Michael Hiller | Lightnews

Earth BioGenome Project 🌍 @ebpgenome.bsky.social · Sep 4

🚀🧬🔥 Hot off the press — 2025!
Don’t miss this must-read publication: bit.ly/4mJwFb7

This groundbreaking paper sets the stage for Earth BioGenome Project Phase II — where EBP is gearing up to scale genome sequencing 10× faster than ever before! 🌍✨

Michael Hiller @hillermich.bsky.social · Sep 3

phenomenal work from Terry's lab !! And unbelievable that funding for such exciting work is cut.

tdcapellini.bsky.social @tdcapellini.bsky.social · Aug 27

1) I am delighted to present this terrific tour de force research conducted by my post-doc Dr. Gayani Senevirathne @gayani.bsky.social and published today in Nature -
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The evolution of hominin bipedalism in two steps - Nature

The human pelvis exhibits distinct spatiotemporal ossification patterns and an ilium cartilage growth plate that is shifted perpendicularly compared with those of other mammals and non-human primates—...

www.nature.com

tdcapellini.bsky.social @tdcapellini.bsky.social · Aug 27

1) I am delighted to present this terrific tour de force research conducted by my post-doc Dr. Gayani Senevirathne @gayani.bsky.social and published today in Nature -
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The evolution of hominin bipedalism in two steps - Nature

The human pelvis exhibits distinct spatiotemporal ossification patterns and an ilium cartilage growth plate that is shifted perpendicularly compared with those of other mammals and non-human primates—...

www.nature.com

Michael Hiller @hillermich.bsky.social · Aug 9

Back from the Biology of Aging Gordon Research Conference. Fantastic meeting. Great to meet old friends and making new ones.

Michael Hiller @hillermich.bsky.social · Aug 1

Happy to share our review on "Linking phenotype to genotype using comprehensive genomic comparisons" in Current Op with @leonhilgers.bsky.social. Summary of recent work and a discussion of the challenges ahead. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Leon Hilgers @leonhilgers.bsky.social · Jul 24

You link #phenotype 🦜 to #genotype 🧬 with #comparative #genomics 💻?

This #review is for you 📜: authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...

We review new #methods, remaining #challenges and #future directions and highlight recent key studies.

Thanks @hillermich.bsky.social!

Please share! 🙂

Michael Hiller @hillermich.bsky.social · Feb 11

And @pacbio.bsky.social updated the ultralow protocol based on our results. Checkout www.pacb.com/blog/new-amp...

New Ampli-Fi ultra-low-input protocol will support HiFi sequencing from as little as 1 ng of DNA - PacBio

The Ampli-Fi protocol is a new workflow that will enable HiFi sequencing from as little as 1 ng of genomic DNA.

www.pacb.com

Michael Hiller @hillermich.bsky.social · Feb 11

Our work on long read sequencing of ethanol or difficult-to-sequence samples is out genomebiology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10..... Will help to sequence Earth's biodiversity @ebpgenome.bsky.social. w @bernhardbein.bsky.social & many great colleagues.

Michael Hiller @hillermich.bsky.social · Feb 9

Checkout @xuelingyi.bsky.social manuscript on diet evolution in bats, with a focus on the super diverse Phyllostomid bat family. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Michael Hiller @hillermich.bsky.social · Feb 7

To all #PSMC users. A prominent PSMC peak followed by a collapse is typically an artifact. @leonhilgers.bsky.social publiation in @currentbiology.bsky.social shows how to avoid this with simple parameter adjustments. www.cell.com/current-biol...

Leon Hilgers @leonhilgers.bsky.social · Feb 6

I am writing a short #review about linking #phenotype to #genotype 🧬using #comparative #genomics. There is a lot of amazing work and I would love to hear about your favorite studies 🥇 from the last 2-3 years! ✉️

Pls also send your own work here (or DM)🙂!!

Please #repost!!! 🔁
(just joined bsky)

an owl holding an envelope with a label that says ' envelope ' on it

ALT: an owl holding an envelope with a label that says ' envelope ' on it

media.tenor.com

BatResearch - A.Prof. Aaron Irving @batresearch.bsky.social · Jan 30

A news article for a lay summary also: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

How flight helped bats become invincible to viruses

The mammals carry immune adaptations that emerged when their ancestors took to the skies.

www.nature.com

BatResearch - A.Prof. Aaron Irving @batresearch.bsky.social · Jan 29

Finally online - Bat genomes illuminate adaptations to viral tolerance and disease resistance www.nature.com/articles/s41... @hillermich.bsky.social @virology.bsky.social @emmateeling.bsky.social

www.nature.com

Michael Hiller @hillermich.bsky.social · Jan 29

Blue is my favorite color :-) and this is my first post here after leaving another platform, which is run by a guy who openly supports the german far-right party.

Michael Hiller @hillermich.bsky.social · Jan 29

This project started 4 years ago and would not have been possible without the contribution of many fantastic colleagues from @bat1kgenomes.bsky.social and beyond !! Tagging a few @leonhilgers.bsky.social @emmateeling.bsky.social @sonjavernes.bsky.social @labdavalos.bsky.social @nancybat.bsky.social

Michael Hiller @hillermich.bsky.social · Jan 29

The study highlights the power of comparative genomics, but much work remains to understand the immune system of bats. We need more bat genomes for deeper comparative analyses and more experiments to understand functional differences, of ISG15 and other candidates.

Michael Hiller @hillermich.bsky.social · Jan 29

(iii) Unexpectedly, ISG15 function can differ substantially, not only between human and bats, but also between closely-related, even co-roosting, bats --> one cannot generalize from a few bat species to all bats.

Michael Hiller @hillermich.bsky.social · Jan 29

(i) ISG15 of most rhinolophid/hipposiderid bats, where coronaviruses are frequently found, reduces SARS-CoV-2 by 80-90%, while human ISG15 has no effect. (ii) Intracellular ISGylation is key for this antiviral activity, different from the role of human ISG15 as a secreted pro-inflammatory cytokine.

Michael Hiller @hillermich.bsky.social · Jan 29

For ISG15 (Interferon Stimulated Gene 15), Aaron Irving @batresearch.bsky.social and Arinjay Banerjee @virology.bsky.social investigated gene function of 12 bats and human in cellular infection assays. Generated many new insights. Three highlights:

Michael Hiller @hillermich.bsky.social · Jan 29

We highlight selection in several regulators of inflammatory responses and interferon signalling --> promising experimental targets to better understand bat immune-system adaptations.

Michael Hiller @hillermich.bsky.social · Jan 29

Where does that signal come from? Partially from the ancestral bat lineage, which has almost twice as many positively selected immune genes than expected --> immune adaptations are likely (directly or indirectly) linked to the evolution of flight.

Michael Hiller @hillermich.bsky.social · Jan 29

We found that signatures of adaptations in immune genes are more prevalent in bats than in other mammalian orders; genomic evidence that bats have pronounced immune-system adaptations.

Michael Hiller @hillermich.bsky.social · Jan 29

@ariadnamorales.bsky.social applied #TOGA to 20 bat and 95 other mammalian genomes and systematically screened 17130 orthologous genes for signatures of adaptations (positive selection). Importantly, this screen is unbiased, testing 228 phylogenetic branches, allowing recurrent & repeated selection.

Michael Hiller @hillermich.bsky.social · Jan 29

To investigate the genomic basis of these adaptations, the @bat1kgenomes.bsky.social consortium generated 10 new high-quality bat genomes, focusing viral reservoir bats TheGeneMyers @mpicbg.bsky.social

Michael Hiller @hillermich.bsky.social · Jan 29

Bats are natural reservoirs for Corona, Ebola, Hendra, Nipah, Rabies and other viruses. Unlike other mammals, reservoir bats do not get sick from infections with such viruses --> their immune system must have unique adaptations.