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Laura Katz

@lauraakatz.bsky.social
44 followers 33 following 2 posts

Studies all those ‘darn exceptions’

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Reposted by Laura Katz
Genome Biology and Evolution @genomebiolevol.bsky.social · 26/05/2025
Baldwin-Brown et al. confined pigeon lice to color-mismatched hosts for ca. 60 generations, and tracked genomic changes, revealing parallel phenotypic adaptation in color via largely non-overlapping loci. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf083 #genome #pigeon #lice
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Reposted by Laura Katz
Genome Biology and Evolution @genomebiolevol.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
The June cover of Genome Biology and Evolution features the work of @mirimerenciano.bsky.social @sianalarue.bsky.social et al., who explore the relationships between transposable elements and aging in a new Review article. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf088 🖌️ Merenciano et al. #genome #TEsky
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Reposted by Laura Katz
Genome Biology and Evolution @genomebiolevol.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
@celineh2ooo.bsky.social and @stevensalzberg.bsky.social compared 3,493 vertebrate genomes to identify 342 gains of introns in human genes, tracing their origins and identifying cases of intronization as a mechanism of intron emergence. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf091 #genome #evolution #introns
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Reposted by Laura Katz
Martin Steinegger 🇺🇦 @martinsteinegger.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
Our structural core gene pipeline Unicode is now published at GBE 📄 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/... Please also check out @dongwookkim.bsky.social’s 🧵 bsky.app/profile/dong...
doi.org
Unicore Enables Scalable and Accurate Phylogenetic Reconstruction with Structural Core Genes
Abstract. The analysis of single-copy core genes, common to most members of a clade, is important for key tasks in biology including phylogenetic reconstru
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Laura Katz @lauraakatz.bsky.social · 15/05/2025
Very excited that Pedro Andrade has joined the Genome Biology and Evolution team, publishing this nice highlight on nonvisual opsins: academic.oup.com/gbe/article/... Follow his work @genomebiolevol.bsky.social
academic.oup.com
Highlight: More Than Meets the Eye—Nonvisual Opsins Are Crucial for Light-Sensing in Vertebrates
The evolution of eyes, through the co-option of photosensitive proteins known as opsins, represents a major innovation that expanded the ecological and com
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Reposted by Laura Katz
Genome Biology and Evolution @genomebiolevol.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
Genome and phenotypic analyses support domestication of Aspergillus sojae from A. parasiticus for soy production. A. sojae shows reduced diversity, loss of aflatoxin genes, and traits suited to miso-like salt conditions. Link: doi.org/10.1093/gbe/... #soy #fungi #domestication
doi.org
Population Genomics of Aspergillus sojae is Shaped by the Food Environment
Abstract. Traditional fermented foods often contain specialized microorganisms adapted to their unique environments. For example, the filamentous mold Aspe
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Reposted by Laura Katz
Javier del Campo @fonamental.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
Horizontal Transfer of Bacterial Operons into Eukaryote Genomes #protists #protistsonsky academic.oup.com/gbe/article/...
academic.oup.com
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Reposted by Laura Katz
Genome Biology and Evolution @genomebiolevol.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
New research by @tylervkent.bsky.social @samurscicop.bsky.social & D. Matute analysed 131 genomes of the globally invasive Aedes aegypti, and found high genomic resilience despite historical eradication attempts for this globally invasive vector. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/... #genome #mosquitoes
doi.org
Demographic History, Genetic Load, and the Efficacy of Selection in the Globally Invasive Mosquito Aedes aegypti
Abstract. Aedes aegypti is the main vector species of yellow fever, dengue, Zika, and chikungunya. The species is originally from Africa but has experience
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Reposted by Laura Katz
Genome Biology and Evolution @genomebiolevol.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
@phessenauer.bsky.social et al. find that moisture drives adaptation in the pathogens that cause Dutch elm disease, dothistroma needle blight, and Swiss needle cast, revealing convergent evolution in response to precipitation and humidity. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf069 #genome #evolution #fungi
doi.org
Genomic Exploration of Climate-driven Evolution and Evolutionary Convergence in Forest Pathogens
Abstract. Climate significantly influences the distribution, composition, and diversity of fungal communities, impacting the growth, spread, and virulence
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Reposted by Laura Katz
Genome Biology and Evolution @genomebiolevol.bsky.social · 12/05/2025
The May cover of Genome Biology and Evolution features the work of Romero & de Souza, who compared the genomes of lizards and the tuatara to study the evolution of non-visual opsin genes. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf058 🖌️ Eugenia Amado #genome #opsins #vision #lizards #evolution
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Reposted by Laura Katz
Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution @official-smbe.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
📖 SMBE journals on Bluesky Interested in learning the latest advances in evolutionary biology, genomics, and molecular biology? Follow the SMBE sister journals MBE and GBE here on Bluesky and get updates on new articles coming out. MBE: @molbioevol.bsky.social GBE: @genomebiolevol.bsky.social
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Reposted by Laura Katz
Genome Biology and Evolution @genomebiolevol.bsky.social · 26/04/2025
Research by Ghione & Dean uses 268 mammal genomes to test if the number of androgen/estrogen response elements scales with sexual size dimorphism, finding this relationship for small-bodied taxa (Chiroptera and Rodentia) but not larger groups. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/... #genome #mammals
doi.org
Sexual Size Dimorphism Correlates With the Number of Androgen Response Elements in Mammals, But Only in Small-Bodied Species
Abstract. Sexual size dimorphism is common throughout the animal kingdom, but its evolution and development remain difficult to explain given most of the g
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Reposted by Laura Katz
Tyler Kent @tylervkent.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
Excited to see the final version of this paper with @samurscicop.bsky.social and Daniel Matute out in @genomebiolevol.bsky.social! We took a dive into the complicated demographic history of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and its impact on the distribution of genetic diversity doi.org/10.1093/gbe/...
doi.org
Demographic history, genetic load, and the efficacy of selection in the globally invasive mosquito Aedes aegypti
Abstract. Aedes aegypti is the main vector species of yellow fever, dengue, Zika and chikungunya. The species is originally from Africa but has experienced
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Reposted by Laura Katz
Genome Biology and Evolution @genomebiolevol.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
Bacterial operons may persist in eukaryotes (e.g. fungi) after horizontal gene transfer, according to Kogay et al. Operon-derived gene pairs suggest initial neutral retention and later functional integration or degeneration. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/... #NewPaperAlert #genome #evolution #fungi
doi.org
Horizontal Transfer of Bacterial Operons into Eukaryote Genomes
Abstract. In prokaryotes, functionally linked genes are typically clustered into operons, which are transcribed into a single mRNA, providing for the coreg
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Reposted by Laura Katz
Genome Biology and Evolution @genomebiolevol.bsky.social · 21/04/2025
Buso et al. studied parallel selection in two domestic lineages of Atlantic salmon. Shared sweeps in MHC genes suggest combined long-term balancing selection and recent domestication selection. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/... ✏️ P. Buso @marie-saitou.bsky.social #evobio #molbio
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Reposted by Laura Katz
Genome Biology and Evolution @genomebiolevol.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
Ancona et al. investigated transposable elements in the Apennine Yellow-Bellied Toad: TEs are more active in male gonads, while TE-silencing pathways increase in ovaries. These findings challenge a simple "genomic arms race" model of host-TE evolution. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/... #evobio #genomics
doi.org
Evolutionary Dynamics of Transposable Element Activity and Regulation in the Apennine Yellow-Bellied Toad (Bombina pachypus)
Abstract. Transposable elements (TEs) expansion and accumulation represent one of the main drivers of genomic gigantism. Different host genome silencing me
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Reposted by Laura Katz
Genome Biology and Evolution @genomebiolevol.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
🤝 At GBE, we are committed to simplifying the initial submission of manuscripts. Check our Instructions for Authors page to learn more: academic.oup.com/gbe/pages/Ge...
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Reposted by Laura Katz
Genome Biology and Evolution @genomebiolevol.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
Comparative transcriptomics of nematodes C. elegans and Brugia malayi supports Ohno’s hypothesis of X-linked genes showing upregulation following Y degeneration, which depends on the dosage-sensitive gene content of proto-X. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/... #NewPaperAlert #genome #evolution #celegans
doi.org
Repeated Evolution of Transcript Dosage Compensation of Independently Formed Nematode Neo-X Chromosomes
Abstract. Ohno proposed that, during the origin of X/Y sex chromosomes from a pair of autosomes, X-linked genes must double their per-allele expressions to
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Reposted by Laura Katz
Genome Biology and Evolution @genomebiolevol.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
New paper by Howell et al. infers the demographic history of Boston Harbor’s white-footed mice, demonstrating that integrating multiple summaries of genome-wide variation enhances the temporal resolution of population history. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/... #NewPaperAlert #genome #mice #demography
doi.org
Population History Across Timescales in an Urban Archipelago
Abstract. Contemporary patterns of genetic variation reflect the cumulative history of a population. Population splitting, migration, and changes in popula
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Reposted by Laura Katz
Genome Biology and Evolution @genomebiolevol.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
Do signaling pathways evolve in a predictable order? Picolo et al. studied 47 pathways across 315 animal species, finding little evidence for a universal link between gene age and pathway position - this suggests stochastic pathway evolution. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/... #NewPaperAlert #evolution
doi.org
Genes Encoding Intracellular Signaling Proteins in Animals Originated Along with Metazoa and Chordata: Chance or Necessity?
Abstract. In this work, we investigate whether the construction of signaling pathways during evolution follows a deterministic law through a study of the e
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Reposted by Laura Katz
Genome Biology and Evolution @genomebiolevol.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
How do plants from different environments handle temperature extremes? Andrew et al. studied 20 Australian species and found conserved gene expression responses to heat and cold (with biome-specific differences). 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/... #NewPaperAlert #plants #stress
doi.org
Transcriptomic Temperature Stress Responses Show Differentiation Between Biomes for Diverse Plants
Abstract. Plants are foundational to terrestrial ecosystems, and because they are sessile, they are particularly reliant on physiological plasticity to res
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Reposted by Laura Katz
Jordana Oliveira @jordanainoliveira.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
Happy to share that our paper "Analyses of Transposable Elements in Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Support Evolutionary Parallels With Filamentous Plant Pathogens" is out. academic.oup.com/gbe/article/...
academic.oup.com
Analyses of Transposable Elements in Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Support Evolutionary Parallels With Filamentous Plant Pathogens
Abstract. Transposable elements are repetitive DNA sequences that excise or create copies that are inserted elsewhere in the genome. Their expansion shapes
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Reposted by Laura Katz
Audald Lloret-Villas @audald.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
Now published in @genomebiolevol.bsky.social 🥳 academic.oup.com/gbe/advance-...
academic.oup.com
A pedigree-based map of crossovers and non-crossovers in aye-ayes (Daubentonia madagascariensis)
Abstract. Gaining a better understanding of the rates and patterns of meiotic recombination is crucial for improving evolutionary genomic modelling, with a
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Reposted by Laura Katz
Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution @official-smbe.bsky.social · 19/04/2025
📝 The early bird deadline for registration in SMBE 2025 in Beijing is TOMORROW, April 20th! Make sure to register for our annual meeting, where we will discuss the latest advances and emerging themes in molecular biology and evolution. More info: smbe2025.scimeeting.cn #SMBE2025 #evobio #molbio
smbe2025.scimeeting.cn
SMBE 2025 - Annual Meeting of the Society for Molecular Biology & Evolution, 2025
2025年国际分子与生物进化,在线会议,会议直播平台,网络会议直播,美迪康会务通,学术会议管理系统,会议活动管理,注册签到管理,会场幻灯片传输转播,PPT传输,会议网络直播,电子壁报管理系统,医学会,会员管理系统
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Reposted by Laura Katz
Genome Biology and Evolution @genomebiolevol.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
Our April cover features the work of Teterina et al., who compared the genomes of various Caenorhabditis nematode species, including the hyper polymorphic C. brenneri. Link: doi.org/10.1093/gbe/... 📷 Teterina et al. #evolution #genetics
Genome Biology and Evolution April 2025 cover
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Craig Kaplan @triggerloop.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Penn announces hiring freeze. Pitt has done the same thing. Harvard also announced one today. This will devastate departments and future missions www.inquirer.com/education/up...
inquirer.com
Penn, bracing for federal funding cuts, orders a hiring freeze and other changes
In an email to Penn staff, officials said the full impact of federal funding cuts and policy changes will not be known for several months.
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CASW @sciencewriting.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Thank you @nature.com for this piece based on the 2024 Patrusky Lecture, given by Joe Graves at #SciWri24. Watch the video of his talk on CASW's YouTube channel.
youtube.com
Patrusky Lecture 2024 Joseph L. Graves Jr.
YouTube video by CASW ScienceWriting
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Reposted by Laura Katz
Genome Biology and Evolution @genomebiolevol.bsky.social · 09/03/2025
March issue: Amino acids that are more different do have lower rates of exchange over evolutionary time, and this result is general to different taxonomic groups. doi.org/10.1093/gbe/... #MolecularEvolution #AminoAcids #OpenAccess
doi.org
Amino Acid Properties, Substitution Rates, and the Nearly Neutral Theory
Abstract. Do the properties of amino acids affect their rates of substitution? The neutral theory predicts that greater selective constraint leads to slowe
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Reposted by Laura Katz
Vaughn Cooper @vscooper.micropopbio.org · 08/03/2025
This week in @nature.com, Joe Graves published a thunderous column "The financial shackling of historically Black universities in the United States." 🚨Despite underfunding, HBCUs graduate disproportionately high numbers of Black students in STEM. Screenshots follow: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
The financial shackling of historically Black universities in the United States
Evolutionary biologist Joseph L. Graves Jr argues that — now more than ever — the United States should honour its commitments to Black higher education to diversify the science workforce.
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Reposted by Laura Katz
Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution @official-smbe.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
📢📢📢 Announcement: SMBE Faculty Award Nominations 2025 are due by April 15, 2025 www.smbe.org/smbe/FEATURE...
smbe.org
FEATURED NEWS
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Laura Katz @lauraakatz.bsky.social · 08/03/2025
Very proud of this manuscript on codon usage in Foraminifera… another example of how microbial eukaryotes expand our understanding of the rules of genome evolution: journals.asm.org/doi/full/10....
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Reposted by Laura Katz
Aaron Vogan @fungage-lab.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
We did it! We caught Starship #transposons moving between #fungal species in the lab, including between species separated by ~100my. We think Starships are a mediator of HGT in fungi, akin to conjugative elements in bacteria. Check out the preprint. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Illustration depicting the ways in which fungi can exchange genetic material with each other. Starship mediated HGT is confirmed experimentally in this preprint.
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Reposted by Laura Katz
Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution @official-smbe.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
Message from SMBE Leadership
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Axios @axios.com · 03/03/2025
The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced that it is reinstating dozens of probationary employees that the Trump administration fired last month.
axios.com
National Science Foundation is reinstating fired probationary employees
The NSF said probationary employees help it remain a "global leader in scientific discovery and innovation."
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Jonathan Eisen @phylogenomics.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
Reading for today: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
‘Silence is complicity’ — universities must fight the anti-DEI crackdown
Higher-education establishments must not be bullied into abandoning their mission of diversity, equity and inclusion.
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angela oliverio @oliverio.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
An PLEASURE chatting with @markowenmartin.bsky.social on the #mattersmicrobial podcast about microbial **eukaryotes**, including the super high temp amoebae we (notably @hbrappap.bsky.social) have found in geothermal springs. 
If you want to hear more:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uxxi... #microsky 🧪🦠
youtube.com
Matters Microbial #79: How Amoebae Beat the Heat
YouTube video by MicrobeTV
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Jeremy Koster @jeremykoster.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
Upon learning that yesterday would be my last day as a program officer at the National Science Foundation, I shared this parting message with my colleagues. The next few months will be frenetic and stressful for them. Here are some things that you can do to help them with the mission ahead. (1)
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