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 11:56 AM
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 🧵👇
Now online! Direct cell-to-cell transmission of retrotransposons
Direct cell-to-cell transmission of retrotransposons
Retrotransposons can infect neighboring cells using a mechanism that relies on a small fusogen-like protein rather than on the envelope protein that is typically required for infection.
dlvr.it
September 23, 2026 at 10:38 PM
Now online! Direct cell-to-cell transmission of retrotransposons
Our paper is now out in Nature:
“Ancient co-option of LTR retrotransposons as yeast centromeres”
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A short thread on how retrotransposons helped give rise to yeast point centromeres.
1/14
“Ancient co-option of LTR retrotransposons as yeast centromeres”
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A short thread on how retrotransposons helped give rise to yeast point centromeres.
1/14
Ancient co-option of LTR retrotransposons as yeast centromeres - Nature
Evolutionarily related ‘proto-point’ centromeres providing resolution to the evolutionary origins of point centromeres are identified in yeast, and comparison shows they evolved in an ancestor with re...
www.nature.com
February 18, 2026 at 4:03 PM
Our paper is now out in Nature:
“Ancient co-option of LTR retrotransposons as yeast centromeres”
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A short thread on how retrotransposons helped give rise to yeast point centromeres.
1/14
“Ancient co-option of LTR retrotransposons as yeast centromeres”
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A short thread on how retrotransposons helped give rise to yeast point centromeres.
1/14
Discovery and engineering of avian R2 retrotransposons for all-RNA-mediated targeted DNA integration in human cells www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Discovery and engineering of avian R2 retrotransposons for all-RNA-mediated targeted DNA integration in human cells - Nature Biotechnology
Engineered retrotransposons enable site-specific DNA integration into human cells.
www.nature.com
October 5, 2026 at 2:54 PM
Discovery and engineering of avian R2 retrotransposons for all-RNA-mediated targeted DNA integration in human cells www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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 7:50 AM
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)
Our new review is out in Trends in Cancer. We had fund writing this :) We discuss the roles of retrotransposons in immune modulation in normal and malignant
hematopoiesis. www.cell.com/trends/cance...
hematopoiesis. www.cell.com/trends/cance...
Reawakening retrotransposons: immune modulation in normal and malignant hematopoiesis
Retrotransposons are mobile repetitive elements that constitute around 43% of the
human genome. Normally silenced through epigenetic mechanisms, retrotransposons can
become reactivated in response to ...
www.cell.com
September 3, 2025 at 5:02 AM
Our new review is out in Trends in Cancer. We had fund writing this :) We discuss the roles of retrotransposons in immune modulation in normal and malignant
hematopoiesis. www.cell.com/trends/cance...
hematopoiesis. www.cell.com/trends/cance...
For obvious reasons, I've become fascinated with retrotransposons. So we ( @alexwhiteley.bsky.social and I) wrote an article now out in Neuron @cellpress.bsky.social on how we think retrotransposons influence brain function and health! kwnsfk27.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F...
October 20, 2025 at 8:00 PM
For obvious reasons, I've become fascinated with retrotransposons. So we ( @alexwhiteley.bsky.social and I) wrote an article now out in Neuron @cellpress.bsky.social on how we think retrotransposons influence brain function and health! kwnsfk27.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F...
Blurring the lines between retrotransposons & viruses!
sORF2 enables direct transmission of retrotransposons challenging our understanding of mobile genetic elements. #preprint @juliusbrennecke.bsky.social Lab
#preLight from Ally Simpson & Alyss Humphrey!
👉 prelights.biologists.com/highlights/d...
sORF2 enables direct transmission of retrotransposons challenging our understanding of mobile genetic elements. #preprint @juliusbrennecke.bsky.social Lab
#preLight from Ally Simpson & Alyss Humphrey!
👉 prelights.biologists.com/highlights/d...
Direct cell-to-cell transmission of retrotransposons - preLights
Blurring the lines between retrotransposons & viruses! sORF2 enables envelope-independent, direct cell-to-cell transmission of retrotransposons in Drosophila, challenging our understanding of mobile g...
prelights.biologists.com
May 21, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Blurring the lines between retrotransposons & viruses!
sORF2 enables direct transmission of retrotransposons challenging our understanding of mobile genetic elements. #preprint @juliusbrennecke.bsky.social Lab
#preLight from Ally Simpson & Alyss Humphrey!
👉 prelights.biologists.com/highlights/d...
sORF2 enables direct transmission of retrotransposons challenging our understanding of mobile genetic elements. #preprint @juliusbrennecke.bsky.social Lab
#preLight from Ally Simpson & Alyss Humphrey!
👉 prelights.biologists.com/highlights/d...
It’s out! The evolutionary origins of yeast point centromeres uncovered!
“Ancient co-option of LTR retrotransposons as yeast centromeres”
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
“Ancient co-option of LTR retrotransposons as yeast centromeres”
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Ancient co-option of LTR retrotransposons as yeast centromeres
The evolutionary origins of the genetic point centromere in the brewer's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a member of the order Saccharomycetales, are still unknown. Competing hypotheses suggest that t...
www.biorxiv.org
April 25, 2025 at 1:59 PM
It’s out! The evolutionary origins of yeast point centromeres uncovered!
“Ancient co-option of LTR retrotransposons as yeast centromeres”
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
“Ancient co-option of LTR retrotransposons as yeast centromeres”
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
“Direct cell-to-cell transmission of retrotransposons”
The line between viruses, retrotransposons, and domesticated retroviruses continues to blur!
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
The line between viruses, retrotransposons, and domesticated retroviruses continues to blur!
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
www.cell.com
September 24, 2026 at 2:16 AM
“Direct cell-to-cell transmission of retrotransposons”
The line between viruses, retrotransposons, and domesticated retroviruses continues to blur!
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
The line between viruses, retrotransposons, and domesticated retroviruses continues to blur!
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Wait, what? Point centromeres are direct descendants of retrotransposons 🤯!!
It’s out! The evolutionary origins of yeast point centromeres uncovered!
“Ancient co-option of LTR retrotransposons as yeast centromeres”
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
“Ancient co-option of LTR retrotransposons as yeast centromeres”
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Ancient co-option of LTR retrotransposons as yeast centromeres
The evolutionary origins of the genetic point centromere in the brewer's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a member of the order Saccharomycetales, are still unknown. Competing hypotheses suggest that t...
www.biorxiv.org
April 25, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Wait, what? Point centromeres are direct descendants of retrotransposons 🤯!!
Efficient site-specific gene addition using R2 retrotransposons in tobacco and rice www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Efficient site-specific gene addition using R2 retrotransposons in tobacco and rice - Nature Biotechnology
Retrotransposons are applied in plants for safe-harbor transgene integration.
www.nature.com
June 19, 2026 at 1:30 PM
Efficient site-specific gene addition using R2 retrotransposons in tobacco and rice www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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 2:59 PM
Now online! Co-option of retrotransposons promotes antibody diversification
Direct cell-to-cell transmission of retrotransposons @cellcellpress.bsky.social
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
September 30, 2026 at 4:30 PM
Direct cell-to-cell transmission of retrotransposons @cellcellpress.bsky.social
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
📖 Happy to share our recent preprint! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... We discovered how SINEs are kept silent: the ChAHP protein complex acts as a molecular brake on POL III transcription retrotransposons. A 🧵:
ChAHP Silences SINE Retrotransposons by Inhibiting TFIIIB Recruitment
Short interspersed nuclear elements (SINEs) are abundant non-autonomous transposable elements derived from RNA polymerase III (POL III)-transcribed short non-coding RNAs. SINEs retain sequence feature...
www.biorxiv.org
July 3, 2025 at 6:18 AM
📖 Happy to share our recent preprint! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... We discovered how SINEs are kept silent: the ChAHP protein complex acts as a molecular brake on POL III transcription retrotransposons. A 🧵:
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...
In the ‘90s, Pelisson et al. found that gypsy retrotransposons in flies can go viral—literally—thanks to an envelope gene. Now, @mayavoichek.bsky.social uncovers a wild new path to retrotransposon infectivity. A fascinating story—see Maya's thread
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.03.14.642691v2
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.03.14.642691v2
March 17, 2025 at 8:28 PM
In the ‘90s, Pelisson et al. found that gypsy retrotransposons in flies can go viral—literally—thanks to an envelope gene. Now, @mayavoichek.bsky.social uncovers a wild new path to retrotransposon infectivity. A fascinating story—see Maya's thread
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.03.14.642691v2
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.03.14.642691v2
Transposable elements, such as retrotransposons and endogenous retroviruses, are increasingly recognized for their important roles in genome function and impact on disease development go.nature.com/4tQ1zTn
rdcu.be/e8Eci
rdcu.be/e8Eci
Transposable elements in the dark genome - Nature Biotechnology
Transposable elements (TEs), such as retrotransposons and endogenous retroviruses, are increasingly recognized for their important roles in genome function and impact on disease development. Residing ...
go.nature.com
March 18, 2026 at 2:38 AM
Transposable elements, such as retrotransposons and endogenous retroviruses, are increasingly recognized for their important roles in genome function and impact on disease development go.nature.com/4tQ1zTn
rdcu.be/e8Eci
rdcu.be/e8Eci
Really beautiful work led by Jessica Leismann in Joan Barau’s lab @imbmainz.bsky.social . If you like elegant mouse genetics, the transposon arms race, and a healthy dose of epigenetics, this one’s for you. www.embopress.org/doi/full/10.... @emboreports.org
DNA methylation at retrotransposons protects the germline by preventing NRF1-mediated activation | EMBO reports
imageimageIn spermatogenesis, loss of promoter DNA methylation reactivates retrotransposons
in patterns shaped by chromatin modifications and the binding of DNA methylation-sensitive
transcription fac...
www.embopress.org
August 6, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Really beautiful work led by Jessica Leismann in Joan Barau’s lab @imbmainz.bsky.social . If you like elegant mouse genetics, the transposon arms race, and a healthy dose of epigenetics, this one’s for you. www.embopress.org/doi/full/10.... @emboreports.org
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
What a beautiful mechanism!
What a beautiful mechanism!
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 recruitmen...
www.cell.com
August 11, 2026 at 5:35 AM
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
What a beautiful mechanism!
What a beautiful mechanism!
Our Perspective article on the emerging role of retroelements in brain function and disease is now out in this week's edition of @cp-neuron.bsky.social!
@alexwhiteley.bsky.social
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
@alexwhiteley.bsky.social
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
Retrotransposons unplugged: Rewiring the nervous system and wreaking havoc
In this perspective, Whiteley and Shepherd describe emerging studies showing a role
for long terminal repeat retrotransposons and endogenous retroviruses in brain function
and disease. Historically ig...
www.cell.com
January 7, 2026 at 6:23 PM
Our Perspective article on the emerging role of retroelements in brain function and disease is now out in this week's edition of @cp-neuron.bsky.social!
@alexwhiteley.bsky.social
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
@alexwhiteley.bsky.social
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
Using the awesome genetic toolkit of Drosophila🧰🛠️, we established two new experimental approaches to selectively activate retrotransposons within the ovary.
This allowed us to find that some retrotransposons can directly infect developing eggs from neighboring somatic cells. 🥚💥 (2/7)
This allowed us to find that some retrotransposons can directly infect developing eggs from neighboring somatic cells. 🥚💥 (2/7)
September 24, 2026 at 7:50 AM
Using the awesome genetic toolkit of Drosophila🧰🛠️, we established two new experimental approaches to selectively activate retrotransposons within the ovary.
This allowed us to find that some retrotransposons can directly infect developing eggs from neighboring somatic cells. 🥚💥 (2/7)
This allowed us to find that some retrotransposons can directly infect developing eggs from neighboring somatic cells. 🥚💥 (2/7)
One of my favorite transposon facts. Think LTR retrotransposons are a homogeneous group? The two main kinds -- Ty1 and Ty3 -- are as evolutionary diverged as GIANT SQUID and PINE TREES.
February 18, 2026 at 4:54 PM
One of my favorite transposon facts. Think LTR retrotransposons are a homogeneous group? The two main kinds -- Ty1 and Ty3 -- are as evolutionary diverged as GIANT SQUID and PINE TREES.