Hugo Darras
@hugodarras.bsky.social
Social insects, non-mendelian inheritance and genomic conflicts 🐜 🐝 🧬🔬
Centre for Evolutionary & Organismal Biology, Zhejiang University, China 🇨🇳
Centre for Evolutionary & Organismal Biology, Zhejiang University, China 🇨🇳
Pinned
Hugo Darras
@hugodarras.bsky.social
· Jan 6
New work from @miyapan.bsky.social and our team, bringing ant, bee, and wasp labs together. @chuanxinyu.bsky.social shows that the ANTSR locus we discovered in ants has determined sex for 150+ My across bees and stinging wasps 🐜🐝, despite virtually no sequence conservation 😮 doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
Reposted by Hugo Darras
🚨Hiring a postdoc!
Are you interested in #evolutionarygenomics, #sexchromosomes, #transposableelements & #Sexspecific #recombination in 🐸🧬?
Join my lab @vubrussel.bsky.social
🔹 @fwovlaanderen.bsky.social funded up to 3y
🔹 Deadline 10/3/2026
🔹 Start ~1/6/2026
Apply 👉: jobs.vub.be/job/Elsene-P...
Are you interested in #evolutionarygenomics, #sexchromosomes, #transposableelements & #Sexspecific #recombination in 🐸🧬?
Join my lab @vubrussel.bsky.social
🔹 @fwovlaanderen.bsky.social funded up to 3y
🔹 Deadline 10/3/2026
🔹 Start ~1/6/2026
Apply 👉: jobs.vub.be/job/Elsene-P...
January 22, 2026 at 9:37 AM
🚨Hiring a postdoc!
Are you interested in #evolutionarygenomics, #sexchromosomes, #transposableelements & #Sexspecific #recombination in 🐸🧬?
Join my lab @vubrussel.bsky.social
🔹 @fwovlaanderen.bsky.social funded up to 3y
🔹 Deadline 10/3/2026
🔹 Start ~1/6/2026
Apply 👉: jobs.vub.be/job/Elsene-P...
Are you interested in #evolutionarygenomics, #sexchromosomes, #transposableelements & #Sexspecific #recombination in 🐸🧬?
Join my lab @vubrussel.bsky.social
🔹 @fwovlaanderen.bsky.social funded up to 3y
🔹 Deadline 10/3/2026
🔹 Start ~1/6/2026
Apply 👉: jobs.vub.be/job/Elsene-P...
Reposted by Hugo Darras
Feeling grateful to be featured by @vubrussel.bsky.social #VUBTomorrow on the International Day of Women and Girls in Science👩🔬
The piece highlights our lab’s work on sex chromosome evolution🧬🐸
vubtomorrow.be/en/wen-juan-...
@womeninstem.bsky.social
#WomenInScience #WomenAndGirlsInScience #STEM
The piece highlights our lab’s work on sex chromosome evolution🧬🐸
vubtomorrow.be/en/wen-juan-...
@womeninstem.bsky.social
#WomenInScience #WomenAndGirlsInScience #STEM
A sexual revolution in the animal kingdom
Wen-Juan Ma awarded ERC Grant for research into diversity and evolution in sex chromosomes
vubtomorrow.be
February 11, 2026 at 8:20 PM
Feeling grateful to be featured by @vubrussel.bsky.social #VUBTomorrow on the International Day of Women and Girls in Science👩🔬
The piece highlights our lab’s work on sex chromosome evolution🧬🐸
vubtomorrow.be/en/wen-juan-...
@womeninstem.bsky.social
#WomenInScience #WomenAndGirlsInScience #STEM
The piece highlights our lab’s work on sex chromosome evolution🧬🐸
vubtomorrow.be/en/wen-juan-...
@womeninstem.bsky.social
#WomenInScience #WomenAndGirlsInScience #STEM
The most satisfying genome assembler to run, ever. Huge appreciation for the team behind hifiasm 👏
Efficient near-telomere-to-telomere assembly of nanopore simplex reads - Nature
A genome assembly method called hifiasm (ONT) allows the assembly of chromosomes from telomere to telomere without the need for ultra-long reads, and outperforms conventional methods on most evaluatio...
doi.org
February 6, 2026 at 12:13 PM
The most satisfying genome assembler to run, ever. Huge appreciation for the team behind hifiasm 👏
Reposted by Hugo Darras
Amazing work
New work in @Cell Research
We conducted a large-scale structural genomics analysis of #insects, integrating phylogenomics with protein structure prediction to uncover hidden functions and evolutionary insights across the insect tree of life.
Read more from www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We conducted a large-scale structural genomics analysis of #insects, integrating phylogenomics with protein structure prediction to uncover hidden functions and evolutionary insights across the insect tree of life.
Read more from www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Structural genomics sheds light on protein functions and remote homologs across the insect tree of life - Cell Research
Cell Research - Structural genomics sheds light on protein functions and remote homologs across the insect tree of life
www.nature.com
January 28, 2026 at 1:54 PM
Amazing work
Yes!!
Meiotic drive has long been considered as a genetic curiosity. Genomic "footprints" suggest otherwise.
Check out our new review doi.org/10.1093/molb..., a cross-taxa synthesis arguing that recurrent drive is a pervasive and underappreciated force in genome evolution.
Check out our new review doi.org/10.1093/molb..., a cross-taxa synthesis arguing that recurrent drive is a pervasive and underappreciated force in genome evolution.
The Evolutionary Genomics of Meiotic Drive
Abstract. Meiotic drivers are selfish genetic elements that gain transmission advantages by distorting equal, Mendelian segregation. For decades, biologist
doi.org
January 27, 2026 at 3:23 PM
Yes!!
New work from @miyapan.bsky.social and our team, bringing ant, bee, and wasp labs together. @chuanxinyu.bsky.social shows that the ANTSR locus we discovered in ants has determined sex for 150+ My across bees and stinging wasps 🐜🐝, despite virtually no sequence conservation 😮 doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
January 6, 2026 at 3:01 AM
New work from @miyapan.bsky.social and our team, bringing ant, bee, and wasp labs together. @chuanxinyu.bsky.social shows that the ANTSR locus we discovered in ants has determined sex for 150+ My across bees and stinging wasps 🐜🐝, despite virtually no sequence conservation 😮 doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
Apply for a PhD position in the Pan lab @miyapan.bsky.social at MPI Biology 🇩🇪 to study the molecular mechanisms and evolution of sex determination in haplodiploid insects 🐜🐝.
December 30, 2025 at 3:35 AM
Apply for a PhD position in the Pan lab @miyapan.bsky.social at MPI Biology 🇩🇪 to study the molecular mechanisms and evolution of sex determination in haplodiploid insects 🐜🐝.
Junior professorship in evolutionary ecology of Hymenoptera, Frankfurt, Germany 🐜🐝
Professur (W1 mit Tenure Track) für Evolutionäre Ökologie der Hymenopteren - Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main
Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main bietet Stelle als Professur (W1 mit Tenure Track) für Evolutionäre Ökologie der Hymenopteren in Frankfurt - jetzt bewerben!
www.academics.de
December 19, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Junior professorship in evolutionary ecology of Hymenoptera, Frankfurt, Germany 🐜🐝
Celebrating a new building for our Center for Evolutionary and Organismal Biology at Zhejiang University 🎉, with an amazing symposium bringing together leading voices in evolutionary biology from around the world.
December 14, 2025 at 2:52 AM
Celebrating a new building for our Center for Evolutionary and Organismal Biology at Zhejiang University 🎉, with an amazing symposium bringing together leading voices in evolutionary biology from around the world.
Reposted by Hugo Darras
You are ABSOLUTELY NOT going to regret listening to this bird:
A male rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) in winter plumage.
Ptarmigan is from Gaelic 'tarmachan' meaning "croaker". The p- was added when people mistakenly assumed it was a Greek word.
A bird forever warning people: "A werewolf!" (just in case of werewolves).
Ptarmigan is from Gaelic 'tarmachan' meaning "croaker". The p- was added when people mistakenly assumed it was a Greek word.
A bird forever warning people: "A werewolf!" (just in case of werewolves).
December 6, 2025 at 5:10 PM
You are ABSOLUTELY NOT going to regret listening to this bird:
Join @miyapan.bsky.social’s new lab at the Max Planck Institute for Biology. Two PhD positions on ants to study the molecular mechanisms of complementary sex determination and epigenetic sex determination 🐜🐜🐜. Multiple PhD projects available in the Institute.
🚀 Ready to explore life science research at the highest level? Then apply for a fully-funded biology #PhD position at the Max Planck Institute for Biology @mpi-bio-fml.bsky.social and Friedrich Miescher Laboratory!
Find out about the projects you could be working on: www.phd.tuebingen.mpg.de
#IMPRS
Find out about the projects you could be working on: www.phd.tuebingen.mpg.de
#IMPRS
December 1, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Join @miyapan.bsky.social’s new lab at the Max Planck Institute for Biology. Two PhD positions on ants to study the molecular mechanisms of complementary sex determination and epigenetic sex determination 🐜🐜🐜. Multiple PhD projects available in the Institute.
Beautiful!
Parasitic ant tricks workers into killing their queen, then she takes over the throne. 🐜 👑 spkl.io/63321AbxVP
@keizotakasuka.bsky.social, Taku Shimada, & Yuji Tanaka
@currentbiology.bsky.social
@keizotakasuka.bsky.social, Taku Shimada, & Yuji Tanaka
@currentbiology.bsky.social
November 17, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Beautiful!
Reposted by Hugo Darras
New preprint from the lab: A reference brain for the clonal raider ant.
With this resource, which is based on 40 individual brains, you can register and compare all kinds of samples in a common space. It comes with lots of detailed protocols and a user-friendly GUI.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
With this resource, which is based on 40 individual brains, you can register and compare all kinds of samples in a common space. It comes with lots of detailed protocols and a user-friendly GUI.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
October 17, 2025 at 5:35 PM
New preprint from the lab: A reference brain for the clonal raider ant.
With this resource, which is based on 40 individual brains, you can register and compare all kinds of samples in a common space. It comes with lots of detailed protocols and a user-friendly GUI.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
With this resource, which is based on 40 individual brains, you can register and compare all kinds of samples in a common space. It comes with lots of detailed protocols and a user-friendly GUI.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Hugo Darras
Friday Flyday! A mating pair of big-headed flies, Pipunculidae, photographed in Texas.
October 17, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Friday Flyday! A mating pair of big-headed flies, Pipunculidae, photographed in Texas.
@AntCommunity 🐜 🐜 Chengyuan Liu found a Camponotus ant colony where all sexual larvae have red spots of various sizes, but worker larvae don’t. Any idea what this is?🤔 Video in the comment.
September 29, 2025 at 9:58 AM
@AntCommunity 🐜 🐜 Chengyuan Liu found a Camponotus ant colony where all sexual larvae have red spots of various sizes, but worker larvae don’t. Any idea what this is?🤔 Video in the comment.
Reposted by Hugo Darras
I definitely wasn’t early to the Listers party, but I’m glad I made it.
Can recommend to all birder adjacent and bird curious folks 🪶
m.youtube.com/watch?v=zl-w...
Can recommend to all birder adjacent and bird curious folks 🪶
m.youtube.com/watch?v=zl-w...
LISTERS: A Glimpse Into Extreme Birdwatching
YouTube video by owen reiser
m.youtube.com
September 21, 2025 at 9:52 PM
I definitely wasn’t early to the Listers party, but I’m glad I made it.
Can recommend to all birder adjacent and bird curious folks 🪶
m.youtube.com/watch?v=zl-w...
Can recommend to all birder adjacent and bird curious folks 🪶
m.youtube.com/watch?v=zl-w...
Reposted by Hugo Darras
There’s a leak - and a conceptual artist - at the Max Planck 👌
September 18, 2025 at 6:51 AM
There’s a leak - and a conceptual artist - at the Max Planck 👌
Reposted by Hugo Darras
"Striking diversity of male-killing symbionts and their mechanisms"
by Hiroshi Arai (@haraipapilio.bsky.social), Daisuke Kageyama (@daisukekageyama.bsky.social) & co
"Why [and how] do maternally inherited endosymbionts kill male hosts?"
Find out here:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
by Hiroshi Arai (@haraipapilio.bsky.social), Daisuke Kageyama (@daisukekageyama.bsky.social) & co
"Why [and how] do maternally inherited endosymbionts kill male hosts?"
Find out here:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
September 11, 2025 at 2:21 PM
"Striking diversity of male-killing symbionts and their mechanisms"
by Hiroshi Arai (@haraipapilio.bsky.social), Daisuke Kageyama (@daisukekageyama.bsky.social) & co
"Why [and how] do maternally inherited endosymbionts kill male hosts?"
Find out here:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
by Hiroshi Arai (@haraipapilio.bsky.social), Daisuke Kageyama (@daisukekageyama.bsky.social) & co
"Why [and how] do maternally inherited endosymbionts kill male hosts?"
Find out here:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Hugo Darras
Would a rose by any other gene smell so sweet?
Now online! A de novo-originated gene drives rose scent diversification
A de novo-originated gene drives rose scent diversification
Genomic analysis of more than 100 Rosa species uncovers a multi-step process for the de novo origination of SCREP, a taxon-restricted gene specific to the Rosa genus, highlighting its function in modulating eugenol biosynthesis and driving rose scent diversification.
dlvr.it
September 2, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Would a rose by any other gene smell so sweet?
Which species is that?
August 10, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Which species is that?
Reposted by Hugo Darras
tinyurl.com/4twykhnx, tinyurl.com/2f72a6we
Piekarski: “"If some environmental factor affects caste, it will affect size too,” “…As far as we can tell, no matter which environmental variable you manipulate, the [genetically encoded] relationship between ant body size and caste remains unchanged"
Piekarski: “"If some environmental factor affects caste, it will affect size too,” “…As far as we can tell, no matter which environmental variable you manipulate, the [genetically encoded] relationship between ant body size and caste remains unchanged"
Static allometries of caste-associated traits vary with genotype but not environment in the clonal raider ant | PNAS
Polyphenic traits in animals often exhibit nonlinear scaling with body size. Static
allometries (i.e., scaling relationships) themselves can exhibi...
tinyurl.com
July 23, 2025 at 3:55 PM
tinyurl.com/4twykhnx, tinyurl.com/2f72a6we
Piekarski: “"If some environmental factor affects caste, it will affect size too,” “…As far as we can tell, no matter which environmental variable you manipulate, the [genetically encoded] relationship between ant body size and caste remains unchanged"
Piekarski: “"If some environmental factor affects caste, it will affect size too,” “…As far as we can tell, no matter which environmental variable you manipulate, the [genetically encoded] relationship between ant body size and caste remains unchanged"
Invasive Tapinoma ants at Ingelheim station Germany are so determined they’re crossing rails to get food. Total takeover 😮
July 20, 2025 at 6:35 AM
Invasive Tapinoma ants at Ingelheim station Germany are so determined they’re crossing rails to get food. Total takeover 😮
Reposted by Hugo Darras
These NPG spinoff journals are out of control
June 29, 2025 at 4:50 PM
These NPG spinoff journals are out of control