Phylogenetic conservation scores have long been used to identify selection targets in the genome. With machine learning, they take a new form and will likely grow in popularity. @apragsdale.bsky.social and I investigate their relationship with mutation rates

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

A population genetics study investigates how genetic variation is maintained in a polygenic trait under stabilizing selection in a subdivided population.

Learn more in #GENETICS 🔗 buff.ly/cDuTqm4

Aguado et al. investigate the salivary proline-rich protein gene family across 27 primate species to test whether dietary ecology has shaped the evolution of this locus.

🔗 academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...

#societyjournal #evobio #molbio

Excited to share Shotgun Genetic Engineering, developed by
@julietrolle.bsky.social out now @natbiotech.nature.com!

Read on to learn how Julie enabled mammalian cells to grow without 2 essential amino acids for the first time in >500 million years using highly multiplexed metabolic engineering!

cool stuff from @trevorcousins.bsky.social, Richard Durbin, and @regev.bsky.social academic.oup.com/genetics/adv...

This preprint rocks. Check out new info about one of the coolest regions of the human genome, plus join me in being so gratified that data I generated in grad school is being used by smart people to investigate fascinating topics!

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

I’m excited to share our new preprint introducing HipHap, a tool for assigning long reads to haplotype-resolved diploid reference assemblies!

With Max Marin, Matthew Meyerson, and @lh3lh3.bsky.social

Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🧵 1/6

The September issue of #GENETICS features work from @jonj-udd.bsky.social, @jeffspence.github.io, & Co which determines how genes associated with human recessive disorders fit the predictions of the classic theory of mutation–selection balance.

🔗 buff.ly/v8FpWWA

Thrilled to see this published today!

Truly special because we made the initial discovery >15 yrs ago!

We found two copies of a human gene called BC200 embedded in a human poxvirus. BC200 blurs the line between gene & transposon—both functional & mutagenic!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
🧵1/n

Happy to share results of the @bat1kgenomes.bsky.social phase 1, providing reference genomes covering 21 bat families. New insights into bat phylogeny, ancestral genome reconstruction, European origin & ancestral echolocation. Great work by a team of 100+ colleagues www.nature.com/articles/s41...

We are recruiting a PhD student 🥼🙋

Topic: how germ cells bend gene expression dogmas

Fly genetics + proteomics + genomics. Fully funded.
Aarhus University 🇩🇰

info on the project and how to apply👇
mbg.au.dk/en/peter-and...

I'd really appreciate it if you'd help spread the word.
Thanks

Infertility affects ~1 in 6 people, and up to 30% of cases are unexplained. I am excited to present my postdoctoral work from @toddmacfarlan.bsky.social 's lab, now available as a preprint: tinyurl.com/yync6f2r addressing a possible role for the meiotic gene PRDM9 in infertility 🧵/1

Thrilled to share a new important study from the lab, published today in @nature.com, showing how cohesin mediates efficient replication fork plasticity and stress response, using its loop extrusion activity to promote 3D contacts on replicating DNA:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Jeffrey P. Spence, Roshni A. Patel: Insights into human evolution from large genetic biobanks https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.12297 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2609.12297 https://arxiv.org/html/2609.12297

The RAxML-NG v2.0 preprint is out:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
v2.0 features integrated model testing, fast branch support metrics, automatic parallelization, phylogenetic difficulty prediction, genotype evolution models, to name but the most important features. And it is A LOT FASTER of course

I'm looking to hire a postdoc to work on the RepAdapt + MacroMar projects, analysing genomic data from >130 species of plants, animals, and fungi (VCFs are processed, ready to go). Lots of potential for creativity and collaboration!
yeamanlab.weebly.com/uploads/5/7/...

Our new paper is out in MBE @molbioevol.bsky.social !

Another example of how diet can shape genomes. Led by @willaguado.bsky.social!

Salivary protein genes were repeatedly reshaped, including independently evolved histidine-rich repeats linked to folivory.

doi.org/10.1093/molb...