Call for Abstracts Open! The 4th AsiaEvo conference will be held at Kumming, China Dec 8-11 2025. We are organizing Symposium 3 aiming for a broad discussion on organismsโ adaptation under global change, from bacteria to large mammals. Also check other symposium topics that attract you!
We are organizing a symposium in the 4th AsiaEvo Conferenence this December in #Kunming about #appendage featuring the Palentologist Xing Xu at IVPP, Dev. biologist Cheng-Ming Chung from USC and evodevoist @MonteiroLab Antonia Monteiro from NUS. Submit your abstract now!
[conf alert] The 4th AsiaEvo Conf. in Kunming, China, Dec 8-11, 2025. Join scholars and young researchers to explore cutting-edge #evobio. Free registration for researchers from SouthEast Asia countries. For submission see instructions at
2025asiaevoconf.casconf.cn #AsiaEvo2025 #AsiaEvo
Many thanks, Cedric!
8/8 I appreciate that Caixia invited me to join this exciting scentific journey. This discovery was only possible through a team effort. Huge thanks and congrautulations to all collaborators!
7/8 Studying TranCs mirrors the classical framework of studying new gene origins: identify recent transitions, compare ancestral and derived states, infer key steps.
6/8 Why did Cas12 evolve repeatedly, while Cas9/Cas13 seemingly arose only once? We discuss that the huge diversity of TnpB transposons & the high evolvability of RNA created the perfect storm for recurrent origins, a potential case of molecular contingency.
5/8 We engineered this transition: by artificially splitting ISDra2 TnpBโs reRNA into tracrRNA and crRNA, we converted it into a functional CRISPR-like system. This confirms RNA splitting was a key step in Cas12 emergence.
4/8 Cryo-EM shows TranC (LaTranC) protein is structurally similar to its TnpB ancestor. The key innovation was at the RNA level: the guide reRNA functionally split into a tracrRNA & crRNA. Computional analysis indicate it as a convergent event across TranC clades.
3/8 These TranCs (e.g., LaTranC) are true intermediates: they can be guided by both CRISPR crRNAs AND transposon-derived reRNAs! This dual-guide capacity shows they retain ancestral TnpB function while acquiring CRISPR immunity.
2/8 Phylogenetic mining revealed several young Cas12 clades we call โTranCsโ, i.e., nascent CRISPR systems emerging from distinct TnpB lineages. These represent multiple independent domestication events from transposons.
1/8 Our new paper w/ Drs. Caixia Gao & Gogo Liu groups reveals how #CRISPR-Cas12 systems evolved from transposon-encoded TnpB nucleases through RNA splitting by analyzing โTranCโ systems (evolutionary intermediates bridging selfish elements and adaptive immunity). #Evolution
SMBE 2025 (July 20-24 in Beijing, China) is now open for abstract submission. We have a symposium for TE folks: Transposable Elements in Genome Evolution and Biotechnology Development. Please spread the message and submit your abstract. See you in Beijing.
Abstract submission for SMBE2025 in Beijing is open. If you study gene duplication or new genes, please consider submitting an abstract for a talk for Symposium 7, The Origin, Evolution, and Phenotypic Contributions of New Genes. smbe2025.scimeeting.cn/en/web/index.... Deadline is Jan 30, 2025.
