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Andrew Mongue

@ajmongue.bsky.social
2.3K followers 592 following 181 posts

Assistant Professor of Molecular Ecology at University of Florida. Comparative genomics and evolutionary genetics of weird reproductive systems.

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Reposted by Andrew Mongue
Jennifer Biddle @jenbiddle.bsky.social · 3h
Hey Biologists : Have you made any comments on the NIH Biosafety Policy for Biohazards? Because some of the changes are REDONKULOUS - and there are only 40 comments on file - Submit comments by Oct 19! osp.od.nih.gov/comment-form.... 🦠 #microsky
osp.od.nih.gov
Comment Form: Draft NIH Biosafety Policy for Research Involving Biohazards
Request for Information: Draft NIH Biosafety Policy for Research Involving Biohazards
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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
This is the home of the famous "fish-within-a fish" fossil (pic grabbed from the Internet)! I hope they can stay open...
An awesome fossil of a fish that swallowed another fish!
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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Wow quick work from @hanliconius.bsky.social ! Thank you for confirming my suspicions. Label your sex chromosomes, folks!
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Joe Hanly @hanliconius.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I made a live dashboard of chromosome-scale genome assemblies on NCBI. hanliconius.github.io/eukaryote-ge...
hanliconius.github.io
Eukaryote Genome Watch
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GEValT @gevaltcrispr.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Meet GEValT! Germline Engineering by Viral transduction! No more injections www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
Infectious transgenesis in arthropods
In the last decade, there has been an explosion in the development of in vivo germline genetic editing technologies in arthropods, first pioneered by the Receptor-Mediated Ovary Transduction of Cargo ...
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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I just realized I goofed! Let me clarify that this was co-led by David and the great @ethanbeaver.bsky.social whose encyclopedic taxonomy knowledge was crucial! Even an evolutionary genomics guy like me can understand it if Ethan breaks it down!
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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
What's going on here? Is that fungus? Noodles?? No, it's bagworm moth cases! In a new article led by co-advised student David Cheng, we describe two new species and a whole new subfamily of bagworm moths: Tenuipsychinae! academic.oup.com/isd/article-... Brief explainer below!
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Graham Coop @gcbias.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
I’m looking to hire an NIH funded postdoc to join our lab here at Davis (please RT). Ongoing areas of interest include: 1) polygenic signals of selection from time series, ARGs, GWAS, etc 2) The interpretation of GWAS, polygenic scores, & sources of confounding
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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Looking for a postdoc? Consider joining an excellent lab in an amazing department! @laurarossevo.bsky.social 's group works on so many bizarre and unique genetic systems. It's an absolute dream for an evolutionary geneticist (I may be biased but it worked out well for me)!
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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
It turns out Varroa mites aren't haplodiploid after all!?
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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
How do bumblebees determine sex—and why does it matter for conservation? A new study identifies the B. terrestris sex-determination region, with major implications for managing genetic diversity. doi.org/10.1093/evle... Image credit: M. Almbauer
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Ardem Patapoutian @ardemp.bskyverified.social · 31/08/2026
NIH's Aug 2026 proposal would scrap exact scores and percentiles for three broad bins (top = top 25%). With funding rates at 5% or lower, too much then rides on administrative discretion. It devalues peer review and is a deterrent to engage. Tell NIH before Oct 13. grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
grants.nih.gov
NOT-OD-26-088: Request for Information (RFI) on Proposed Changes to Reporting Outcomes from NIH Peer Review
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Request for Information (RFI) on Proposed Changes to Reporting Outcomes from NIH Peer Review NOT-OD-26-088. NIH
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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
New Mongue lab publication alert! The first first-author paper for master's student @ethangrebler.bsky.social who started this work as an undergraduate in the lab! The genome assembly of the ambush bug Phymata mystica! Read about it here: academic.oup.com/g3journal/ad... Highlights below 1/5
An ambush bug seen from above
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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 27/08/2026
RIP Yayoi Kusama
Shadows in a Kusama infinity roomShadows in a Kusama infinity room
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Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Hey folks, this hasn’t gotten much attention, but remember those proposed OMB rule changes we all commented on recently? There’s a new attempt to sneak them just for NSF. We have three days to comment. Please don’t sleep on this!
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Neil Hall @neilhall.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Biological Databases are critical infrastructure - not projects. As so much effort is put into harnessing AI to solve all our problems, we are allowing the foundational data resources crumble. Treat biological databases as infrastructure, not projects www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Treat biological databases as infrastructure, not projects
Letter to the Editor
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Tree of Sex @treeofsex.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
And thanks as well to every member of the Consortium who are making this whole massive undertaking possible! Don't forget, you can easily follow all of us with one click using this starter pack: go.bsky.app/QjiXdsc 3/3
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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Excited that this deep dive into the semantics of reproductive terms is finally out, led by the always awesome @ideaspermatheca.bsky.social ! We have more to come on reproductive evolution with the Tree of Sex 2.0 consortium @treeofsex.bsky.social but unpacking terminology is a crucial first step!
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Caitlin E. McDonough-Goldstein @ideaspermatheca.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Building connections across components of sex allows for more nuanced evolutionary research like comparing the specific influence of sex on genetic diversity, genome architecture and phenotypic variation or how traits like sexual systems and sex determination interact to influence each other
Text at top: Components of "sex" combine to influence reproductive trait evolution
Composite with multiple figures that make connections among many different traits
Citations for figures: Ross et al. 2022, Niklas and Cobb 2014, Gourevitch et al. 2026, Pla et al. 2022, Kruger-Hadfield 2024 and Billiard et al. 2012
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Stand Up for Science! @standupforscience.net · 14/08/2026
The NSF Proposal is a not-so-sneaky attempt to implement Vought’s OMB Proposal before it’s finalized. Take action against the NSF Proposal; Leave your public comment: zurl.co/j2JCa Join us today at the NSF Rapid Response Workshop, 2-3PM ET: zurl.co/IXE9L
The graphic contains a photo of Russell Vought and the white Stand Up for Science logo. The graphic reads: "We need to stop the NSF Proposal; The NSF Proposal Intends to Implement Vought's OMB Proposal Policies Ahead of Time; Here's what you can do: Leave a public comment. Join us for the final NSF Rapid Response Workshop, Today, 2-3PM EST. LINKS IN BIO!"
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Greg van Eekhout @gregvaneekhout.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Wikipedia remains one of the most useful things online. No subscription fees, no ads, no stupid pursuit of AI, all curated by relentless nerds. Maybe remember to throw them a few bucks every now and again.
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Jamie Walters @bioboatr.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Y and W sex chroms are enigmatic. Compared to the rest of the genome, they show distinct structure and diversity, and are notoriously difficult to assemble. Work led by @mdalikova.bsky.social investigates these patterns for the W chromosome of silkworm, Bombyx mori www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
Wrong but useful: Bombyx silkworm W chromosome assemblies are flawed but still capture strongly reduced diversity of repetitive DNA
Degenerate sex chromosomes ( e.g., the Y or W) remain among the most difficult regions of eukaryotic genomes to assemble because they are highly repetitive and structurally complex. While many recent ...
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Rob Waterhouse @rmwaterhouse.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Hot off the press @official-smbe.bsky.social MBE - a phylum-wide assessment to systematically evaluate, refine, and revise current understanding of the evolutionary dynamics of the #arthropod moulting genetic toolkit! academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-...
academic.oup.com
Evolutionary dynamics of the arthropod moulting machinery
Abstract. Exoskeletons define arthropods, providing support for segmented bodies and appendages while protecting against environmental stress and predation
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Renee DiResta @noupside.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
This is insane www.nytimes.com/2026/07/24/b...
nytimes.com
Trump Administration Admits Canceling Grants to States That Did Not Vote for Him (Gift Article)
Federal officials said in court documents that they halted billions of dollars in funding for energy projects to states “based solely” on whether they backed President Trump in the 2024 election.
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Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 24/07/2026
I co-sign this great summary from @dereklowe.bsky.social . The goal is to destroy academic science, and these are the reasons. And all the “gold standard” and “needs reform” and “not high risk” stuff is transparent bullshit to hide the ball on what they are doing.
=
Science
science. But let me make something clear right up front. When I talk to people about this subject (and that includes some journalists as well) and say what I'm about to at the end of this paragaph I am sometimes met with disbelief. But I mean what I say and I am trying my best to say what I mean: The Trump administration hates academic science funding, full stop. They hate where that money goes, and they hate who it goes to. They want to keep all that money for themselves, to hand out to favored cronies who can help them get elected and to steer yet more money and more power back into their hands.
That's it. That's the story. They are naturally not putting it in those words, but instead talking about "gold standard science" and the
"reproducibility crisis" and funding "bold inquiry" for "transformational
breakthroughs". This is all bullshit, and it's important to realize that. Shameless hand-waving bullshit, delivered in a how-dare-vou-
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Alex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
I read through this, and it's remarkably autocratic, almost Soviet-style vision for science in the United States.
whitehouse.gov
OSTP Director Releases Landmark Report and Recommendations for Renewing American Scientific Discovery
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Michael Kratsios
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Rob Waterhouse @rmwaterhouse.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
The moulting arthropod: a complete genetic toolkit review
Exoskeletons are a defining character of all arthropods that provide physical support for their segmented bodies and appendages as well as protection from the environment and predation. This ubiquito...
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Dr. K. Lotterhos @drk-lo.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
OUR WORK IS NOT DONE. In unusual move, NSF issued a request for information on plan to conform grant policies to the proposed (unfinalized) OMB rule. Plan includes changes to grant termination provisions & disallowing publication costs. Comments due August 24. www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...
federalregister.gov
Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request; National Science Foundation Proposal/Award Information-NSF Guidance on Financial Assistance
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is announcing plans to renew and revise its collection for its financial assistance policies and procedures. In accordance with the requirements of the Paper...
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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Reposting a great response to a recent viewpoint piece bends over backwards to argue "that sex is always binary*,**" *But only if we define systems with more than two sexes as "not sexes" (mating types) **And only if we define binary as "not always binary" [See screenshots] 1/3
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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
They just keep killing people and lying about it. Everybody involved in this criminal organization needs to be prosecuted.
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Mike Feigin 🥯 @mikefeigin.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
I fundamentally disagree with this. We cannot reform the NIH right now. We need to fight against ALL changes until we have an administration that isn’t hellbent on destruction. Until then we have to assume that literally everything is being done in bad faith.
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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
This is the heart of it. The privatize everything crowd pretends industry is an alternative to government funded academic research when in reality it relies on academia. Industry gets free training, preliminary research, and a lab supplies market from academia but now they want to burn it all down!
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Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
If they’re saying this out loud about NIH, you can bet it’s the same intent for the National Science Foundation.
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Tree of Sex @treeofsex.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Okay once more for the #SMBE2026 crowd! If you haven't yet, please take our survey on definitions of sex and reproductive terms. Link here or in the QR: univie.questionpro.eu/a/TakeSurvey...
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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Note this is related to, but distinct from, the OMB proposal. It's basically the agency specific implementation of a lot of those OMB changes (no grant money on publication costs, etc) but there's a separate place to provide comments and feedback here.
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Todd Oakley @ostratodd.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
The formatted paper is now out in MBE - describing OPTICS software to predict color sensitivy based on opsin sequence alone: academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...
academic.oup.com
Validate User
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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Here's the easier way to access the Tree of Sex survey!
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Tree of Sex @treeofsex.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
As everyone's winding down on #evol2026 we want to share our survey link with you again. Whether you work in reproductive biology specifically or not, please take a minute to help us understand how the scientific community uses reproductive terms in research! And hope to see you at #SMBE!
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Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Remember X-Labs? Without transparency, and in defiance of Congress, a new memo to NSF directs “program managers to stop seeking funding for any proposals, even those that received the highest marks from outside reviewers and program staff, “until we are able to provide more details.”
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John Schwartz @jswatz.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
"Right now, in some underfunded lab, a scientist is chasing a question that sounds pointless.... No one can say if they will succeed. But a century of experience says that funding people to do this work is a good bet. If we stop making that bet, we will pay for it in cures no one will know to miss."
nytimes.com
Opinion | The Science That Turned Lizard Venom Into GLP-1s Is Under Attack
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Gina Baucom @gbaucom.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
Reminder that the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE) is asking members to sign letters regarding the OMB rule (by 6/15) and to submit individual responses (by 7/13!!). We have >250 signatories right now, GREAT!, but we have ~4k members, give or take, so pls get those signatures in!
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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
The full Mongue lab will be at #evol2026! Say hi or come see our work. All three of us have talks (pic related). Check this thread for some more specifics and we hope to see you there! 1/5
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Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
New: NSF is tightening its conflict of interest rules in what could be a headache for the understaffed agency. Starting in August, reviewers will no longer be able to participate in a panel with any proposals from their own institution. My reporting for @science.org:
science.org
NSF imposes stricter conflict-of-interest rules for grant-review panels
Researchers say changes could further burden the understaffed agency
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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Glad to see rigorous discussion of how to present pop gen results. Even in standard pipelines, version info matters! Shout out the time GATK collapsed the representation of missing data with homozygous reference for "efficiency" for a couple versions: gatk.broadinstitute.org/hc/en-us/art...
gatk.broadinstitute.org
GenotypeGVCFs and the death of the dot (obsolete as of GATK 4.6.0.0)
⚠️ NOTE ⚠️ This article describes behavior present in GATK versions 4.2.3.0 through 4.5.0.0, and is obsolete as of GATK 4.6.0.0, which (by overwhelming popular demand!) reverted back to the standar...
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Aussie Moths @wa-moths.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
A female and male Bird of Paradise fly (Callipappus sp), showing the extreme sexual dimorphism exhibited by these scale insects. Seen today in the Perth Hills, WA #ausinverts #wildoz #inaturalist #bugsky
A female bird of paradise fly viewed from the top. She’s large and grey and without wings or any tails A male bird of paradise fly viewed from the side showing the translucent wings and extensive waxy filaments that make up the tail
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Joanna Masel @joannamasel.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Our new paper doi.org/10.1098/rspb... on long-term genetic threats to small populations finds that "mutational meltdown" (bad mutations fixing) is less of a problem than "mutational drought" (too few good new mutations) @wmawass.bsky.social @uliseshmc.bsky.social @jeremyjberg.bsky.social 1/5
doi.org
Extinction vortices are driven more by a shortage of beneficial mutations than by deleterious mutation accumulation
Abstract. Habitat loss contributes to extinction risk in multiple ways. Genetically, small populations can face an ‘extinction vortex’—a positive feedback
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Genome Biology and Evolution @genomebiolevol.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
The June 2026 cover of GBE features our newest Perspective by Brault et al., who propose guidelines and best practices for calculating population genetics summary statistics. 🔗 academic.oup.com/gbe/issue/18/6 #genome #evolution #societyjournal
Genome Biology and Evolution | June 2026 cover
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BehavEcolPapers @behavecolpapers.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Pervasive convergent #evolution of sperm conjugation across the Arthropoda tree of life @natcomms.nature.com
dlvr.it
Pervasive convergent #evolution of sperm conjugation across the Arthropoda tree of life
Nature Communications, Published online: 03 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-73950-zSperm cells evolve rapidly and have unique life histories. This study uses phylogenetic modelling to show that sperm conjugation, a type of social cooperation among sperm, has a deep and pervasive evolutionary history, including repeated convergence of both structures and their underlying proteins.
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I-75 Scientist @flscitriguy.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
A state Dem pushing back the other way. Finally. www.wuft.org/education/20...
wuft.org
State representative questions UF after post criticizing DEI programs
"DEI is discriminatory by design, antithetical to the purpose of a university, and incompatible with the pursuit of truth," the X post reads.
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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Can confirm, we've used this method to preserve and sequence DNA from critters caught in the Costa Rican cloud forest. Chromosome level insect genomes from tissue kept at room temperature for ~5 days before we could get it back to the lab!
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