I had fun writing this N&Vs on two fascinating new papers on centromere evolution in yeast. If you’re interested in how centromeres adapt yet stay functional, here’s my take. rdcu.be/e6DD0 @nature.com @gautamdey.bsky.social @gsherloc.bsky.social @helsenjana.bsky.social @maxhaase.bsky.social

Excited to share our new preprint exploring how Paramecium achieves diverse flow functions, i.e. feeding and swimming, simultaneously. This work was spearheaded by our ExM expert, PhD student Daphne Laan @daphnelaan.bsky.social :
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Join us to explore the latest advances on the mechanisms and evolution of programmed DNA elimination, from molecular pathways to evolutionary consequences. Also welcoming work on meiotic drive, B chromosomes, genome stability, chromosome segregation, and germline development.

Great lineup of speakers, selected talk slots available, and a stunning venue in Roscoff, France.
Limited places, apply soon!

Excited to announce the upcoming Jacques Monod Conference on the mechanistic and evolutionary basis of programmed DNA elimination (Sept 21–25, 2026):
cjm.sb-roscoff.fr/en/conferenc...
Organized by @laurarossevo.bsky.social and myself.

So excited to share this manuscript led by the inimitable Cara Brand, who discovered that Topoisomerase II evolution causes hybrid female lethality in Drosophila.

Congrats to Cara, @nickbr0wn.bsky.social, Anirban, and
@buszczaklab.bsky.social!

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

A reference-free pipeline for detecting shared transposable elements from pan-genomes to retrace their dynamics in a species - Genome Biology Background The role of transposable elements (TEs) in host adaptation has gained interest in recent years. Individuals of the same species undergo independent TE insertions, providing genetic variabil...

🚨📢📄 Article in press in Genome Biology doi.org/10.1186/s130...
We introduce panREPET, a reference-free pipeline to detect shared transposable element (TE) insertions across pangenomes and retrace their evolutionary dynamics #TEsky 🧵👇

Pierre Capy était un généticien, un drosophiliste, un acteur majeur dans l'essor de la génétique des éléments transposables en France.
Très impliqué dans l'administration de la vie scientifique, il a aussi été directeur du laboratoire LEGS (actuel @EGCE), et un des fondateurs en 2016 de @IDEEV.

Ploidy-dependent modulation of DNA replication kinetics in Xenopus DNA replication in multicellular organisms follows a tightly regulated spatio-temporal program. Although the mechanisms underlying this replication program remain only partially understood, studies in...

We are pleased to share a new preprint on BioRxiv www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6....
@ijmonod.bsky.social.

We are recruting an assistant engineer for 18 months at LBBE (Lyon, France) in molecular biology of Drosophila. The project is to study the interactions between response to viral infections and control of transposable elements.
emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/CDD/U...

I am very happy (and a bit scared) to present to you what we have been working on over the last 4 years. This manuscript is exactly what I dreamt of when I started the lab and I could not be happier and prouder of the outcome!

✍️ The @sandraduharcourt.bsky.social Lab published a new article

📖 @natrevmcb.nature.com
📃 Programmed ‘DNA splicing’ removes transposons from genes
🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Programmed ‘DNA splicing’ removes transposons from genes Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology - A study that showed that programmed DNA elimination in somatic genomes of ciliates involves excision of intrusive, transposon-derived sequences from genes.

Happy to begin the year with the publication of a Journal Club article - Programmed ‘DNA splicing’ removes transposons from genes.
rdcu.be/eXBym

Happy new year and 3 more days to apply for Computational biology post doc position in my lab #Paris #transpoosns @inem-necker.bsky.social @institutimagine.bsky.social

Open Senior Bioinformatician position at
@sangerinstitute.bsky.social
Tree of Life, to work on the Biodiversity Cell Atlas initiative with @marakat.bsky.social and me.

📅 Apply by January 18
🔗 sanger.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Wellco...

Please share with anyone who might be interested!

Evolutionary cell biology comes of age Summary: This Perspective discusses how the discipline of evolutionary cell biology, by integrating evolutionary theory, comparative physiology and modern molecular approaches, works to understand how...

Thanks @jcellsci.bsky.social for this opportunity to contribute to your centenary collection with our take on the state of the field - 10 years after its modern reincarnation 🧪🌍

W/ @alebenoit.bsky.social @eelcotromer.bsky.social @fritzlaylin.bsky.social

journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...

Four days of great science, fun interactions, and breathtaking views at #EMBOevoChromo25 in San Feliu 🇪🇸
BIG THX to organizers @arnausebe.bsky.social @tobiaswarnecke.bsky.social & co @levine-lab.bsky.social @sandraduharcourt.bsky.social Nick Irwin 🙏👌

The 21st Course on Epigenetics which will take place from March 25th to April 1st, 2026 at the Institut Curie (Paris).
The Course is open to M2 and PhD students. Application via the Advanced Training Office website before December 15th, 2025 at:
minilien.curie.fr/3avv47

Thanks to everyone involved and to our funding agencies @fr-genomics.bsky.social @agencerecherche.bsky.social @frm-officiel.bsky.social
5/5

• These chromosome ends are eliminated during development by an unexpected mechanism, independent of the endonuclease previously thought to mediate all transposon elimination.
4/5

• Chromosome ends harbor a novel clade of Helitrons, with 9–10 kb transposase ORFs under purifying selection, that have remained active across all P. aurelia lineages.
3/5

Highlights:
•Chromosome-scale germline genome assemblies for 7 Paramecium aurelia species, including a telomere-to-telomere assembly for P. tetraurelia.

•Tiny (300kb–1.2Mb) and numerous (~160) germline chromosomes showing the highest recombination rate ever reported for a eukaryote (420 cM/Mb).
2/5

The tiny germline chromosomes of Paramecium aurelia have an exceptionally high recombination rate and are capped by a new class of Helitrons Background. Paramecia belong to the ciliate phylum of unicellular eukaryotes characterized by nuclear dimorphism. A diploid germline micronucleus (MIC) transmits genetic information across sexual gene...

Excited to share our new preprint on BioRxiv!
A collaborative effort spanning many years and several labs to uncover what the germline chromosomes of Paramecium really look like. 🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
1/5

📢 Institut Jacques Monod Seminar

📅 November 14th
📍 Institut Jacques Monod

Invited by @sandraduharcourt.bsky.social 's Lab, Cécile Courret will present the Institut Jacques Monod seminar « Rapid turnover of centromeric DNA reveals signatures of genetic conflict in Drosophila »

➡️ buff.ly/Wso6MPE

Chromatin profiling identifies putative dual roles for H3K27me3 in regulating cell type-specific genes and transposable elements in choanoflagellates Nature Communications - Here, the authors investigate chromatin-based gene regulation in the closest relative of animal, choanoflagellates. They uncover a putative dual role for the histone...

Very happy to see our paper published online natcomms.nature.com. Thank you to @wellcometrust.bsky.social for funding this work during my time with @robklose.bsky.social and David Booth! Thanks also to collaborators @garcialabms.bsky.social @alexdemendoza.bsky.social and the other authors!

#JobOffer

💼 Un poste susceptible d’être vacant de Professeur en stabilité des génomes devrait s’ouvrir pour la rentrée 2026 au sein de l’Institut Jacques Monod

➡️ Informations concernant ce poste et la procédure de candidature 🔗 www.ijm.fr/poste-de-pro...

Thanks to all the co-authors, and congrats to
@oliviacharmant.bsky.social and Caridad!
Thanks to @ijmonod.bsky.social
@agencerecherche.bsky.social @frm-officiel.bsky.social
#EURGENEPARIS @upcite.bsky.social for support.

The Tetrahymena Argonaute-Binding Protein Giw1p Directs a Mature Argonaute-siRNA Complex to the Nucleus Emerging evidence suggests that RNA interference (RNAi)-related processes act both in the cytoplasm and in the nucleus. However, the process by which the RNAi machinery is transported into the nucleus...

Bonus: The slicer activity of the small RNA-binding protein Ptiwi09 is required for the removal of the passenger strand, similarly to the Tetrahymena Twi1p
4/5
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Key findings:
• Small RNA dynamics during sexual events with unprecedented resolution
• A histone methyltransferase-independent function of PRC2 in the degradation of small RNAs
• The PRC2 cofactor Rf4 is required for the interaction between the small RNA-binding protein Ptiwi09 and Gtsf1
3/5

The PIWI-interacting protein Gtsf1 controls the selective degradation of small RNAs in Paramecium Abstract. Ciliates undergo developmentally programmed genome elimination, in which small RNAs direct the removal of transposable elements (TEs) during the

Following our previous work on the role of Gtsf1 in small RNA degradation, we explored the role of PRC2 in this process.
2/5
doi.org/10.1093/nar/...