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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Congrats to #WGDip team members @tomlewin.bsky.social @dervc.bsky.social @phylogenie.bsky.social & @peterhox.bsky.social , who with their colleague @yjluo.bsky.social , provide evidence consistent with lineage-specific rediploidisation following a cryptic polyploidy event shared by all bryozoans! 🧪

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

More on #WGDip participation at the International Polyploidy Conference 2026! Dan Macqueen discussed rediploidisation's role in making new genes🧬, while Drew Larson & Kevin Bird shared insights on rediploidisation following WGD in the salmonids 🐟 and apple tribe🍎.

Image of Professor Dan Macqueen presenting a talk titled "The well-trodden path from genome duplication to new genes is through rediploidisation"

Image of Dr Drew Larson presenting a talk titled "Integrating phylogeny and synteny provides exceptional resolution of rediploidization histories following the salmonid-specific whole genome duplication"

Image of Dr Kevin Bird presenting a talk titled "Rediploidisation after whole-genome duplication in the apple tribe decouples chromosome behaviour, genome structure, and gene content "

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Big congratulations to our ECRs who shared their work through poster presentations at #IPC2026! Great science on display from Annabelle Knutson, Brianna Banting, Emily Haley, Kevin Bird, Morgane Milin & Zoe Vance. Thank you for sharing your work & sparking great conversations #Polyploidy #ECR #WGDip

Image of Dr. Kevin Bird presenting poster titled "Transcriptional buffering as a consequence of dosage-balance selection on allopolyploid Brassica”

Image of Dr. Morgane Milin presenting a poster titled “Reconstructing chromosome evolution during rediploidisation in salmonids”

Image of Dr. Zoe Vance presenting a poster titled “Does the rediploidization process impact observed duplicate outcomes following the Saccharomyces whole genome duplication?”

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

What an incredible few days at the International Polyploidy Conference 2026! 🧬 Great to have discussions with such a fantastic #polyploidy community! Huge thanks to the organizers, speakers, and everyone who presented for making it such a great meeting. #WGD #IPC2026

Image of attendees of the International Polyploidy Conference 2026.

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

1 week to go until the International Polyploidy Conference! 🎉 The #WGDip team is heading to the Netherlands with a full lineup of speakers & presenters. We are excited for a great week of polyploidy science. 🧪 See you all there 👋 #IPC2026 www.pe-rc.nl/events/inter...

pe-rc.nl

International Polyploidy Conference 2026, Crossover in theory and application | PE&RC

We are open from Monday to Friday 8.30h to 17h.

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Congratulations to Lukasz Niezabitowski, @roisinlong.bsky.social , @phylogenie.bsky.social & Aoife McLysaght on their paper “A comprehensive and accessible database of jawed-vertebrate ohnologs” 🐟🧪 Read here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Access the database here: ohnologs.com

science.org

A comprehensive and accessible database of jawed-vertebrate ohnologs

A reliable ohnolog database yields insights into vertebrate evolution.

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Thanks @luohaoxu.bsky.social for presenting at #WGDip’s science forum. Using snow carp as a model, he argued that chromosome fusions often initiate rediploidisation after autopolyploidy. Featuring a haplotype-resolved assembly with 443 chromosomes (20n!) & insights into polyploid sex determination.

Diagram summarising key elements of Professor Luohao’s talk that was based on his recent publication in Nature: "Chromosomal fusions trigger rediploidization of autopolyploid genomes".

1. Trio Construction. The parent–offspring trio of S. younghusbandi.
Autopolyploid genome assembly.

2. Hi-C heatmap of S. younghusbandi, with homologous chromosomes involved in fusions placed at the end.

3. Unbalanced chromosome fusion. Showing fusion Chr19-Chr22, Chr15-Chr4, Chr16-Chr8, Chr23-Chr20, Chr11-Chr14 in S. younghusbandi.

4. Meiosis pairing. Fluorescence in situ hybridization of centromeres and telomeres on meiotic metaphase I chromosomes displaying examples of a bivalent ring, a bivalent chain and a tetravalent ring

5. Asynchronous rediploidization. Timeline demonstrating the gradual shift from a tetraploid state to a diploid state. The timeline shows a decrease from 4n=100 to 4n=90 over 30mya in S. younghusbandi.

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

The #WGDip team is investigating the role of whole genome duplication & rediploidisation in shaping the evolution of eukaryotes. We've added a new page showcasing some of the lineages & organisms we're exploring (it's not an exhaustive list!). Take a look 👇 www.rediploidisation.org/meet-the-gen...

rediploidisation.org

Meet the Genomes | rediploidisation.org

WGDip researchers are working on organisms across the eukaryotic tree of life.

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Huge congratulations to #WGDip project partner Aoife McLysaght for receiving the Community Service Award from @official-smbe.bsky.social. This recognises Aoife’s outstanding contributions and commitment to building stronger research communities through collaboration, leadership, and generosity. 👏

Aoife McLysaght receiving a Community Service Award from current SMBE president Juliette de Meaux on the main stage at SMBE 2026

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

The #WGDip team really enjoyed #SMBE2026! We shared posters from Zoe Vance, Anthony Redmond and Lucas Freitas, plus flash talks from Róisín Long and Lukasz Niezabitowski. Great to see growing interest in rediploidisation with lots of interesting chats! Thanks to the organisers for an epic meeting! 👏

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

📢 Join us for a seminar by Professor Luohao Xu: "Snow carps as an emerging model for polyploid genome evolution". 🗓️20 July 2026 ⏰14:00–15:00 📝 Register HERE: forms.cloud.microsoft/e/zeAtDkh2iR This talk follows Professor Xu's recent publication in @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧪

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Reposted by WGDip

Zoe Vance @zoev22.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Showing some @wgdip.bsky.social work at #SMBE2026! Swing by poster 217 for a chat about whole genome duplication in yeast and why many of the duplicated genes appear to have been created at different points in time

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

WGDip team member Ilia Leitch @biggenomes.bsky.social travelled to Edinburgh to speak on the importance of genome size variation across the tree of life, considering ecological & evolutionary consequences. With Kevin Bird @stairwaytokevin.bsky.social who updated us on his research progress in #WGDip

Picture of Ilia Leitch presenting slides titled "The remarkable genome size diversity across plants & why it matters". Also pictured is Alex Twyford.

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Congrats to the Oxford team including #WGDip team member Peter Holland @peterhox.bsky.social on their @nature.com paper on the importance of WGDs in the development of vertebrate brains🧠, showing that resulting ohnologues continued to support cell-type evolution & development of vertebrate brains 🧪

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

🌊Happy #WorldOceanDay! 🌊 Today we reflect on one of the smallest 🔬 eukaryotes studied by #WGDip, diatoms! These tiny single-celled, photosynthetic algae found across aquatic environments play an outsized role in our planet's health...

Photomicrograph of fifty species of diatoms arranged within a circular shape. Photograph by Randolph Femmer is public domain from USGS Library of Images From Life.

LINK: https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/diatoms-50-species

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

#WGDip hosted @ferdix.bsky.social (University College London) who reviewed the emergence of chaetognaths & priapulids. Discussing gene duplication, cryptic WGD, the impact of gene loss & maintenance or dispersion of ancestral bilaterian linkage groups & the emergence of new cell types & morphologies

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

Are you interested in eukaryotic evolution & whole genome duplication? So are we! Find out more about #WGDip and the work we have been doing on our website: www.rediploidisation.org

rediploidisation.org

Home | rediploidisation.org

Timeline: April 2025 to March 2029

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Happy #BiologicalDiversityDay! 🌍🌿🐟🐌 #WGDip explores how WGD & rediploidisation have shaped eukaryotic diversity through evolutionary time. By studying genomes from a wide range of organisms, we aim to understand how these processes contributed to the extraordinary diversity of life we see today!

8 images of a variety of animals. Photo credits below.

Sockeye Salmon - Photo by Katherine Panfilova https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/317865493

Tea - Photo by Bart Wursten https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/242353488

Kelp Lace Bryozoan - Photo by Zach Berghorst
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/109715280

Apple - Photo by Michal Svit
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/266777224

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

Angiosperms have a complex evolutionary history shaped by WGD, with different plant groups experiencing these events at different times & frequencies! #WGDip is looking at the Maleae tribe. This fascinating group includes familiar favourites like apples, pears & quinces 🍏🍐🍎

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

#WGDip is exploring the genomic history of species across the eukaryotic tree of life. This includes the flowering plant order Ericales - an incredibly diverse lineage with over 12,000 species! Chances are, you already know (and love) some of its members… like tea, kiwi, and blueberries! 🍵🥝🫐

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Congrats to @luohaoxu.bsky.social & team for revealing the role of chromosome fusions in initiating asynchronous rediploidisation in autotetraploid snow carp. Featuring #WGDip lead Dan Macqueen as co-author. A landmark study in our ongoing understanding of rediploidisation! @nature.com @ukri.org 🧪

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

Today we celebrate #NationalDNADay and reflect on how far genomic science has come, from discovering the structure of DNA🧬 to the completion of the Human Genome Project🌐. Without these insights, modern evolutionary genomics projects like #WGDip wouldn’t be possible! 🧪

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

Happy #worldbookday!📚 #WGDip was inspired by Susumu Ohno’s "Evolution by gene duplication”, published 56 years ago, before the modern era of genomics. His book argued for the central importance of duplicating both individual genes & whole genomes as 'fuel' for great leaps in biological evolution...

Image of the book "Evolution by gene duplication” by Susumu Ohno.

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

Happy #EarthDay! 🌍 As evolutionary biology researchers, we’re reminded every day that the diversity of life on Earth is the result of millions of years of evolution, adaptation, & resilience. Today we acknowledge the importance of protecting the natural world that makes this research possible! 🐌🐟🌱

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Our ECRs recently travelled to Dublin for two fantastic days filled with science, collaboration, and a bit of well-earned fun! #WGDip #ECR

Image of post docs (top left) Emily Haley, Morgane Milin, Kevin Bird, Drew Larson, (bottom left) Dearbhaile Casey, Zoe Vance. Group is standing in front of Glendalough.

Image of post docs (top left) Emily Haley, Morgane Milin, Zoe Vance, Drew Larson, Kevin Bird, (bottom left) Dearbhaile Casey.

Image of Dearbhaile Casey exploring Glendalough and celebrating standing on top of a rock!

Scenery around Glendalough. Grassy forefront with treats and mountains in the background. A cloudy and sunny day.

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

📢Join us at the International Polyploidy Conference! #WGDip will be present with two invited speakers: Project Lead Prof. Dan Macqueen & Project Partner Prof. Aoife McLysaght. www.pe-rc.nl/events/inter... @w-u-r.bsky.social @pe-rc.bsky.social #IPC2026 🧪

pe-rc.nl

International Polyploidy Conference 2026, Crossover in theory and application

Wageningen, the Netherlands. 6-13 September 2026

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

Can you identify this unusual purple-flowered plant in bloom at the @thebotanics.bsky.social?🔎🪻 This plant has no leaves & cannot photosynthesise. It's an important early spring flower, especially for bees🐝. Its nectar is high in ammonia, making it unsavoury for other pollinators & nectar robbers.

Image of Lathraea clandestina (Purple Toothwort). A small purple plant with no leaves.

Image of Lathraea clandestina (Purple Toothwort). A large cluster of small purple plants with no leaves at the base of a tree.

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

This time last year marked the beginning of the #WGDip project! 🥳 Are you interested in eukaryotic evolution & whole genome duplication? So are we! Find out more about who we are and what we are doing on our website: www.rediploidisation.org 🧪🧬 @ukri.org #BBSRC #sLoLa

rediploidisation.org

Home | rediploidisation.org

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

Want to hear more from the #WGDip team members? Head over to our website to watch the full video series. 🎥🗣️💬 www.rediploidisation.org/video-files @ukri.org #BBSRC #sLoLa

rediploidisation.org

Video Files | rediploidisation.org

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

🌳🌲Today we celebrate #InternationalForestDay & their incredible diversity!🌲🌳 Willows (Salicaceae) are a remarkable family - with a well-documented ancestral WGD event - that includes trees with huge value for people & the planet. For centuries, willows have been used in basket weaving🧺, ...

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

Hear from Jack, a Science Engagement Manager at the Wellcome Sanger Institute. He hopes that #WGDip will engage the public with the DNA data revolution & explain why large-scale datasets are key to answering some of science’s toughest questions! 🧬🌍 @sangerinstitute.bsky.social

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Hear what impact Peter hopes #WGDip will have on the science community and on our understanding of what happens following a whole genome duplication! @peterhox.bsky.social

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

Hear why Aoife is excited to be working as part of the #WGDip team. Aoife is a project partner lead from Trinity College Dublin. 🌟Tell us what excites you about your work!🌟 @tcddublin.bsky.social

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

Hear what impact Ilia hopes #WGDip will have on the science community and on our understanding of evolution! She is a project co-lead from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 🌟How do you see WGDip impacting your research?🌟 @biggenomes.bsky.social @rbgkew.bsky.social

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

🧪A recent article in Science Advances revisits long-debated WGD events during early seed plant evolution. Using dosage-sensitive genes as markers of WGD, the authors found little support for an angiosperm-specific WGD, and strong evidence for a single WGD shared by all seed plants. buff.ly/W0hQYno

buff.ly

Revisiting ancient whole-genome duplications in the seed and flowering plants through the lens of dosage-sensitive genes

Dosage-sensitive genes suggest no ancestral angiosperm WGD.

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

Hear about Dearbhaile's role in #WGDip, a Post-doc from the University of Oxford. 🌟Tell us what your typical day looks like!🌟 @dervc.bsky.social @ox.ac.uk

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

The #WGDip team has created videos spotlighting our amazing researchers and team members. We asked about their roles, what excites them, and the impact they hope WGDip will have. Stay tuned over the coming weeks and check in regularly to hear their stories!

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

As part of our sLoLa project meeting, the #WGDip team got a tour of the beautiful Wellcome Sanger Campus 🌿🧬Great science, great company, and an inspiring place to talk all things whole-genome duplication! @sangerinstitute.bsky.social @ukri.org

This image shows 7 photos taken on during WGDip's tour of Wellcome Genome Institution campus. Photos include images of the team walking around campus (just before it rained!), looking at the public engagement room, reading part of the printed human genome, as well at looking at previous methods for sequencing.

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

The #WGDip team kicked off 2026 with an in-person meeting hosted at the Wellcome Genome Campus✨. We had a fun, science-packed two days that strongly advanced our plans to work together across both our research and science outreach plans - it's going to be an exciting year!

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

📢Meet the team! Andrea Mazgaleva is a Project Coordinator in the Tree of Life Programme. For the #WGDip project, Andrea will be overseeing the production of 15 chromosome-level reference genomes through the ToL pipeline. 🧬💻

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

🧪New preprint from WGDip lead Dan Macqueen with collaborators from the AQUA-FAANG project www.aqua-faang.eu, including WGDip team member Manu Kumar Gundappa. Exploring regulatory evolution following the autotetraploid WGD ancestral to salmonids (featuring rediploidization!) doi.org/10.64898/202...

buff.ly

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

We are 8 months into the sLoLa-funded #WGDip project! Find out more about our project and the work we have been doing on our website: www.rediploidisation.org

rediploidisation.org

Home | rediploidisation.org

Timeline: April 2025 to March 2029

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

From all of us on the #WGDip team, we’re wishing you a joyful, restful, and cosy holiday season ❄️🎄 We can’t wait to see what the year ahead has in store! 🎉

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

📢Meet the team! Finn McHale is a Research Assistant from the University of Oxford. His recent Master's project investigated WGD of snails and slugs!🐌 Now he's looking for signs of delayed rediploidisation in other invertebrate genomes with #WGDip Read Finn's paper here:📝 doi.org/10.1002/jez....

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

Congratulations to team members @phil-donoghue.bsky.social, @tweethinking.bsky.social, & @ssolo.bsky.social for their newly published study on the process of eukaryogenesis. We hope this framework will resolve historical events in individual gene families for the #WGDip project. 🧪🧬

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 03/12/2025

#WGDip hosted @andrewhmlloyd.bsky.social (U. of Aberystwyth), who discussed the evolution of meiotic stability after polyploidisation. Many cellular processes must coordinate so that each cell receives the proper chromosomes during division. Populations can evolve to get better at this over time!

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WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · 28/11/2025

WGDip project lead Dan Macqueen joined the #EuroFaang Research Infrastructure final conference (eurofaang.eu). He introduced #WGDip, explaining the importance of rediploidization in salmonids (and across the tree of life), and reflected on current opportunities and barriers in comparative genomics 🧪

Image of Dan Macqueen presenting at the EuroFAANG RI final conference.

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Reposted by WGDip

Philip Donoghue @phil-donoghue.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

Come and do a PhD on 'Genome duplication, extinction and diversification in the evolution of flowering plants' with myself @jameswclark.bsky.social and Ilia Leitch @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social and join the @wgdip.bsky.social studying rediploidisation. Apply: tinyurl.com/26pmfvvc by Jan 8

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