Our lab is at #SMBE2026 🧬🤩 🎤 Gina Henderson: maternal genetics of immunity 🐑 (Mon 11.45 Main) 📊 Marie Raynaud: recombination hotspots & function🐦 (Mon A294) 🎤 Susan Johnston: selection on crossovers 🐦 (Tue 14.30 Main) 📊 Lisa Ammer: sex-differences in CO landscapes 🐦 (Tue B196) And we are hiring 👇🏻

Still some time to apply to our postdoc position - deadline 3rd July. I'll be at #SMBE2026 if anyone would like to chat about it 😊

Susan Johnston@susanjohnston.bsky.social · 2mo ago

📣🧬 Postdoc Alert🧬📣 We are hiring a 2+ year NERC-funded postdoc at Edinburgh Uni investigating causes and consequences of sex differences in recombination in house sparrows in Norway. Informal enquiries welcome at Susan.Johnston@ed.ac.uk 🙂 Details here: elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...

📣🧬 Postdoc Alert🧬📣 We are hiring a 2+ year NERC-funded postdoc at Edinburgh Uni investigating causes and consequences of sex differences in recombination in house sparrows in Norway. Informal enquiries welcome at Susan.Johnston@ed.ac.uk 🙂 Details here: elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...

This week we kicked off fieldwork for RECOSEX project in beautiful Åfjord, Norway. We plan to combine multi-omics information with long-term ecological data from house sparrows to understand causes and consequences of recombination patterns in both sexes. We also learned that sparrows love cows ❤️

Meiosis faces a fundamental problem: It must repair hundreds of DNA double-strand breaks while executing a transcriptional programme essential for gamete development. But many of these breaks occur in genes. So how are these two processes reconciled? www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Hello BlueSky 🌞 my group has a large project growing arms and legs, and we've decided to graduate from post-its to a project management software (kanban or similar). Any recommendations from academics? Ideally with clear project roles, a task tracker, and as lo-fi as possible!

Like #hemocytes? I'm advertising a 3 year, BBSRC #postdoc position, in #Edinburgh, using #Drosophila & human cells to understand sex differences in the regulation of #macrophage function, an exciting collaboration with the Bénézech and Wood labs. Please share! 🪰🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DQU604/p...

Postdoctoral Research Associate at The University of Edinburgh

Discover an exciting academic career path as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at jobs.ac.uk. Don't miss out on this job opportunity - apply today!

jobs.ac.uk

📣Our paper is out! 🤩 We found that local modification of H3K9me3 using CRISPR/dCas9 at hotspots changes crossover activity, bringing us closer to targeted recombination in plants.🌱 Huge thanks to @szymanskalejman.bsky.social, Wojtek, Ania, and Karolina! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Modifying meiotic recombination by targeting chromatin regulators to crossover hotspots in Arabidopsis

Targeting chromatin modifiers to DNA hotspots reveals causal link between histone marks, transcription, and meiotic recombination.

science.org

Are you a recombination researcher heading to #SMBE2026? Submit your abstract to our Symposium, organised by Marie Raynaud, Laurent Duret, and myself. We're excited to have Aurora Ruiz-Herrera from UAB Barcelona as our invited speaker. 🧬🦄🦠🌿🐝🐟🍄🪱 @aruizherrera.bsky.social @duret-lbbe.bsky.social

Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution@official-smbe.bsky.social · 8mo ago

SMBE2026 Symposium 11 | The evolution of recombination landscapes 📨 Abstract submission smbe2026.org/abstracts 📋 Programme details smbe2026.org/programme #SMBE2026

I'm excited to share that our preprint is now available on bioRxiv! Our study challenges the widespread use of molecular genetic diversity as a predictor adaptive potential, with important implications for how genetic data is used to inform conservation decisions. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Nucleotide diversity is a poor predictor of short-term adaptive potential

A capacity to adapt is essential for a population to avoid extinction in a changing world and is recognised as a global conservation priority. Adaptation requires additive (heritable) genetic variatio...

biorxiv.org

A must read for conservation geneticists on the utility (or not??) of using molecular diversity to predict adaptive potential 👇🏻

Katie Abson@katieabson.bsky.social · 7mo ago

I'm excited to share that our preprint is now available on bioRxiv! Our study challenges the widespread use of molecular genetic diversity as a predictor adaptive potential, with important implications for how genetic data is used to inform conservation decisions. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Honored to be part of this exciting symposium at #SMBE2026! Huge thanks to Marie Raynaud, @duret-lbbe.bsky.social, and @susanjohnston.bsky.social for the invitation. Looking forward to sharing insights on recombination and evolution with such an amazing community. See you in Copenhagen!!!

Susan Johnston@susanjohnston.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Are you a recombination researcher heading to #SMBE2026? Submit your abstract to our Symposium, organised by Marie Raynaud, Laurent Duret, and myself. We're excited to have Aurora Ruiz-Herrera from UAB Barcelona as our invited speaker. 🧬🦄🦠🌿🐝🐟🍄🪱 @aruizherrera.bsky.social @duret-lbbe.bsky.social

And here is the working link: jobs.helsinki.fi/job/Helsinki...

Postdoctoral Researcher in Evolutionary Genetics & Ecology of Colour and Performance

Postdoctoral Researcher in Evolutionary Genetics & Ecology of Colour and Performance

jobs.helsinki.fi

Johanna Mappes@jmappes.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Thrilled to announce a Postdoc opportunity in our group on the evolutionary genetics and ecology of colour. Wonderful system, great collaborators, and room to shape your own ideas. Apply by 7 Jan: jobs.helsinki.fi/job/13477181...

📣Plant Meiosis Meeting is back for its second edition‼️ Save the date: 9–11 September 2026, Poznań, Poland🌱 More details coming soon🤩

Are you a recombination researcher heading to #SMBE2026? Submit your abstract to our Symposium, organised by Marie Raynaud, Laurent Duret, and myself. We're excited to have Aurora Ruiz-Herrera from UAB Barcelona as our invited speaker. 🧬🦄🦠🌿🐝🐟🍄🪱 @aruizherrera.bsky.social @duret-lbbe.bsky.social

Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution@official-smbe.bsky.social · 8mo ago

SMBE2026 Symposium 11 | The evolution of recombination landscapes 📨 Abstract submission smbe2026.org/abstracts 📋 Programme details smbe2026.org/programme #SMBE2026

Happy to have been awarded an @erc.europa.eu grant RECOSEX to investigate molecular causes and evolutionary consequences of sex differences in recombination, using the wonderful Helgeland house sparrows as a model 🧬🐦 #ERCCoG 1/2 (Photos: Peter S. Ranke & Hamish Burnett)

Population-wide single-pollen nuclei genotyping in #rye 🌾 Christina Waesch, et al. 📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #PlantScience #genomics

1/9 New in @science.org www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ado8005 How does genetic architecture constrain evolutionary trajectories? To address this question, we inferred the genetic architecture of convergent plumage coloration and its evolutionary history in wheatears.

A mosaic of modular variation at a single gene underpins convergent plumage coloration

The reshuffling of genomic variation from multiple origins is an important contributor to phenotypic diversification, yet insights into the evolutionary trajectories of this combinatorial process and ...

science.org

PhD OPPORTUNITY! 🔬🔖 Still one more day to apply for our fully-funded PhD position in Norway! Please share widely 🙏

Jukka-Pekka Verta@jpverta.bsky.social · 12mo ago

How do regulatory genes control alternative life histories? We have an open PhD position to answer this question using functional genomics in Atlantic salmon. Apply by October 15th through www.jobbnorge.no/en/available... Please share widely! 🧬🦑🖥️

Surprise 🤗 So many uncharacterized transcripts in Atlantic salmon, including super interesting long non-coding RNAs! Proud to share the 1st publication of Xindi Huang: link.springer.com/article/10.1... With @fishcongen.bsky.social 🖥️🧬🦑

A comprehensive analysis of Atlantic salmon gonad and pituitary transcriptomes identifies novel players in sexual maturation - BMC Genomics

Sexual maturation is a key developmental process important for reproductive success. Understanding the molecular mechanisms behind variation in sexual maturation can provide insights into reproductive biology and how life history variation is encoded in the genome. Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) has become an excellent sexual maturation research model due to its diversity of life history strategies and its ecological and economic importance. A major challenge has been the lack of a comprehensive transcriptional investigation of reproductive tissues that captures the dynamic transcriptional changes across individuals, tissues, and developmental stages. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) also play crucial roles in maturation, yet their functions in salmon maturation remain underexplored. In this study, we sequenced 98 transcriptomes and found substantial transcriptomic complexity in the gonad and pituitary tissues of Atlantic salmon. We identified transcripts corresponding to 2,364 putative newly characterized protein-coding genes and 4,421 putative long intergenic non-coding RNAs (lincRNAs), many with tissue-specific expression. Gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) revealed tissue-specific gene network modules, linked to GO terms including Wnt signaling in immature testis, lipid metabolism, and cilia assembly in mature testis, ribosome biogenesis and DNA repair in the ovary, and hormone activity in pituitary. We identified new copies of known genes, such as gh1, pou3f2, and ier5 associated with the regulation of gonadal and pituitary functions. Some lncRNAs and their nearest genes showed correlated expression within modules, suggesting potential regulatory roles. Candidate lincRNAs indicated cis-acting regulatory potential on genes like tnfrsf11b and fgl1, which are implicated in immune privilege during gonadal development and sperm quality control. Our study provides a comprehensive transcriptomic analysis of Atlantic salmon gonad and pituitary tissues, significantly improving the functional annotation of the Atlantic salmon genome. These findings reveal key regulatory pathways and novel molecular players involved in sexual maturation, particularly in the testis. Importantly, our study highlights the regulatory potential of lncRNAs in reproductive biology and maturation age variation, advancing our understanding of the molecular mechanisms governing sexual maturation. They further unlock future gene expression analyses and regulatory network reconstruction for dissecting the roles of lncRNAs in Atlantic salmon life history variation.

link.springer.com

🚀 We’re hiring a Postdoc! Join our group in Poznan, Poland to study meiotic crossover recombination in plants 🌱 Highly motivated & enthusiastic candidates are welcome! 📅 Deadline: Nov 1, 2025 🔗 ibmib.web.amu.edu.pl/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Postdoc_position-2025-Ziolkowskis-Lab.pdf

Now published in Cell! We found that ~15% of SNPs from divergent refs did not liftover as SNPs in the gray fox ref—half mapped to monomorphic sites, half failed to map. Co-authored with Matthew Genchev, @elliecat.bsky.social, and @jazlynmooney.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Reference genome choice compromises population genetic analyses

Characterizing genetic variation in natural populations is vital to evolutionary biology; however, many non-model species lack genomic resources. Here…

sciencedirect.com

Maria Akopyan, PhD@akopyan.bsky.social · 2y ago

1/7 🧬 New Preprint Alert: Our study highlights the risks of using divergent reference genomes in population genomics. The choice of reference genome can skew key inferences about demography, diversity, and selection. Read on for insights! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Interested in simulating the kind of data that you might commonly find in evolutionary and ecological studies? Then we have the R package for you - squidSim!! Check our new preprint: ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...

Thrilled to share our Perspective published in 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴: 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻, #𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 #𝘄𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗻 #𝘂𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗯𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆. It also elevates Eastern European perspectives - underrepresented in #urban #evolution narratives. www.nature.com/articles/s44...

Legacy effects of religion, politics and war on urban evolutionary biology - Nature Cities

Cities affect biological evolution, but traditionally researchers focus on the biophysical influence of urban environments. Instead, this Review explores how the social processes of religion, politics...

nature.com

Today's @ucuedinburgh.bsky.social rally to defend jobs and oppose cuts at Edinburgh university #SaveHE #NoCompulsoryRedundancies #StopTheCuts

🔖Last review from the lab👇 'Male meiosis at the helm: shaping genomes and sex chromosomes in emerging vertebrate models' academic.oup.com/biolreprod/a...

Male meiosis at the helm: shaping genomes and sex chromosomes in emerging vertebrate models†

Abstract. The generation of haploid gametes is a hallmark of sexual reproduction achieved through a complex, albeit tightly regulated, reductional cell div

academic.oup.com

Size matters—but maybe not how we thought. Most chromosomal inversions are just a few hundred bp. Ignoring these “small players” could mean we’ve misunderstood how genomes evolve -out in TREE authors.elsevier.com/a/1ljL1cZ3X3...

Why do males and females often differ in traits? The expected answer: selection. But our new paper in GENETICS shows that genetic drift alone can generate sexual dimorphism — even when male & female optima are the same

Pre-print now out on bioRxiv! If you saw my talk at #eseb and want more info, here it is:

bioRxiv Evolutionary Biology@biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social · 12mo ago

Growth effects and the underlying genetic architecture of inbreeding depression in a wild raptor https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.17.670740v1

Unfortunately I cannot be at #ESEB2025, one of my favourite conferences, but the lab is well represented with @aleksandra-marconi.bsky.social presenting her work today on S29 @3.45pm on Transposable elements and nervous and sensory system diversification in cichlid fishes. @eseb2025.bsky.social