Pls re-post: My department @oxfordbiochemistry.bsky.social are recruiting for several new faculty positions (links below). Broad search in molecular biology/biochemistry, across prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Interested in understanding life at the molecular level, this job might be for you!
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Two-panel calibration plot (two benchmark dimer datasets) comparing predicted interchain contact-probability bins (x-axis) with the observed fraction of native interfacial contacts (y-axis). Points follow the diagonal, indicating close agreement between predicted probabilities and true interface-contact fractions.
My first manuscript in MPI colours! With @tothpetroczylab.bsky.social, we show that AlphaFold PAE-derived contact probabilities are well calibrated to the fraction of true interface contacts across experimentally determined protein dimers.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Predicting protein-protein interactions (PPIs) at proteome scale can take months with co-folding models due to the massive all-vs-all comparisons required.
We are excited to announce FlashPPI, a contrastive learning framework that predicts proteome wide physical interfaces in minutes. 1/🧵
Find our latest Perspective article in Nature Genetics on "The role of KRAB zinc-finger proteins in expanding the domestication potential of transposable elements" at www.nature.com/articles/s41..., with implications for the future of research on the cause of human disease.
RNA splicing generates a functionally specialized Rep protein isoform in geminiviruses — enabling timely control of the viral cycle. Strikingly, similar strategies might have evolved in DNA viruses infecting different kingdoms: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Spearheaded by @delphinem-p.bsky.social!
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.
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beautiful!
How do DNA sequence and histone chemistry tune nucleosome stability and plasticity?
Check out our latest work to find out. Now available on bioRxiv!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
@juliamaristany.bsky.social
@janhuemar.bsky.social
@rcollepardo.bsky.social
Share with your colleagues!!
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Recently, a Hypothesis was posed in @jcellsci.bsky.social in which the root of eukaryotes was placed between kinetoplastids and all other eukaryotes. From this, it was implied that LECA did not have a kinetochore. We argue this is highly unlikely. A 🧵(1/12)
Read our reply here: tinyurl.com/n87myhpr
New insights on the exceptional chromosomes of Chlamydia. (note that the title is a bit of a misnomer: these are not histones but somewhat similar to linker H1 -which is structuraly unrelated to nucleosomal histones-), very interesting nonetheless: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
@ewarman.bsky.social has followed up on her discovery of bidirectional promoters in bacteria by defining their basic rules for regulation and links to gene expression noise...
academic.oup.com/nar/article/...
Aude Bernheim @audeber.bsky.social and Eugene Koonin discuss one of most interesting questions in the field connecting bacterial and animal immunity!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
In our most recent work David Forrest has discovered a widespread mechanisms linking transcription initiation to DNA supercoiling...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Extremophile alert!
Registration is OPEN for the 2026 EMBO Archaeal workshop in Cambridge.
Spaces are limited, so register soon with an abstract if you’d like to give a talk.
If you can’t come in person, we are welcoming virtual attendees. So join us online where all talks will be screened!
Mark your calendars for the next incarnation of the Biology and Physics of the Prokaryotic Chromosome meeting to be held in Paris on July 6-9, 2027.
See the web site for further information biophychrom2027.sciencesconf.org
"Failure is very much more frequent than success in working out the preliminary details" Wise words from W. Dallinger in "On the life-history of a minute septic organisms with an account of experiments made to determine its thermal death point"
Passioned by #bioenergetics? Do not miss our new article on the evolutionary history of oxidoreductases with G. Borrel and @sgribaldo.bsky.social @archaeal.bsky.social @valdeanda.bsky.social @pasteur.fr @cnrs.fr @cnrsbiologie.bsky.social @natecoevo.nature.com (www.nature.com/articles/s41...).
Congratulations !!
Graphical abstract of pre-print
Does targeting enzymes and substrates in a condensate lead to rate enhancement? No. Here, we investigate how the condensate environment can inhibit an enzyme reaction.
Spoiler: Mass-transport limitations. We find a strong correlation between diffusion and reaction rates.
doi.org/10.64898/202...
At a time when the UK should be capitalising on its global reputation as a great place to do science, this is an enormous own goal. I am so sorry for all those who jobs are going to be impacted.
🫴 Fantastic work: DNA recognition-mimicry switch governs induction in arbitrium phages:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
@spp2330.bsky.social #subtiwiki @cp-cellhostmicrobe.bsky.social
Has the MRC research funding ‘pause’ been covered by any major news network?
It feels like it should be a major news story
💼 Postdoctoral researcher in computational and experimental biology M/F
📍Institut Jacques Monod / @sandraduharcourt.bsky.social 's Lab
📆 April 1st
Apply on the CNRS job portal before February 13th 🔗 emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/CDD/U...
And so it begins... 3 UK universities (Essex, Sussex & Kent) have just gone public about walking away from their Elsevier Read & Publish deals, despite Jisc's recently announced agreement. Expect to see more of these over the coming months. www.timeshighereducation.com/news/three-m... #OpenAccess
😍
Marine life in Japan
Archaea fans (and the archaeal-curious) — please spread the word and register! Early sign-ups really help us plan, so if you know you’ll come, please register now.
Clever new method for assembling DNA oligos into larger sequences without the need for unique overlap sequences. Can't wait for those 'this sequence is too complex' rejection messages from DNA suppliers to become a thing of the past. 🧬🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
