600 directrices et directeurs d’unités du CNRS alertent sur les coupes budgétaires qu’ils qualifient de « rupture » : on leur demande de restituer des crédits DÉJÀ alloués aux laboratoires.

Another great opportunity for genome integrity / replication stress aficionados to attend two excellent seminars with a simple click. Join us in a few days (Tue April 7th)! 👇

Cell Press: Championing real-world impact. www.cell.com/about?utm_so...

This is really great news for the Dutch structural biology community, a much needed upgrade of the national EM infrastructure. Thank you Friedrich and the many others who put in a lot of work to make this a reality!

Wow! Great news

A cGAS-mediated mechanism in naked mole-rats potentiates DNA repair and delays aging Efficient DNA repair might make possible the longevity of naked mole-rats. However, whether they have distinctive mechanisms to optimize functions of DNA repair suppressors is unclear. We find that na...

A cGAS-mediated mechanism in naked mole-rats potentiates DNA repair and delays aging | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Segregating DNA lesions point to high selective advantage of tumor initiating cells www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10....

Deaminase-assisted single-molecule and single-cell chromatin fiber sequencing Gene regulation is mediated by the co-occupancy of numerous proteins along individual chromatin fibers. However, our tools for deeply profiling how proteins co-occupy individual fibers, especially at ...

What an amazing assay.

DAF-seq, the evolution of Fiber-seq from the Andrew Stergachis group, using the @pacbio.bsky.social platform:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

This will revolutionise our understanding of transcriptional regulation and functional non-coding variants.

Targeting RAD52 overcomes PARP inhibitor resistance in preclinical Brca2-deficient ovarian cancer model www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09....

Transcription and recombination are two universal DNA-dependent processes, but how they are coordinated remains largely unknown. Here we characterized transcription-recombination priority rules in yeast. 🧵 www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

Unprompted, the 14yo told me she has a deep hatred for Comic Sans.
I love that kid so much.

It is not always safe to repair DNA Damage. Sometimes, cells "just bypass it".

During DNA replication, repair of lesions on DNA can be dangerous. Cells instead "tolerate" DNA damage and focus on finishing replication.

Read our review and find out why and how: doi.org/10.1016/j.ti...

Advancing cancer research via comparative oncology - Nature Reviews Cancer Comparative oncology combines evolutionary biology, ecology, veterinary medicine and clinical oncology to better understand cancer, for example, by identifying the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the remarkable cancer resistance of some taxa. Therefore, this Perspective by Vincze et al. calls for the increased use of non-conventional model organisms in cancer research to advance cancer prevention and treatment strategies.

Perspective 🚨
Orsolya Vincze @OVincze, Thomas Pradeu &Co discuss how cancer research can be advanced using comparative oncology and call for the increased use of non-conventional model organisms to advance cancer prevention and treatment.

📖 ⬇️

Nucleoplasmic Lamin A/C controls replication fork restart upon stress by modulating local H3K9me3 and ADP-ribosylation levels - preLights Lamin A/C maintains replication fork integrity during mild replication stress by modulating chromatin structure and restraining RECQ1 activity.

First preLights post from Jenny Singh (@jennysingh.bsky.social‬)

She covers work showing that Lamin A/C maintains replication fork integrity during mild replication stress by modulating chromatin structure & restraining RECQ1 activity. #preprint

#preLight ⬇️
prelights.biologists.com/highlights/n...

Overexpression of the WWE domain of RNF146 modulates poly-(ADP)-ribose dynamics at sites of DNA damage Protein poly-ADP-ribosylation (PARylation) is a post-translational modification formed by transferring successive units of ADP-ribose to target protei…

Interested in proteins that bind to poly(ADP-ribose)? Check out our recent study here at the Legorreta Cancer Center at Brown University on WWE domains and binding to poly(ADP-ribose) in cells: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... @brownuresearch.bsky.social @weldeiry.bsky.social

In this study, Franklin et al. show that histone chaperones, like the transcription-coupled SPT6 and the replication-coupled CAF-1, control cell differentiation and lineage choice through distinct mechanisms. #OpenAccess

Learn more here:
➡️ tinyurl.com/gd352316

A PhD position is open in my group here in Heidelberg. We'll use cool primary cell models of osteosarcoma and genetic screens to understand and overcome mechanisms of clinically acquired drug resistance. It'll be a blast!

karriere.klinikum.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php?ac...

spotLights Ep 9: preLights in conversation with Jennifer Richens YouTube video by The Company of Biologists

Another #spotLights episode is out! 🎙️

Recorded at the #biologists100 conference, @jontytownson.bsky.social talks to Jenny Richens about the preprint she presented (now published @plosbiology.org), the path to preprinting + the benefits of sharing science early.

Listen below ⬇️🎧
youtu.be/eLwGRnBrIaU

PLAMseq enables the proteo-genomic characterization of chromatin-associated proteins and protein interactions in a single experimental workflow. Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and Co-Immunoprecipitation (CoIP) assays are the most common approaches to characterize the genomic localization and protein interactors, respectively, for a prote...

New preprint from the Lab at @cabimer.bsky.social. We present PLAMseq, using TurboID to do like ChIPseq and proximity proteomics in the same protocol with extra powers like mapping protein interactions in the genome.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Histone H1 deamidation facilitates chromatin relaxation for DNA repair - Nature Insights into how the linker histone H1 promotes chromatin alterations and allows repair of DNA damage are described.

Nature research paper: Histone H1 deamidation facilitates chromatin relaxation for DNA repair

https://go.nature.com/42iGjda

The FANCD2-FANCI heterodimer coordinates chromatin openness and cell cycle progression throughout DNA double-strand break repair The FANCD2-FANCI heterodimer contributes to DNA repair at interstrand crosslinks and sites of replication stress. This complex has been physically and mechanistically linked to double-strand break (DSB) repair, but its role in that process remains undefined. Here we show that the FANCD2-FANCI heterodimer dynamically interacts with open chromatin regions, including transient, DSB-induced open chromatin, where it can be stabilized by co-activation by the DNA repair kinase ATM and the Fanconi anemia core ubiquitin ligase. The loaded FANCD2-FANCI heterodimer stabilizes open chromatin and promotes resection and loading of RPA through increased association of BRCA1 and BLM. Chromatin-loaded FANCD2-FANCI has a second distinct function promoting a G2 arrest that is dependent on the ATR-CHK1-WEE1 axis. Our results support a two-step genome surveillance model in which FANCD2-FANCI monitors open chromatin sites and is stably loaded to coordinate DNA repair activities in response to signaling from a DNA repair kinase. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.

Super cool new preprint: FANCD2:FANCI is a sensor of open chromatin, independent of DNA damage, but further increased at double strand breaks.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Can’t wait for this one!

IFI16 senses and protects stalled replication forks Replication stress is a key driver of DNA damage and genome instability. Replication stress-induced fork remodelling generates a new DNA end that is vulnerable to the action of nucleases, and which is...

New preprint from the lab, revealing new roles for IFI16 during replication stress. Great collab with @unterholznerlab.bsky.social and @cejkalab.bsky.social

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

CIP2A is required for mitotic recruitment of the SLX1/XPF/MUS81 tri-nuclease complex to replication stress-induced DNA lesions to maintain genome integrity Perturbed DNA replication can lead to incompletely replicated DNA when cells enter mitosis and can interfere with chromosome segregation. Cells therefore require mechanisms to resolve these lesions du...

Extremely happy to share that my main PhD project about CIP2A-TOPBP1 and the SMX complex is now available online as pre-print.

Huge thanks to all co-authors but especially @marcelvanvugt.bsky.social for giving me the opportunity to work on this exciting project!

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

A chemical-genetic system to rapidly inhibit the PP2A-B56 phosphatase reveals a role at metaphase kinetochores - Nature Communications Phosphatase enzymes are challenging to study due to a lack of specific inhibitors. Here, authors develop a chemical-genetic system to inhibit and characterize a major Ser/Thr phosphatase complex, and ...

Delighted to share a chemical-genetic system we developed to rapidly inhibit a serine/threonine phosphatase complex (within secs). This will make it much easier to study #phosphatases. The system is also applicable to other “undruggable” enzymes.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

It is maddening how stingy and bureaucratic societies and academic institutions are.

Many expect me to work for free, only offer economy flight tickets, and have me fill out forms for hours.

It is almost as if they do not value science integrity.

I am very thankful to my Patreon supporters!

Diagram of chromatin and nucleosomes from https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Nucleosome

The DNA in our cells is not naked but instead is compacted by being wrapped around nucleosomes assembled from histone proteins. In our current view, this produces the chromatin architecture that leaves some regions open for transcription while others are more compacted & transcriptionally silent 1/n

Love this

Toward single-molecule protein sequencing using nanopores Nature Biotechnology - Maglia and colleagues discuss advances in nanopore technology en route to single-molecule protein sequencing

Nanopore technology might be able to sequence proteins soon! Read about the road ahead in this exciting Perspective rdcu.be/edWPi in @naturebiotech.bsky.social