Filippo Nicolini 🧬
@filonico.bsky.social
🧬🦪🦗🧽 Dealing/struggling with invertebrate evolutionary genomics
🎓 he/him postodoc in @robertofeuda.bsky.social lab at Uni of Leicester (UK), former PhD student at Uni of Bologna (IT)
🎨💭 Also drawing & science communication
https://filonico.github.io/
🎓 he/him postodoc in @robertofeuda.bsky.social lab at Uni of Leicester (UK), former PhD student at Uni of Bologna (IT)
🎨💭 Also drawing & science communication
https://filonico.github.io/
Pinned
Filippo Nicolini 🧬
@filonico.bsky.social
· Sep 22
2nd paper outta my PhD is NOW PUBLISHED😭
🧬🖥️ 🦑Here we show how comparative #genomics 🧬 is a powerful tool to detect putative #SexDetermination genes: Dmrt1L & SoxH from #bivalves 🦪 share evolutionary patterns with Sry from #mammals 🐗 but not with genes from
#drosophila 🪰
doi.org/10.1111/mec....
🧬🖥️ 🦑Here we show how comparative #genomics 🧬 is a powerful tool to detect putative #SexDetermination genes: Dmrt1L & SoxH from #bivalves 🦪 share evolutionary patterns with Sry from #mammals 🐗 but not with genes from
#drosophila 🪰
doi.org/10.1111/mec....
Reposted by Filippo Nicolini 🧬
Haplodiploidy has been repeatedly reported as one of the factors promoting altruism & eusociality in #insects 🐝🐜🪳
Well apparently it's not! Different statistical approaches find no relationships between the two, in this brand new phylogenetic work!
#bugsky #phylogenetics
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
Well apparently it's not! Different statistical approaches find no relationships between the two, in this brand new phylogenetic work!
#bugsky #phylogenetics
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org
February 18, 2026 at 2:34 PM
Haplodiploidy has been repeatedly reported as one of the factors promoting altruism & eusociality in #insects 🐝🐜🪳
Well apparently it's not! Different statistical approaches find no relationships between the two, in this brand new phylogenetic work!
#bugsky #phylogenetics
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
Well apparently it's not! Different statistical approaches find no relationships between the two, in this brand new phylogenetic work!
#bugsky #phylogenetics
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
Reposted by Filippo Nicolini 🧬
Kosakyan et al. sequenced mitogenomes of species from the two main lineages of the Gastrotricha; they found stable mitogenomes in the mostly freshwater Chaetonotida, but a dynamic pattern in the the marine Macrodasyida.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evag001
#genome #evolution #mtDNA
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evag001
#genome #evolution #mtDNA
February 11, 2026 at 1:51 PM
Kosakyan et al. sequenced mitogenomes of species from the two main lineages of the Gastrotricha; they found stable mitogenomes in the mostly freshwater Chaetonotida, but a dynamic pattern in the the marine Macrodasyida.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evag001
#genome #evolution #mtDNA
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evag001
#genome #evolution #mtDNA
Reposted by Filippo Nicolini 🧬
The cover of February's issue of Genome Biology and Evolution features the work of Kosakyan et al. on the evolution of mitochondrial genomes in the Gastrotricha.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evag001
#genome #evolution #mtDNA
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evag001
#genome #evolution #mtDNA
February 2, 2026 at 8:37 AM
The cover of February's issue of Genome Biology and Evolution features the work of Kosakyan et al. on the evolution of mitochondrial genomes in the Gastrotricha.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evag001
#genome #evolution #mtDNA
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evag001
#genome #evolution #mtDNA
Reposted by Filippo Nicolini 🧬
A gigantic work by some Italian colleagues on how ants have been used as biological control agents all around the globe: more than 180 published papers have been reviewed!
Guess what, also the story of our beloved red wood ant is mentioned 🫶🐜 #bugsky
doi.org/10.1007/s103...
Guess what, also the story of our beloved red wood ant is mentioned 🫶🐜 #bugsky
doi.org/10.1007/s103...
Ant-mediated biological control: a global meta-synthesis of antagonistic interactions against pests - Journal of Pest Science
Ants’ deep and pervasive ecological impacts on terrestrial ecosystems also translate into several meaningful services and disservices for human activities, whose balance can often be complex to assess...
doi.org
January 25, 2026 at 5:01 PM
A gigantic work by some Italian colleagues on how ants have been used as biological control agents all around the globe: more than 180 published papers have been reviewed!
Guess what, also the story of our beloved red wood ant is mentioned 🫶🐜 #bugsky
doi.org/10.1007/s103...
Guess what, also the story of our beloved red wood ant is mentioned 🫶🐜 #bugsky
doi.org/10.1007/s103...
Reposted by Filippo Nicolini 🧬
Thrilled to share that I’ve been awarded a FIS-3 Advanced Grant (ERC-inspired) to study the evolution of neurogenic GRNs.
Recruiting soon: 4 postdocs + 3 PhDs
Press release in Italian — to decolonise scientific language 😄
magazine.unibo.it/it/articoli/...
Email me if interested in joining the lab
Recruiting soon: 4 postdocs + 3 PhDs
Press release in Italian — to decolonise scientific language 😄
magazine.unibo.it/it/articoli/...
Email me if interested in joining the lab
Un viaggio all’origine dei sistemi nervosi
Il nuovo progetto GRNevo, finanziato con un grant FIS-3 Advanced da 1,9 milioni di euro, studierà come si formano i neuroni durante lo sviluppo in specie animali molto distanti tra loro: dal moscerino...
magazine.unibo.it
January 13, 2026 at 11:14 AM
Thrilled to share that I’ve been awarded a FIS-3 Advanced Grant (ERC-inspired) to study the evolution of neurogenic GRNs.
Recruiting soon: 4 postdocs + 3 PhDs
Press release in Italian — to decolonise scientific language 😄
magazine.unibo.it/it/articoli/...
Email me if interested in joining the lab
Recruiting soon: 4 postdocs + 3 PhDs
Press release in Italian — to decolonise scientific language 😄
magazine.unibo.it/it/articoli/...
Email me if interested in joining the lab
Reposted by Filippo Nicolini 🧬
Our latest: Independent origins of spicules reconcile paleontological and molecular evidence of sponge evolutionary history, led by @meleonora-rossi.bsky.social with help from friends @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social including @anariesgo.bsky.social @evopalaeo.bsky.social Davide Pisani and many others
Independent origins of spicules reconcile paleontological and molecular evidence of sponge evolutionary history
Sponges have a cryptic Ediacaran history because ancestral sponges were soft-bodied and had low fossilization potential.
www.science.org
January 8, 2026 at 7:39 AM
Our latest: Independent origins of spicules reconcile paleontological and molecular evidence of sponge evolutionary history, led by @meleonora-rossi.bsky.social with help from friends @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social including @anariesgo.bsky.social @evopalaeo.bsky.social Davide Pisani and many others
1/2🧵What a way to end 2025! NEW PAPER OUT with ppl from Uni of Bologna & @szndohrn.bsky.social
Did you know that some bivalves🦪 transmit mitochondria through both the maternal and paternal lines? We looked at molecular signatures of this through comp #genomics & #RNAseq 🖥️🧬🦑
doi.org/10.1186/s129...
Did you know that some bivalves🦪 transmit mitochondria through both the maternal and paternal lines? We looked at molecular signatures of this through comp #genomics & #RNAseq 🖥️🧬🦑
doi.org/10.1186/s129...
New insights into mitochondrial segregation from the Doubly Uniparental Inheritance system in bivalves - BMC Biology
Background While nuclear genome segregation is well characterized, mechanisms underlying mitochondrial partitioning remain partially obscure, even though its failure can cause developmental arrest or ...
doi.org
December 31, 2025 at 3:01 PM
1/2🧵What a way to end 2025! NEW PAPER OUT with ppl from Uni of Bologna & @szndohrn.bsky.social
Did you know that some bivalves🦪 transmit mitochondria through both the maternal and paternal lines? We looked at molecular signatures of this through comp #genomics & #RNAseq 🖥️🧬🦑
doi.org/10.1186/s129...
Did you know that some bivalves🦪 transmit mitochondria through both the maternal and paternal lines? We looked at molecular signatures of this through comp #genomics & #RNAseq 🖥️🧬🦑
doi.org/10.1186/s129...
Reposted by Filippo Nicolini 🧬
December 24, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Look mum, I'm famous! 🖥️🧬🐜
What's the working routine of a researcher? Posing for photoshoots is a possibility!
We just had a photo session to portait some key aspects of WoodWideAnts research: #bioinformatics, #wetlab & #taxonomy 🖥️🧬🐜
This is part of our commitment to #SciComm to bring science to the public! #bugsky
We just had a photo session to portait some key aspects of WoodWideAnts research: #bioinformatics, #wetlab & #taxonomy 🖥️🧬🐜
This is part of our commitment to #SciComm to bring science to the public! #bugsky
December 12, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Look mum, I'm famous! 🖥️🧬🐜
1/2🧵 After >1 month I can finally share my #invertober2025 phylogenetic wrap-up!! Actually it was done weeks ago, but I just didn't have the time to put everything together. #phylogenetics 🖥️🧬
Find the full-size version plus caption and additional content on github.com/filonico/inv...
Find the full-size version plus caption and additional content on github.com/filonico/inv...
December 6, 2025 at 9:59 AM
1/2🧵 After >1 month I can finally share my #invertober2025 phylogenetic wrap-up!! Actually it was done weeks ago, but I just didn't have the time to put everything together. #phylogenetics 🖥️🧬
Find the full-size version plus caption and additional content on github.com/filonico/inv...
Find the full-size version plus caption and additional content on github.com/filonico/inv...
Just gave a seminar on the #genomics of #SexDet for students of the uni of Bologna.
I included these wonderful plates by Nettie M Stevens, the scientist who first linked XY chromosomes to SexDet: she was a woman and, guess what, she is rarely acknowledged for her work
#EndViolenceAgainstWomen
I included these wonderful plates by Nettie M Stevens, the scientist who first linked XY chromosomes to SexDet: she was a woman and, guess what, she is rarely acknowledged for her work
#EndViolenceAgainstWomen
November 27, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Just gave a seminar on the #genomics of #SexDet for students of the uni of Bologna.
I included these wonderful plates by Nettie M Stevens, the scientist who first linked XY chromosomes to SexDet: she was a woman and, guess what, she is rarely acknowledged for her work
#EndViolenceAgainstWomen
I included these wonderful plates by Nettie M Stevens, the scientist who first linked XY chromosomes to SexDet: she was a woman and, guess what, she is rarely acknowledged for her work
#EndViolenceAgainstWomen
Reposted by Filippo Nicolini 🧬
NEW pub in @science.org 🥳
Is it sponges (panels A & B) or comb jellies (C & D) that root the animal tree of life?
For over 15 years, #phylogenomic studies have been divided.
We provide new evidence suggesting that...
🔗: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Is it sponges (panels A & B) or comb jellies (C & D) that root the animal tree of life?
For over 15 years, #phylogenomic studies have been divided.
We provide new evidence suggesting that...
🔗: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
November 13, 2025 at 8:34 PM
NEW pub in @science.org 🥳
Is it sponges (panels A & B) or comb jellies (C & D) that root the animal tree of life?
For over 15 years, #phylogenomic studies have been divided.
We provide new evidence suggesting that...
🔗: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Is it sponges (panels A & B) or comb jellies (C & D) that root the animal tree of life?
For over 15 years, #phylogenomic studies have been divided.
We provide new evidence suggesting that...
🔗: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
This is the end 💥 I approached #invertober with no clear expectations, and now I can say it was exciting+painful+rewarding+exhausting! #SciArt
What's the most appropriate subject for Day 31 of #invertober2025 if not the death's-head hawk moth?
Stay tuned as I'll be publishing a wrap-up soon 👀
What's the most appropriate subject for Day 31 of #invertober2025 if not the death's-head hawk moth?
Stay tuned as I'll be publishing a wrap-up soon 👀
November 15, 2025 at 6:48 PM
This is the end 💥 I approached #invertober with no clear expectations, and now I can say it was exciting+painful+rewarding+exhausting! #SciArt
What's the most appropriate subject for Day 31 of #invertober2025 if not the death's-head hawk moth?
Stay tuned as I'll be publishing a wrap-up soon 👀
What's the most appropriate subject for Day 31 of #invertober2025 if not the death's-head hawk moth?
Stay tuned as I'll be publishing a wrap-up soon 👀
Reposted by Filippo Nicolini 🧬
An impressive review on classification and study of #ants, taken from an historical perspective 🖥️🧬🐜 includes also loads of insightful sections 👀
#bugsky #phylogenetics
academic.oup.com/isd/article/...
#bugsky #phylogenetics
academic.oup.com/isd/article/...
Ant systematics: past, present, and future
Abstract. The classification of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) has progressed in waves since the first 17 species were described by Linnaeus in the 1758 ed
academic.oup.com
November 15, 2025 at 9:17 AM
An impressive review on classification and study of #ants, taken from an historical perspective 🖥️🧬🐜 includes also loads of insightful sections 👀
#bugsky #phylogenetics
academic.oup.com/isd/article/...
#bugsky #phylogenetics
academic.oup.com/isd/article/...
Reposted by Filippo Nicolini 🧬
Dias et al. used genetic data from 27 Drosophilidae species and 6 outgroups to reconstruct the evolutionary relationships of fruit flies, recovering Drosophilidae as nonmonophyletic, underscoring the need for taxonomic revision.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf269
#evobio #molbio #drosophila
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf269
#evobio #molbio #drosophila
November 14, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Dias et al. used genetic data from 27 Drosophilidae species and 6 outgroups to reconstruct the evolutionary relationships of fruit flies, recovering Drosophilidae as nonmonophyletic, underscoring the need for taxonomic revision.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf269
#evobio #molbio #drosophila
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf269
#evobio #molbio #drosophila
BEHOLD y'all the hecking bloody bobbit worm, who finally decided to get out from their sand burrow for the begone Day 14 of #invertober2025 #MarineLife
This took way longer than I expected (3 sessions of 2+ hours each). The problem was not the body structure itself, but the freaking segments 💀
This took way longer than I expected (3 sessions of 2+ hours each). The problem was not the body structure itself, but the freaking segments 💀
November 14, 2025 at 10:31 AM
BEHOLD y'all the hecking bloody bobbit worm, who finally decided to get out from their sand burrow for the begone Day 14 of #invertober2025 #MarineLife
This took way longer than I expected (3 sessions of 2+ hours each). The problem was not the body structure itself, but the freaking segments 💀
This took way longer than I expected (3 sessions of 2+ hours each). The problem was not the body structure itself, but the freaking segments 💀
1/3 🧵 Im entering my 2nd year as a postdoc, & since Ive started my journey in academia I can't help but asking myself:
is this work culture sustainable? is this what I want to do for the rest of my life?
Stimulating editorial with a stimulating book👇
doi.org/10.1177/1570...
[Continues below]
is this work culture sustainable? is this what I want to do for the rest of my life?
Stimulating editorial with a stimulating book👇
doi.org/10.1177/1570...
[Continues below]
November 14, 2025 at 10:21 AM
1/3 🧵 Im entering my 2nd year as a postdoc, & since Ive started my journey in academia I can't help but asking myself:
is this work culture sustainable? is this what I want to do for the rest of my life?
Stimulating editorial with a stimulating book👇
doi.org/10.1177/1570...
[Continues below]
is this work culture sustainable? is this what I want to do for the rest of my life?
Stimulating editorial with a stimulating book👇
doi.org/10.1177/1570...
[Continues below]
Reposted by Filippo Nicolini 🧬
November 13, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Art train time🚆🎨
Next stops:
@dinoserious.bsky.social
@whistberry.bsky.social
@fossilforager.bsky.social
@hexerite.bsky.social
Ive always been keen on drawing nature-related stuff, but recently I found a very pleasant comfort zone in sculptures too.
Jump to comments for details of the drawings
Next stops:
@dinoserious.bsky.social
@whistberry.bsky.social
@fossilforager.bsky.social
@hexerite.bsky.social
Ive always been keen on drawing nature-related stuff, but recently I found a very pleasant comfort zone in sculptures too.
Jump to comments for details of the drawings
November 10, 2025 at 11:17 AM
Art train time🚆🎨
Next stops:
@dinoserious.bsky.social
@whistberry.bsky.social
@fossilforager.bsky.social
@hexerite.bsky.social
Ive always been keen on drawing nature-related stuff, but recently I found a very pleasant comfort zone in sculptures too.
Jump to comments for details of the drawings
Next stops:
@dinoserious.bsky.social
@whistberry.bsky.social
@fossilforager.bsky.social
@hexerite.bsky.social
Ive always been keen on drawing nature-related stuff, but recently I found a very pleasant comfort zone in sculptures too.
Jump to comments for details of the drawings
🖥️🧬 imo AI is extremely helpful for coding & learning, or getting inspired on how to nicely style your code.
But AI can also be dangerous if ppl don't know first the right questions to ask or how to read the language: the times I got codes with silent errors and bugs are countless!
But AI can also be dangerous if ppl don't know first the right questions to ask or how to read the language: the times I got codes with silent errors and bugs are countless!
1/ Everyone’s chasing AI.
But in bioinformatics, solid foundations still win.
Here’s why mastering the basics matters more than ever. 🧵
But in bioinformatics, solid foundations still win.
Here’s why mastering the basics matters more than ever. 🧵
November 10, 2025 at 9:52 AM
🖥️🧬 imo AI is extremely helpful for coding & learning, or getting inspired on how to nicely style your code.
But AI can also be dangerous if ppl don't know first the right questions to ask or how to read the language: the times I got codes with silent errors and bugs are countless!
But AI can also be dangerous if ppl don't know first the right questions to ask or how to read the language: the times I got codes with silent errors and bugs are countless!
Reposted by Filippo Nicolini 🧬
Pleased to share our latest paper led by @tomlewin.bsky.social, now out in @currentbiology.bsky.social! We present the first chromosome-level genome of a phoronid and show that shared chromosomal fusions unite phoronids and bryozoans as sister groups.
www.cell.com/current-biol...
www.cell.com/current-biol...
November 7, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Pleased to share our latest paper led by @tomlewin.bsky.social, now out in @currentbiology.bsky.social! We present the first chromosome-level genome of a phoronid and show that shared chromosomal fusions unite phoronids and bryozoans as sister groups.
www.cell.com/current-biol...
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Reposted by Filippo Nicolini 🧬
Good morning everyone 🌞
There is only 1 seat left for the #Phylogenomics course in December!
If interested, check it out before it is too late!
There is only 1 seat left for the #Phylogenomics course in December!
If interested, check it out before it is too late!
Join us for our course on #Phylogenomics!
Learn how to build time-calibrated phylogenies from genome-scale datasets, tackle gene-tree discordance & choose the right evolutionary models.
Theory + hands-on exercises, led by an amazing team of experts: www.physalia-courses.org/courses-work...
Learn how to build time-calibrated phylogenies from genome-scale datasets, tackle gene-tree discordance & choose the right evolutionary models.
Theory + hands-on exercises, led by an amazing team of experts: www.physalia-courses.org/courses-work...
Phylogenomics
1-5 December 2025
www.physalia-courses.org
November 10, 2025 at 9:35 AM
Good morning everyone 🌞
There is only 1 seat left for the #Phylogenomics course in December!
If interested, check it out before it is too late!
There is only 1 seat left for the #Phylogenomics course in December!
If interested, check it out before it is too late!
Reposted by Filippo Nicolini 🧬
Day 30 #Invertober2025 - Christmas beetle (Anoplognathus pallidicollis) 🎄
just one more, and a whole day giving a talk and chatting science, and need to finish my Hornet costume for Saturday and cook for the Halloween party and make my usual Halloween greeting cards, and
#SciArt #invertebrates
just one more, and a whole day giving a talk and chatting science, and need to finish my Hornet costume for Saturday and cook for the Halloween party and make my usual Halloween greeting cards, and
#SciArt #invertebrates
October 30, 2025 at 12:06 AM
Day 30 #Invertober2025 - Christmas beetle (Anoplognathus pallidicollis) 🎄
just one more, and a whole day giving a talk and chatting science, and need to finish my Hornet costume for Saturday and cook for the Halloween party and make my usual Halloween greeting cards, and
#SciArt #invertebrates
just one more, and a whole day giving a talk and chatting science, and need to finish my Hornet costume for Saturday and cook for the Halloween party and make my usual Halloween greeting cards, and
#SciArt #invertebrates
Reposted by Filippo Nicolini 🧬
October 30, 2025 at 2:55 AM
Reposted by Filippo Nicolini 🧬
October 30, 2025 at 11:15 AM