Genomics helps resolve allopatric COI (Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I) divergences in selected alpine Lepidoptera and allows for a taxonomic revision of the Symmoca signella species-complex (Autostich... Abstract. European Lepidoptera have been subject of dense sampling for their DNA barcodes because of several active regional DNA barcoding initiatives. Thi

Happy to see this work finally published!
We investigated known barcode divergence patterns in alpine Lepidoptera in the light of genomics and uncovered hidden diversity in Symmoca signella species complex, leading to 2 new species descriptions.
academic.oup.com/isd/article/...

”Even birds, the textbook example of chromosomal stasis, exceed the global median rate once microchromosome dynamics are resolved.”

When South Meets North: A Joint Contact Zone Coinciding With Environmental Gradients in Three Boreal Tree Species Post-glacial recolonisation of Fennoscandia created secondary contact zones in many species, offering opportunities to study how gene flow and selection contribute to their establishment and maintena....

When South Meets North: A Joint Contact Zone Coinciding With Environmental Gradients in Three Boreal Tree Species onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Retention of a female-specific growth hormone receptor gene correlates with reverse sexual size dimorphism in birds www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.04...

Whoa—machine learning strikes again (in a good way)

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Undaria pinnatifida gametophyte

Our work on chromatin evolution in brown algae is now published in @natecoevo.nature.com! We show that developmentally complex brown algae evolved without epigenetic silencing pathways long thought universal, underscoring why non-model lineages are important to study. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

From ancient catalytic folds to retrotransposons and retroviruses This review constitutes an evolutionary journey that begins with the emergence of reverse transcriptase and other ancient catalytic folds that shape retroelements (Class I transposable elements) and ends with the appearance of retroviruses and their subsequent or simultaneous endogenization. This path comprises milestones such as the formation of prokaryotic retroelements, their appropriation by eukaryotes, which resulted in the occurrence of non-long terminal repeat (non-LTR) retroelements, the mosaic formation of LTR retroelements by utilizing components of non-LTR retroelements and DNA transposons, and the acquisition of new domains that led to the emergence of retroviruses. We present here a comprehensive recounting of all evolutionary events that took place from the formation of primordial enzymes to the origin of retroviruses and their endogenization.

From ancient catalytic folds to retrotransposons and retroviruses

The Jellies That Evolved a Different Way To Keep Time | Quanta Magazine Off the coast of Japan, biologists netted a pea-size jellyfish with an unusual circadian clock — a chance finding that suggests there are likely more overlooked biological timekeeping mechanisms to…

Most creatures use daylight to keep time. But a newly discovered jellyfish species has a mysterious biological clock that tracks periods of 20 hours, instead of 24. It suggests there may be more unconventional clocks across the tree of life.

Uniform annotation framework reveals genome size and LINE/LTR retrotransposons as predictors of gene family expansion across Coleoptera www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.03...

#NewPaper @molecularecolup.bsky.social
An Equatorial Hemispheric Barrier Shapes theDiversification of Migratory Belenois Butterflies

READ PAPER HERE!
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....

#Evolution #Biogeography #Butterflies #Ecology #ScienceBluesky

#NewPaper @molecularecolup.bsky.social
Resource Availability Modulates Gene Expression Across Life Stages in a Migratory Butterfly

READ PAPER HERE!
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

#Genomics #Migration #Butterflies #Ecology #ScienceBluesky

PREPRINT ALERT!
Determinants of chromosomal rearrangements in holocentric Leptidea butterflies
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Massive #chromosome reshuffling in Leptidea #butterflies reveals how satellite DNA, rDNA, and duplications—not #transposons, shape the architecture of #genomeevolution.

PREPRINT ALERT!
No preference for performance: Host plant preference, offspring performance and host plant distribution in the butterfly Aricia artaxerxes
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
#Ecology #Evolution #HostPlantPreference #Butterflies #BehaviouralEcology #PlantInsectInteractions #Lepidoptera

Delighted to see our work on the cover of Systematic Biology!! We introduce an approach for analyzing pairwise-defined traits (e.g. 'strength of RI', 'diet niche overlap') in a phylogenetically informed context (R package 'phylopairs' now on CRAN). Read it here: academic.oup.com/sysbio/artic...

#Nature #Moths Discovered in 2005 in the forests of Thailand, the Lygodium spider moth is recognized for its unique wing markings that resemble spider legs

This is kinda bonkers.

In addition, 20 amino acids were found on Ryugu, along with uracil and vitamin B3. These have been found in other instances, but since the samples from Ryugu were collected directly from the asteroid and delivered in sealed capsules, contamination on Earth could be ruled out.

Do you prefer the mountain 🏔️ or the beach 🏖️? The Mazarine blue chose both. Genomics uncover hidden diversity and lead to the description of two new subspecies from isolated montane and coastal populations in Iberia. New #butterfly #openaccess paper in #SystematicEntomology at doi.org/10.1111/syen...

Happy to share our latest preprint, which started with me driving around the countryside collecting samples from dozens of beekeepers and ended in mapping genes that control recombination rate variation in honeybees.

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

Thanks so much to everyone involved!

We have published a preprint entitled “Island species as models for small population biology and conservation.” 🏝️🩵🌍

1/3

ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...

diempy: fast and reference-free genome polarisation www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02...

Epigenomic alterations define lethal CIMP-positive ependymomas of infancy - Nature Although genetically bland, the posterior fossa group A subgroup of ependymomas, found often in infants and associated with poor prognosis, exhibit widespread epigenetic alterations, namely a CpG isla...

TIL that some childhood cancers (especially neurological ones) lack obvious driver mutations and are likely caused by misregulation of epigenetic marks. 🤯

e.g. www.nature.com/articles/nat...

The Map butterfly differs in wing size and color between seasons. We tested how these differences influence body temperature dynamics, revealing potentially optimized thermal performance between seasons. 🦋☀️

The study, led by Dani and Irča, is in preprint version: doi.org/10.64898/202...

Loci constrained under sexually antagonistic selection on a complex life-history trait, body size, drive rapid adaptation when antagonism is relaxed and carry signatures of balancing selection @immonen-lab.bsky.social @milena-trabert.bsky.social Axel Wiberg Philipp Kaufmann doi.org/10.64898/202...

Hybrid female sterility due to cohesin protection errors in mouse oocytes Misregulation of chromosome cohesion during female meiosis serves as a reproductive isolating barrier in mice.

Another announcement! 📣 Our work on hybrid incompatibility in cohesin protection in 🐭oocytes is published!! Congrats Warif El Yakoubi and Eddie Pan!!🎉 We found hybrids with cohesion errors in two distinct genus.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

A blind soil-dwelling beetle described to a new family discovered in Chile.

resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Genomic analyses in Drosophila do not support the classic allopatric model of speciation Abstract. The allopatric model of speciation has dominated our understanding of speciation biology and biogeography since the Modern Synthesis. It is uncon

New paper out: “allopatric” Drosophila species aren’t so allopatric after all. We show that most currently allopatric species pairs probably overlapped in the past and exchanged genes at levels similar to sympatric pairs. @evolletters.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1093/evle... [1/6]

Exploring #PAG33 and San Diego for the first time! If you're interested in knowing more about why bird microchromosomes are so hard to sequence, come by poster 287 this afternoon!

”Together, our results suggest that strong
pairwise incompatibilities are rare, while weak, background-dependent incompatibilities are
widespread and shape fitness and adaptation in hybrid genomes”

Not Just Ne Ne-More: New Applications for SMC from Ecology to Phylogenies Abstract. Genomes contain the mutational footprint of an organism’s evolutionary history, shaped by diverse forces including ecological factors, selective

In a new GBE Review, @david-peede.bsky.social et al. overview the SMC model and extensions, discuss examples of discoveries made with the help of SMC-based inference, and comment on the assumptions, benefits, and drawbacks of various methods.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/...

#genome #evolution #compbio

Before 1990 Brimstones (G rhamni, citroenvlinder) would be more abundant in summer than in spring, but this has shifted over time. The only explanation I can think of is that they go into hibernation sooner after appearing in summer, maybe to avoid summer heat. Other ideas welcome. #vlindermaand