iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by James McCulloch

bioRxiv Genomics @biorxiv-genomic.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

An atlas of eukaryotic centromere architecture reveals recurrent evolutionary dynamics www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20…

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KamilSJaron.bsky.social @kamilsjaron.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

I am so excited to see this preprint out. I started working on springtails with @laurarossevo.bsky.social in 2019, but this pinnacle of our efforts manifested only with heroric leadership of Sam Ebdon! So, what's the deal? 👇

Globular springtail Allacma fusca. Female, one of the samples in the linked preprint.

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Soil Organisms Journal @soilorganismsj.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

📢✨NEW✨ species of Collembola! ✨ONLINE FIRST✨ Check out the paper by James McCulloch on a new species of Collembola found at the Cambridge University Botanic Garden in the latest ONLINE FIRST article ⬇️ soil-organisms.org/SO/article/v...

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James McCulloch @jamesimcc.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

New species now out in @soilorganismsj.bsky.social! soil-organisms.org/SO/article/v... The latest addition to the UK's springtail fauna: Entomobrya terraeincognitae sp. nov. I found this species on fieldwork for my PhD @sangerinstitute.bsky.social at the Cambridge botanics. 🧵

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James McCulloch @jamesimcc.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

The UK has a new species of springtail (to science)! I’m on my way to @nhm.org to drop off the type specimens. Name withheld so as not to violate the ICZN… but keep an eye out for the publication dropping shortly!

The slide-mounted holotype specimen held against a background of the paper describing the species new to science.

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James McCulloch @jamesimcc.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Go out at night and you might find springtails all over logs or trees where they're absent in the day. Why? I was glad to collaborate on this new paper, where we show that even in dry-tolerant Willowsia, nocturnal activity is related to environmental moisture. soil-organisms.org/SO/article/v...

The trap used for passively sampling Willowsia throughout the summer.

Figure 2, illustrating the predicted abundance of Willowsia japonica in tree-trunk traps depending on precipitation, comparing both daytime and nighttime sampling.

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Matt Bertone @bertonemyia.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Be a dipterist. Be in Costa Rica for #FlySchool2026. See a muscoid #fly perching on a leaf. Tell student so they can collect it. Success!! Wait a minute 🤔 That's not a fly, but weevil mimicking one! This was so convincing, even rapidly moving & poking its wings out 🥰 #Curculionidae: cf. #Mnemynurus

A weevil with red around its neck, resembling the eyes of a fly. It has large brown eyes and a long yellow proboscis curving under the body. It's on a white background facing the viewer.

A weevil with red around its neck, resembling the eyes of a fly. It has large brown eyes and a long yellow proboscis curving under the body. The wing cover are mottled brown and white. It is on a white background facing left.

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Reposted by James McCulloch

KamilSJaron.bsky.social @kamilsjaron.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

New preprint: 338 coleopteran genomes reveal exceptional rearrangement variation compared to other insect orders. Big congrats to @arf-mln.bsky.social, for getting this giant piece together. Big collaboration of @joanameier.bsky.social's and my groups. 🧵👇 doi.org/10.64898/202...

Phylogeny of 338 species with tips painted by the chromosomal ancestry of their contemporary genomes (well separated colours indicate only few changes, while blending indicates rearrangements). Colouring of the branches is by the number of rearrangements. The ring between paints and phylogeny indicates wether the chromosomal rearrangement was fusion dominated (brown) or fission dominated (teal) process.
Photo credits: Udo Schmidt, Lech Borowiec, JL Tachet, David Navrátil, Fred Chevaillot, Siga, Cosmin Manci, John Hallmén, Igor Souza-Gonçalves, Alex Hyde, H. Coiffait, David Ignace, Yves Bousquet.

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Reposted by James McCulloch

Alex Kingston @alexjkingston.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Pleased to say that the first half of my PhD project is now out in preprint format! Using cortical organoids to model the mechanical transitions involved in early neurogenesis, we find that nuclear mechanotransduction is a crucial regulator of the timing and outcome of neuronal differentiation:

biorxiv.org

Organoids reveal niche-specific mechanotransduction-guided human cortical patterning and cell fate acquisition

The highly dynamic mechanical environment of the developing cerebral cortex has the potential to encode information vital for neuronal differentiation. Changes in local biophysical properties have bee...

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Reposted by James McCulloch

bioRxiv Developmental Biology @biorxiv-devbio.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Organoids reveal niche-specific mechanotransduction-guided human cortical patterning and cell fate acquisition www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20…

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James McCulloch @jamesimcc.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Another springtail to find this summer! ☀️ Fab photo from @josscarr.bsky.social of Fasciosminthurus quinquefasciatus from Dorset yesterday. The 1st UK record outside Cornwall, where it was found new to Britain 2 yrs ago! www.researchgate.net/publication/... Can we track its expansion further?

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James McCulloch @jamesimcc.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Exploring Copenhagen while at #SMBE2026 Visit The Little Mermaid & look a few m along the shoreline. You’ll see some impressive (and polycentric) Bolboschoenus (club-rush). Their polycentromeres are likely underpinned by satellites I called Garrett and Colleen More: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

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James McCulloch @jamesimcc.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

I’m excited to be at #SMBE2026! I’m keen to talk to people about chromosome evolution/centromeres in the polycentric sedges and rushes (see poster or www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...) … … or about population genomics of soil arthropods!

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James McCulloch @jamesimcc.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

It's certainly not classic springtail weather out there. Most are reliant on the cool & damp and have hidden themselves away. But there are some summer specialists: on Monday, I found all 3 of the UK's Deuterosminthurus species in the grounds of the @sangerinstitute.bsky.social ☀️ 🧵⬇️

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Camille Cornet @camillecornet.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

🧬🦋 New preprint out! 🦋🧬 What mechanisms underlie large-scale chromosomal rearrangements? Why do rearrangement rates vary so massively across taxa? We explored these questions in Erebia butterflies, a genus with extraordinary chromosome number diversity, from 7 to 52! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

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Carmen Denman Hume @carmcdhume.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

When I sat down with @jamesimcc.bsky.social to learn about all things springtails, I never imagined I'd leave our conversation so inspired about the future of natural science research. I can't wait to see what the future has in store for James. I certainly look forward to following the journey! 😊

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KamilSJaron.bsky.social @kamilsjaron.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

A big preprint from my group! Muller Elements are considered to be conserved in flies. We tested it by reconstructing the ancestral dipteran karyotype using 340 chromosomal genomes and suprise suprise, they're not... Led by @juliagries.bsky.social and Sam Ebdon. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 🧵👇

Schema of three major chromosomal rearrangements leading to Muller Elements of Drosophila melanogaster since the common ancestor of Diptera.

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Laurie Belcher @lauriebelch.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Huge congratulations to @stuwest.bsky.social on his election as a Fellow of the Royal Society! From fig wasps to Pseudomonas, he’s shown just how powerful behavioural ecology can be. I couldn't think of anyone more deserving. www.biology.ox.ac.uk/article/prof...

biology.ox.ac.uk

Professors Tim Coulson, Stuart West, and Kathy Willis elected as Fellows of the Royal Society

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Reposted by James McCulloch

Wellcome Sanger Institute @sangerinstitute.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

No clue what a springtail is? Never fret. We've interviewed the UK's national springtail biological recorder and PhD student @jamesimcc.bsky.social . Head to our blog to learn more ⤵️ sangerinstitute.blog/2026/03/26/stu… 📸 Tim Jonas #NameItToSaveIt

Close-up of a brown and yellow springtail with a round, speckled body and fine hair, standing on mossy ground.

Close-up of a white, translucent springtail with fine hairs crawling on wet, textured soil or rock surface.

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Reposted by James McCulloch

Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

Want to start doing soil animal macrophotography? Or fancy a rare glimpse into mine and @mesofauna.bsky.social's minds? An article has just dropped in @soilorganismsj.bsky.social, showcasing mine and Andy's love for documenting soil biodiversity! 🧪🪱 Open Access: soil-organisms.org/SO/article/v...

A screenshot of the title and abstract page of an article in Soil Organisms journal, entitled 'Advocating for the lobe and protection of soil animals through photography: the work of Frank Ashwood and Andy Murray'.

A photograph of a round, hard-bodied mite walking among a cluster of lollipop-shaped slime mold fruiting bodies.

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Reposted by James McCulloch

KamilSJaron.bsky.social @kamilsjaron.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Is there anyone around Newcastle owning a patch of green where we could collect springtails this Tuesday by any chance? More about the project in @jamesimcc.bsky.social's blog post: sangerinstitute.blog/2026/03/26/s...

sangerinstitute.blog

Studying soil’s unsung heroes - Wellcome Sanger Institute Blog

In this blog, we hear from Wellcome Sanger Institute PhD student James McCulloch about his favourite invertebrates, the springtails, and their extraordinary cryptic diversity.

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Reposted by James McCulloch

NBN Trust: National Biodiversity Network Trust @nbntrust.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

This #IWD2026 we’re shining a light on the incredible women who’ve been nominated, highly commended or won an NBN Award for Wildlife Recording since 2015💛 Huge thanks to all. Know an inspirational woman who records or verifies wildlife? Nominations for #NBNawards26 are open! bit.ly/NBNawards26n...

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Reposted by James McCulloch

KamilSJaron.bsky.social @kamilsjaron.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

And this is my favourite figure, nicely illustrating diversity and turnover of oligocentromeric satelites. Look at Carol and Sandra - one invaded the other at least 2x, which I find particularly amusing.

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KamilSJaron.bsky.social @kamilsjaron.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Very proud of @jamesimcc.bsky.social to submit his first PhD paper about evolution of genomes and centromeres in taxa with oligocentromeric organisation. Lots of interesting discoveries including possibly the first reported re-evolution of monocentricity.

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Charlotte Wright @charlottewright.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Chromosomes are often classified as either monocentric (single centromere per chr) or holocentric (centromeric activity spread across each chr). In reality, there is a continuum in centromere organisation - and cyperids are a fascinating system to explore this in as James shows in this preprint! 🌱

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James McCulloch @jamesimcc.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Why do the chromosomes of cyperids (sedges & rushes) split and fuse so regularly on evolutionary timescales? Is it because they have so many centromeres? Our new preprint, the first major paper of my PhD, addresses this question. 🧵⬇️ 1/12 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

A sedge. It may look unassuming but its genome has several unusual features.

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Juliet Turner @juliet-turner.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

I'm very happy to share that a paper from my DPhil thesis has been selected as the Editor's Choice article in Evolution. 😊 You can read it here: lnkd.in/eCnAQfzT 🐜 @journal-evo.bsky.social #EvolutionaryBiology #SocialEvolution #Insects

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Oxford Biology @biology.ox.ac.uk · 13/02/2026

Does haplodiploidy - a method of sex determination seen in bees and ants among other animals - promote eusociality? New research from @rbonifacii.bsky.social and @stuwest.bsky.social enters evidence into this long debate that - despite popular belief - this is not the case 👇 bit.ly/4qEoEWm

bit.ly

How insects’ sex is determined is unlikely to be what makes them so social

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James McCulloch @jamesimcc.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

It was such a privilege to work with @juliet-turner.bsky.social on this project while I was a research assistant in the West group @biology.ox.ac.uk. It's wonderful to see our paper in its final form! 🐜

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James McCulloch @jamesimcc.bsky.social · 07/12/2025

Finding a colony of Hypogastrura springtails on this wall in Peterhouse, Cambridge started me on a trail through old papers, concluding that there may be another - morphologically distinguishable! - species in Britain. The story is in the latest issue of BJENH: www.researchgate.net/publication/...

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James McCulloch @jamesimcc.bsky.social · 02/10/2025

366 days ago I started my PhD at the @sangerinstitute.bsky.social. No better time to publish my profile on the Sanger website ⬇️ www.sanger.ac.uk/person/mccul... I tend to have my taxonomic hat on when posting here, but there is a bigger picture!

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James McCulloch @jamesimcc.bsky.social · 24/08/2025

I've reached 100 British springtail species! This was helped by a recent glasshouse sampling trip, where I added these 4 species. 3 are now in the pipeline to have reference-quality genomes sequenced for the first time, by the @sangerinstitute.bsky.social. More info in the thread below! 🧵1/7

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KamilSJaron.bsky.social @kamilsjaron.bsky.social · 16/08/2025

We are excited to attending #ESB2025 find … @arf-mln.bsky.social to chat about beetle genomics @jamesimcc.bsky.social about sedges or springtails evolution Sam Ebdon about distr. of dominance Myself about diptera comparative genomics And all of us to chat about any whacky reproduction #obscuromics

A slightly outdated group photo of the obacuromics group, at the tree of life programme, Wellcome Sanger Institute - so you know spot us at ESEB

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Joss Carr @josscarr.bsky.social · 05/08/2025

I'm doing an online talk on 16/09 about my MSc thesis, which was all about iNaturalist data for invertebrates in the UK, and the alarmingly high proportion of it which 'falls through the cracks' due to data quality concerns. Please join if interested! Link: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/falling-th...

eventbrite.co.uk

Falling through the Cracks: iNaturalist Invertebrate Records in the UK

Joss Carr discusses his MSc Research Project investigating the data quality of UK invertebrate records on iNaturalist.

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James McCulloch @jamesimcc.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

I'm so excited to share that this springtail, one that seems to have rapidly appeared in graveyards and gardens across the UK, now has a proper name: Entomobrya petri! I hope this will be the first of many new species descriptions, allowing us to track our rapidly changing springtail fauna. 🧵⬇️

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James McCulloch @jamesimcc.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

This coming Tuesday lunchtime! I’m looking forward to talking springtails, speciation, and cryptic diversity. Sign up! ⬇️

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Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

Yesterday we had earthworm cocoons, today I bring you springtail spermatophores! Springtails, like many soil invertebrates, reproduce by a male leaving these structures (sperm-rich fluid on a stalk), which the female will sniff out and collect to fertilise her eggs. Romantic! #SoilBiodiversity 🧪

A photograph of a springtail spermatophore: a thin transparent stalk with a glob of clear fluid on the top.

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Biological Recording Company @biologicalrecording.co.uk · 09/05/2025

British Springtails: How Many Species Are There? Join @jamesimcc.bsky.social on 15 July as he reveals how genome data and citizen science are rewriting UK biodiversity. 🎟️ Book FREE: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1359900281... @royentsoc.bsky.social @fieldstudiesc.bsky.social @nbntrust.bsky.social 🌱 🌍 🧪

eventbrite.co.uk

British Springtails: How Many Species Really Are There?

James McCulloch (National Springtail Recorder) discusses the constantly increasing species list for UK Collembola.

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James McCulloch @jamesimcc.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

Good news! >6000 springtail records have been imported from iRecord and are now available on the NBN Atlas: species.nbnatlas.org/species/NBNS... Massive thanks to @duerden.bsky.social for his investment in verifying iRecord records. Keep them coming!

A particularly luminous individual of Sminthurinus aureus (orange form)

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James McCulloch @jamesimcc.bsky.social · 13/04/2025

New to Britain! These springtails are Dicyrtomina signata, a European species that's never previously been seen in the UK. I found these while out and about in Wanstead Park, London (with @josscarr.bsky.social, @nmaybury4.bsky.social). One to look out for!

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Jai 🪲📷🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (VC59) @jaiiiiiii1.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

And that's my 4th record of Entomobrya nr. imitabilis (See below), this time right from the garden! Beautiful little species, waiting anxiously for updates...

An Entomobrya nr. intermedia springtail on the underside of a rock. It has a slender body, with an intricately patterned abdomen of beige, tan, and brown colours.

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James McCulloch @jamesimcc.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

In 1924, Womersley referred to Orchesella flavescens as "the most magnificent spring-tail". Today, 101 years later, the first reference genome for this species has been assembled and published, from a specimen I collected at Wytham Woods! wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/10-...

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James McCulloch @jamesimcc.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

Let’s see if we can give it a name before too long!

A specimen of Entomobrya near imitabilis on its side

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Justin Gerlach @jstgerlach.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

Everything is ready for this year's @peterhousecam.bsky.social Biology Symposium. It looks like being another set of exceptionally interesting presentations. 🧪

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KamilSJaron.bsky.social @kamilsjaron.bsky.social · 31/01/2025

🚨Registration open🚨 1st - 6th of June, me, Katie Jenike, @rayanchikhi.bsky.social and Gene Myers will run a week long workshop on k-mers for biodiversity genomics organised by @connectingscience.bsky.social at @sangerinstitute.bsky.social. Join us & get equipped to wrestle large genomic datasets!

https://coursesandconferences.wellcomeconnectingscience.org/event/k-mer-workshop-for-biodiversity-genomics-20250601/

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James McCulloch @jamesimcc.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

A rainy afternoon looking for Smews near St Ives (Cambs) was sadly smewless. But this was somewhat compensated by us (specifically @joeparham19.bsky.social) finding this first-winter drake Lesser Scaup (right). A vagrant from North America and a new sp. for me! + some drake goldeneyes! 🪶

A male tufted duck (left) and a first-winter male lesser scaup (right). The lesser scaup can be distinguished from a greater scaup by the "peak" on the crown of the head (not smoothly rounded) and the very similar size to the tufted duck. This might be the same bird as was at Ouse Fen RSPB earlier in the winter.

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Martin Harvey @kitenet.bsky.social · 21/01/2025

Excellent news - thanks for taking this on James and look forward to seeing how things develop. The late Peter Shaw would have been delighted to see the scheme continue in good hands.

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