I am so honored to give the Ira Herskowitz Award lecture at #Yeast26! Please join us, it’s going to be a fantastic meeting! @genetics-gsa.bsky.social

SMC and recombination enthusiasts: we updated our work describing the loop extrusion properties of budding yeast condensin and its function in biasing donor usage for mating-type switching. Lots of cool new data, check it out!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Ancient co-option of LTR retrotransposons as yeast centromeres - Nature Evolutionarily related ‘proto-point’ centromeres providing resolution to the evolutionary origins of point centromeres are identified in yeast, and comparison shows they evolved in an ancestor with re...

Our paper is now out in Nature:

“Ancient co-option of LTR retrotransposons as yeast centromeres”

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

A short thread on how retrotransposons helped give rise to yeast point centromeres.

1/14

Karolin Luger - Vilcek Foundation Karolin Luger's research led to the capture of a high resolution image of chromatin, resulting in the development of innovative drug treatments for diseases like cancer.

Unquestionably the result of combined effort from all current and former lab members, support from colleagues @CSU and @CU, and support from @hhmi-science.bsky.social and NIH over decades. A heartfelt 🙏 to my nominators and of course @vilcekfoundation.bsky.social.
vilcek.org/prizes/prize...

So proud of my former PhD student ‪@tadasu443.bsky.social‬ for starting his own lab at @umassamherst.bsky.social ! Wishing him all the best in this exciting new chapter. Looking forward to his future discoveries! 🎉🧬

Excited to share our latest fully in-house paper! 🎉
We show how cohesin integrates loop extrusion with sister tethering to guide the homology search during DNA repair.

Huge congratulations to all authors, and to @fedeteloni.bsky.social for leading this work 👏
We’re excited to see his next steps!

Cohesin guides homology search during DNA repair using loops and sister chromatid linkages Accurate repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) is essential for genome stability, and defective repair underlies diseases such as cancer. Homologous recombination uses an intact homologous sequenc...

I am happy to share that my postdoctoral work in the @gerlichlab.bsky.social at @imbavienna.bsky.social is finally out 🎉!
Our study reveals how cohesin guides focused and accurate homology search.
Read more 👉 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Follow along for key insights and updates! 🧵

Cohesin drives chromatin scanning during the RAD51-mediated homology search Cohesin folds genomes into chromatin loops, the roles of which are under debate. We found that double-strand breaks (DSBs) induce de novo formation of chromatin loops in human cells, with the loop bas...

Thrilled to share that my postdoc research is published today in @science.org! We found that DNA repair uses cohesin complexes to build new chromatin loops that guide the homology search and boost accurate repair! 1/n
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Chromosome Dynamics 2026 @ Awaji Japan www.fbs.osaka-u.ac.jp/labs/fukagaw...

We’re recruiting PhD students. If you’re interested in chromosome biology or imaging, please apply to the MCB or Plant Biology graduate programs at UMass (deadline is soon, 12/1). DM me for projects or questions.
www.umass.edu/molecular-ce...
www.umass.edu/plant-biolog...

I launched my lab at UMass Amherst this fall. We study the mechanisms of meiotic homolog pairing using advanced live‑cell and super‑resolution imaging. Currently in budding yeast, with plans to expand to other eukaryotes. #Chromosome #Meiosis #Mitosis
www.umass.edu/biology/abou...

RPA directly stimulates Mer3/HFM1 helicase processivity to ensure normal crossover formation in meiosis Meiotic crossover formation is critical for generating viable gametes and enhancing genetic diversity. The helicase Mer3 (HFM1 in humans) is a highly conserved factor essential for promoting crossover...

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

We found a new asymmetry in the large-scale chromosome structure: sister chromatids are systematically shifted by hundreds of kb in the 5′→3′ direction of their inherited strands! The work was led by Flavia Corsi, in close collaboration with the Daniel Gerlich lab.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
1/

Dynamic chromosomes

Saccharomycopsis yichangensis sp. nov., a Novel Predacious Yeast Species Isolated From Soil Saccharomycopsis yichangensis sp. nov. occurs in soil from a subtropical forest in central China. This novel species is homothallic and produces asci containing four spheroidal ascospores, which can ...

In the latest #Yeast research article of the series #FantasticYeasts, Pei-Jie Han, Feng-Yan Bai & team describe a new yeast species isolated from a Chinese forest: Saccharomycopsis yichangensis, that can prey on Saccharomyces cerevisiae and other yeasts 😲

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Please see our latest paper on the role of EXO1 in meiosis: "EXO1 promotes the meiotic MLH1-MLH3 endonuclease through conserved interactions with MLH1, MSH4 and DNA". Congratulations to both first authors, Megha Roy and Aurore Sanchez and thanks to all our collaborators!

🧬My retrospective chromatin review is out @Proc Jpn Acad:
doi.org/10.2183/pjab...
The textbook view of #chromatin as 30-nm fibers is fading.
A new paradigm: chromatin forms #liquid-like domains—locally dynamic, yet globally stable at the chromosome level (viscoelastic)—supporting genome function. ✨

A blutorial on my latest manuscript, which will appear as a Hypothesis article in Journal of Cell Science (no embargo requested as far as I am aware). If you are interested in mitosis/meiosis/kinetochores/evolution/deep phylogeny, please read it (1/n)

New open access review from Jon Harper and George Brown—charting the evolutionary history of Spo11 and its regulation.
portlandpress.com/biochemsoctr... #meiosis4eva

I’m pleased to announce that I have now officially started my research group at the University of Dundee, UK. My laboratory focus on how transcription factors orchestrate epigenetic reprogramming in mammalian embryos.

Excited to share our latest work on how cells fold their genomes, and build mitotic chromosomes! Out in Science today!

Lots of interesting results and proposals for those interested in loop extrusion, and chromosomes!

With @golobor.bsky.social, Leonid Mirny, Bill Earnshaw labs.

See thread below:

James Berger will Deliver the Paul Doty Lecture on April 10 - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology This year, James M Berger, of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine will return to Harvard to present the Doty Lecture, “Still Unscrambling the Puzzle of Biological Machines: […]

James M. Berger will Deliver the Paul Doty Lecture on April 10
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @dulaclab.bsky.social @neurovenki.bsky.social @naoshigeuchida.bsky.social @rivaselenarivas.bsky.social @fleshball.bsky.social @jeeyunc.bsky.social @hekstralab.bsky.social

Our new paper is out@ScienceAdvances👇
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
🧬Our Repli-Histo labeling marks nucleosomes in euchromatin and heterochromatin in live human cells.
🔍 @katsuminami.bsky.social et al. have developed a chromatin behavior atlas within the nucleus. 1/2

Check out our review on DNA end resection! With Raphael Ceccaldi, www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Countdown to an epic new pre-print.

Mitochondria are cells within our cells. They need the same core activities - replication, transcription, translation. How do cells enable these diverse activities in both compartments? We uncover an unexpected + broad strategy with ancient origins. Stay tuned!

Our new findings on how chromosomes get ready for cell division are now published in @cellpress.bsky.social!

Congratulations, Kai, @andibrunner.bsky.social and everyone else involved! 🤩

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Fluorescence microscopy images showing a diplonema cell

There are ~180 chromosomes in this diplonemid, which organize into two rings during mitosis. Chromosomal passenger complex proteins localize in between the rings. Indirect evidence suggests that the cell is in metaphase but the two rings are separated by up to 1 µm. How are they connected?

I am happy to share a preprint on the marine plankton project I started one year ago (thanks to Julius and Drahomira's help)
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...