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Arjuna Rajakumar PhD

@arjunarajakumar.bsky.social
1.8K followers 1K following 20 posts

EvoDevo biologist - Post Doc Lehmann lab Whitehead Institute ants + flies germ cells, eusociality & endosymbisis

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Reposted by Arjuna Rajakumar PhD
JEZ-B: Evo Devo @jezb1904.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
New co-authored paper from a member of JEZ-B’s rising star board: Arjuna Rajakumar
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Arjuna Rajakumar PhD @arjunarajakumar.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Excited to share some of our new work on Queen and Worker caste determination in ants!! Especially, the surprisingly role early embryonic development plays!
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Arjuna Rajakumar PhD @arjunarajakumar.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Love ant oogenesis!
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Reposted by Arjuna Rajakumar PhD
Ingrid Fetter-Pruneda, Ph.D. @ifetter.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Excited to share our new bioRxiv preprint! 🐜🧠🥳 We explore how age, social context, and neuromodulatory systems shape temporal polyethism in harvester ants. If you’re at #IUSSI2026, stop by Carlos Zavaleta’s poster on Wednesday to hear more! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
Anatomical mapping and regulation of dopaminergic and octopaminergic neurons during temporal polyethism in the red harvester ant
Many social insects, such as ants, change their behavior stereotypically from nursing to foraging as they age, a concept known as temporal polyethism. Biogenic amines are associated with these specifi...
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Arjuna Rajakumar PhD @arjunarajakumar.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Thank you!!!
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Reposted by Arjuna Rajakumar PhD
Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
One of the best studied places in Drosophila and they find stunning new things. Biology never stops giving 🧪
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Sheri @sagrill.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
This work would not have been possible without the incredible snATAC-seq atlas of the Drosophila embryo from @diegoisworking.bsky.social @jshendure.bsky.social and @eileen-furlong.bsky.social which helped us discover that germ cells retain a totipotent chromatin state throughout development!
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Sheri @sagrill.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Incredibly excited to share my new preprint! 🪰🧬 Ever wondered how germ cells can specify their fate without having a dedicated transcriptional program? We found that germ cells keep the uncommitted chromatin state of the early embryo www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
Decoupling Transcription from Cell Fate Preserves Germ Cell Totipotency
Only germ cells can give rise to a totipotent embryo, yet a conserved transcriptional program for germ cell identity remains elusive. Profiling Drosophila primordial germ cells (PGCs) across embryogen...
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Arjuna Rajakumar PhD @arjunarajakumar.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
🥳🙏🏾🎉💥🎊🤯
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Arjuna Rajakumar PhD @arjunarajakumar.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Always a pole cell never a pgc! Transcription may be essential to segregate healthy and defective pole cells. Pole cells that never activate their zygotic genome and retain what mommy gave them, die. Pole cells that activate their zygotic genome too much also die. Life is a balance! 8/8
Stage 10b embryo highlighting our two populations of germ cells, ones that retain a maternal transcriptome (yellow) and ones that activate zygotically (magenta)
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Arjuna Rajakumar PhD @arjunarajakumar.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Lost children are the first germ cells to die during embryogenesis, they fail to undergo trans-epithelial migration and are lost in the gut. When we rescue their death with chk2 mutants they still retain maternal transcripts and do not express zygotic transcripts. 7/8
Stage10 b embryos showing two clusters of germ cells, ones with low level expression of the maternal transcript pgc (yellow) and ones with high. Using gut markers we find these high pgc germ cells remain stuck in the posterior midgutLost children die between stage 9-11, when we rescue their death using chk2 mutants HR-mediated cell death, we can rescue the lost children death. However, these germ cells still retain maternal transcripts when their successfully migrating counterparts do not!
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Arjuna Rajakumar PhD @arjunarajakumar.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Finally, our data uncovered a second unexpected cluster of germ cells that we term lost children. These germ cells are isolated from the 9 to 12 hour AEL window as coalesced germ cells. These germ cells completely retain their maternal transcriptome and never activate zygotic gene expression. 6/8
Batch correction of scRNA-seq data using Harmony results in the lost children clustering within the early timepoints, indicating that their transcriptome resembles that of newly formed germ cells despite their late developmental stage.Feature plots of nanos and amos expression on the Harmony batch-corrected UMAP. Despite their late developmental age, the lost children nestle among the early timepoint germ cells, retaining the maternal transcript nanos. However, unlike the surrounding germ cells, the lost children do not express the Class II gene amos.
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Arjuna Rajakumar PhD @arjunarajakumar.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
As It turns out, nanos actually inhibits Zelda protein levels in pole cells! Now we find that pole cells in nanos mutants have a dramatic increase in Zelda protein. Nanos -> Zelda -> class II genes. This sheds new light for how nanos protects germline identity and prevents its somatization. 5/8
Top panels: nanos heterozygotes showing limited levels of Zelda protein in pole cells.
Bottom panels: nanos mutants showing increased levels of Zelda protein in pole cells, veering into soma level territory!
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Arjuna Rajakumar PhD @arjunarajakumar.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
We found that while these class II genes are expressed in pole cells, their translation is inhibited by nanos. Unexpectedly, when we examined class II transcription in nanos mutants we found a dramatic increase in their transcription!! 4/8
Top panels: Control embryos showing that translation of the class II gene Amos is limited to a handful of pole cells. 
Bottom panels: nanos mutant embryos showing a significant increase in Amos translationtop panels: nanos heterozygous embryos (controls) showing limited early transcription of the class II genes elba1 and sisA (gcl is a germline marker mark the pole cells)
bottom panels: nanos mutants showing dramatic increase in the levels of class II transription
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Arjuna Rajakumar PhD @arjunarajakumar.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Instead, their transcription is dependent on the pioneer factor #Zelda, where loss of Zelda results in loss of early pole cell transcription. 3/8
Images showing Zelda protein expression in stage 4 pole cellsTop panels show control embryos zygotic transcription in the germ cells
Bottom panels show Zelda RNAi which results in loss of pole cell transcription
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Arjuna Rajakumar PhD @arjunarajakumar.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
We discovered unexpected transcription during a developmental period when pole cells were long thought to be transcriptional quiescent. These class II genes are almost all intron-less and RNApol2 independent. 2/8
Unexpected early zygotic transcription in germ cells during a period where germ cells were long thought to be incapable of transcribing (due to pgc inhibition of RNApol2)Stage 4 Drosophila embryo showing transcription of Taf12l in the absence of RNA polII serine 2 phosphorylation (transcription is supposed to be inhibited....)
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Arjuna Rajakumar PhD @arjunarajakumar.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
So proud of my lab mate @sagrill.bsky.social (whose on the job market 👀) for this magnum opus from @remlehmann.bsky.social lab @whiteheadinstitute.bsky.social ScRNA-seq of 🪰 germ cells reveals new biology, answers age old questions, and proposes new paradigms! 1/8 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Drosophila stage 10b embryo w/HCR staining marking two germ cell clusters. One will successfully colonize the gonad and the other, like tears in the rain, will be lost forever
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Reposted by Arjuna Rajakumar PhD
Alex Eve @amjeve.uk · 24/07/2026
Polyphenism - one genome producing different forms - is common in eusocial insects. @arjunarajakumar.bsky.social explores the molecular basis for Pharaoh ant caste development. Queens produce two egg types, giving rise to fertile queens or sterile workers, & queen:worker changes over time. #2026SDB
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Reposted by Arjuna Rajakumar PhD
Evan C. Brooks, Ph.D. @ecbrooks96.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
I also have the honor of co-chairing the Hilde Mangold Postdoctoral Symposium at #2026SDB as well with @parahsaramore.bsky.social! We have 7 outstanding postdocs giving talks at the cutting-edge of developmental biology. Make sure to come out and support them as well!
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Arjuna Rajakumar PhD @arjunarajakumar.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
After a brutal year from a horrific shoulder injury I am SO excited for #2026SDB in Las Vegas next week! @socdevbio.bsky.social It will be my first time going to the national SDB and can't wait to reconnect and meet new scientists! I will be presenting about #ants at the #HildeMangold symposium!
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Reposted by Arjuna Rajakumar PhD
PLOS Biology @plosbiology.org · 15/07/2026
The elongated shape of the #Drosophila #wing is regulated by the Dachsous-Fat signalling pathway, but how? This study shows that mechanical forces regulated by this pathway modulate tissue-wide #cytoskeletal tension to orient growth during larval development @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4vp9EOh
The image illustrates the shape of the wing outlining the oriented growth of cells within the developing wing, which depends on cytoskeletal forces and Dachsous-Fat signaling. Image Credit: Bipin Kumar Tripathi
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Marine Biological Laboratory @mblscience.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
DEADLINE APPROACHING! ⏰ Apply to Comparative Developmental Biology by July 28. This intensive two-week laboratory course is designed for graduate students in their second or later year of Ph.D studies and post-docs. 🔗 More info here: go.mbl.edu/CDB
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Society for Developmental Biology @socdevbio.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Excited to host invited speaker Alexandra Joyner at #2026SDB in Las Vegas! 🎰🃏 Her research explores the genetic regulation of development and how signaling pathways shape tissue patterning and organ formation. 🧬✨ #devbio #developmentalbiology #genetics #SDB2026
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Reposted by Arjuna Rajakumar PhD
Latin American Developmental Biology @lasdb.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
You should apply to this fantastic course !!! New edition of the great Quintay Developmental Biology Course !!! biodesarrollo.unab.cl
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Reposted by Arjuna Rajakumar PhD
Ceri Weber @ceriweber.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
I am so excited to announce that the Weber Lab will be opening in the Department of Anatomy, Physiology, & Cell Biology @ucdavisvetmed.bsky.social @ucdavis.bsky.social. We will be investigating the development and evolution of vertebra size, shape, and function. And yes, the jerboas are coming with!
Weber Lab logo featuring silhouettes of a jerboa and a mouse in motionCeri looking happy in her new lab space!Lesser Egyptian jerboa from https://www.science.org/content/article/how-jerboa-got-its-enormous-feet
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Arjuna Rajakumar PhD @arjunarajakumar.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Couldn't be happier for you! Your lab is going to be incredible!
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Reposted by Arjuna Rajakumar PhD
Janina Rinke @jannelrinke.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Excited to share that our paper on Horizontal Gene Transfer is now out in its final form in @gigascience.bsky.social! 🥳 By analysing 163 high-quality ant genomes, we show that HGT from bacteria is widespread across the ants and likely has adaptive functions! doi.org/10.1093/giga... 🐜📸: Alex Wild
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Megan Barkdull @meganbarkdull.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
Thrilled to share that @corriemoreau.bsky.social and I have a new paper out in Evolution, digging into the varied ways that extreme worker plasticity impacts genome evolution in turtle ants! Paper 📃: doi.org/10.1093/evol... Image 📸: Steven Wang, tinyurl.com/2rbjbyjh
Image of Cephalotes varians workers and a soldier nestled in their twig nest. Image via https://stevenwang.smugmug.com/Ants/List-of-Genera/Cephalotes/i-CjXZ3b9
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EvoDevo PanAm @evodevopanam.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
🎉 Welcome to our newly elected PASEDB executive council members 2026😊 Yui Suzuki (Wellesley College, USA) Veronica Hinman (Whitney Marine Lab, USA) @anyimv.bsky.social (Duke U, USA) @rebeizlab.bsky.social (U of Pittsburgh) Jennifer Brisson (U of Rochester, USA) @bruvellu.bsky.social (UFMG, Brazil)
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EvoDevo PanAm @evodevopanam.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
🌟A central mission of #PASEDB is to foster networking, discussion, and a sense of community We want to highlight new #EvoDevo labs in Pan-America. In our Newsletter June edition we highlight: - Daniela J. Di Bella - @patrickrohner.bsky.social - Carolina Purcell Goes
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Sam Arsenault, PhD @samarsenault.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Excited to announce the Arsenault Lab is launching this fall at Mississippi State! We'll be using ants as a model to tackle fundamental questions in evolutionary biology and evo-devo through genetics and genomics techniques. Please reach out if you're interested, or share with someone who might be!
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Jagannathan Lab @jagannathan-lab.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
An exciting update to a preprint from our lab! Barcode-like satellite DNA repeats enable homology detection in meiosis. Led by the fantastic @skrutlnize.bsky.social. (MJ) www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
biorxiv.org
Meiotic pairing through barcode-like satellite DNA repeats
During meiosis, chromosomes must find, pair, and synapse with their homologous partners in the crowded milieu of the nucleus (1). Although homology detection is generally attributed to recombination, ...
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Reposted by Arjuna Rajakumar PhD
Alex Eve @amjeve.uk · 09/07/2026
Now's your chance to collect citeable 'at a glance' posters from @dev-journal.bsky.social & @dmmjournal.bsky.social at #ISSCR2026, including 'Stem cell-based models of early human development' by @liliulab.bsky.social and @jun-wu-lab.bsky.social l. Visit @biologists.bsky.social booth #1005.
A small preview of 'Stem cell-based models of early human development' Development at a glance poster by Lizhong Liu and Jun Wu.
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Reposted by Arjuna Rajakumar PhD
Society for Developmental Biology @socdevbio.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
✨ Excited to host invited speaker Roberto Mayor (@mayorlab.bsky.social) at #2026SDB in Las Vegas! 🎰🃏 His research explores morphogenesis, focusing on how cells migrate, interact, and generate diverse cell types during development. 🧬✨ #devbio
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bioRxiv Developmental Biology @biorxiv-devbio.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Late embryonic expansion of a novel bone ridge underlies the evolutionary transformation of cylindrically shaped forelimb bones into the flattened skeleton of the penguin flipper www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20…
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bioRxiv Developmental Biology @biorxiv-devbio.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Subfunctionalization of tbx2 paralogues during photoreceptor cell specification in zebrafish www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20…
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bioRxiv Developmental Biology @biorxiv-devbio.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Single-molecule imaging reveals cytoplasmic translation of P granule-enriched mRNAs in C. elegans www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20…
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The Social Fluids Lab @socialfluids.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
Hello World! The Social Fluids Lab as arrived. ☀️Come to the Socially Transferred Materials symposium at #ESEB2025 in August. Read our preprints: 🦠 doi.org/10.1101/2025... & 🪲 doi.org/10.1101/2024... OR recent papers: 🐜 🍼 doi.org/10.1073/pnas... & 🐜🌱 doi.org/10.1038/s420...
doi.org
A stochastic ratchet during genome streamlining can commit insect endosymbionts to a parasitic or mutualistic fate
Many arthropods, including insects, harbor endosymbiotic bacteria. As bacteria transitioned to live inside host cells, free-living bacterial ancestors of endosymbionts reduced their genomes in a proce...
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Reposted by Arjuna Rajakumar PhD
Michael Baym @baym.lol · 17/02/2025
Please don’t stop sharing and posting your science because of the current attack on it, it is still valuable and reminds us what the fight is for
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Jay Goodman @jaygoodman.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
Incredibly excited to rejuvenate my scientific social network on Bluesky! Current and past research interests include germline immortality, protein folding and organelle remodeling during development. Looking forward to what lies ahead!
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bioRxiv Developmental Biology @biorxiv-devbio.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
Single-molecule mitochondrial DNA imaging reveals heteroplasmy dynamics shaped by developmental bottlenecks and selection in different organs in vivo www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/202…
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Carolyn Bertozzi @carolynbertozzi.bskyverified.social · 05/12/2024
Amazing new work from the lab of @aliceyting.bsky.social @stanfordmedicine.bsky.social @stanfordbiosci.bsky.social, engineered GPCRs for ligand-activated cell responses www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Synthetic GPCRs for programmable sensing and control of cell behaviour - Nature
Modular synthetic G-protein-coupled receptors with nanobody-based ligand-recognition domains can be designed and used to programme transgene expression, real-time fluorescence or endogenous G-protein ...
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Sheena Sidhu, PhD @sheenabees.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
Just joined Bluesky and I'm DELIGHTED that so many of my past twitter-life ento friends are already here! I MISSED YOU GUYS!!! #entomology 🐝
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sandraduharcourt.bsky.social @sandraduharcourt.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
For my first post here, I am happy to share that our latest paper is out at #NAR. Thanks for the smooth and constructive reviewing process and the highlight #RNAbiology #TEsky #smallRNAs (1/8) doi.org/10.1093/nar/...
doi.org
The PIWI-interacting protein Gtsf1 controls the selective degradation of small RNAs in Paramecium
Abstract. Ciliates undergo developmentally programmed genome elimination, in which small RNAs direct the removal of transposable elements (TEs) during the
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Zenlabpasteur.bsky.social @zenlabpasteur.bsky.social · 24/11/2024
Just published in Development (@biologists.bsky.social): doi.org/10.1242/dev....
doi.org
Non-apoptotic caspase events and Atf3 expression underlie direct neuronal differentiation of adult neural stem cells
Highlighted Article: An inducible Cas3*/Cas7* sensor demonstrates that non-apoptotic caspase events occur in zebrafish neural stem cells. In cooperation with the stress-induced transcription factor At...
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bioRxiv Evolutionary Biology @biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
The Rise of Polyploids During Environmental Catastrophes www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/202…
biorxiv.org
The Rise of Polyploids During Environmental Catastrophes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.11.22.624806v1
Polyploidy, or whole-genome duplication (WGD), both a strong evolutionary and ecological force and a
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epithelial mechanics fan club @epimechfc.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
About Traction Force Microscopy bsky.app/profile/epim...
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Rangan Lab @ranganlab.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
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Kate Cavanaugh @katecavanaugh.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
Absolutely gorgeous story out from @eposfai.bsky.social's team. Check it out for the story, and oogle over the images 🤩
sciencedirect.com
A tug-of-war between germ cell motility and intercellular bridges controls germline cyst formation in mice
Gametes in many species develop in cysts—clusters of germ cells formed by incomplete cytokinesis—that remain connected through intercellular bridges (…
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Arjuna Rajakumar PhD @arjunarajakumar.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
Hi! Would love to be added!
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