View of the old city of Fribourg from the "Pont du Milieu". © Ville de Fribourg
🚨 PhD position available ! 🚨
I am hiring a PhD student to work with me on the evolution of plant sexual systems 🌺 at @unifrbiology.bsky.social ! The position is funded for 4 years by @snsf.ch as part of my Ambizione fellowship. More info here: tinyurl.com/monoecy
🌱 Please RP and share widely ! 🌱
In the incoming weeks/months, we will have talks about atypical reproductive modes in orthopteran and nematods!
Today we had an interesting talk on achiasmatic meiosis in the holocentric plant species Rhynchospora tenuis by @amarques.bsky.social
Interested in the molecular mechanisms and evolution of atypical reproductive modes ? Since 2025, we are running a (bi)-monthly online series. You can join us to watch or present!
More information : tinyurl.com/EvoRepro
Sign-up to our mailing list : go.unil.ch/QYYNa
Excited to announce the upcoming Jacques Monod Conference on the mechanistic and evolutionary basis of programmed DNA elimination (Sept 21–25, 2026):
cjm.sb-roscoff.fr/en/conferenc...
Organized by @laurarossevo.bsky.social and myself.
New paper with @vsudbrack.bsky.social. Using pop gen modelling, we show that partial selfing makes selection on tandem repeats more efficient, reducing the associated load across different scenarios. Thanks to @snsf.ch @dee-unil.bsky.social @fbm-unil.bsky.social !
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Are stick insects unique in their ability to transition to parthenogenesis?
Our new review in @journal-evo.bsky.social covers intraspecific and hybrid origins, cytological mechanisms, and co-occurence of female-only and sexual populations, with comparisons to other taxa.
doi.org/10.1093/evol...
[Please RT]
(1/3) Deadline extended to the end of the year for the EMBO workshop on Molecular Mechanisms of Selfish Elements and Strategies.
Held in Bern, Switzerland, from 8 to 11 February 2026.
meetings.embo.org/event/26-sel...
#EMBOselfishElements #EMBOevents
(3/3) Despite being held in Switzerland, registration fees remain within EMBO standards. Registration includes lunches, dinners, and two coffee breaks per day, making it quite affordable. Travel grants and registration fee waivers still available.
(2/3) Conference organized in five thematic sessions: (1) Repeats and transposable elements; (2) GRC, PSR, and other B chromosomes; (3) Subverting meiosis; (4) Maternal and paternal genome elimination; (5) Endosymbionts enforcing their own transmission.
[Please RT]
(1/3) Deadline extended to the end of the year for the EMBO workshop on Molecular Mechanisms of Selfish Elements and Strategies.
Held in Bern, Switzerland, from 8 to 11 February 2026.
meetings.embo.org/event/26-sel...
#EMBOselfishElements #EMBOevents
SMBE2026 Symposium 24 | Molecular mechanisms of selfish elements and strategies Organisers - Luca Soldini — University of Lausanne, Switzerland (Male) - Tanja Schwander — University of Lausanne, Switzerland (Female) Invited Speaker - Mia Levine — University of Pennsylvania, USA (Female)
Organisers
- @lucasoldini.bsky.social | University of Lausanne
- Tanja Schwander | University of Lausanne
Invited Speaker
- @levine-lab.bsky.social | @upenn.edu
One week left to submit abstracts for the EMBO workshop on Molecular Mechanisms of Selfish Elements and Strategies!
In Bern (Switzerland), from 8 to 11 February 2026.
meetings.embo.org/event/26-sel...
#EMBOselfishElements #EMBOevents
(1/9) Join us in Bern, Switzerland (8–11 Feb 2026) for our EMBO Workshop on Molecular Mechanisms of Selfish Elements and Strategies!
Organized with Tanja Schwander, Laura Ross (@laurarossevo.bsky.social) and Axel Imhof.
meetings.embo.org/event/26-sel...
#EMBOselfishElements #EMBOevents
Sign up now for EMBO Workshop "Molecular mechanisms of selfish elements and strategies" in Bern, Switzerland, 8–11 February 2026.
Abstract submission/Registration by: 15 December 2025/15 January 2026
https://meetings.embo.org/event/26-selfish-elements
#EMBOselfishElements #GeneSky #EMBOevents 🧪
(9/9) We welcome contributed talks and posters for all sessions, and strongly encourage early-career researchers to submit their best abstracts (until 15 December 2025).
(8/9) Finally, our last session will focus on Endosymbionts Enforcing their Own Transmission with Amelia Lindsey, Daisuke Kageyama (@daisukekageyama.bsky.social), and Nicky Wybouw as invited speakers.
(7/9) Our fourth session, Maternal and Paternal Genome Elimination, will address cases where whole sets of chromosomes behave selfishly with Andre Pires da Silva, Karine van Doninck, and Marie Delattre as invited speakers.
(6/9) Our third session, Subverting Meiosis, will focus more generally on how selfish elements and strategies distort Mendelian inheritance with Alejandro Burga (@arburga.bsky.social), Benjamin Loppin, Lila Fishman, Reka Kelemen, SaraH Zanders, and Steve Perlman as invited speakers.
(5/9) Extending to larger genetic elements, our second session will focus on PSR, GRC, and other B chromosomes with Andreas Houben, Christina Hodson (@chodson.bsky.social), and Radka Reifovà as invited speakers.
(4/9) Amanda Larracuente will deliver the keynote lecture after our first session, sharing recent advances from her research on selfish genetic elements.
(3/9) Our first session, on Repeats and Transposable Elements will feature Kevin Wei (@kweiosis.bsky.social) and Robert Kofler (@rokofler.bsky.social) as invited speakers.
(2/9) This will be the first event bringing together all types of selfish elements and strategies — from simpler drive systems to cases where entire chromosomal sets or organelles enhance their own transmission.
(1/9) Join us in Bern, Switzerland (8–11 Feb 2026) for our EMBO Workshop on Molecular Mechanisms of Selfish Elements and Strategies!
Organized with Tanja Schwander, Laura Ross (@laurarossevo.bsky.social) and Axel Imhof.
meetings.embo.org/event/26-sel...
#EMBOselfishElements #EMBOevents
Fair point and important concern -it definitely works better once the microphone makes it to you!