Happy to share our manuscript on the in situ visualization of the copia retrotransposon in its final form today published in @cellcellpress.bsky.social www.cell.com/cell/fulltex.... What’s new?
March 5, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Happy to share our manuscript on the in situ visualization of the copia retrotransposon in its final form today published in @cellcellpress.bsky.social www.cell.com/cell/fulltex.... What’s new?
Centrophilic retrotransposon integration via CENH3 chromatin in Arabidopsis from Tetsuji Kakutani & colleagues - beautiful insights into control of transposon insertion into the centromeres
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Centrophilic retrotransposon integration via CENH3 chromatin in Arabidopsis - Nature
An Arabidopsis long terminal repeat retrotransposon integrates de novo into regions occupied by centromere-specific histone variant, showing the impact of centromeric chromatin on transposable element...
www.nature.com
January 2, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Centrophilic retrotransposon integration via CENH3 chromatin in Arabidopsis from Tetsuji Kakutani & colleagues - beautiful insights into control of transposon insertion into the centromeres
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Finally out! 🥳 Our paper showing how a transposable element (TE) insertion can cause developmental phenotypes is now published @natgenet.nature.com 🧬🦠🐁
Below is a brief description of the major findings. Check the full version of the paper for more details: www.nature.com/articles/s41588-025-02248-5
Below is a brief description of the major findings. Check the full version of the paper for more details: www.nature.com/articles/s41588-025-02248-5
Enhancer adoption by an LTR retrotransposon generates viral-like particles, causing developmental limb phenotypes - Nature Genetics
Activation of an LTR retrotransposon inserted upstream of the Fgf8 gene produces viral-like particles in the mouse developing limb, triggering apoptosis and causing limb malformation. This phenotype c...
www.nature.com
July 9, 2025 at 10:05 AM
Finally out! 🥳 Our paper showing how a transposable element (TE) insertion can cause developmental phenotypes is now published @natgenet.nature.com 🧬🦠🐁
Below is a brief description of the major findings. Check the full version of the paper for more details: www.nature.com/articles/s41588-025-02248-5
Below is a brief description of the major findings. Check the full version of the paper for more details: www.nature.com/articles/s41588-025-02248-5
#TEsky The analysis of minor taxa highlights the role of the environment and phylogeny in the distribution of the LTR-retrotransposon Copia clades doi.org/10.1038/s414...
The analysis of minor taxa highlights the role of the environment and phylogeny in the distribution of the LTR-retrotransposon Copia clades - Heredity
Heredity - The analysis of minor taxa highlights the role of the environment and phylogeny in the distribution of the LTR-retrotransposon Copia clades
doi.org
September 30, 2026 at 2:12 PM
#TEsky The analysis of minor taxa highlights the role of the environment and phylogeny in the distribution of the LTR-retrotransposon Copia clades doi.org/10.1038/s414...
Nature research paper: Reprogramming site-specific retrotransposon activity to new DNA sites
https://go.nature.com/42lKio4
https://go.nature.com/42lKio4
Reprogramming site-specific retrotransposon activity to new DNA sites - Nature
A study of retrotransposon activity repurposes a retroelement called R2Tocc to create a programmable system called STITCHR that enables diverse genome edits including efficient, scarless large payload insertions.
go.nature.com
April 14, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Nature research paper: Reprogramming site-specific retrotransposon activity to new DNA sites
https://go.nature.com/42lKio4
https://go.nature.com/42lKio4
Is it a virus, or a retrotransposon? Amazing story how an endogenous retrotransposon uses a small, FAST-like protein to cause soma-to-oocyte transfer in Drosophila.
Kudos to @mayavoichek.bsky.social, Kirsten Senti, @juliusbrennecke.bsky.social plus the entire team for this exciting discovery!
Kudos to @mayavoichek.bsky.social, Kirsten Senti, @juliusbrennecke.bsky.social plus the entire team for this exciting discovery!
Super excited to share my postdoctoral work at @imbavienna.bsky.social @viennabiocenter.bsky.social -
We discovered that some retrotransposons, or "jumping genes" 🧬, are able to spread from cell to cell via a new viral infectivity route.
A short thread: 🧵👇 (1/7)
We discovered that some retrotransposons, or "jumping genes" 🧬, are able to spread from cell to cell via a new viral infectivity route.
A short thread: 🧵👇 (1/7)
September 24, 2026 at 6:37 PM
Is it a virus, or a retrotransposon? Amazing story how an endogenous retrotransposon uses a small, FAST-like protein to cause soma-to-oocyte transfer in Drosophila.
Kudos to @mayavoichek.bsky.social, Kirsten Senti, @juliusbrennecke.bsky.social plus the entire team for this exciting discovery!
Kudos to @mayavoichek.bsky.social, Kirsten Senti, @juliusbrennecke.bsky.social plus the entire team for this exciting discovery!
🎉ONLINE @natgenet.nature.com
📰Enhancer adoption by an LTR retrotransposon generates viral-like particles, causing developmental limb phenotypes.
By @julianeg.bsky.social, Giulia Cova, Stefan Mundlos and colleagues.
⬇️
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
📰Enhancer adoption by an LTR retrotransposon generates viral-like particles, causing developmental limb phenotypes.
By @julianeg.bsky.social, Giulia Cova, Stefan Mundlos and colleagues.
⬇️
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Enhancer adoption by an LTR retrotransposon generates viral-like particles, causing developmental limb phenotypes - Nature Genetics
Activation of an LTR retrotransposon inserted upstream of the Fgf8 gene produces viral-like particles in the mouse developing limb, triggering apoptosis and causing limb malformation. This phenotype c...
www.nature.com
July 10, 2025 at 12:05 PM
🎉ONLINE @natgenet.nature.com
📰Enhancer adoption by an LTR retrotransposon generates viral-like particles, causing developmental limb phenotypes.
By @julianeg.bsky.social, Giulia Cova, Stefan Mundlos and colleagues.
⬇️
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
📰Enhancer adoption by an LTR retrotransposon generates viral-like particles, causing developmental limb phenotypes.
By @julianeg.bsky.social, Giulia Cova, Stefan Mundlos and colleagues.
⬇️
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The HuSH complex silences retrotransposable elements. We identify HuSH2, centered on TASOR2, targeting KRAB-ZNFs and interferon genes, balancing retrotransposon silencing and immune regulation. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 3, 2024 at 3:20 PM
The HuSH complex silences retrotransposable elements. We identify HuSH2, centered on TASOR2, targeting KRAB-ZNFs and interferon genes, balancing retrotransposon silencing and immune regulation. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
This new mechanism of retrotransposon invasion will be a landmark finding in retrotransposon biology
Very creative and thorough genetic and mechanistic dissection.
Excited to see what studies of more transposon-encoded peptides and proteins like sORF2 will uncover!
biology is just really cool
Very creative and thorough genetic and mechanistic dissection.
Excited to see what studies of more transposon-encoded peptides and proteins like sORF2 will uncover!
biology is just really cool
1/ Transposable elements are often called "jumping genes" because they mobilize within genomes. 🧬
But did you know they can also jump 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 cells? 🤯
Our new study reveals how retrotransposons invade the germline directly from somatic cells.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A short thread 🧵👇
But did you know they can also jump 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 cells? 🤯
Our new study reveals how retrotransposons invade the germline directly from somatic cells.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A short thread 🧵👇
March 17, 2025 at 8:42 PM
This new mechanism of retrotransposon invasion will be a landmark finding in retrotransposon biology
Very creative and thorough genetic and mechanistic dissection.
Excited to see what studies of more transposon-encoded peptides and proteins like sORF2 will uncover!
biology is just really cool
Very creative and thorough genetic and mechanistic dissection.
Excited to see what studies of more transposon-encoded peptides and proteins like sORF2 will uncover!
biology is just really cool
Fantastic #TeamTomo story on retrotransposon particles by @svenklumpe.bsky.social and friends. Take a look! 🧪🧶🧬
Happy to share our manuscript on the in situ visualization of the copia retrotransposon in its final form today published in @cellcellpress.bsky.social www.cell.com/cell/fulltex.... What’s new?
March 6, 2025 at 1:23 AM
Fantastic #TeamTomo story on retrotransposon particles by @svenklumpe.bsky.social and friends. Take a look! 🧪🧶🧬
This is extremely cool and makes scientific sense. Anti-retrotransposon editing as precursor to mechanism for antibody diversification
Now online! Co-option of retrotransposons promotes antibody diversification
Co-option of retrotransposons promotes antibody diversification
A longstanding mystery in antibody diversification is how AID specifically targets immunoglobulin V genes. Ancient LINE-1 retrotransposons embedded within the immunoglobulin locus provide a recruitment platform for the HUSH complex and AID to drive somatic hypermutation.
dlvr.it
August 3, 2026 at 3:08 PM
This is extremely cool and makes scientific sense. Anti-retrotransposon editing as precursor to mechanism for antibody diversification
First wow paper of 2025! A single amino acid substitution in integrase of Arabidopsis retrotransposons (largely) govern their affinity for centromeres! Beautiful work.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Centrophilic retrotransposon integration via CENH3 chromatin in Arabidopsis - Nature
An Arabidopsis long terminal repeat retrotransposon integrates de novo into regions occupied by centromere-specific histone variant, showing the impact of centromeric chromatin on transposable element...
www.nature.com
January 2, 2025 at 1:19 PM
First wow paper of 2025! A single amino acid substitution in integrase of Arabidopsis retrotransposons (largely) govern their affinity for centromeres! Beautiful work.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The gene editing tool STITCHR contains an R2 retrotransposon fused to a CRISPR–Cas9 nickase to install diverse edits, including multi-kilobase insertions, in vitro. www.nature.com/articles/s41... #NBTHighlight
Reprogramming site-specific retrotransposon activity to new DNA sites - Nature
A study of retrotransposon activity repurposes a retroelement called R2Tocc to create a programmable system called STITCHR that enables diverse genome edits including efficient, scarless large pa...
www.nature.com
April 14, 2025 at 9:01 AM
The gene editing tool STITCHR contains an R2 retrotransposon fused to a CRISPR–Cas9 nickase to install diverse edits, including multi-kilobase insertions, in vitro. www.nature.com/articles/s41... #NBTHighlight
Targeted DNA insertion remains a major bottleneck in plant engineering. We developed an avian R2 retrotransposon as an efficient plant genome editor to precisely insert large DNA payloads at targeted sites:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Congratulations to @kimuchenje03.bsky.social and the team! 🧵👇
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Congratulations to @kimuchenje03.bsky.social and the team! 🧵👇
June 19, 2026 at 7:06 PM
Targeted DNA insertion remains a major bottleneck in plant engineering. We developed an avian R2 retrotransposon as an efficient plant genome editor to precisely insert large DNA payloads at targeted sites:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Congratulations to @kimuchenje03.bsky.social and the team! 🧵👇
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Congratulations to @kimuchenje03.bsky.social and the team! 🧵👇
New Bergman Lab paper now online at GBE: "Horizontal transfer and recombination fuel Ty4 retrotransposon evolution in Saccharomyces"
Horizontal transfer and recombination fuel Ty4 retrotransposon evolution in Saccharomyces
Abstract. Horizontal transposon transfer (HTT) plays an important role in the evolution of eukaryotic genomes, however the detailed evolutionary history an
academic.oup.com
January 10, 2025 at 2:33 PM
New Bergman Lab paper now online at GBE: "Horizontal transfer and recombination fuel Ty4 retrotransposon evolution in Saccharomyces"
As you point out, the extra cool plot twist in their case that the enhancer + ncRNA promoter are derived from an LTR retrotransposon...
September 30, 2026 at 9:11 PM
As you point out, the extra cool plot twist in their case that the enhancer + ncRNA promoter are derived from an LTR retrotransposon...
Check out our latest pre-print: we show that the LINE-1 retrotransposon is a potent source of chromosomal rearrangements and instability in addition to insertional mutagenesis using shotgun and long-read WGS.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Chromosomal rearrangements and instability caused by the LINE-1 retrotransposon
www.biorxiv.org
December 19, 2024 at 9:47 PM
Check out our latest pre-print: we show that the LINE-1 retrotransposon is a potent source of chromosomal rearrangements and instability in addition to insertional mutagenesis using shotgun and long-read WGS.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reprogramming site-specific retrotransposon activity to new DNA sites @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
April 9, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Reprogramming site-specific retrotransposon activity to new DNA sites @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Very pretty! Coincidentally @plosbiology.org has the structure of this retrotransposon in our cover this month, as it was so nice.
The Copia gag protein forms virus-like capsids that transfer its RNA across the Drosophila neuromuscular junction to regulate synapse formation. plos.io/3X71IDa 🧪
The Copia gag protein forms virus-like capsids that transfer its RNA across the Drosophila neuromuscular junction to regulate synapse formation. plos.io/3X71IDa 🧪
March 5, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Very pretty! Coincidentally @plosbiology.org has the structure of this retrotransposon in our cover this month, as it was so nice.
The Copia gag protein forms virus-like capsids that transfer its RNA across the Drosophila neuromuscular junction to regulate synapse formation. plos.io/3X71IDa 🧪
The Copia gag protein forms virus-like capsids that transfer its RNA across the Drosophila neuromuscular junction to regulate synapse formation. plos.io/3X71IDa 🧪
🤯 cryo-ET of copia viral-like particles lurking at the nuclear pore of intact Drosophila eggs!
Amazing work by @svenklumpe.bsky.social & more cool findings in this collaborative paper illuminating the replication cycle of an iconic retrotransposon!
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Amazing work by @svenklumpe.bsky.social & more cool findings in this collaborative paper illuminating the replication cycle of an iconic retrotransposon!
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
March 17, 2025 at 2:25 PM
🤯 cryo-ET of copia viral-like particles lurking at the nuclear pore of intact Drosophila eggs!
Amazing work by @svenklumpe.bsky.social & more cool findings in this collaborative paper illuminating the replication cycle of an iconic retrotransposon!
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Amazing work by @svenklumpe.bsky.social & more cool findings in this collaborative paper illuminating the replication cycle of an iconic retrotransposon!
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
This has to be one of the coolest papers of the year: retrotransposon VLPs, visualized inside cells!
#TeamTomo #CryoET
#TeamTomo #CryoET
Happy to share our manuscript on the in situ visualization of the copia retrotransposon in its final form today published in @cellcellpress.bsky.social www.cell.com/cell/fulltex.... What’s new?
March 5, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Awesome paper from Kathy Collins' lab
Different repair pathways support intact or truncated insertions by R2 retrotransposon protein | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Different repair pathways support intact or truncated insertions by R2 retrotransposon protein | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Different repair pathways support intact or truncated insertions by R2 retrotransposon protein
Non-LTR retrotransposon proteins copy their RNA template into a genome via coordinated nicking and reverse transcriptase activities of target-primed reverse transcription. Mechanisms by which the firs...
www.science.org
November 13, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Awesome paper from Kathy Collins' lab
Different repair pathways support intact or truncated insertions by R2 retrotransposon protein | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Different repair pathways support intact or truncated insertions by R2 retrotransposon protein | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
New Study Links Retrotransposon Protein to Brain Aging and Neuroinflammation
www.thailandmedical.news/news/new-stu...
www.thailandmedical.news/news/new-stu...
New Study Links Retrotransposon Protein to Brain Aging and Neuroinflammation - Thailand Medical News
www.thailandmedical.news
May 5, 2025 at 5:32 AM
New Study Links Retrotransposon Protein to Brain Aging and Neuroinflammation
www.thailandmedical.news/news/new-stu...
www.thailandmedical.news/news/new-stu...
Centrophilic retrotransposon integration via CENH3 chromatin in Arabidopsis www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Centrophilic retrotransposon integration via CENH3 chromatin in Arabidopsis - Nature
An Arabidopsis long terminal repeat retrotransposon integrates de novo into regions occupied by centromere-specific histone variant, showing the impact of centromeric chromatin on transposable element...
www.nature.com
January 2, 2025 at 8:34 AM
Centrophilic retrotransposon integration via CENH3 chromatin in Arabidopsis www.nature.com/articles/s41...
🌱 From The Plant Journal: Lettuce variegation is driven by methylation shifts in a retrotransposon and stabilized by an (AT)₅ repeat in a MYB gene promoter. (Dean Lavelle, Richard W. Michelmore)
▶️ onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
#epigenetics #plantgenetics #plantscience
▶️ onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
#epigenetics #plantgenetics #plantscience
Differential methylation of a retrotransposon upstream of a MYB gene causes variegation of lettuce leaves, which is abolished by the presence of an (AT)5 repeat in the promoter
Variegation is a common feature in plants and provides a significant opportunity for understanding genetic, developmental, and physiological processes. We identified a retrotransposon insertion withi...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
June 6, 2025 at 4:44 PM
🌱 From The Plant Journal: Lettuce variegation is driven by methylation shifts in a retrotransposon and stabilized by an (AT)₅ repeat in a MYB gene promoter. (Dean Lavelle, Richard W. Michelmore)
▶️ onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
#epigenetics #plantgenetics #plantscience
▶️ onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
#epigenetics #plantgenetics #plantscience