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)
Congratulations to @rpianezza.bsky.social @rokofler.bsky.social, Matt Beaumont and Sarah Saadain! We found an endogenous retro virus currently invading D. melanogaster!
The ongoing invasion of the endogenous retrovirus Kuruka in natural Drosophila melanogaster populations - Nature Communications
Transposable elements are mobile DNA sequences that can copy themselves and spread between species. This study finds that Kuruka, a retrovirus-like transposon, invaded Drosophila melanogaster within t...
nature.com
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour... #TESky
The History of Transposable Element Invasions in Drosophila melanogaster
As a fundamental biological principle, genomic information is typically transmitted vertically from parent to offspring. Occasionally, however, genetic material is transferred horizontally between spe...
annualreviews.org
super proud - my very first review is online www.annualreviews.org/content/jour... many thanks to @signor-molevol.bsky.social @rpianezza.bsky.social @almoroscarpa.bsky.social for the fun collaboration
The History of Transposable Element Invasions in Drosophila melanogaster
As a fundamental biological principle, genomic information is typically transmitted vertically from parent to offspring. Occasionally, however, genetic material is transferred horizontally between spe...
annualreviews.org
How much DNA actually moves between eukaryote species? Nobody knows - maybe because we've been asking with the wrong data. Our new review makes the case for ancient and historical DNA as the missing tool: genomes from before and after a transfer happened. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
In a new study, Sarah Marion &co use genetic mapping and whole genome sequencing in wild #Drosophila to reveal the genetic basis of naturally occurring lethal mutations and introduce a new model that could explain their frequencies in natural populations. 🧪 #genetics
Transposable elements contribute substantially to naturally occurring genetic lethality in Drosophila melanogaster
Recessive lethal mutations are common and often persist at unexpectedly high frequencies due to diverse mutational causes. This study shows that many lethal alleles in Drosophila melanogaster arise…
plos.io
How does the piRNA pathway solve the self vs. non-self problem? 🧬 Since piRNAs come from single-stranded RNA, how does the cell choose the right ones? For years, "piRNA clusters" were seen as THE privileged source. But are they really special and earmarked for biogenesis? (1/19)
bioRxiv Molecular Biology@biorxiv-molbio.bsky.social · 8mo agoA Naïve RNA Sampling Core Enables Adaptive piRNA Specificity Against Transposable Elements https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.07.704324v1
The idea is to decouple the journals from the review step. They’ll still exist, but they’ll need to add other value. They’ll highlight, curate, add new perspectives. If they do a good job they can still be prestigious (like Scientific American or Wired) (1.2) 👇
(1/9) Join us in Bern, Switzerland (8–11 Feb 2026) for our EMBO Workshop on Molecular Mechanisms of Selfish Elements and Strategies! Organized with Tanja Schwander, Laura Ross (@laurarossevo.bsky.social) and Axel Imhof. meetings.embo.org/event/26-sel... #EMBOselfishElements #EMBOevents
Molecular mechanisms of selfish elements and strategies
Certain genes, chromosomes, organelles, or entire sets of chromosomes can bias their transmission to the next generation, propagating themselves at the expense of the rest of the genome. Referred to …
meetings.embo.org
super cool - I am constantly wondering about the effects of recent TE invasions? lethal mutations seems to be one striking effect www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Transposable elements drive much of naturally occurring genetic lethality in Drosophila melanogaster
Recessive lethal mutations are widespread across studied species, with estimates suggesting that each individual carries at least one. Numerous lethal alleles persist in wild populations at higher fre...
biorxiv.org
We are in Bluesky and we are happy to share our two last consortium publications: the DrosEU expanded DEST dataset and a Continent-wide study of phenotypic differentiation among European #Drosophila melanogaster populations (1/7)
@kuhlwilm.bsky.social from #HEASVienna introducing @rokofler.bsky.social for the #HEASSeminar in #AncientGenomics taking place now online and in-person at the #UBB @univie.ac.at
HEAS@heasvienna.bsky.social · last yr.We are looking forward to welcoming @rokofler.bsky.social to #HEASVienna as part of the #HEASSeminar in #AncientGenomics. Please note the slightly earlier start time of 10:00 CEST. More information and registration on our website 👇🔗
We are looking forward to welcoming @rokofler.bsky.social to #HEASVienna as part of the #HEASSeminar in #AncientGenomics. Please note the slightly earlier start time of 10:00 CEST. More information and registration on our website 👇🔗
HEAS Seminar Series - Ancient Genomics - HEAS
As part of the HEAS Seminar Series in Ancient Genomics, Robert Kofler from Vetmeduni Vienna will give a talk on Museomics reveals whether humans triggered widespread genome invasions across species on...
heas.at
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 · last yr.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...
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...
biorxiv.org
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
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
Genome Biology and Evolution@genomebiolevol.bsky.social · last yr.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
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
@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
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 · last yr.Antisense transposon insertions into host genes trigger piRNA mediated immunity https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.28.667215v1
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...
biorxiv.org
@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 · last yr.@rokofler.bsky.social talks about the spread of TEs in drosophila over time - are humans responsible?? #smbe2025
@rokofler.bsky.social talks about the spread of TEs in drosophila over time - are humans responsible?? #smbe2025
@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
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
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
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
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 ...
philanthropy.cam.ac.uk
great work of Riccardo tracing the origin of D.melanogaster transposons
Riccardo Pianezza@rpianezza.bsky.social · last yr.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...