Jakob Schnabl-Baumgartner
@jakobschnabl.bsky.social
Postdoc at the FMI (@fmiscience.bsky.social) in Basel, interested in chromatin, biochemistry and SINE transposons
Pinned
ChAHP Silences SINE Retrotransposons by Inhibiting TFIIIB Recruitment
Short interspersed nuclear elements (SINEs) are abundant non-autonomous transposable elements derived from RNA polymerase III (POL III)-transcribed short non-coding RNAs. SINEs retain sequence feature...
www.biorxiv.org
📖 Happy to share our recent preprint! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... We discovered how SINEs are kept silent: the ChAHP protein complex acts as a molecular brake on POL III transcription retrotransposons. A 🧵:
Reposted by Jakob Schnabl-Baumgartner
☕Earl Grey v7.0.0 brewed fresh☕
Nested TEs finally get the treatment they deserve: iterative detection of deep nesting, cleaner GFF annotations, and coverage stats that don’t double-count genomic space + a RepeatCraft edge-case fix.
Happy new year to the TE folks! 🧬
github.com/TobyBaril/Ea...
Nested TEs finally get the treatment they deserve: iterative detection of deep nesting, cleaner GFF annotations, and coverage stats that don’t double-count genomic space + a RepeatCraft edge-case fix.
Happy new year to the TE folks! 🧬
github.com/TobyBaril/Ea...
GitHub - TobyBaril/EarlGrey: Earl Grey: A fully automated TE curation and annotation pipeline
Earl Grey: A fully automated TE curation and annotation pipeline - TobyBaril/EarlGrey
github.com
January 5, 2026 at 3:10 PM
☕Earl Grey v7.0.0 brewed fresh☕
Nested TEs finally get the treatment they deserve: iterative detection of deep nesting, cleaner GFF annotations, and coverage stats that don’t double-count genomic space + a RepeatCraft edge-case fix.
Happy new year to the TE folks! 🧬
github.com/TobyBaril/Ea...
Nested TEs finally get the treatment they deserve: iterative detection of deep nesting, cleaner GFF annotations, and coverage stats that don’t double-count genomic space + a RepeatCraft edge-case fix.
Happy new year to the TE folks! 🧬
github.com/TobyBaril/Ea...
Reposted by Jakob Schnabl-Baumgartner
1/3 🚨New paper from our lab!🔥
Most textbooks will tell you that invertebrates employ #RNAi as antiviral mechanism. Yet, do 🪸🪼 actually do it? Well, the answer is complicated. We show that in #Nematostella dsRNA induces RNAi 🧵
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Most textbooks will tell you that invertebrates employ #RNAi as antiviral mechanism. Yet, do 🪸🪼 actually do it? Well, the answer is complicated. We show that in #Nematostella dsRNA induces RNAi 🧵
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Characterization of RNA interference in the cnidarian Nematostella vectensis reveals partial target silencing but lack of small RNA amplification
RNA interference is an ancestral antiviral mechanism that degrades viral RNA through siRNAs, but its role in cnidarians has been unclear. This study shows that Nematostella vectensis likely possesses ...
journals.plos.org
January 6, 2026 at 11:46 AM
1/3 🚨New paper from our lab!🔥
Most textbooks will tell you that invertebrates employ #RNAi as antiviral mechanism. Yet, do 🪸🪼 actually do it? Well, the answer is complicated. We show that in #Nematostella dsRNA induces RNAi 🧵
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Most textbooks will tell you that invertebrates employ #RNAi as antiviral mechanism. Yet, do 🪸🪼 actually do it? Well, the answer is complicated. We show that in #Nematostella dsRNA induces RNAi 🧵
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Reposted by Jakob Schnabl-Baumgartner
This went under the radar but answers a fundamental question in Epigenetics...
From many hundreds of olfactory receptor genes, each neuron selects expression of only single one (near-randomly). How?
Outstanding work from Mathieu Boulard and colleagues
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
From many hundreds of olfactory receptor genes, each neuron selects expression of only single one (near-randomly). How?
Outstanding work from Mathieu Boulard and colleagues
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
The transcription of a single olfactory receptor per neuron is enforced by epigenetic silencing of their enhancers
The ability to discriminate thousands of odors in our environment requires each olfactory neuron to express a single olfactory receptor from hundreds of available genes. The biochemical mechanism enfo...
www.biorxiv.org
January 5, 2026 at 12:51 PM
This went under the radar but answers a fundamental question in Epigenetics...
From many hundreds of olfactory receptor genes, each neuron selects expression of only single one (near-randomly). How?
Outstanding work from Mathieu Boulard and colleagues
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
From many hundreds of olfactory receptor genes, each neuron selects expression of only single one (near-randomly). How?
Outstanding work from Mathieu Boulard and colleagues
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Jakob Schnabl-Baumgartner
Modern biology research is biased towards investigating genes that are widely conserved and present in humans. What about genes that ARE widely conserved but NOT present in humans? Can genes missing from humans tell us something about what makes our biology different from that of other animals? 1/8
December 31, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Modern biology research is biased towards investigating genes that are widely conserved and present in humans. What about genes that ARE widely conserved but NOT present in humans? Can genes missing from humans tell us something about what makes our biology different from that of other animals? 1/8
Reposted by Jakob Schnabl-Baumgartner
Do transcriptional activators work on any promoter? Our data says no. 🙅♂️
Despite driving ~2/3 of mammalian genes, CpG island (CGI) promoters have remained a puzzle. We identified >50 activators that are exclusively compatible with this promoter class. 🧬
Despite driving ~2/3 of mammalian genes, CpG island (CGI) promoters have remained a puzzle. We identified >50 activators that are exclusively compatible with this promoter class. 🧬
December 29, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Do transcriptional activators work on any promoter? Our data says no. 🙅♂️
Despite driving ~2/3 of mammalian genes, CpG island (CGI) promoters have remained a puzzle. We identified >50 activators that are exclusively compatible with this promoter class. 🧬
Despite driving ~2/3 of mammalian genes, CpG island (CGI) promoters have remained a puzzle. We identified >50 activators that are exclusively compatible with this promoter class. 🧬
Reposted by Jakob Schnabl-Baumgartner
Activator-promoter compatibility in mammals - Hcfc1 is a key and intrinsically CGI-promoter-specific co-activator that cannot activate non-CGI promoters. Lead by @nemcko.bsky.social & Kevin Sabath in collab. with @plaschkalab.bsky.social @impvienna.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... (1/2)
Activator-promoter compatibility in mammals: a CpG-Island-specific co-activator directly bridges transcription factors to TFIID
Transcription from CpG island (CGI) promoters controls the expression of two-thirds of mammalian genes, yet despite their prevalence, it remains unknown whether CGI-specific co-activators with intrins...
www.biorxiv.org
December 30, 2025 at 8:02 AM
Activator-promoter compatibility in mammals - Hcfc1 is a key and intrinsically CGI-promoter-specific co-activator that cannot activate non-CGI promoters. Lead by @nemcko.bsky.social & Kevin Sabath in collab. with @plaschkalab.bsky.social @impvienna.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... (1/2)
Reposted by Jakob Schnabl-Baumgartner
Intrigued by a long-standing conundrum in small RNA biology—how nuclear Argonaute proteins silence transposons when they *need* target transcription for their own recruitment—we studied the piRNA pathway.
And found a hidden RNA-decay axis from Piwi to the RNA exosome.
And found a hidden RNA-decay axis from Piwi to the RNA exosome.
RNA decay via the nuclear exosome is essential for piwi-mediated transposon silencing https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.16.694471v1
December 22, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Intrigued by a long-standing conundrum in small RNA biology—how nuclear Argonaute proteins silence transposons when they *need* target transcription for their own recruitment—we studied the piRNA pathway.
And found a hidden RNA-decay axis from Piwi to the RNA exosome.
And found a hidden RNA-decay axis from Piwi to the RNA exosome.
Reposted by Jakob Schnabl-Baumgartner
📢 Please help spread the word: We’re hiring a Head of Student & Postdoc Affairs to coordinate our international PhD program, provide guidance & career counseling, lead training programs, collaborate on EDI initiatives, and manage alumni relations. Apply at www.fmi.ch/education-ca...
December 4, 2025 at 7:23 AM
📢 Please help spread the word: We’re hiring a Head of Student & Postdoc Affairs to coordinate our international PhD program, provide guidance & career counseling, lead training programs, collaborate on EDI initiatives, and manage alumni relations. Apply at www.fmi.ch/education-ca...
Reposted by Jakob Schnabl-Baumgartner
This past month marked the end of an era at the @schierlab.bsky.social @biozentrum.unibas.ch. It was a meaningful, intense, often challenging, but also incredibly rewarding chapter of my scientific journey. Thank you all in the Schier Lab for the unconditional support and the Schierleading!
December 2, 2025 at 1:47 PM
This past month marked the end of an era at the @schierlab.bsky.social @biozentrum.unibas.ch. It was a meaningful, intense, often challenging, but also incredibly rewarding chapter of my scientific journey. Thank you all in the Schier Lab for the unconditional support and the Schierleading!
Reposted by Jakob Schnabl-Baumgartner
Lastly, I’m excited to join @imbmainz.bsky.social in 2026 to start my own lab. We'll explore new mechanisms in eukaryotic gene expression, leveraging ‘evolutionary play’ to uncover how regulation, repurposing, and hijacking shape RNA biology. tinyurl.com/y4x29ctt
Thanks for reading! 20/20
Thanks for reading! 20/20
Research
IMB Mainz
tinyurl.com
November 19, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Lastly, I’m excited to join @imbmainz.bsky.social in 2026 to start my own lab. We'll explore new mechanisms in eukaryotic gene expression, leveraging ‘evolutionary play’ to uncover how regulation, repurposing, and hijacking shape RNA biology. tinyurl.com/y4x29ctt
Thanks for reading! 20/20
Thanks for reading! 20/20
Reposted by Jakob Schnabl-Baumgartner
Finally out in @nature.com! We uncovered a mechanistic framework for a general and conserved mRNA nuclear export pathway. www.nature.com/articles/s41.... 1/
November 19, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Finally out in @nature.com! We uncovered a mechanistic framework for a general and conserved mRNA nuclear export pathway. www.nature.com/articles/s41.... 1/
Reposted by Jakob Schnabl-Baumgartner
Are you an early-stage graduate student (2nd or 3rd year) or early-stage postdoc based in the US or Canada, working primarily in Drosophila? Would you like to help improve the experience of all trainees working in Drosophila research? If so, read on.
(Please repost to reach a broad audience.)
(Please repost to reach a broad audience.)
November 12, 2025 at 4:49 AM
Are you an early-stage graduate student (2nd or 3rd year) or early-stage postdoc based in the US or Canada, working primarily in Drosophila? Would you like to help improve the experience of all trainees working in Drosophila research? If so, read on.
(Please repost to reach a broad audience.)
(Please repost to reach a broad audience.)
Reposted by Jakob Schnabl-Baumgartner
New paper alert! Scientists in Clemens Plaschka’s lab at the IMP and @juliusbrennecke.bsky.social's lab at
@imbavienna.bsky.social solved a decade-old puzzle, uncovering how the information molecule mRNA travels from the cell’s nucleus to its periphery. More: bit.ly/4nHcvys
@imbavienna.bsky.social solved a decade-old puzzle, uncovering how the information molecule mRNA travels from the cell’s nucleus to its periphery. More: bit.ly/4nHcvys
November 6, 2025 at 4:04 PM
New paper alert! Scientists in Clemens Plaschka’s lab at the IMP and @juliusbrennecke.bsky.social's lab at
@imbavienna.bsky.social solved a decade-old puzzle, uncovering how the information molecule mRNA travels from the cell’s nucleus to its periphery. More: bit.ly/4nHcvys
@imbavienna.bsky.social solved a decade-old puzzle, uncovering how the information molecule mRNA travels from the cell’s nucleus to its periphery. More: bit.ly/4nHcvys
Reposted by Jakob Schnabl-Baumgartner
great to be at the #EMBOMobileGenome meeting in Heidelberg with a wonderful bunch of colleagues, speakers and attendees.
this meeting is a good reflection of the excitement and collegiality in the transposon field.
kindly sponsored by @embo.org
this meeting is a good reflection of the excitement and collegiality in the transposon field.
kindly sponsored by @embo.org
Welcome to Day 1 of 'The mobile genome: genetic and physiological impacts of transposable elements'! 🧬
The opening remarks by Julius Brennecke accompanied by his fellow scientific organisers:
🔹Déborah Bourc'his
🔹Josefa González
🔹Joseph Peters
#EMBOMobileGenome
The opening remarks by Julius Brennecke accompanied by his fellow scientific organisers:
🔹Déborah Bourc'his
🔹Josefa González
🔹Joseph Peters
#EMBOMobileGenome
November 4, 2025 at 8:25 PM
great to be at the #EMBOMobileGenome meeting in Heidelberg with a wonderful bunch of colleagues, speakers and attendees.
this meeting is a good reflection of the excitement and collegiality in the transposon field.
kindly sponsored by @embo.org
this meeting is a good reflection of the excitement and collegiality in the transposon field.
kindly sponsored by @embo.org
Reposted by Jakob Schnabl-Baumgartner
Now in @embojournal.org: Researchers in @labgrosshans.bsky.social & UCSC found that similar molecular machineries control daily circadian rhythms & developmental timing—showing that evolution can repurpose core timing systems to coordinate both daily cycles & growth. www.fmi.ch/news-events/...
One clock, two functions: from daily rhythms to development
Scientists at the FMI and the University of California-Santa Cruz have found that similar molecular machineries control daily circadian rhythms and developmental timing. Their work in worms shows that...
www.fmi.ch
November 4, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Now in @embojournal.org: Researchers in @labgrosshans.bsky.social & UCSC found that similar molecular machineries control daily circadian rhythms & developmental timing—showing that evolution can repurpose core timing systems to coordinate both daily cycles & growth. www.fmi.ch/news-events/...
Reposted by Jakob Schnabl-Baumgartner
Three FMI researchers—Nanci Winke, @neuramos.bsky.social & @lukas-anneser.bsky.social—have received @snsf.ch Ambizione Grants! Their projects explore how emotions shape behavior, how the brain responds to anxiety treatments, and how brain states affect learning & memory 🧠 www.fmi.ch/news-events/...
Three FMI researchers awarded coveted SNSF Ambizione Grants
Three FMI researchers — Nanci Winke, Arnau Ramos Prats, and Lukas Anneser — have been awarded a prestigious Ambizione Grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). Their work spans from unc...
www.fmi.ch
October 29, 2025 at 9:06 AM
Three FMI researchers—Nanci Winke, @neuramos.bsky.social & @lukas-anneser.bsky.social—have received @snsf.ch Ambizione Grants! Their projects explore how emotions shape behavior, how the brain responds to anxiety treatments, and how brain states affect learning & memory 🧠 www.fmi.ch/news-events/...
Reposted by Jakob Schnabl-Baumgartner
The Skok Lab is recruiting an experienced computational scientist to lead single-molecule epigenomic and 3D genome analysis. We integrate long-read sequencing with Hi-C/Hi-ChIP, scmulti-omics, and machine-learning to explore chromatin topology, and gene regulation.
October 23, 2025 at 5:10 PM
The Skok Lab is recruiting an experienced computational scientist to lead single-molecule epigenomic and 3D genome analysis. We integrate long-read sequencing with Hi-C/Hi-ChIP, scmulti-omics, and machine-learning to explore chromatin topology, and gene regulation.
Reposted by Jakob Schnabl-Baumgartner
And the next one: dx.doi.org/10.1038/s44318-025-00585-z . Super-fun collaboration with @partchlab.bsky.social & @gotworms.bsky.social to find similarities between developmental and circadian clocks – supported by @fmiscience.bsky.social Facilities and, financially, @snsf.ch and @erc.europa.eu . 1/n
October 20, 2025 at 1:25 PM
And the next one: dx.doi.org/10.1038/s44318-025-00585-z . Super-fun collaboration with @partchlab.bsky.social & @gotworms.bsky.social to find similarities between developmental and circadian clocks – supported by @fmiscience.bsky.social Facilities and, financially, @snsf.ch and @erc.europa.eu . 1/n
Reposted by Jakob Schnabl-Baumgartner
what you always wanted to know about the molecular choreography of nuclear mRNA packaging and export.
thought-provoking review by our colleagues (local or in the RNA community).
@plaschkalab.bsky.social
@rupertfaraway.bsky.social
@thezenklusen.bsky.social
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
thought-provoking review by our colleagues (local or in the RNA community).
@plaschkalab.bsky.social
@rupertfaraway.bsky.social
@thezenklusen.bsky.social
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
Mechanisms of Messenger RNA Packaging and Export
The packaging and export of messenger RNA (mRNA) are essential cellular pathways that bridge the nuclear and cytoplasmic phases of eukaryotic gene expression. During their nuclear maturation, mRNAs ar...
www.annualreviews.org
October 18, 2025 at 3:08 PM
what you always wanted to know about the molecular choreography of nuclear mRNA packaging and export.
thought-provoking review by our colleagues (local or in the RNA community).
@plaschkalab.bsky.social
@rupertfaraway.bsky.social
@thezenklusen.bsky.social
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
thought-provoking review by our colleagues (local or in the RNA community).
@plaschkalab.bsky.social
@rupertfaraway.bsky.social
@thezenklusen.bsky.social
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
Reposted by Jakob Schnabl-Baumgartner
Come join us in Geneva for everything epigenetics and gene regulation. It will be a great meeting! Please repost!
www.keystonesymposia.org/conferences/...
www.keystonesymposia.org/conferences/...
Epigenetics and Gene Regulation in Health and Disease: Linking Basic Mechanisms with Therapeutic Opportunities | Keystone Symposia
Join us at the Keystone Symposia on Epigenetics and Gene Regulation in Health and Disease: Linking Basic Mechanisms with Therapeutic Opportunities, March 2026, in Geneva, with field leaders!
www.keystonesymposia.org
October 17, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Come join us in Geneva for everything epigenetics and gene regulation. It will be a great meeting! Please repost!
www.keystonesymposia.org/conferences/...
www.keystonesymposia.org/conferences/...
Congratulations, looking forward to more insights into this really unusual flamenco transcript!
When transposons jump, genomes diverge - even in cultured cells.
I am happy to share our new preprint: a chromosome-scale genome assembly for Drosophila OSC cells, one of the key model systems in the piRNA field, especially for nuclear piRNA biology. 🧬🧵 (1/12)
I am happy to share our new preprint: a chromosome-scale genome assembly for Drosophila OSC cells, one of the key model systems in the piRNA field, especially for nuclear piRNA biology. 🧬🧵 (1/12)
October 15, 2025 at 3:55 AM
Congratulations, looking forward to more insights into this really unusual flamenco transcript!
Reposted by Jakob Schnabl-Baumgartner
Paper alert! doi.org/10.1038/s443... - "A scheduler for rhythmic gene expression". We show how 9 txn factors suffice for rhythmic gene expression of thousands of genes with any phase or amplitude in #Celegans larvae (and also look at the tissues where oscillations happen) 1/n
October 10, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Paper alert! doi.org/10.1038/s443... - "A scheduler for rhythmic gene expression". We show how 9 txn factors suffice for rhythmic gene expression of thousands of genes with any phase or amplitude in #Celegans larvae (and also look at the tissues where oscillations happen) 1/n
Reposted by Jakob Schnabl-Baumgartner
Just out in @science.org: Together with the lab of @wilhelmpalm.bsky.social, we used sequential in-vitro/in-vivo CRISPR screens to decipher metabolic adaptations in tumors. We find that acidosis is a dominant factor that shapes energy metabolism and stress resilience. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
October 9, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Just out in @science.org: Together with the lab of @wilhelmpalm.bsky.social, we used sequential in-vitro/in-vivo CRISPR screens to decipher metabolic adaptations in tumors. We find that acidosis is a dominant factor that shapes energy metabolism and stress resilience. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Jakob Schnabl-Baumgartner
I am hiring! - looking for a Staff Scientist to co-run my research group with me. Staff Scientist is a senior professional scientist role at EMBL. Please forward to people you might know who could be interested! embl.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/EMBL/j...
Staff Scientist
About EMBL-EBI EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute is a data powerhouse, utilised on a global scale to advance scientific discovery through bioinformatics and solutions to some of the world’s mos...
embl.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com
October 10, 2025 at 7:30 AM
I am hiring! - looking for a Staff Scientist to co-run my research group with me. Staff Scientist is a senior professional scientist role at EMBL. Please forward to people you might know who could be interested! embl.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/EMBL/j...
Reposted by Jakob Schnabl-Baumgartner
⚡⚡Excited to announce I'll be starting my lab at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Genetics (@molgen.mpg.de) in Berlin in December! Leaving sunny California to join a fantastic environment with colleagues who do super cool work.
🔬🦠I'm hiring at all levels! 🔬🦠Check: www.molgen.mpg.de/fueyo-lab
🔬🦠I'm hiring at all levels! 🔬🦠Check: www.molgen.mpg.de/fueyo-lab
October 6, 2025 at 1:46 PM
⚡⚡Excited to announce I'll be starting my lab at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Genetics (@molgen.mpg.de) in Berlin in December! Leaving sunny California to join a fantastic environment with colleagues who do super cool work.
🔬🦠I'm hiring at all levels! 🔬🦠Check: www.molgen.mpg.de/fueyo-lab
🔬🦠I'm hiring at all levels! 🔬🦠Check: www.molgen.mpg.de/fueyo-lab