Changwei YU
@changweiyu.bsky.social
Postdoc in the Brennecke lab @IMBA, Vienna | Alumni: PhD @igbmc @unistra | enthusiast of transcription, chromatin, germline/early development, and transposon biology
Pinned
Changwei YU
@changweiyu.bsky.social
· Dec 22
Intrigued by a long-standing conundrum in small RNA biology—how nuclear Argonaute proteins silence transposons when they *need* target transcription for their own recruitment—we studied the piRNA pathway.
And found a hidden RNA-decay axis from Piwi to the RNA exosome.
And found a hidden RNA-decay axis from Piwi to the RNA exosome.
RNA decay via the nuclear exosome is essential for piwi-mediated transposon silencing https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.16.694471v1
Very happy to share my postdoc work (on preprint), where we try to understand a long-standing transcription-silencing paradox, and uncovered a hidden RNA decay arm of nuclear piRNA pathway, see detailed threads quoted from @juliusbrennecke.bsky.social
Reposted by Changwei YU
Happy to share our new preprint on the structure of the human mitochondrial RNA degradosome, a central player in organellar RNA metabolism!
Work led by graduate student @paulafprado.bsky.social in our group.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🧵 1/9
Work led by graduate student @paulafprado.bsky.social in our group.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🧵 1/9
September 11, 2026 at 10:06 PM
Happy to share our new preprint on the structure of the human mitochondrial RNA degradosome, a central player in organellar RNA metabolism!
Work led by graduate student @paulafprado.bsky.social in our group.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🧵 1/9
Work led by graduate student @paulafprado.bsky.social in our group.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🧵 1/9
Reposted by Changwei YU
Very excited to share our new preprint: “A pseudohelicase-centered complex couples assembly-dependent RNA cleavage to poly(UG)ylation”! 🎉 Want to know more? 🧵👇 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
September 8, 2026 at 8:25 PM
Very excited to share our new preprint: “A pseudohelicase-centered complex couples assembly-dependent RNA cleavage to poly(UG)ylation”! 🎉 Want to know more? 🧵👇 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Changwei YU
New online! The mechanistic and evolutionary diversity of programmed DNA elimination
The mechanistic and evolutionary diversity of programmed DNA elimination
Nature Reviews Genetics, Published online: 08 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41576-026-01004-7Programmed DNA elimination is a developmentally regulated process in which specific DNA sequences are reproducibly removed from particular cell lineages. Here, the authors review the mechanistic diversity and evolutionary dynamics of DNA elimination, spanning chromosome breakage, whole-chromosome elimination and whole-genome elimination.
dlvr.it
September 8, 2026 at 12:07 PM
New online! The mechanistic and evolutionary diversity of programmed DNA elimination
Reposted by Changwei YU
Big review by Xizi Chen & Yanhui Xu in @natrevmcb.nature.com
The molecular basis of transcription initiation by RNA polymerase II
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The molecular basis of transcription initiation by RNA polymerase II
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The molecular basis of transcription initiation by RNA polymerase II - Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology
Recent technological breakthroughs have transformed our understanding of how transcription initiation in eukaryotes is regulated. This Review discusses the dynamics and roles of initiation-relevant pr...
www.nature.com
September 6, 2026 at 8:22 AM
Big review by Xizi Chen & Yanhui Xu in @natrevmcb.nature.com
The molecular basis of transcription initiation by RNA polymerase II
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The molecular basis of transcription initiation by RNA polymerase II
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Changwei YU
2. call for a postdoc position with Torben Heick Jensen, Aarhus University, Denmark. Get in touch for further information or simply apply using this link:
www.au.dk/om/stillinge...
www.au.dk/om/stillinge...
Postdoc position in Nuclear RNA Biology - Ledig stilling på Aarhus Universitet
Ledig stilling ved Institut for Molekylærbiologi og Genetik - RNA-biologi og -innovation, Aarhus Universitet
www.au.dk
September 5, 2026 at 7:42 AM
2. call for a postdoc position with Torben Heick Jensen, Aarhus University, Denmark. Get in touch for further information or simply apply using this link:
www.au.dk/om/stillinge...
www.au.dk/om/stillinge...
Reposted by Changwei YU
We watched piRNAs and transposons across development, saw them dance tightly and wrote a paper about it.
It's so cool to see it online and we will make a thread about it all very soon. Stay tuned :-)
It's so cool to see it online and we will make a thread about it all very soon. Stay tuned :-)
A developmental switch in the piRNA pathway ensures stage-specific transposon silencing https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.28.747770v1
August 29, 2026 at 5:09 PM
We watched piRNAs and transposons across development, saw them dance tightly and wrote a paper about it.
It's so cool to see it online and we will make a thread about it all very soon. Stay tuned :-)
It's so cool to see it online and we will make a thread about it all very soon. Stay tuned :-)
Reposted by Changwei YU
Really fascinating talk today at #EMBLTranscript from Bienko lab! THE INTROSOMES!
Today’s session recurring question: do regulatory functions emerge from the act of transcription, or from the RNA product itself?
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Today’s session recurring question: do regulatory functions emerge from the act of transcription, or from the RNA product itself?
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Chromatin-associated intronic RNAs from long genes form introsomes that shape nuclear architecture in neuronal cells
Cell differentiation towards neurons is accompanied by widespread changes in three-dimensional (3D) genome organization and gene expression. Chromatin-associated RNAs have been proposed to be importan...
www.biorxiv.org
August 27, 2026 at 1:31 PM
Really fascinating talk today at #EMBLTranscript from Bienko lab! THE INTROSOMES!
Today’s session recurring question: do regulatory functions emerge from the act of transcription, or from the RNA product itself?
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Today’s session recurring question: do regulatory functions emerge from the act of transcription, or from the RNA product itself?
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Changwei YU
🎉 Our first paper from the Querques lab is out!
We uncover the molecular checkpoints controlling cut-and-paste transposition by CRISPR-associated transposons.
Congrats to Mateusz & the whole team! 🧬
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@univie.ac.at
@meduniwien.ac.at
We uncover the molecular checkpoints controlling cut-and-paste transposition by CRISPR-associated transposons.
Congrats to Mateusz & the whole team! 🧬
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@univie.ac.at
@meduniwien.ac.at
August 25, 2026 at 5:17 PM
🎉 Our first paper from the Querques lab is out!
We uncover the molecular checkpoints controlling cut-and-paste transposition by CRISPR-associated transposons.
Congrats to Mateusz & the whole team! 🧬
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@univie.ac.at
@meduniwien.ac.at
We uncover the molecular checkpoints controlling cut-and-paste transposition by CRISPR-associated transposons.
Congrats to Mateusz & the whole team! 🧬
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@univie.ac.at
@meduniwien.ac.at
Reposted by Changwei YU
Thrilled to share that our paper describing protein-dependent frameshifting is now out in Molecular Cell @cellpress.bsky.social. Huge congratulations to @jemmabetts.bsky.social for publishing the first research paper from her PhD 🧬🧪🥳
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
1/8
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
1/8
A protein-dependent riboswitch activates ribosomal frameshifting in cardioviruses
Programmed −1 ribosomal frameshifting (PRF) is a translational control mechanism used by RNA viruses to regulate the relative abundance of proteins en…
www.sciencedirect.com
August 24, 2026 at 11:52 AM
Thrilled to share that our paper describing protein-dependent frameshifting is now out in Molecular Cell @cellpress.bsky.social. Huge congratulations to @jemmabetts.bsky.social for publishing the first research paper from her PhD 🧬🧪🥳
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
1/8
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
1/8
Reposted by Changwei YU
New review by @tlaszlo.bsky.social and colleagues:
Step-brothers in arms, SAGA and ATAC co-activator complexes, use different strategies
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Step-brothers in arms, SAGA and ATAC co-activator complexes, use different strategies
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
August 14, 2026 at 4:21 PM
New review by @tlaszlo.bsky.social and colleagues:
Step-brothers in arms, SAGA and ATAC co-activator complexes, use different strategies
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Step-brothers in arms, SAGA and ATAC co-activator complexes, use different strategies
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Changwei YU
I’m thrilled to share that our search for a tenure-track colleague in my *truly wonderful and collegial* Genetics, Genomics, Evolution and Development Division in the MCB Department at Berkeley @berkeleymcb.bsky.social is live! Please share this broad search widely: aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF05481
Assistant Professor -Genetics, Genomics, Evolution, and Development - Molecular and Cell Biology
University of California, Berkeley is hiring. Apply now!
aprecruit.berkeley.edu
August 6, 2026 at 6:06 PM
I’m thrilled to share that our search for a tenure-track colleague in my *truly wonderful and collegial* Genetics, Genomics, Evolution and Development Division in the MCB Department at Berkeley @berkeleymcb.bsky.social is live! Please share this broad search widely: aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF05481
Reposted by Changwei YU
PLEASE SHARE! New job openings in my lab @zmbp-tuebingen.bsky.social. We have a broad interest into the mechanistic basis of how molecular complexes are rewired during cellular development in plants and during invasion by pathogens.
🌱🍄🔬
See details below 👇
#PlantSciJobs
🌱🍄🔬
See details below 👇
#PlantSciJobs
August 5, 2026 at 8:15 AM
PLEASE SHARE! New job openings in my lab @zmbp-tuebingen.bsky.social. We have a broad interest into the mechanistic basis of how molecular complexes are rewired during cellular development in plants and during invasion by pathogens.
🌱🍄🔬
See details below 👇
#PlantSciJobs
🌱🍄🔬
See details below 👇
#PlantSciJobs
Reposted by Changwei YU
Interesting.
Full deletion of all introns in yeast was actually my project in the Staley lab, *20 years ago*. I actually found a bunch of phenotypes. We did this in collaboration with the Guthrie lab.
www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...
Full deletion of all introns in yeast was actually my project in the Staley lab, *20 years ago*. I actually found a bunch of phenotypes. We did this in collaboration with the Guthrie lab.
www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...
A spliceosome-independent eukaryote generated by complete intron removal
Elimination of all spliceosomal introns reveals a spliceosome-independent eukaryote.
www.cell.com
July 15, 2026 at 4:28 PM
Interesting.
Full deletion of all introns in yeast was actually my project in the Staley lab, *20 years ago*. I actually found a bunch of phenotypes. We did this in collaboration with the Guthrie lab.
www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...
Full deletion of all introns in yeast was actually my project in the Staley lab, *20 years ago*. I actually found a bunch of phenotypes. We did this in collaboration with the Guthrie lab.
www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...
Reposted by Changwei YU
Big conferences are impressive. But how often do you actually meet someone there? 🤔
The Epigenetics Meeting was created differently. We have a great line-up of speakers with exciting research topics, ample time for discussion, and very familiar setting.
Join us now: events.ie-freiburg.mpg.de
The Epigenetics Meeting was created differently. We have a great line-up of speakers with exciting research topics, ample time for discussion, and very familiar setting.
Join us now: events.ie-freiburg.mpg.de
July 13, 2026 at 7:51 AM
Reposted by Changwei YU
Introns have a hidden regulatory role! 🧬🎉
Delighted to share our latest paper showing that inefficiently spliced introns and spliceosomal proteins direct RNA methylation, engaging RNAi to silence retrotransposons and regulate gene expression
nature.com/articles/s41...
Delighted to share our latest paper showing that inefficiently spliced introns and spliceosomal proteins direct RNA methylation, engaging RNAi to silence retrotransposons and regulate gene expression
nature.com/articles/s41...
July 8, 2026 at 4:17 PM
Introns have a hidden regulatory role! 🧬🎉
Delighted to share our latest paper showing that inefficiently spliced introns and spliceosomal proteins direct RNA methylation, engaging RNAi to silence retrotransposons and regulate gene expression
nature.com/articles/s41...
Delighted to share our latest paper showing that inefficiently spliced introns and spliceosomal proteins direct RNA methylation, engaging RNAi to silence retrotransposons and regulate gene expression
nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Changwei YU
www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
I'm happy to see our work published! If you are interested in transposons, transcriptional regulation and Pol III come and check it out 👀 🧫 🧬
I'm happy to see our work published! If you are interested in transposons, transcriptional regulation and Pol III come and check it out 👀 🧫 🧬
ChAHP silences SINE retrotransposons by inhibiting TFIIIB recruitment
SINEs are short transposable elements that make up large fractions of mammalian genomes.
Known to be transcribed by RNA polymerase III, their regulation has remained largely
unexplored. Schnabl-Baumga...
www.cell.com
July 7, 2026 at 3:06 PM
www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
I'm happy to see our work published! If you are interested in transposons, transcriptional regulation and Pol III come and check it out 👀 🧫 🧬
I'm happy to see our work published! If you are interested in transposons, transcriptional regulation and Pol III come and check it out 👀 🧫 🧬
Reposted by Changwei YU
RNA can build. A short RNA self-assembles into a 60-subunit icosahedral cage like a viral capsid, but made entirely of RNA. The striking preprint also reveals a 57-nt RNA filament at ~2.7 Å. Congratulations, Lin Huang and colleagues!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
July 4, 2026 at 4:13 AM
RNA can build. A short RNA self-assembles into a 60-subunit icosahedral cage like a viral capsid, but made entirely of RNA. The striking preprint also reveals a 57-nt RNA filament at ~2.7 Å. Congratulations, Lin Huang and colleagues!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Changwei YU
Excited to share our new preprint led by Fred and me in collaboration with the archaeal community! We found that the molecular foundation of histone-based chromatin has pre-eukaryotic roots in Asgard archaea. (1/4)
#ArchaeaSky
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
#ArchaeaSky
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Emergence of histone-based chromatin complexity in Asgard archaea
The emergence of the eukaryotes coincided with the diversification of histone proteins and their post-translational modifications by enzymes that constitute the core of eukaryotic chromatin. Yet the e...
www.biorxiv.org
July 4, 2026 at 4:22 AM
Excited to share our new preprint led by Fred and me in collaboration with the archaeal community! We found that the molecular foundation of histone-based chromatin has pre-eukaryotic roots in Asgard archaea. (1/4)
#ArchaeaSky
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
#ArchaeaSky
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Changwei YU
I am thrilled to share our paper out in
@cp-cell.bsky.social : "Systematic Discovery of Pathogen Effector Functions across Human Pathogens and Pathways." (1/4)
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
@cp-cell.bsky.social : "Systematic Discovery of Pathogen Effector Functions across Human Pathogens and Pathways." (1/4)
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Systematic discovery of pathogen effector functions across human pathogens and pathways
The eORFeome, a large-scale collection of open reading frames encoding viral proteins
and secreted bacterial and parasite effectors, enables functional genomics across
diverse pathways and pathogens. ...
www.cell.com
June 30, 2026 at 4:06 PM
I am thrilled to share our paper out in
@cp-cell.bsky.social : "Systematic Discovery of Pathogen Effector Functions across Human Pathogens and Pathways." (1/4)
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
@cp-cell.bsky.social : "Systematic Discovery of Pathogen Effector Functions across Human Pathogens and Pathways." (1/4)
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Reposted by Changwei YU
🆕 publication! How do cells build their molecular machines? Tsimafei Navalayeu (Ameres lab) in @embojournal.org maps the stepwise assembly of the RNA exosome in mammalian cells, revealing the quality control mechanisms that ensure this essential complex is built correctly ➡️ tinyurl.com/84c2298e
June 26, 2026 at 5:58 AM
🆕 publication! How do cells build their molecular machines? Tsimafei Navalayeu (Ameres lab) in @embojournal.org maps the stepwise assembly of the RNA exosome in mammalian cells, revealing the quality control mechanisms that ensure this essential complex is built correctly ➡️ tinyurl.com/84c2298e
Reposted by Changwei YU
Online Now: Longitudinal monitoring of cytoplasmic RBP-RNA interactions and transcriptome in living cells by engineered protein nanocages Online now:
Longitudinal monitoring of cytoplasmic RBP-RNA interactions and transcriptome in living cells by engineered protein nanocages
Hu et al. develop POND-seq, a nanocage-based strategy that exports RNA information from living cells without disruption. This approach enables repeated sampling of the same cell population to track transcriptome and RNA-protein interactions over time and supports scalable analysis of RNA-binding protein variants.
dlvr.it
June 25, 2026 at 3:19 PM
Online Now: Longitudinal monitoring of cytoplasmic RBP-RNA interactions and transcriptome in living cells by engineered protein nanocages Online now:
Reposted by Changwei YU
The labs of Julius Brennecke and Clemens Plaschka reveal a molecular decision point that determines whether RNA molecules are exported for use or targeted for destruction. Now published in Nature: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
June 17, 2026 at 4:10 PM
The labs of Julius Brennecke and Clemens Plaschka reveal a molecular decision point that determines whether RNA molecules are exported for use or targeted for destruction. Now published in Nature: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Changwei YU
a small attempt to capture this enormous loss and what Greg meant and means to so many.
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Gregory J. Hannon (1964–2026)
Gregory J. Hannon passed away in April 2026 at the age of 61. A towering figure in
modern molecular biology, Greg influenced remarkably diverse areas of science. His
work reshaped our understanding of...
www.cell.com
June 13, 2026 at 7:58 AM
a small attempt to capture this enormous loss and what Greg meant and means to so many.
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Reposted by Changwei YU
📣 POSTDOC position available in the Feschotte Lab at Cornell to work on #TRANSPOSONS! More details below. Pls send informal application or inquiry ASAP by DM or email to cf458_at_cornell.edu.
Pls spread the word 🙏 #TEsky
www.thefeschottelabatcornell.com
Pls spread the word 🙏 #TEsky
www.thefeschottelabatcornell.com
The Feschotte Lab at Cornell
www.thefeschottelabatcornell.com
May 29, 2026 at 4:30 PM
📣 POSTDOC position available in the Feschotte Lab at Cornell to work on #TRANSPOSONS! More details below. Pls send informal application or inquiry ASAP by DM or email to cf458_at_cornell.edu.
Pls spread the word 🙏 #TEsky
www.thefeschottelabatcornell.com
Pls spread the word 🙏 #TEsky
www.thefeschottelabatcornell.com
Reposted by Changwei YU
We're happy to announce our new preprint! 🐸 easymode: general pretrained networks for cellular cryo-ET. Segment ~20 cellular features – ribosomes, microtubules, mitochondria, nuclei & more – with zero model training. 🔗 doi.org/10.64898/202... 🧵👇
May 27, 2026 at 10:14 AM
We're happy to announce our new preprint! 🐸 easymode: general pretrained networks for cellular cryo-ET. Segment ~20 cellular features – ribosomes, microtubules, mitochondria, nuclei & more – with zero model training. 🔗 doi.org/10.64898/202... 🧵👇