Personally it is exciting that this high risk, semi-natural experiment that started in 2019 and had its own flavour of challenges has provided these cool results. Kudos to @morganefrapin.bsky.social, @fishcongen.bsky.social and everyone else not on here 🤗

Ping @luke.fi @helsinki.fi

Density‐Dependent Expression of Epitranscriptomic, Stress and Appetite Regulating Genes in Atlantic Salmon Intraspecific competition due to for example, density, has substantial influence on fitness dynamics and life histories, but the underlying physiological mechanisms are often complex and the molecula...

In this new study that emerged from a great collaboration led by @morganefrapin.bsky.social and Ehsan Pashay Ahi, we dig into the molecular mechanisms of density-dependent effects in Atlantic salmon, specifically in their hypothalamus (a key site for endocrine regulation).

A couple of points below👇

Doctoral Researcher positions, Biological and Environmental Sciences The Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences is seeking applicants for 1–4 fully funded doctoral researcher positions. The positions will begin on August 1, 2026, or as agreed, for a maximu...

Several PhD positions open at University of Jyväskylä including one on #salmon!
If it will be funded, I look forward to collaborating with the project: Interactions between thermal performance and parasite resistance in genetically distinct salmon populations 🐟🪱🔎 🧪

Apply by 14 Dec 2025👇

A comprehensive analysis of Atlantic salmon gonad and pituitary transcriptomes identifies novel players in sexual maturation - BMC Genomics Sexual maturation is a key developmental process important for reproductive success. Understanding the molecular mechanisms behind variation in sexual maturation can provide insights into reproductive biology and how life history variation is encoded in the genome. Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) has become an excellent sexual maturation research model due to its diversity of life history strategies and its ecological and economic importance. A major challenge has been the lack of a comprehensive transcriptional investigation of reproductive tissues that captures the dynamic transcriptional changes across individuals, tissues, and developmental stages. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) also play crucial roles in maturation, yet their functions in salmon maturation remain underexplored. In this study, we sequenced 98 transcriptomes and found substantial transcriptomic complexity in the gonad and pituitary tissues of Atlantic salmon. We identified transcripts corresponding to 2,364 putative newly characterized protein-coding genes and 4,421 putative long intergenic non-coding RNAs (lincRNAs), many with tissue-specific expression. Gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) revealed tissue-specific gene network modules, linked to GO terms including Wnt signaling in immature testis, lipid metabolism, and cilia assembly in mature testis, ribosome biogenesis and DNA repair in the ovary, and hormone activity in pituitary. We identified new copies of known genes, such as gh1, pou3f2, and ier5 associated with the regulation of gonadal and pituitary functions. Some lncRNAs and their nearest genes showed correlated expression within modules, suggesting potential regulatory roles. Candidate lincRNAs indicated cis-acting regulatory potential on genes like tnfrsf11b and fgl1, which are implicated in immune privilege during gonadal development and sperm quality control. Our study provides a comprehensive transcriptomic analysis of Atlantic salmon gonad and pituitary tissues, significantly improving the functional annotation of the Atlantic salmon genome. These findings reveal key regulatory pathways and novel molecular players involved in sexual maturation, particularly in the testis. Importantly, our study highlights the regulatory potential of lncRNAs in reproductive biology and maturation age variation, advancing our understanding of the molecular mechanisms governing sexual maturation. They further unlock future gene expression analyses and regulatory network reconstruction for dissecting the roles of lncRNAs in Atlantic salmon life history variation.

Surprise 🤗 So many uncharacterized transcripts in Atlantic salmon, including super interesting long non-coding RNAs!

Proud to share the 1st publication of Xindi Huang:

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

With @fishcongen.bsky.social

🖥️🧬🦑

How do regulatory genes control alternative life histories? We have an open PhD position to answer this question using functional genomics in Atlantic salmon.

Apply by October 15th through www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...

Please share widely! 🧬🦑🖥️

Laboratory Coordinator for the Laboratory of Molecular Ecology and Systematics Laboratory Coordinator for the Laboratory of Molecular Ecology and Systematics

A permanent molecular ecology lab coordinator position in Helsinki! Come and work with a bunch of groups (including mine) working on various topics in ecology and evolution. English is the working language of the lab. Finland is the happiest country in the world 😀
jobs.helsinki.fi/job/Helsinki...

I'm happy to arrive just in time on Bluesky to celebrate this :) Great job @jpverta.bsky.social and co-authors!