iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jukka-Pekka Verta @jpverta.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

What drives the evolution of life histories at the species, population, or molecular level? Why are these Atlantic salmon so incredibly small? We are inviting potential candidates to express their interest to write a MSCA postdoctoral fellowship with us: euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/hosting...

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Jukka-Pekka Verta @jpverta.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Ever seen a reindeer having dreams? Be my guest :) #bliss

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Jukka-Pekka Verta @jpverta.bsky.social · 24/11/2025

Evening views from home, morning views from the office

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Jukka-Pekka Verta @jpverta.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

North of the Arctic Circle it’s winter wonderland already

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Jukka-Pekka Verta @jpverta.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

First northern lights since the sun started setting again here above the Arctic Circle

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Jukka-Pekka Verta @jpverta.bsky.social · 21/08/2025

How do regulatory genes control alternative life histories? We have an open PhD position to answer this question using functional genomics in Atlantic salmon. Apply by October 15th through www.jobbnorge.no/en/available... Please share widely! 🧬🦑🖥️

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Jukka-Pekka Verta @jpverta.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

Today we welcomed the new students to northern Norway - where mid *August* marks the start of the beanie season 😅

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Jukka-Pekka Verta @jpverta.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

Where else can you, within a day, first attend *two* international conferences with the worlds most cited marine scientists, walk in the marina with ice cream, go home and cook dinner, then walk 2km to the nearest river, catch Atlantic salmon on a fly, and come back home when it’s still light?!

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Jukka-Pekka Verta @jpverta.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

The final day of the European Marine Biology Symposium here in Bodø kicked off by a great (and entertaining) keynote by Daniel Pauly. The EMBS is a wonderful, fun and diverse community that I can recommend to everyone 🌊

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Jukka-Pekka Verta @jpverta.bsky.social · 04/07/2025

How do genetic differences in major effect genes translate into alternative life histories? Our group has an open PhD position in functional genomics (ChIP-seq + ATAC-seq + RNA-seq) to answer this question. Official add posted in August - before that contact me through email!

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Jukka-Pekka Verta @jpverta.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

Maybe doesn’t speak to many, but one of my dreams is about to come true. I’m one hour I will be the 5th in line to pick a salmon fishing licence for next summer to the legendary Alta river. I still can’t believe it, someone pinch me!

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Jukka-Pekka Verta @jpverta.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

The solar noon in our neck of woods - as seen from our building (from none other than the office of the masters students)

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Jukka-Pekka Verta @jpverta.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

Join us in Bodø in July 2025 for the 58th European Marine Biology Symposium (EMBS)! It's a fantastic time of the year to visit this spectacular corner of the world! www.embs-symposium.com 🦑

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Jukka-Pekka Verta @jpverta.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

A calm morning at 9am above the Arctic Circle - People are often curious as to how much daylight there is up here. Not much, but what there is, is magical.

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Jukka-Pekka Verta @jpverta.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

In summary we showed that, despite the simple genetic architecture of maturity age variation, the mechanism translating the G-P was functionally complex. We elaborated the functional mechanism through which vgll3 controls many traits in a pleiotropic manner.

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Jukka-Pekka Verta @jpverta.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

Expanding to gene regulatory networks, we saw that vgll3 genotype associated with the expression of thousands of genes, that it mediated dynamics of network expression, and that it associated with distinct sets of transcription factors in alternative genotypes.

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Jukka-Pekka Verta @jpverta.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

We identified vgll3 elements likely controlling for expression difference between genotypes. These were associated with differentially expressed genes involved in distinct facets of pubertal development - including sexual maturation and balance of fat reserve usage versus accumulation.

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Jukka-Pekka Verta @jpverta.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

Regulatory elements with vgll3 occupancy were associated with transcriptional upregulation and alternative vgll3 genotypes showed a distinct set of such vgll3 elements, associated with largely distinct gene functions.

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Jukka-Pekka Verta @jpverta.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

We analysed transcriptome expression (RNA-seq) and gene regulatory elements (ChIP-seq) in testis of salmon with alternative vgll3 genotypes. Major regulators of distinct pubertal pathways showed concordant upregulation in the genotype conferring early maturity.

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Jukka-Pekka Verta @jpverta.bsky.social · 13/11/2024

Small salmon and a big scientist (Dylan Fraser)! Heading back from another field trip with the amazingly dinky dwarf Atlantic salmon of Cape Race, Newfoundland.

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Jukka-Pekka Verta @jpverta.bsky.social · 14/08/2024

Still two weeks to apply for this PhD position in gorgeous northern Norway! Please share widely - and get in touch for more information on project, qualifications (which are flexible!), etc.

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Jukka-Pekka Verta @jpverta.bsky.social · 26/06/2024

The Functional and Evolutionary Genomics group (me!) at Nord is recruiting a PhD student on an exciting project on dwarf Atlantic salmon - please share widely! Applications and more information: www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...

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Jukka-Pekka Verta @jpverta.bsky.social · 01/04/2024

So excited to announce that today was my first day as Associate Professor in Genomics! I'm incredibly grateful to my family, colleagues, and mentors for supporting me in fulfilling my dreams!

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Jukka-Pekka Verta @jpverta.bsky.social · 27/03/2024

You, professor of genetics: Genetics is simple! Geneticists: hold my 🍺 You: 😑

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Jukka-Pekka Verta @jpverta.bsky.social · 08/01/2024

Our results show a molecular mechanism by which single large-effect genes can mediate pleiotropic effects on multiple (seemingly unrelated) traits. I’m excited to dig deeper :)

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Jukka-Pekka Verta @jpverta.bsky.social · 09/11/2023

Just back from collecting gametes from anadromous Atlantic salmon - of "a bit" different size compared to our dwarf landlocked salmon. We now have tens of dwarf, anadromous, and dwarf-anadromous hybrid families in incubation. A first of such common garden to our knowledge!

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Jukka-Pekka Verta @jpverta.bsky.social · 06/11/2023

Field work culminated in something that has been planned for the last 2 years - gamete collection from landlocked dwarf salmon (the coolest in the world :) Now safely incubating at Concordia to produce our first generation of common garden dwarfs!

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Jukka-Pekka Verta @jpverta.bsky.social · 30/10/2023

In addition to waterfalls, Cape Race salmon populations are cut off from their ocean-going cousins by other spectacular barriers, like a river that never reaches the Atlantic because it percolates through a massive gravel bar 🤯

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Jukka-Pekka Verta @jpverta.bsky.social · 27/10/2023

Cape Race is home to dwarf Atlantic salmon and dwarf brook trout for a spectacular reason: many of the tiny streams they inhabit terminate with waterfalls straight into the Atlantic ocean, cutting them off from each other and from mixing with their bigger sea-run cousins

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Jukka-Pekka Verta @jpverta.bsky.social · 25/10/2023

Super excited to be finally seeing the dwarf Atlantic salmon that are the focus of my MSCA project “SalmoScales” with Dylan Fraser. These tiny fish are mature 🤯 and we want to find out how they do it! #AcademicSky

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Jukka-Pekka Verta @jpverta.bsky.social · 11/10/2023

A good sign that my experiments will work? What a lovely view from Concordia towards Montreal downtown.

Rainbow over Mont Royal with Concordia building at the foreground

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