🐦 Why are bird genomes so difficult to assemble? Birds have dozens of tiny, gene-rich microchromosomes that are frequently fragmented, misplaced, or missing from genome assemblies despite containing important genetic information. 📖 Read the publication: lnkd.in/gar-GrKZ #BirdGenomics #Biodiversity

Evolution of genomes drives me. So does social justice. Had a blast speaking on LINE1s creating novelty in sloths genomes and Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Challenges to sequence all life on Earth with and for the benefit of all at #SMBE2026 Paper at: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Minibwa is a hybrid of bwa-mem and minimap2 and the successor of bwa-mem for short-read mapping. ~4X/2.5X as fast as bwa-mem/bwa-mem2 for WGS reads at comparable accuracy. Native support of directional bisulfite-seq. Applicable to long reads. Preprint at arxiv.org/abs/2606.15357

enough real fossil people follow me to ask: what the hell did I just find on the English jurassic coast??

Scientists have developed a new tool that makes bird genomes faster and easier to assemble — including tiny pieces of DNA that are usually missed. 🐦‍⬛ The new tool, known as MicroFinder, could help improve research into bird evolution, biodiversity and conservation. 👇 http://bit.ly/4wG023C

New tool helps accurately assemble notoriously difficult bird genomes

MicroFinder can be used to assemble bird genomes much quicker and more accurately than ever before.

sanger.ac.uk

New tool alert! MicroFinder, just published in GigaScience, helps assemble notoriously tricky bird genomes—faster & more accurately than ever before. doi.org/10.1093/giga...; www.sanger.ac.uk/news_item/ne...

MicroFinder: conserved gene-set mapping and assembly ordering for manual curation of bird dot microchromosomes

AbstractBackground. Obtaining chromosomally complete genome assemblies across the tree of life is an important goal of biodiversity genomics. However, some

doi.org

A big preprint from my group! Muller Elements are considered to be conserved in flies. We tested it by reconstructing the ancestral dipteran karyotype using 340 chromosomal genomes and suprise suprise, they're not... Led by @juliagries.bsky.social and Sam Ebdon. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 🧵👇

It's been really fascinating learning all about the quirks of micro- and dot-chromosomes from experts like Dr @tom-mathers.bsky.social here at the @sangerinstitute.bsky.social! The beautiful bird photo features a black-headed gull, captured by one of our staff members/birders in procurement! 📸

Wellcome Sanger Institute@sangerinstitute.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Scientists have developed a new tool that makes bird genomes faster and easier to assemble — including tiny pieces of DNA that are usually missed. 🐦‍⬛ The new tool, known as MicroFinder, could help improve research into bird evolution, biodiversity and conservation. 👇 http://bit.ly/4wG023C

New preprint on pop #genomics of #spittlebug—the main insect vector of Xylella, the bacterium that has ravaged olive groves in southern Italy 🇮🇹 🫒 Take-home: problematic insect vector may be less widespread than initially thought—important implications for disease control 💥 👇

Roberto Biello@rsbiello.bsky.social · 8mo ago

We have a new preprint! In this study, we use #genomic data to uncover population structure and adaptive potential in the meadow #spittlebug, the main European #vector of #Xylella fastidiosa.

Whole-Genome Population Genomics Reveals Lineage Structure and Adaptive Potential of Philaenus spumarius, the Principal Vector of Xylella fastidiosa in Europe https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.12.693891v1

We have a new preprint! In this study, we use #genomic data to uncover population structure and adaptive potential in the meadow #spittlebug, the main European #vector of #Xylella fastidiosa.

bioRxiv Evolutionary Biology@biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Whole-Genome Population Genomics Reveals Lineage Structure and Adaptive Potential of Philaenus spumarius, the Principal Vector of Xylella fastidiosa in Europe https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.12.693891v1

Does anyone have a photo of Charles W. Metz by any chance? He originally isolated the Holo2 line of Bradysia coprophila we still use after more than 100 years after their original capture.

Join us! 🧬🪰🎉🔬 We are currently advertising two #PhD projects to study the #evolution, #development and #genomics of sexual traits in stalk-eyed flies. Deadline for applying is Wednesday, January 7, 2026. Get in touch for more info!

Preprint Alert! 🦥 We produced complete genomes for 2 Xenarthra and placed them in a mammalian comparative framework. We found that Xenarthra harbour the largest number of retrocopies in mammals! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Retrocopy formation and domestication shape genome evolution in sloths and other xenarthrans

Xenarthrans, comprising sloths, anteaters, and armadillos, represent one of the most morphologically and physiologically specialised mammalian clades, yet the genomic basis of their adaptations remain...

biorxiv.org

Second cut of the year for the rosemary hedge. The most fragrant job in the garden!

Now out! Paper led by @philmor1964.bsky.social and the The Cetacean Genomes Project. An effort by many, we present 13 new, high-quality reference genomes for cetaceans 🐬🐋 following @vertebrategenomes.bsky.social and @ebpgenome.bsky.social standards for a group that is very hard to sample from.

Albuquerque characterized the satellitome of the pea aphid, with results suggesting that satDNAs contribute to genome evolution, biotype divergence, and the “fast-X” effect. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf104 #genome #satellitome

Exploring the Satellitome of the Pest Aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum (Hemiptera, Aphididae): Insights Into Genome Organization and Intraspecies Evolution

Abstract. Satellite DNAs (satDNAs), ubiquitous sequences in eukaryotic genomes, play a crucial role in genome organization, function, and evolution. The pe

doi.org

😱 Simultaneously curating all 8 haplotypes of octaploid Carpinus betulus (European hornbeam). One set of chromosomes down, many more to go... @sangerinstitute.bsky.social Darwin Tree of Life.

Heaven @saskiahogenhout.bsky.social et al. generated chromosome-level genomes for three psyllid species that are plant disease vectors, revealing detoxification gene expansions and genetic substructure across Europe. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf116 #genome #entomology

Helenium Moerheim Beauty doing well in the dry conditions.

Join us on the Wellcome Genome Campus of the Sanger Institute and EBI for a symposium on biodiversity genomics from 27th-29th October! Abstract deadline on 14 July. There is also an option to join via Zoom, but in-person is much nicer if you can make it.

Wellcome Connecting Science Learning and Training@eventswcs.bsky.social · last yr.

Present your insights from studies into #eukaryotic genomes at our #Biodiversity25 conference! 📈 🗓️ 27-29 October 2025 Submit by 14 July 📩 We encourage submissions showcasing best practices for applying new methods and resources to analyse #biodiversity genomes at scale 🌳🧬 📎 bit.ly/4j3vAZ9

Veg plot poppies.

First group three clematis flowers. Early this year due to the hot spring.

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

Shropshire lad, grown from a cutting.

Thanks for posting @reviewcommons.org If you're interested you can also find the reviewed version here: doi.org/10.7554/eLif... Really keen to get people's perspectives on the population genetics of reservoirs, and what they tell us about variation associated with emergent crop pathogens.

Developing a crop- wild-reservoir pathogen system to understand pathogen evolution and emergence

Evidence for those pathogen genes selected specifically for success on crops.

doi.org

Review Commons@reviewcommons.org · last yr.

Wild plants serve as reservoirs for crop pathogens-study finds populations and genes linked to resistance evasion. McMullan et al. 2025 @mcmullan0.bsky.social; lab of @neilhall.bsky.social at @earlhaminst.bsky.social 🆕 #preprintpeerreview @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social --> doi.org/10.1101/2021...

Our recent paper is out where we propose kmer-based phylogenetics for fungal Starship TEs (which are unalignable as highly variable). We think it could help with spotting bonafide HGT events (and suggest direction of transfer?) doi.org/10.1093/g3jo... @mcmullan0.bsky.social @norwichmicro.bsky.social

Starship giant transposable elements cluster by host taxonomy using k-mer-based phylogenetics

Abstract. Starships are a recently established superfamily of giant cargo-mobilizing transposable elements in the fungal subphylum Pezizomyotina (phylum As

academic.oup.com

Our paper on phylogenetics of fungal Starship TEs is now on the cover of the June issue of Genetics @genetics-gsa.bsky.social 🙂 academic.oup.com/genetics/iss... @mcmullan0.bsky.social @earlhaminst.bsky.social @rothamsted.bsky.social

Javier Santoyo@jsantoyo.bsky.social · last yr.

Starship giant transposable elements cluster by host taxonomy using k-mer-based phylogenetics. #TransposableElements #TEs #Kmer #Phylogenetics #Genomics #Bioinformatics #G3 🧬 🖥️ academic.oup.com/g3journal/ad...

New pub on genome sample collection and processing: "Best-practice guidance for Earth BioGenome Project sample collection and processing: progress and challenges in biodiverse reference genome creation" academic.oup.com/gigascience/...

Best-practice guidance for Earth BioGenome Project sample collection and processing: progress and challenges in biodiverse reference genome creation

Abstract. The Earth BioGenome Project has the extremely ambitious goal of generating, at scale, high-quality reference genomes across the entire Tree of Li

academic.oup.com

Starship giant transposable elements cluster by host taxonomy using k-mer-based phylogenetics. #TransposableElements #TEs #Kmer #Phylogenetics #Genomics #Bioinformatics #G3 🧬 🖥️ academic.oup.com/g3journal/ad...