Biodiversity genomics; reproduction; k-mers; Evolution of species with weird genomes; frequently featuring diptera and collembola; group leader at the Tree of Life, Wellcome Sanger Institute; dysorthographic
New preprint: 338 coleopteran genomes reveal exceptional rearrangement variation compared to other insect orders. Big congrats to @arf-mln.bsky.social, for getting this giant piece together. Big collaboration of @joanameier.bsky.social's and my groups. 🧵👇 doi.org/10.64898/202...
That's one way to find out Harmit Malik is not reading your preprints...
Harmit Singh MalikI know it seems like a heretical idea, but one way to figure out if a preprint is really interesting (to you) is... to read the preprint. Then, in the spirit of sharing, send a note to authors: a simple kudos or a more detailed question. I do this a dozen times a year. It's awesome. Try it.
Last chance to register for a Scalable genomics course this autumn! It will be a banger. With @katiejenike.bsky.social @richard-durbin.bsky.social @npmalfoy.bsky.social and @vikramshivakumar.bsky.social! coursesandconferences.wellcomeconnectingscience.org/event/scalab...
The word on the street is, that someone might be organising a virtual biannual Diptera Comparative Genomics symposium to facilitate knowledge exchange and foster collaborations. Let me know, if you would you be interested in joining the community and possibly contribute to papers such the one below.
kamilsjaronA big preprint from my group! Muller Elements are considered to be conserved in flies. We tested it by reconstructing the ancestral dipteran karyotype using 340 chromosomal genomes and suprise suprise, they're not... Led by @juliagries.bsky.social and Sam Ebdon. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 🧵👇
A big preprint from my group! Muller Elements are considered to be conserved in flies. We tested it by reconstructing the ancestral dipteran karyotype using 340 chromosomal genomes and suprise suprise, they're not... Led by @juliagries.bsky.social and Sam Ebdon. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 🧵👇
We have a few spots left on our amazing #ScalableGenomics course. Perfect for anyone doing #genomics of many or difficult genomes, ideal for #PhD students, #postdocs or anyone else who would like to get hands-on experience. Register in the link below! tinyurl.com/scalableGeno... RT appreciated!
Subscription based academic publishing is a terrible model that has done a lot of harm. I do find the decision by Cancer Research UK understandable, but I like Wellcome's decision not to pay for OA in hybrid journals better.
Alejandro MontenegroGold OA is a terrible model that has done a lot of harm. news.cancerresearchuk.org/2026/04/01/w...
Is there anyone around Newcastle owning a patch of green where we could collect springtails this Tuesday by any chance? More about the project in @jamesimcc.bsky.social's blog post: sangerinstitute.blog/2026/03/26/s...
Studying soil’s unsung heroes - Wellcome Sanger Institute BlogIn this blog, we hear from Wellcome Sanger Institute PhD student James McCulloch about his favourite invertebrates, the springtails, and their extraordinary cryptic diversity.sangerinstitute.blogAnd this is my favourite figure, nicely illustrating diversity and turnover of oligocentromeric satelites. Look at Carol and Sandra - one invaded the other at least 2x, which I find particularly amusing.
James McCullochWe identified where the oligocentromeres were in each genome using CAP. There's a lot of turnover - across 35 species, we could classify candidate centromere-related satellite DNA into no fewer than 25 families (named after Superstore characters). 🧵4/12
Very proud of @jamesimcc.bsky.social to submit his first PhD paper about evolution of genomes and centromeres in taxa with oligocentromeric organisation. Lots of interesting discoveries including possibly the first reported re-evolution of monocentricity.
James McCullochWhy do the chromosomes of cyperids (sedges & rushes) split and fuse so regularly on evolutionary timescales? Is it because they have so many centromeres? Our new preprint, the first major paper of my PhD, addresses this question. 🧵⬇️ 1/12 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Last two weeks to apply for a senior faculty position at the Tree of Life. Great environment, amazing colleagues and the world's biggest genome engine... Come to join us at the Tree of Life @sangerinstitute.bsky.social sanger.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Wellco...