Okay once more for the #SMBE2026 crowd! If you haven't yet, please take our survey on definitions of sex and reproductive terms. Link here or in the QR: univie.questionpro.eu/a/TakeSurvey...

As everyone's winding down on #evol2026 we want to share our survey link with you again. Whether you work in reproductive biology specifically or not, please take a minute to help us understand how the scientific community uses reproductive terms in research! And hope to see you at #SMBE!

For starters, there's not "one weird trick to ditch your X." There are multiple paths to sex determination turnover. To read more about it, including what genes were gained or lost and how the genome looks in X chromosome scales, check out our preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 6/n

Excited to be part of the amazing team behind our upcoming symposium on Sex Evolution at #SMBE2026! 🔹 Daniel Jeffries 🔹 Paul Jay 🔹 @sphaeromeria.bsky.social 🔹 @astridboehne.bsky.social 🔹 @cbenvenuto.bsky.social Join us in Copenhagen for cutting-edge discussions on #sex #evolution

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

SMBE2026 Symposium 9 | New frontiers in sex evolution: evolutionary patterns and innovations 📨 Abstract submission smbe2026.org/abstracts 📋 Programme details smbe2026.org/programme #SMBE2026

🔬 Uncovering the mechanisms of sex chromosome dosage compensation in skinks! 🦎 🧬 Our latest collaborative study on how a lizard species with an extraordinary ability to change sexual phenotype maintains genomic balance. 👇 rdcu.be/eVjqW

🎯Excited to share our new collaborative paper in Mol Ecol - Beautifully lead by @marta-fb.bsky.social & @coreykirkland.bsky.social - Exploring the fascinating evolutionary story of the waterbuck, shaped by climate and unique chromosome changes onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Chromosome‐Level Genomics and Historical Museum Collections Reveal New Insights Into the Population Structure and Chromosome Evolution of Waterbuck

Advances in sequencing and chromosome-scale assembly have brought non-model animals into focus, deepening our understanding of genome and chromosome evolution. Here, we present the waterbuck (Kobus e...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Just one week left to submit your abstract for our symposium on eco-evolutionary dynamics of #sexualselection and #sexualconflict at @ece2026tours.bsky.social ! Join us in beautiful Tours, France, 29 June – 3 July 2026!

Tim Janicke@timjanicke.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Excited to announce our symposium on eco-evolutionary dynamics of #sexualselection & #sexualconflict at the XIII European Congress of Entomology (29 June–3 July 2026, Tours, France), co-organised with Lucas Marie-Orleach! Call for abstracts is open until 15 Dec 2025. www.ece2026.org

Organisers - @aruizherrera.bsky.social | @ibb-uab.bsky.social - Daniel Jeffries | University of Bern - Paul Jay | Universite Grenoble Alpes - @sphaeromeria.bsky.social | @ibb-botanic.bsky.social - @astridboehne.bsky.social | @leibnizlib.bsky.social - @cbenvenuto.bsky.social | @salforduni.bsky.social

Invited Speaker - Nicole Valenzuela | @iastateresearch.bsky.social

SMBE2026 Symposium 9 | New frontiers in sex evolution: evolutionary patterns and innovations 📨 Abstract submission smbe2026.org/abstracts 📋 Programme details smbe2026.org/programme #SMBE2026

I've written about this reproductive system, the mix of males and hermaphrodites without pure females (called androdioecy) before, here: academic.oup.com/evolut/artic...

Sex, males, and hermaphrodites in the scale insect Icerya purchasi*

Abstract. Androdioecy (the coexistence of males and hermaphrodites) is a rare mating system for which the evolutionary dynamics are poorly understood. Here

academic.oup.com

What's in a name? 🐙🦑 @ideaspermatheca.bsky.social @treeofsex.bsky.social

Danna Staaf@dannastaaf.bsky.social · 8mo ago

One of the least-appreciated giant cephalopods, Haliphron atlanticus, is in the news! (thx @scsmith4.bsky.social for the heads up) Unfortunately the common name seven-arm octopus - only describes males - actually doesn't even describe males Can we think of a better one?? www.bbc.com/news/article...

My latest paper, Cryptic female choice can maintain reproductive isolation, with @servedio.bsky.social and Suzanne Alonzo is now out in the October issue of @journal-evo.bsky.social ! (1/3) academic.oup.com/evolut/artic...

Cryptic female choice can maintain reproductive isolation

Abstract. Sexual selection has long been considered an important mechanism of speciation. Despite growing empirical evidence that postmating sexual selecti

academic.oup.com

Does #SexualSelection fuel #Speciation? Our new #meta-analysis of comparative studies finds support for a positive relationship, but the rather moderate global effect suggests it’s not necessarily a dominant force. doi.org/10.1093/evle...

Sexual selection and speciation: a meta-analysis of comparative studies

Abstract. Understanding the drivers of biodiversity is a central goal in evolutionary biology. In particular, sexual selection has long been proposed as a

doi.org

This is a really interesting story. Microsporidia have genome architecture as no other creatures! Congrats @amjadkhalaf.bsky.social

PLOS Biology@plosbiology.org · 10mo ago

#Microsporidia are #parasites of growing importance. @amjadkhalaf.bsky.social @mblaxter.bsky.social @marakat.bsky.social &co present 40 new genomes from #DarwinTreeofLife sequencing of their arthropod hosts, revealing insights into #tetraploidy & #reproduction @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/48HsAQJ

Join our online course on Sex Chromosome Evolution (6–10 Oct) with @astridboehne.bsky.social & @idarolti.bsky.social to gain hands-on experience in genomic and transcriptomic analyses. www.physalia-courses.org/courses-work... #SexChromosomes #GenomeEvolution #Transcriptomics #ComparativeGenomics

Sex chromosome evolution

Dates 6-10 October 2025 To foster international participation, this course will be held online

physalia-courses.org

I'm very happy to share that our paper describing the evolution of sex chromosomes in brown algae is out!🎉 This project was a long journey, but it came together into a nice story 🧬 🌊 Grateful to everyone who helped along the way!

MPI for Biology Tübingen & Friedrich Miescher Laboratory@mpi-bio-fml.bsky.social · 11mo ago

New research: With ancient origins & surprising flexibility, #BrownAlgae reveal a compelling story of sex chromosome evolution. This could rewrite how we view sex determination. Learn more: s.gwdg.de/YDoZ3L Congrats to @agalip.bsky.social & Josue Barrera for their work in @natecoevo.nature.com

Family photo of the 2025 Workshop of the @treeofsex.bsky.social ! Thanks everyone for attending and see you soon!

Great work by @aruizherrera.bsky.social's lab! Amazing paper and have you see the graphical abstract? Happy reading!

Aurora Ruiz-Herrera@aruizherrera.bsky.social · 11mo ago

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

This is insane! The Atlas blue butterfly has 227 pairs of autosomes and four sex chromosomes, the highest recorded chromosome number in non-polyploid Metazoa!!!! See below!🦋

Charlotte Wright@charlottewright.bsky.social · 11mo ago

How many chromosomes can an animal have? In our paper out now in @currentbiology.bsky.social we show that the Atlas blue butterfly has 229 chromosome pairs- the highest in diploid Metazoa! These arose by rapid autosome fragmentation while sex chromosomes stayed intact. www.cell.com/current-biol...

Hot from the press: XX/XY sex determination in Nautilus (unique among cephalopods)!!!! 🐙

Sarah Lemer@sarah-thesea.bsky.social · 12mo ago

Check our latest paper in @currentbiology.bsky.social about the unique sex determination system in Nautilus ➡️ XX/XY chromosomes unlike other cephalopods (ZZ/Z0). with @reef-combo.bsky.social and @anariesgo.bsky.social et al., and led by Hector Torrado. Get it: authors.elsevier.com/c/1lbs~_LsQS...

The day 2 of the #TreeOfSex annual workshop started with a great talk by @yannguiguen.bsky.social about B chromosomes and their role in sex determination in fish. Next up, Sònia Garcia is giving an update on the works of the Literature team.

Tree of Sex annual workshop started today. It will be two days packed with reproductive biology.

Good to see some of our US-based ToS members at #Evol2025! If you're at the meeting and interested or just curious about the project, say hi to @ajmongue.bsky.social @nicolevalenzuela.bsky.social @ideaspermatheca.bsky.social @emistasis.bsky.social, Mike White or Louise Heitzmann!

Officially (re-)annoucing the Tree of Sex! Read all about it in JEB below!

Aurora Ruiz-Herrera@aruizherrera.bsky.social · last yr.

🔖The Tree of Sex consortium: A global initiative for studying the evolution of reproduction in eukaryotes Advanced article version👇 academic.oup.com/jeb/advance-... 📖 Read more: treeofsex.sanger.ac.uk Follow us here 👉 @treeofsex.bsky.social #TreeOfSex #Evolution #Genomics #Biodiversity

As work ramps up, we've created a Starter pack to follow members of the consortium. go.bsky.app/QjiXdsc Please comment below to be added!

Hi folks, this is the official Tree of Sex account. We are an open consortium of reproductive scientists with the aim to catalogue reproductive knowledge across Eukaryota. You can be part of it too: treeofsex.sanger.ac.uk

The @treeofsex.bsky.social is working on this! 🤞🏽

Biological Recording Company@biologicalrecording.co.uk · 2y ago

The taxonomic biases in biodiversity data are growing over time. The amount of data we are collecting is growing, but the biases get bigger. We need to make a conscious effort to study the understudied! #SciComms #Science #Taxonomy 🧪 image from Troudet et al 2018 @natureportfolio.bsky.social