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...
(1/7) Very excited to share my first PhD preprint on the interactions of two of my favorite mobile genetic elements: phages and group II introns!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Prevalence of Group II Introns in Phage Genomes
Although bacteriophage genomes are under strong selective pressure for high coding density, they are still frequently invaded by mobile genetic elements (MGEs). Group II introns are MGEs that reduce h...
www.biorxiv.org
May 24, 2025 at 7:20 PM
(1/7) Very excited to share my first PhD preprint on the interactions of two of my favorite mobile genetic elements: phages and group II introns!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Check out our latest paper on mirusviruses, one of the most remarkable new groups of protist viruses - extremely diverse, carry lots of spliceosomal introns (including new homing introns) and are at the evolutionary crossroads between tailed phages and herpesviruses! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Widespread and intron-rich mirusviruses are predicted to reproduce in nuclei of unicellular eukaryotes - Nature Microbiology
Environmental metagenomic explorations show that Mirusviricota lineages lack essential replication and transcription genes and contain spliceosomal introns, suggesting nuclear reproduction.
www.nature.com
November 28, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Check out our latest paper on mirusviruses, one of the most remarkable new groups of protist viruses - extremely diverse, carry lots of spliceosomal introns (including new homing introns) and are at the evolutionary crossroads between tailed phages and herpesviruses! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Transposable elements are a major driver of intron gain in eukaryotes, and are capable of transmission between diverse species #HGT #evolution - www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Horizontal transmission of functionally diverse transposons is a major source of new introns | PNAS
Since the discovery of spliceosomal introns in eukaryotic genomes, the proximate molecular
and evolutionary processes that generate new introns hav...
www.pnas.org
May 26, 2025 at 5:03 AM
Transposable elements are a major driver of intron gain in eukaryotes, and are capable of transmission between diverse species #HGT #evolution - www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
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...
I’m thrilled to share that my PhD work has been just published in Cell. After a long and bumpy ride, we uncovered the core function of nuclear speckles -splicing of GC-levelled exons- and traced the evolution of this gene architecture and condensates themselves to amniotes.
February 25, 2026 at 4:53 PM
I’m thrilled to share that my PhD work has been just published in Cell. After a long and bumpy ride, we uncovered the core function of nuclear speckles -splicing of GC-levelled exons- and traced the evolution of this gene architecture and condensates themselves to amniotes.
country roads 🎵
spliceosome 🎵
removing all, my introns 🎵
spliceosome 🎵
removing all, my introns 🎵
April 14, 2024 at 3:39 PM
country roads 🎵
spliceosome 🎵
removing all, my introns 🎵
spliceosome 🎵
removing all, my introns 🎵
Bluesky Klasse aufgepasst 🧐☝️
Es wird mal wieder Zeit für ein bisschen Molekularbiologie. Heute mit dem Thema "Splicing" 🧑🔬 🧬
Teil 1: Exons und Introns 🧵 1/7
Es wird mal wieder Zeit für ein bisschen Molekularbiologie. Heute mit dem Thema "Splicing" 🧑🔬 🧬
Teil 1: Exons und Introns 🧵 1/7
April 4, 2024 at 4:58 PM
Bluesky Klasse aufgepasst 🧐☝️
Es wird mal wieder Zeit für ein bisschen Molekularbiologie. Heute mit dem Thema "Splicing" 🧑🔬 🧬
Teil 1: Exons und Introns 🧵 1/7
Es wird mal wieder Zeit für ein bisschen Molekularbiologie. Heute mit dem Thema "Splicing" 🧑🔬 🧬
Teil 1: Exons und Introns 🧵 1/7
🔬Decoding Silencing: How Heterochromatin Transcribes to Silence Itself!
🧬 Discover how a pioneer transcription factor-like complex infiltrates repressive heterochromatin, producing transcripts with hidden introns that kickstart RNAi-mediated heterochromatin formation www.nature.com/articles/s41...
🧬 Discover how a pioneer transcription factor-like complex infiltrates repressive heterochromatin, producing transcripts with hidden introns that kickstart RNAi-mediated heterochromatin formation www.nature.com/articles/s41...
January 3, 2025 at 3:46 PM
🔬Decoding Silencing: How Heterochromatin Transcribes to Silence Itself!
🧬 Discover how a pioneer transcription factor-like complex infiltrates repressive heterochromatin, producing transcripts with hidden introns that kickstart RNAi-mediated heterochromatin formation www.nature.com/articles/s41...
🧬 Discover how a pioneer transcription factor-like complex infiltrates repressive heterochromatin, producing transcripts with hidden introns that kickstart RNAi-mediated heterochromatin formation www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Have you ever wanted to design large and complex ribozymes from scratch? I know I have!
We used RNA inverse folding to design synthetic Group II Introns (G2Is) from the bottom up, resulting in highly active #ribozymes that splice in E. coli without proteins!
#intron #RNAsky #SynBio 🧬🧵(1/n)
We used RNA inverse folding to design synthetic Group II Introns (G2Is) from the bottom up, resulting in highly active #ribozymes that splice in E. coli without proteins!
#intron #RNAsky #SynBio 🧬🧵(1/n)
Computational De Novo Design of Group II Introns Yields Highly Active Ribozymes
Group II Introns (G2Is) are large self-splicing ribozymes with promising biotechnological applications. This study utilized RNA inverse folding to design three novel G2Is. The designed intron Arq.I2,...
doi.org
July 2, 2025 at 10:01 AM
Have you ever wanted to design large and complex ribozymes from scratch? I know I have!
We used RNA inverse folding to design synthetic Group II Introns (G2Is) from the bottom up, resulting in highly active #ribozymes that splice in E. coli without proteins!
#intron #RNAsky #SynBio 🧬🧵(1/n)
We used RNA inverse folding to design synthetic Group II Introns (G2Is) from the bottom up, resulting in highly active #ribozymes that splice in E. coli without proteins!
#intron #RNAsky #SynBio 🧬🧵(1/n)
"Our findings uncovered a species survival strategy in which telomerase RNA extends telomeres for the next generation by hitchhiking on introns of germline-expressed genes." 🤯
#Celegans 🧪
#Celegans 🧪
Nematode telomerase RNA hitchhikes on introns of germline–up-regulated genes
Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein complex that elongates telomeric DNA, ensuring germline immortality. In this study, we identified the Caenorhabditis elegans telomerase RNA component 1 (terc-1), as t...
www.science.org
October 23, 2025 at 10:16 PM
"Our findings uncovered a species survival strategy in which telomerase RNA extends telomeres for the next generation by hitchhiking on introns of germline-expressed genes." 🤯
#Celegans 🧪
#Celegans 🧪
Introns are just safe spaces for enhancers
July 18, 2026 at 12:14 PM
Introns are just safe spaces for enhancers
Doin some snapdragon gDNA isolation to PCR some important flower genes to see whats lurkin in their introns.
September 8, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Doin some snapdragon gDNA isolation to PCR some important flower genes to see whats lurkin in their introns.
#microsky #phage #phagesky
Presence of group II introns in phage genomes: academic.oup.com/nar/article/...
Presence of group II introns in phage genomes: academic.oup.com/nar/article/...
Presence of group II introns in phage genomes
Abstract. Although bacteriophage genomes are under strong selective pressure for high coding density, they are still frequently invaded by mobile genetic e
academic.oup.com
August 16, 2025 at 1:40 PM
#microsky #phage #phagesky
Presence of group II introns in phage genomes: academic.oup.com/nar/article/...
Presence of group II introns in phage genomes: academic.oup.com/nar/article/...
Splicing in phage and jumbophage genomes!
Great discovery pipeline and new paper from Liana Merk and @cryptogenomicon.bsky.social highlights wide-spread use of Group II introns in phages:
academic.oup.com/nar/article/...
Great discovery pipeline and new paper from Liana Merk and @cryptogenomicon.bsky.social highlights wide-spread use of Group II introns in phages:
academic.oup.com/nar/article/...
Presence of group II introns in phage genomes
Abstract. Although bacteriophage genomes are under strong selective pressure for high coding density, they are still frequently invaded by mobile genetic e
academic.oup.com
September 16, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Splicing in phage and jumbophage genomes!
Great discovery pipeline and new paper from Liana Merk and @cryptogenomicon.bsky.social highlights wide-spread use of Group II introns in phages:
academic.oup.com/nar/article/...
Great discovery pipeline and new paper from Liana Merk and @cryptogenomicon.bsky.social highlights wide-spread use of Group II introns in phages:
academic.oup.com/nar/article/...
@celineh2ooo.bsky.social and @stevensalzberg.bsky.social compared 3,493 vertebrate genomes to identify 342 gains of introns in human genes, tracing their origins and identifying cases of intronization as a mechanism of intron emergence.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf091
#genome #evolution #introns
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf091
#genome #evolution #introns
June 4, 2025 at 1:13 PM
@celineh2ooo.bsky.social and @stevensalzberg.bsky.social compared 3,493 vertebrate genomes to identify 342 gains of introns in human genes, tracing their origins and identifying cases of intronization as a mechanism of intron emergence.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf091
#genome #evolution #introns
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf091
#genome #evolution #introns
Is your reporter dim or silenced, and you did not think about introns? Think again!
This has originally developed out of a thought along the lines of: "What can you do if you only manage to get weak fluorescence signals?"
A short explaining thread 🧵
A short explaining thread 🧵
Check out our new preprint: a very cool fluorescence tool developed by @samwalds.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
September 23, 2026 at 10:22 AM
Is your reporter dim or silenced, and you did not think about introns? Think again!
SPLICE SPLICE BABY
a diagram showing the process of splicing group 1 introns
Alt: a diagram showing the process of splicing group 1 introns
media.tenor.com
February 3, 2025 at 11:41 PM
SPLICE SPLICE BABY
𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐬 are noncoding nucleotide sequences within genes, which are spliced out during the production of mature, protein-coding messenger RNA (mRNA). Full definition of this NEJM Illustrated Glossary term: nej.md/3EYzLaM
#MedSky #Hematology
#MedSky #Hematology
May 9, 2025 at 7:02 PM
𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐬 are noncoding nucleotide sequences within genes, which are spliced out during the production of mature, protein-coding messenger RNA (mRNA). Full definition of this NEJM Illustrated Glossary term: nej.md/3EYzLaM
#MedSky #Hematology
#MedSky #Hematology
"DNA synthesis is solved"
"We can just print any sequence"
"Biology and biotech are solved fields"
"Sequence-agnostic synthesis is on the horizon"
*plant introns enter the chat*
Humbug.
"We can just print any sequence"
"Biology and biotech are solved fields"
"Sequence-agnostic synthesis is on the horizon"
*plant introns enter the chat*
Humbug.
October 13, 2025 at 10:09 PM
"DNA synthesis is solved"
"We can just print any sequence"
"Biology and biotech are solved fields"
"Sequence-agnostic synthesis is on the horizon"
*plant introns enter the chat*
Humbug.
"We can just print any sequence"
"Biology and biotech are solved fields"
"Sequence-agnostic synthesis is on the horizon"
*plant introns enter the chat*
Humbug.
Cool! Congrats!
#tRNA #Intron #fitRNA #BuddingYeast
Free introns of tRNAs as complementarity-dependent regulators of gene expression: Molecular Cell www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
#tRNA #Intron #fitRNA #BuddingYeast
Free introns of tRNAs as complementarity-dependent regulators of gene expression: Molecular Cell www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
Free introns of tRNAs as complementarity-dependent regulators of gene expression
Nostramo et al. demonstrate that free introns of tRNAs (fitRNAs) are a previously
unknown class of small noncoding regulatory RNAs that bind to complementary sequences
on mRNA ORFs, leading to decay. ...
www.cell.com
February 12, 2025 at 5:05 AM
Cool! Congrats!
#tRNA #Intron #fitRNA #BuddingYeast
Free introns of tRNAs as complementarity-dependent regulators of gene expression: Molecular Cell www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
#tRNA #Intron #fitRNA #BuddingYeast
Free introns of tRNAs as complementarity-dependent regulators of gene expression: Molecular Cell www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
Der zellbiologische #Adventskalender
No. 14 Splicing
Der größte Teil unserer Gene besteht aus ungenutzer Information, den Introns.
Er wird aus der mRNA (➡️#3) durch Splicing entfernt.
Durch Variation dessen, was dabei ausgeschnitten wird, kann ein Gen mehrere Varianten eines Eiweißes bilden.
No. 14 Splicing
Der größte Teil unserer Gene besteht aus ungenutzer Information, den Introns.
Er wird aus der mRNA (➡️#3) durch Splicing entfernt.
Durch Variation dessen, was dabei ausgeschnitten wird, kann ein Gen mehrere Varianten eines Eiweißes bilden.
a diagram showing the process of splicing group 1 introns
Alt: Es wird der Prozess des mRNA Splicings gezeigt. Ein langes Molekül wird dabei zu einer Schleife gelegt und diese ausgeschnitten.
media.tenor.com
December 14, 2024 at 8:37 AM
Der zellbiologische #Adventskalender
No. 14 Splicing
Der größte Teil unserer Gene besteht aus ungenutzer Information, den Introns.
Er wird aus der mRNA (➡️#3) durch Splicing entfernt.
Durch Variation dessen, was dabei ausgeschnitten wird, kann ein Gen mehrere Varianten eines Eiweißes bilden.
No. 14 Splicing
Der größte Teil unserer Gene besteht aus ungenutzer Information, den Introns.
Er wird aus der mRNA (➡️#3) durch Splicing entfernt.
Durch Variation dessen, was dabei ausgeschnitten wird, kann ein Gen mehrere Varianten eines Eiweißes bilden.
I feel like introns are then just the nucleus striking back....
With Eugene Koonin, we propose a concept of “the selfish ribosome”, under which evolution of life is viewed as a ribosomal takeover, where the ribosome evolved to consume most of the cell’s resources, while other cellular componentry ensures the propagation of the ribosome. arxiv.org/abs/2602.23268
March 3, 2026 at 3:49 PM
I feel like introns are then just the nucleus striking back....
Group II Introns in Archaeal Genomes and the Evolutionary Origin of Eukaryotic Spliceosomal Introns https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.12.10.627823v1
December 15, 2024 at 3:32 AM
Group II Introns in Archaeal Genomes and the Evolutionary Origin of Eukaryotic Spliceosomal Introns https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.12.10.627823v1