Have you heard about SMBE journal's Read & Publish agreements?

Read & Publish agreements provide the academic community with transparent, flexible, and inclusive options for open access publishing in OUP journals - including SMBE's own Molecular Biology and Evolution, and Genome Biology and Evolution.

These agreements bring several benefits to our authors - Publishing Open Access with the charge included in the agreement - Complying with funding mandates - Same access to the rigorous, high-quality editorial review you've come to expect from the SMBE journals

Does your institution have an agreement in place? Visit the link to the OUP website in the post description to learn if you can apply to these benefits.

Publishing Open Access maximizes the impact and visibility of your research. Through our publishing partner Oxford University Press, MBE and GBE offer Read & Publish agreements to many institutions.

🔗 academic.oup.com/pages/open-research/read-and-publish-agreements

#societyjournal

Silene latifolia and its enemies: (a) female, (b) male and (c) diseased flowers (castrated by the anther-smut Microbotryum fungus), and (d) caterpillar of the seed-eater Hadena bicruris on a capsule.

Silene, a versatile model system: from sex and genome evolution to ecology and speciation

A #TansleyReview by Sophie Karrenberg, et al.

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Summary available in English and French.

#PlantScience

Our recent paper on the chloroplast ionome was featured in ASPB's newsletter a the Plant Cell Article of the Week.

Thx @aspbofficial.bsky.social @plantaeofficial.bsky.social for featuring our recent study doi.org/10.1093/plce... at @theplantcell.bsky.social as the TPC Article of the Week. The entire team was unbelievably thrilled.

What does the new #TAIR12 Arabidopsis thaliana genome annotation look like?

bit.ly/3ZHtneT

#plantscience #plantbiology #Arabidopsis #cropscience #scisky 🧪

The visualization of two bacterial genomes, of 50 and 52kb, representing independent instances of extreme genomic reduction in ancient heritable endosymbionts of planthoppers.

Our new paper in @natcomms.nature.com is now online-early!

We describe independent evolution of bacterial genomes of only ~50–52 kb — the smallest known outside cellular organelles — revealing striking convergence toward minimal gene sets.

🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s414...

Translesion DNA synthesis on pyrimidine dimers by Plant organellar DNA polymerases is metal-dependent www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01...

Reminder with <2 weeks to deadline:

I am excited to offer a postdoctoral research position in my lab in Oxford studying the distribution of small RNAs during plant sexual reproduction. shorturl.at/7Goxt
Reposts appreciated!
Obligatory cat video to brighten your day. :-)

Excited to share this preprint! Really nice collaborative work on the fascinating Balanophoraceae

Right on! @jumpinggenomes.bsky.social started the plant tRNA work in our lab and is now working with @mcsymbiont.bsky.social on similar processes. The translation machinery is one of the very last things these organelles and ancient endosymbionts relinquish.

Ha. I don't know. Looks a bit like an ear of corn to me!

Reshaping Organellar Translation and tRNA Metabolism: The Consequences of Photosynthesis Loss and Massive Horizontal Gene Transfer The transition to holoparasitism in plants precipitates the loss of photosynthesis, fundamentally altering the selective landscape acting on organellar genomes. These changes raise questions about the...

Great collaboration with the Sanchez-Puerta lab and colleagues! @lfceriotti.bsky.social @organelledchaos.bsky.social @jumpinggenomes.bsky.social @chusteckisci.bsky.social @achristensenphd.bsky.social (and others not on bsky)

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

Ombrophytum subterraneum. Photo credit: M. Virginia Sanchez-Puerta

Loss of organellar tRNA synthetases, retargeting of their cytosolic counterparts to the organelles, and rapid evolution of plastid ribosomes.

4/n

Diagram of tRNA and aaRS genes loss/transfer/retargeting.

Massive loss of native organellar tRNA genes associated with functional transfers of mitochondrial tRNA genes from their host plants, as well as a functional transfer of the plastid tRNA-iMet gene to the nucleus…

3/n

Balanophora laxiflora. Photo credit: Renchao Zhou

Balanophoraceae species parasitize other plants and exhibit numerous changes in organellar translation, including an altered plastid genetic code (UAG > Trp) mediated by duplication of a nuclear tRNA-Trp and substitution in its anticodon…

2/n

Lophophytum pyramidale. Photo credit: M. Virginia Sanchez Puerta

Happy to share this work with Virginia Sanchez-Puerta (not on bsky) and colleagues on how loss of photosynthesis in these (strange!) plants affects translation and tRNAs in plastids and mitochondria....

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

1/n

Our new preprint with H.Soufari and @giegep.bsky.social is out! It shows how mtIF3 recruits the initiator tRNA during a pre-initiation stage of translation in plant 🌿mitochondria.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Assistant Professor in Integrative Environmental and Organismal Health Position Title: Assistant Professor in Integrative Environmental and Organismal Health Appointment Type: Faculty Job Description: Summary of Duties and Responsibilities: The Department of Ecology, Evo...

My department (EEOB at Iowa State) is hiring! See isu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/IowaStateJob...

The Sudmant Lab & Wilsterman Lab are hiring a postdoc! Come work on the genetics and evolution of the placenta and dissecting genetic adaptations to altitude in deer mice!

Check out more details here: evol.mcmaster.ca/brian/evoldi...

www.sudmantlab.org
www.thewilstermanlab.com

Please Share!

A 3D structural model of the plant mitochondrial ribosome shown from four angles, highlighting subunits affected by mitochondrial gene loss, nuclear transfer, and/or functional replacement in Silene conica.

Pre-Thanksgiving preprint! Check out our first look at the proteomics of the wacky mitochondria of Silene conica and their translation machinery. Fun project with @jumpinggenomes.bsky.social, Amanda Broz, and Ryan Stikeleather!

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

Research Associate-Fixed Term - East Lansing, Michigan, United States Position Summary The Lowry Lab at Michigan State University is searching for a postdoctoral research associate to conduct molecular and physiological experiments to understand the causes of genetic va...

I am currently searching for a new postdoctoral researcher to study the evolution, genetics, and physiology of cold acclimation and freezing tolerance in switchgrass at Michigan State University. This work will be funded by a newly funded five-year DOE grant. careers.msu.edu/jobs/researc...

Matt, clearly we need a wrapper tool to run and aggregate output from all the CAFEs. CAPPUCCINO? Coordinated Aggregator of Pipelines Persistently Using Confusingly Common Identical Names Over and over

Professor & Head, Dept of Horticulture & Landscape Architecture Colorado State University invites applications and nominations for the position of Professor and Head of the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture (HLA) in the College of Agricultural ...

We are looking for a new colleague and department head for #Horticulture and Landscape #Architecture at #Colorado State #University! #highered #academicsky #agsky #Agriculture. Apply by December 31! jobs.colostate.edu/postings/169...

I am looking to hire a postdoc interested in combining genetics and evolution to understand why telomeres vary so much in plants. My group has been developing Mimulus a genetic model for studying plant telomeres and we have really cool research brewing. Please check ad for detail. Deadline is 12/31.

U.S. Congress considers sweeping ban on Chinese collaborations Researchers speak out against proposal that would bar funding for U.S. scientists working with Chinese partners or training Chinese students

“The prohibited activities would include joint research, co-authorship on papers, and advising a foreign graduate student or postdoctoral fellow. The language is retroactive, meaning any interactions during the previous 5 years could make a scientist ineligible for future federal funding.”

We are looking for a PhD student to work on an exciting plastid endosymbiosis in microbial eukaryotes. This position involves sampling, exciting microscopy such as CARDFISH, ExM and FIBSEM, single-cell transcriptomics and more. #protistsonsky 1/2

Wellcome Connecting Science hybrid conference Mutations in Time and Space Conference dates: 13-15 April 2026 Location: Hinxton Hall Conference Centre, UK and online. Bursary deadline: 12 January 2026 Abstract deadline: 2 February 2026 In-person registration deadline: 16 March 2026 Virtual deadline: 6 April 2026

Explore the origins, patterns and consequences of mutations across biological systems! #MITS26

🗓️ Conference dates: 13-15 April 2026

Participate in expert-led knowledge exchange on how genome evolution shapes human health and ageing 🧬

Check out our exciting speakers ➡️ bit.ly/4hmbnyr
#Genomics

I am looking for a PhD student to start in my lab at UCSB in Fall 2026, studying evolutionary biology. See attached flyer for more information. Please also share with potentially interested students. Thanks!