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Reposted by Roberto Biello

Physalia-courses@ONLINE @physaliacourses.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

That’s a wrap! 🎉 We’ve just closed the first edition of our advanced #ConservationGenomics course with @rsbiello.bsky.social and Giulia Fabbri Many thanks to everyone who joined us this week, and a special thank you to our invited speakers, @roberta-gargiulo.bsky.social & Elena Ramella Levis!

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Reposted by Roberto Biello

Physalia-courses@ONLINE @physaliacourses.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

We’re really enjoying our Advanced Conservation Genomics course! 🧬🌍 Huge thanks to our instructors @rsbiello.bsky.social and Giulia Fabbri and to our fantastic group of attendees joining us from all over the globe. Great discussions, hands-on learning, and plenty of genomics!

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Reposted by Roberto Biello

Physalia-courses@ONLINE @physaliacourses.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Our instructors for this course are Dr. @rsbiello.bsky.social Biello and Dr. Giulia Fabbri from the University of Ferrara, Italy. We will also have invited speakers Dr. @roberta-gargiulo.bsky.social from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and Elena Ramella Levis, Eurafrica Conservation Projects – ODV.

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Reposted by Roberto Biello

Physalia-courses@ONLINE @physaliacourses.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

🧬 Advanced Conservation Genomics | Online, 28 Sept–1 Oct Only a few seats left! Explore effective population size, genetic load, SNP panels, population assignment, hybrid detection & genomics for conservation policy. www.physalia-courses.org/courses-work... #ConservationGenomics

physalia-courses.org

Advanced Conservation Genomics

Dates ONLINE, 28 September -1 October 2026 To foster international participation, this course will be held online

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Reposted by Roberto Biello

Hernán E. Morales @hernmoral.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Our teams had a great time at the 7th European Conservation Genetics Meeting in Antwerp, contributing 4 talks and 3 posters. Thanks to the organizers for a fantastic meeting! #ConsGenMeeting2026

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Reposted by Roberto Biello

bioRxiv Evolutionary Biology @biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Autozygosity and genetic load as sensitive early warnings of butterfly population decline www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20…

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Reposted by Roberto Biello

Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution @official-smbe.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

#SMBE2026 Open Symposium 10b: Population genetics and genomics 🗓️ Thu Jul 2, 10:30am 🔗 smbe2026.org/programme Talks by: Laura Viñas Caron Harvinder Pawar @rsbiello.bsky.social @anttimietti.bsky.social Maxi Muessig Dimitra Sergiadou Jeppe Bayer Pedersen @ddj-sa.bsky.social

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Reposted by Roberto Biello

Physalia-courses@ONLINE @physaliacourses.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

🚨 Advanced #ConservationGenomics (ONLINE, 28 Sep–1 Oct) with Giulia Fabbri & @rsbiello.bsky.social . Learn how population genomics informs real-world conservation decisions: Ne, genetic load, SNP panels, policy & legislation + invited expert speakers @roberta-gargiulo.bsky.social shorturl.at/X8Dsi

physalia-courses.org

Advanced Conservation Genomics

Dates ONLINE, 28 September -1 October 2026 To foster international participation, this course will be held online

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Reposted by Roberto Biello

Genome Biology and Evolution @genomebiolevol.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

@rsbiello.bsky.social et al. present the first whole-genome analysis of Mediterranean fin whales, showing that although these form a distinct genetic cluster, they are not fully isolated from North Atlantic populations. 📷 Danny Kessler 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evag084 #genome #evolution #popgen

GBE | One Sea, Different Whales: Genomics Sheds Light on a Small Population of Fin Whales

Photo: Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) swimming in the Mediterranean Sea; by Danny Kessler - dannykesslerphotography.com

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Reposted by Roberto Biello

Hernán E. Morales @hernmoral.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Happy to see this one out! Not only for the science, but because it was the first project we led as a group. This paper helped us establish a collaborative culture and good relationships, shaping how we want to work together in the future. I feel lucky to work with this bunch! #popgen #consgen

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Reposted by Roberto Biello

Physalia-courses@ONLINE @physaliacourses.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

🚨 Advanced #ConservationGenomics | Online, 28 Sept–1 Oct with Giulia Fabbri & @rsbiello.bsky.social Learn to translate genomic data into real-world conservation strategies: interpret Ne & genetic load, design SNP panels, and inform monitoring & policy. www.physalia-courses.org/courses-work...

physalia-courses.org

Advanced Conservation Genomics

Dates ONLINE, 28 September -1 October 2026 To foster international participation, this course will be held online

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Roberto Biello @rsbiello.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

These findings reveal the population structure and adaptive potential of P. spumarius, Europe’s key vector of X. fastidiosa. They highlight the need for targeted surveillance of locally adapted populations and provide genomic tools to monitor vector dynamics and disease risks.

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Roberto Biello @rsbiello.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

Migration analyses indicate limited long-distance dispersal but strong local connectivity in Italy, consistent with the rapid regional spread of X. fastidiosa. In contrast, we find complex historical gene flow within the UK, suggesting geographic or climatic barriers to movement.

Maps of Europe, with zoomed in views of Italy and the UK, coloured by the historic rates of gene-flow showing areas of high- and low- movement, and graphs showing the different relationships between genetic- and geographic-distance in populations in Italy and the UK.

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Roberto Biello @rsbiello.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

Genomic scans revealed loci under selection in southern Italian populations, including signals in sulfotransferase (SULT) genes, potentially linked to detoxification, behavioural plasticity, host use, or insecticide resistance in olive-growing regions.

Graphs showing the selection analysis with peaks in SULT genes, the geographical distribution of different ST4 alleles, and structural modelling showing the effect of an amino acid change in the active site of ST4.

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Roberto Biello @rsbiello.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

By resequencing 430 individuals, we uncovered three major lineages shaped by geography and climate. These lineages differ in reproductive isolation and mito-nuclear divergence. Particularly, Spanish populations grouped with P. tesselatus, adding to regional genetic complexity.

Graphs showing the results of population structure analysis including PCA, a phylogenetic tree, and admixture analysis showing the distributions of different haplotypes across populations in different locations.

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Roberto Biello @rsbiello.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

We generated a chromosome-level genome assembly for Philaenus spumarius and high-quality genome assemblies for four related spittlebug species. These resources provide a strong genomic framework for evolutionary and epidemiological studies.

Graphs showing genome assemble quality including a Hi-C contact map with the chromosomes fully assembled, a snail plot of genome completeness, and coverage graphs across the chromosomes showing 50% coverage in the X chromosome (the sequenced individual was female).

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Roberto Biello @rsbiello.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

To address this, we worked with a global network of researchers and citizen scientists to assemble a geographically and ecologically diverse collection of spittlebugs from across the world. This enabled a truly large-scale population genomic analysis.

A map of Europe, North America and New Zealand showing the locations of collection of samples, several hundred in Europe and a few elsewhere.

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Roberto Biello @rsbiello.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

The meadow spittlebug, Philaenus spumarius, feeds on xylem, has a broad host range, and thrives across diverse landscapes, making it an exceptionally efficient vector of X. fastidiosa. Yet, its genetic diversity, migration, and local adaptation were poorly understood.

The common meadow spittlebug P. spumarius, a small brown insect sitting on a leaf.

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Roberto Biello @rsbiello.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

We have a new preprint! In this study, we use #genomic data to uncover population structure and adaptive potential in the meadow #spittlebug, the main European #vector of #Xylella fastidiosa.

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Reposted by Roberto Biello

Tatsuya Amano @tatsuya-amano.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

Women, non-native English speakers & those form low-income countries are disadvantaged in science but by how much? We found that women with non-English first languages from low-income countries publish up to 70% fewer in English than their counterparts. 1/5 doi.org/10.1371/jour... #languagebarriers

Scientific productivity gap based on English-language peer-reviewed papers. Shown are the maximum % differences in the number of peer-reviewed papers published by female native English speakers from a high-income country (-45%), female non-native English speakers from a high-income country (-60%), and female non-native English speakers from a lower-middle income country (-70%), compared to male native English speakers from a high-income country (red flag).

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Reposted by Roberto Biello

Francesca Raffini Lab @francescaraffini.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

🚀 PhD Opportunity 🎓: Why do some species survive #climatechange while others vanish? Join us in 🧜‍♀️ to 🔍🌊🐌🐚 🤿🔬🧬💻🧠🤝🌈: 🐚Unravel rapid #evolution & #adaptation, biological invasions & extinction 🐚Integrate #PopGen, #consgen, ecology & more 🐚Turn science into conservation action ℹ️ tinyurl.com/fhzxr7ed

tinyurl.com

Join

Interested in joining the group as a student or researcher? Are you looking for support in applying for funding opportunities? Do you see opportunities for collaborations and synergies? Please ...

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Roberto Biello @rsbiello.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

🐻New preprint🐻 We analysed WGS data from the Apennine brown bear—a small and isolated population which has coexisted with humans for millennia—and found unique genomic diversity, including adaptation associated with reduced aggressiveness. #ConsGen #Genomics #Bears www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Reposted by Roberto Biello

Sibelle Vilaça @sibellevilaca.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

We have a new pre-print! If you are interested in #smallpopulations, here we show how selection may shape behavioral traits in small isolated populations. We also show selective signatures at genes associated with reduced aggressiveness, possibly involving alternative splicing #consgen #popgen

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Reposted by Roberto Biello

Clàudia Fontserè @claudiafontsere.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

I'll be teaching in the SIBE Summer School in Ferrara, from the 7th to 11th of September. Great place to learn about PopGen, comparative genomics and ✨Conservation Genomics✨ 🚨Deadline to apply: 11th of May🚨 sites.google.com/view/sibesum... See you there!

sites.google.com

SIBE summer school

SIBE SUMMER SCHOOL 2025 7th − 11th September 2025 FERRARA (ITALY) Overview The analysis of genomic data has become increasingly feasible, even in non-model organisms, thanks to the “omics” revolution...

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Reposted by Roberto Biello

W. Chris Funk @fieldgenomics.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

What can genome sequence data reveal about population viability? (And equally important, what CAN'T it reveal??) These are key questions that @martykardos.bsky.social, Lukas Keller, and I address in our new paper in a Molecular Ecology special issue: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.... #congens

Lukas Keller, Chris Funk, and fury toothy friend.

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Reposted by Roberto Biello

Sam Mugford @samtmugford.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

We’re delighted to share our latest preprint from the Hogenhout lab (@saskiahogenhout.bsky.social) on the molecular mechanisms on plant-aphid interactions. Here we show how the aphid Mp10 effector protein acts as a local anaesthetic to suppress the plant perception of aphid attack

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