharomyces cerevisiae ) to directly test how life cycle structure affects multicellular adaptation. We created isogenic strains capable of switching between unicellular and clonal multicellular phases, then evolved populations for 192 days under obligately multicellular, facultatively multicellular, and obligately unicellular regimes. Obligately multicellular populations rapidly evolved larger size, primarily driven by a whole genome duplication, in all five replicates. Facultative populations showed dramatically constrained evolution, with tetraploidy evolving in only 2/10 facultative populations despite experiments demonstrating that it is strongly beneficial across the full life cycle. Mathematical modeling reveals the mechanistic basis for this constraint: facultative life cycles create establishment barriers through two population genetic effects. Group formation dramatically reduces the number of units of selection, making beneficial multicellular mutations vulnerable to drift. This asymmetry in population size between life cycle phases also allows cell-level selection to overpower group-level selection, eliminating mutations that provide group-level benefits but carry cell-level costs. These findings demonstrate that obligate multicellularity circumvents fundamental population genetic barriers to collective-level adaptation, helping explain why complex multicellularity has evolved exclusively in obligately multicellular lineages, and suggesting similar constraints may operate in other evolutionary transitions in individuality. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. U.S. National Science Foundation, https://ror.org/021nxhr62, DEB-1845363 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Gilliam Fellowship National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
biorxiv.org
And now it's out! Happy that PNAS selected for the cover this SEM image snapped by @samjlord.bsky.social, one of the most evocative visualizations of Euplotes that I have ever encountered. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... Stay tuned for what is shaping up to be some fascinating follow-up in the lab...
Ben Larson@blarson.bsky.social · 11mo agoWhat could be more exciting than watching Euplotes scurry around under the microscope? How about adding some raptorial predation by supergiant cannibal cells? www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Video by Vittorio Boscaro. 1/n
Archaea Power Hour returns next WEDNESDAY, May 20th, at 10AM EST / 4PM CET for the final installment of our spring semester seminar series!! We have two exciting talks planned for you so check your email for the Zoom link (coming soon) or visit our website (link in bio) for more info on how to join.
1/23 New preprint! Been thinking about the origin of cellular life. Specifically, how protocells (or *any* compartments) just aren't enough to support the evolution of increasingly complex cells. You gotta de-Darwinize the parts! The ribosome/genome do this. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
How do memories last a lifetime when proteins turn over in months? A new NAR review by Peter Cook suggests long‑term memory may stem from transcriptional gene clusters and even pyrophosphate shaping calcium signals. 📖 doi.org/10.1093/nar/... #LongTermMemory #Transcription #ReviewArticle
With Eugene Koonin, we wrote a rather comprehensive review on the origin, evolution and organization of the #virosphere. We describe all 10 viral realms and the logic behind them, and so much more. Check it out! comptes-rendus.academie-sciences.fr/biologies/ar...
Do biofilms give an ecological advantage? Yes! A fantastic follow-up to our previous biofilm work in ammonia-oxidizing archaea: "Biofilm Lifestyle Drives Ecophysiological Niche Expansion in an Archaeal Soil Nitrifier" www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Congratulations to all authors! #archaea
We are excited to share a new preprint from Dimitris Dalkidis that identifies the effects of inhibitors DMPP and ATU in ammonia-oxidizing archaea! #archaea "Common nitrification inhibitors exhibit varied physiological mechanisms on an ammonia-oxidizing microorganism" www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
