Melissa M. Marr, Ph.D
@melissamarr.bsky.social
Researcher in wildlife conservation and livestock genomics at the Roslin Institute, with a little bit of ancient DNA thrown in. Horse girl.
Pinned
Genomic Insights Into Red Squirrels in Scotland Reveal Loss of Heterozygosity Associated With Extreme Founder Effects
Remnant populations of endangered species often have complex demographic histories associated with human impact. This can present challenges for conservation as populations modified by human activity...
doi.org
Right on time for Squirrel Appreciation Day 🐿️👏, here is our new paper on genomics 🧬 of red squirrels in Scotland 🏴. We find extremely low diversity linked to historical bottlenecks and founder effects. #redsquirrel #genomics #conservation #scotland doi.org/10.1111/eva....
Reposted by Melissa M. Marr, Ph.D
Gene editing offers transformative solution to saving endangered species www.uea.ac.uk/about/news/a...
Gene editing offers transformative solution to saving endangered species
Gene editing technologies - such as those used in agriculture and de-extinction projects - can be repurposed to offer a transformative solution for restoring genetic diversity and saving endangered…
www.uea.ac.uk
July 19, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Gene editing offers transformative solution to saving endangered species www.uea.ac.uk/about/news/a...
Reposted by Melissa M. Marr, Ph.D
A 4-year postdoc position in population genomics is available in my group at the University of East Anglia, to work on a project sequencing a thousand fox genomes across rural and urban environments in the UK.
vacancies.uea.ac.uk/vacancies/15...
vacancies.uea.ac.uk/vacancies/15...
Senior Research Associate in Population Genomics (RA2327) in University of East Anglia | UEA
View details and apply for this Senior Research Associate in Population Genomics (RA2327) vacancy in University of East Anglia. Faculty of Science
School of Biological Sciences
Senior Research A...
vacancies.uea.ac.uk
June 13, 2025 at 8:46 AM
A 4-year postdoc position in population genomics is available in my group at the University of East Anglia, to work on a project sequencing a thousand fox genomes across rural and urban environments in the UK.
vacancies.uea.ac.uk/vacancies/15...
vacancies.uea.ac.uk/vacancies/15...
Come and join me on the 14th May, 7pm, online via The Orkney Nature Festival, for a geeks history of Scotland's red squirrels with some genomics thrown in.
Scotland's red squirrels: a genetic journey through time. 🐿️🧬🐿️🧬
Booking here (it's free!) 👇
www.orkneycommunities.co.uk/orkneynature...
Scotland's red squirrels: a genetic journey through time. 🐿️🧬🐿️🧬
Booking here (it's free!) 👇
www.orkneycommunities.co.uk/orkneynature...
May 6, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Come and join me on the 14th May, 7pm, online via The Orkney Nature Festival, for a geeks history of Scotland's red squirrels with some genomics thrown in.
Scotland's red squirrels: a genetic journey through time. 🐿️🧬🐿️🧬
Booking here (it's free!) 👇
www.orkneycommunities.co.uk/orkneynature...
Scotland's red squirrels: a genetic journey through time. 🐿️🧬🐿️🧬
Booking here (it's free!) 👇
www.orkneycommunities.co.uk/orkneynature...
Our new paper on difference of sexual development in a (rather adorable) pygmy goat 🐐🐐🐐 #DSD #pygmygoat
www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15...
@mdpiopenaccess.bsky.social @roslininstitute.bsky.social @thedickvet.bsky.social
www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15...
@mdpiopenaccess.bsky.social @roslininstitute.bsky.social @thedickvet.bsky.social
March 28, 2025 at 9:51 AM
Our new paper on difference of sexual development in a (rather adorable) pygmy goat 🐐🐐🐐 #DSD #pygmygoat
www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15...
@mdpiopenaccess.bsky.social @roslininstitute.bsky.social @thedickvet.bsky.social
www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15...
@mdpiopenaccess.bsky.social @roslininstitute.bsky.social @thedickvet.bsky.social
Reposted by Melissa M. Marr, Ph.D
Tracing the Spread of Celtic Languages using Ancient Genomics https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.02.28.640770v1
March 1, 2025 at 11:33 AM
Tracing the Spread of Celtic Languages using Ancient Genomics https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.02.28.640770v1
Licensed release of beavers in England has now been approved, paving the way for the first official reintroductions into the wild in centuries. Fantastic news from @naturalengland.bsky.social and defra 👏🦫👏🦫👏 #beavers #rewilding #conservation
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Beaver releases into wild to be allowed in England for first time in centuries
Exclusive: Government to grant nature groups a licence for release of rodent species after earlier setbacks
www.theguardian.com
February 28, 2025 at 10:49 AM
Licensed release of beavers in England has now been approved, paving the way for the first official reintroductions into the wild in centuries. Fantastic news from @naturalengland.bsky.social and defra 👏🦫👏🦫👏 #beavers #rewilding #conservation
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Melissa M. Marr, Ph.D
#Gaelic is Scotland’s oldest surviving language, and for many centuries it has been spoken throughout these glens.
At Dundreggan, you can explore its deep connections to the land and rewilding 👉 visitdundreggan.co.uk/things-to-do/
#SeachdainNaGàidhlig #WorldGaelicWeek
At Dundreggan, you can explore its deep connections to the land and rewilding 👉 visitdundreggan.co.uk/things-to-do/
#SeachdainNaGàidhlig #WorldGaelicWeek
February 27, 2025 at 4:26 PM
#Gaelic is Scotland’s oldest surviving language, and for many centuries it has been spoken throughout these glens.
At Dundreggan, you can explore its deep connections to the land and rewilding 👉 visitdundreggan.co.uk/things-to-do/
#SeachdainNaGàidhlig #WorldGaelicWeek
At Dundreggan, you can explore its deep connections to the land and rewilding 👉 visitdundreggan.co.uk/things-to-do/
#SeachdainNaGàidhlig #WorldGaelicWeek
Reposted by Melissa M. Marr, Ph.D
Science advances our economic, physical, and social and cultural wellbeing, and is key to a sustainable future. However, we live in times of great change, and the values that have driven science for the benefit of humanity are under threat. Read our statement here: royalsociety.org/news/2025/02...
Science under threat | Royal Society
The Royal Society will use its voice and the expertise of our Fellows to resist the various challenges to science.
royalsociety.org
February 25, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Science advances our economic, physical, and social and cultural wellbeing, and is key to a sustainable future. However, we live in times of great change, and the values that have driven science for the benefit of humanity are under threat. Read our statement here: royalsociety.org/news/2025/02...
Long read Greenland shark genome, this is rather cool. Estimated lifespan of 392 +\- 120 😳 🦈🧬
The Greenland shark genome: insights into deep-sea ecology and lifespan extremes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.02.19.638963v1
February 23, 2025 at 9:07 AM
Long read Greenland shark genome, this is rather cool. Estimated lifespan of 392 +\- 120 😳 🦈🧬
Scottish Gaelic is spoken by 75% of fishermen in the Hebrides; conservation of the language is linked to conservation of the marine environment #scottishgaelic #marineconservation
theconversation.com/how-scottish...
theconversation.com/how-scottish...
How Scottish Gaelic is helping protect Scotland’s seas
Around 75% of fishermen in the Outer Hebrides speak Gaelic. Their daily use of the language at work helps keep it alive.
theconversation.com
February 21, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Scottish Gaelic is spoken by 75% of fishermen in the Hebrides; conservation of the language is linked to conservation of the marine environment #scottishgaelic #marineconservation
theconversation.com/how-scottish...
theconversation.com/how-scottish...
Reposted by Melissa M. Marr, Ph.D
New publication:
Comparative population genomics of manta rays has global implications for management
@emilyhumble.bsky.social
Read more here: doi.org/10.1111/mec....
Comparative population genomics of manta rays has global implications for management
@emilyhumble.bsky.social
Read more here: doi.org/10.1111/mec....
Comparative population genomics of manta rays has global implications for management
Understanding population connectivity and genetic diversity is of fundamental importance to conservation. However, in globally threatened marine megafauna, challenges remain due to their elusive natu...
doi.org
February 21, 2025 at 12:52 PM
New publication:
Comparative population genomics of manta rays has global implications for management
@emilyhumble.bsky.social
Read more here: doi.org/10.1111/mec....
Comparative population genomics of manta rays has global implications for management
@emilyhumble.bsky.social
Read more here: doi.org/10.1111/mec....
Reposted by Melissa M. Marr, Ph.D
We're looking for a next-gen sequencing engineer to help run our sequencing core 🧬🦣🦤
Position is onsite in Dallas TX colossal.com/careers/?gh_...
Position is onsite in Dallas TX colossal.com/careers/?gh_...
Careers at Colossal - Colossal
Colossal is a breakthrough bioscience and genetic engineering company that builds radical new technologies to advance the field of genomics.
colossal.com
February 21, 2025 at 4:12 PM
We're looking for a next-gen sequencing engineer to help run our sequencing core 🧬🦣🦤
Position is onsite in Dallas TX colossal.com/careers/?gh_...
Position is onsite in Dallas TX colossal.com/careers/?gh_...
As a new Gàidhlig speaker, I'm still learning how to communicate wildlife research in this new tongue. So I was delighted to find Roddy MacLean's gorgeous writings on Gàidhlig, the land and the concept of fiadhaich (wild). scotlandsnature.wordpress.com/2022/08/05/a... #scottishgaelic #wildlife
A Gaelic View of ‘Wild’
The Gaelic equivalent of the English word ‘rewilding’ is ‘ath-fhiadhachadh’. Roddy Maclean argues that the word, and the concept, sit comfortably within a Gaelic world-view.
scotlandsnature.wordpress.com
February 19, 2025 at 7:52 PM
As a new Gàidhlig speaker, I'm still learning how to communicate wildlife research in this new tongue. So I was delighted to find Roddy MacLean's gorgeous writings on Gàidhlig, the land and the concept of fiadhaich (wild). scotlandsnature.wordpress.com/2022/08/05/a... #scottishgaelic #wildlife
Reposted by Melissa M. Marr, Ph.D
With @katiejenike.bsky.social and a bunch more of our fellow k-mer enthusiasts, we put together a manuscript on k-mers in biodiversity genomics. A guide if you will, that covers k-mers from basics to some really funky stuff...
genome.cshlp.org/content/35/2...
genome.cshlp.org/content/35/2...
February 14, 2025 at 10:20 PM
With @katiejenike.bsky.social and a bunch more of our fellow k-mer enthusiasts, we put together a manuscript on k-mers in biodiversity genomics. A guide if you will, that covers k-mers from basics to some really funky stuff...
genome.cshlp.org/content/35/2...
genome.cshlp.org/content/35/2...
Reposted by Melissa M. Marr, Ph.D
Congratulations to former Daphne Jackson Fellow Dr @melissamarr.bsky.social whose research on lack of diversity in the red squirrel population is giving us new insights into species vulnerability.
Read more: www.ed.ac.uk/news/lack-of...
Read more: www.ed.ac.uk/news/lack-of...
Lack of diversity threatens red squirrels’ future
Scotland’s red squirrels have among the lowest genetic diversity of any species, leaving them vulnerable to disease outbreaks, a study shows.
www.ed.ac.uk
February 14, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Congratulations to former Daphne Jackson Fellow Dr @melissamarr.bsky.social whose research on lack of diversity in the red squirrel population is giving us new insights into species vulnerability.
Read more: www.ed.ac.uk/news/lack-of...
Read more: www.ed.ac.uk/news/lack-of...
Reposted by Melissa M. Marr, Ph.D
Thread and open access version to come-
Ancient genomics and the origin, dispersal, and development of domestic sheep | Science search.app/gtSKYHF5HqRa...
#adna
Ancient genomics and the origin, dispersal, and development of domestic sheep | Science search.app/gtSKYHF5HqRa...
#adna
Ancient genomics and the origin, dispersal, and development of domestic sheep
The origins and prehistory of domestic sheep (Ovis aries) are incompletely understood; to address this, we generated data from 118 ancient genomes spanning 12,000 years sampled from across Eurasia. Ge...
search.app
January 30, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Thread and open access version to come-
Ancient genomics and the origin, dispersal, and development of domestic sheep | Science search.app/gtSKYHF5HqRa...
#adna
Ancient genomics and the origin, dispersal, and development of domestic sheep | Science search.app/gtSKYHF5HqRa...
#adna
Reposted by Melissa M. Marr, Ph.D
In a new Science study, researchers present CASTER, a tool that uses arrangements in DNA sequences known as site patterns to infer “species trees,” which are diagrams that depict the evolutionary relationships among species.
Learn more:
Learn more:
CASTER: Direct species tree inference from whole-genome alignments
Genomes contain mosaics of discordant evolutionary histories, challenging the accurate inference of the tree of life. While genome-wide data are routinely used for discordance-aware phylogenomic analyses, due to modeling and scalability limitations, the...
scim.ag
January 25, 2025 at 3:07 PM
In a new Science study, researchers present CASTER, a tool that uses arrangements in DNA sequences known as site patterns to infer “species trees,” which are diagrams that depict the evolutionary relationships among species.
Learn more:
Learn more:
Reposted by Melissa M. Marr, Ph.D
In the new Heredity Podcast:
Katja Guschanski @kguschan.bsky.social discusses using microbiome fossils from teeth to study antibiotic resistance through time! And her first Popgroup.
@gensocuk.bsky.social
@uni-of-edinburgh.bsky.social
@onehealthgenomics.bsky.social
@animecol-uu.bsky.social
Katja Guschanski @kguschan.bsky.social discusses using microbiome fossils from teeth to study antibiotic resistance through time! And her first Popgroup.
@gensocuk.bsky.social
@uni-of-edinburgh.bsky.social
@onehealthgenomics.bsky.social
@animecol-uu.bsky.social
January 30, 2025 at 11:23 AM
In the new Heredity Podcast:
Katja Guschanski @kguschan.bsky.social discusses using microbiome fossils from teeth to study antibiotic resistance through time! And her first Popgroup.
@gensocuk.bsky.social
@uni-of-edinburgh.bsky.social
@onehealthgenomics.bsky.social
@animecol-uu.bsky.social
Katja Guschanski @kguschan.bsky.social discusses using microbiome fossils from teeth to study antibiotic resistance through time! And her first Popgroup.
@gensocuk.bsky.social
@uni-of-edinburgh.bsky.social
@onehealthgenomics.bsky.social
@animecol-uu.bsky.social
Reposted by Melissa M. Marr, Ph.D
Out now in @nature.com! Our comprehensive meta-analysis of global terrestrial and marine genetic diversity demonstrates rapid loss of genetic diversity and identifies conservation interventions that could mitigate this process
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
🧪🌍🦤🧬
#consgen #PopGen
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
🧪🌍🦤🧬
#consgen #PopGen
Global meta-analysis shows action is needed to halt genetic diversity loss - Nature
A comprehensive meta-analysis of global terrestrial and marine genetic diversity covering more than three decades of research demonstrates rapid loss of genetic diversity and identifies conservation i...
www.nature.com
January 29, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Out now in @nature.com! Our comprehensive meta-analysis of global terrestrial and marine genetic diversity demonstrates rapid loss of genetic diversity and identifies conservation interventions that could mitigate this process
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
🧪🌍🦤🧬
#consgen #PopGen
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
🧪🌍🦤🧬
#consgen #PopGen
Reposted by Melissa M. Marr, Ph.D
Right on time for Squirrel Appreciation Day 🐿️👏, here is our new paper on genomics 🧬 of red squirrels in Scotland 🏴. We find extremely low diversity linked to historical bottlenecks and founder effects. #redsquirrel #genomics #conservation #scotland doi.org/10.1111/eva....
Genomic Insights Into Red Squirrels in Scotland Reveal Loss of Heterozygosity Associated With Extreme Founder Effects
Remnant populations of endangered species often have complex demographic histories associated with human impact. This can present challenges for conservation as populations modified by human activity...
doi.org
January 21, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Right on time for Squirrel Appreciation Day 🐿️👏, here is our new paper on genomics 🧬 of red squirrels in Scotland 🏴. We find extremely low diversity linked to historical bottlenecks and founder effects. #redsquirrel #genomics #conservation #scotland doi.org/10.1111/eva....
Returning from #pag32 in #sandeigo and the merry dancers are putting on a show over Canada #aurora #northernlights #britishairways
January 17, 2025 at 9:12 AM
Returning from #pag32 in #sandeigo and the merry dancers are putting on a show over Canada #aurora #northernlights #britishairways