Alessandro Scacchetti
@metalsga.bsky.social
Postdoc, Bonasio lab @ University of Pennsylvania. Former PhD student, Becker lab @ LMU Munich.
Epigenetics & exotic RNAs.
Epigenetics & exotic RNAs.
Pinned
Pseudouridine selects RNAs for extracellular transport
RNAs move through the extracellular space to transmit information between cells, including mammalian neurons, yet how specific RNAs are channeled into these extracellular routes is unknown. Using geno...
www.biorxiv.org
RNAs outside of cells?! How did they get there?
(Thread coming soon 👀)
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
(Thread coming soon 👀)
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Alessandro Scacchetti
Anthony A. Hyman will become EMBL’s next Director General.
He joins EMBL from @mpi-cbg.de in Dresden. He is also Professor of Molecular Biology @tudresden.bsky.social, and was a group leader at EMBL Heidelberg from 1993 to 1999.
www.embl.org/news/people-...
He joins EMBL from @mpi-cbg.de in Dresden. He is also Professor of Molecular Biology @tudresden.bsky.social, and was a group leader at EMBL Heidelberg from 1993 to 1999.
www.embl.org/news/people-...
November 27, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Anthony A. Hyman will become EMBL’s next Director General.
He joins EMBL from @mpi-cbg.de in Dresden. He is also Professor of Molecular Biology @tudresden.bsky.social, and was a group leader at EMBL Heidelberg from 1993 to 1999.
www.embl.org/news/people-...
He joins EMBL from @mpi-cbg.de in Dresden. He is also Professor of Molecular Biology @tudresden.bsky.social, and was a group leader at EMBL Heidelberg from 1993 to 1999.
www.embl.org/news/people-...
Reposted by Alessandro Scacchetti
Online Now: Run for your sons: paternal exercise boosts offspring fitness #trends #endocrinology #metabolism
Run for your sons: paternal exercise boosts offspring fitness
Once controversial, paternal nongenetic inheritance is becoming widely accepted. In a recent study, Yin et al. expand this burgeoning field by demonstrating that the benefits of paternal exercise are passed to progeny via modulating sperm miRNAs. These sperm miRNAs regulate the corepressor NCor1 during embryogenesis to casually transmit improved fitness and metabolism to offspring.
dlvr.it
November 21, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Online Now: Run for your sons: paternal exercise boosts offspring fitness #trends #endocrinology #metabolism
Reposted by Alessandro Scacchetti
Unpause! I'm super happy to now be able to share the published version of our paper at Science Advances showing that:
1) active histone mods occur independently of transcription
2) transcription coordinates histone deacetylation at active promoters
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
1) active histone mods occur independently of transcription
2) transcription coordinates histone deacetylation at active promoters
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
RNA polymerase II coordinates histone deacetylation at active promoters
Transcription initiation limits histone acetylation and H2AZ incorporation at promoters.
www.science.org
February 12, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Unpause! I'm super happy to now be able to share the published version of our paper at Science Advances showing that:
1) active histone mods occur independently of transcription
2) transcription coordinates histone deacetylation at active promoters
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
1) active histone mods occur independently of transcription
2) transcription coordinates histone deacetylation at active promoters
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Alessandro Scacchetti
Pleased to share the programme for #GenReg26 is now live!
Head to the website to check out the sessions & speakers shaping our second edition➡️ bit.ly/3LGC4Cg
If you haven’t registered yet, now’s the time - final deadlines are fast approaching!⌛️
Head to the website to check out the sessions & speakers shaping our second edition➡️ bit.ly/3LGC4Cg
If you haven’t registered yet, now’s the time - final deadlines are fast approaching!⌛️
November 13, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Pleased to share the programme for #GenReg26 is now live!
Head to the website to check out the sessions & speakers shaping our second edition➡️ bit.ly/3LGC4Cg
If you haven’t registered yet, now’s the time - final deadlines are fast approaching!⌛️
Head to the website to check out the sessions & speakers shaping our second edition➡️ bit.ly/3LGC4Cg
If you haven’t registered yet, now’s the time - final deadlines are fast approaching!⌛️
Reposted by Alessandro Scacchetti
Our new preprint is online! Viruses, bacteria and parasites use effector proteins to evade immunity and rewire host cell pathways. Together with @AlexanderStark8, we wondered if we could systematically map what these effectors, regardless of their origin, do in human cells. 1/8
www.biorxiv.org
November 18, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Our new preprint is online! Viruses, bacteria and parasites use effector proteins to evade immunity and rewire host cell pathways. Together with @AlexanderStark8, we wondered if we could systematically map what these effectors, regardless of their origin, do in human cells. 1/8
Reposted by Alessandro Scacchetti
Structural insights into the chaperone role of uncharged tRNA(Arg/Gln) in viral RNAP assembly #RNASky 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
tRNA as an assembly chaperone for a macromolecular transcription-processing complex - Nature Structural & Molecular Biology
Here, the authors solve a series of cryo-electron microscopy structures that show how transfer RNAs (tRNAs) can guide the assembly of the multisubunit poxvirus RNA polymerase, uncovering a role of tRN...
www.nature.com
November 15, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Structural insights into the chaperone role of uncharged tRNA(Arg/Gln) in viral RNAP assembly #RNASky 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Alessandro Scacchetti
☕Xu, Kong, Li, Pisignano et al provide a map of pseudouridine sites in human noncoding RNA. Using a systematic knockout approach, they associate each pseudouridine site with the activity of a specific pseudouridine synthase.
bit.ly/48hM65C
bit.ly/48hM65C
A comprehensive tRNA pseudouridine map uncovers targets dependent on human stand-alone pseudouridine synthases - Nature Cell Biology
Xu, Kong, Li, Pisignano and colleagues provide a map of pseudouridine sites in human noncoding RNA. Using a systematic knockout approach, they associate each pseudouridine site with the activity of a ...
bit.ly
November 16, 2025 at 8:32 AM
☕Xu, Kong, Li, Pisignano et al provide a map of pseudouridine sites in human noncoding RNA. Using a systematic knockout approach, they associate each pseudouridine site with the activity of a specific pseudouridine synthase.
bit.ly/48hM65C
bit.ly/48hM65C
Reposted by Alessandro Scacchetti
Postdoc depression and anxiety rates are rising, finds survey of 872 researchers
The Max Planck Society is good at attracting international postdocs but struggles to retain them, survey finds.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
The Max Planck Society is good at attracting international postdocs but struggles to retain them, survey finds.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
November 15, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Postdoc depression and anxiety rates are rising, finds survey of 872 researchers
The Max Planck Society is good at attracting international postdocs but struggles to retain them, survey finds.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
The Max Planck Society is good at attracting international postdocs but struggles to retain them, survey finds.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Great resource!
Diverse expression and modification of tRNAs and tRNA-derived RNAs in 19 mouse tissues https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.11.685198v1
November 13, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Great resource!
Reposted by Alessandro Scacchetti
Excellent commentary on transgenerational inheritance and the importance of rigor and reproducibility.
Subtitled: when a colleague drags and tries to throw you under the bus because they couldn't follow protocols
@ctmurphy1.bsky.social
Subtitled: when a colleague drags and tries to throw you under the bus because they couldn't follow protocols
@ctmurphy1.bsky.social
I wrote this insight for eLife. A friend said, "Why would you want to step on that rake?". Well, I guess that's just who I am. Enjoy. elifesciences.org/articles/109...
Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance: Twists and turns in the story of learned avoidance
Evidence that learned avoidance of a pathogenic bacterium can be transmitted to future generations in C. elegans is growing.
elifesciences.org
November 11, 2025 at 11:44 PM
Excellent commentary on transgenerational inheritance and the importance of rigor and reproducibility.
Subtitled: when a colleague drags and tries to throw you under the bus because they couldn't follow protocols
@ctmurphy1.bsky.social
Subtitled: when a colleague drags and tries to throw you under the bus because they couldn't follow protocols
@ctmurphy1.bsky.social
Reposted by Alessandro Scacchetti
Launching celldynamicslab.com, the homepage of our new group at EPFL working on cell fragmentation, membrane and cortex mechanics, FLIM imaging, and microfluidics tools. MSc/PhD or postdocs interested in quantitative cell biology are welcome to reach out. We're also hiring a lab manager in 2026!
Main - Cell Dynamics and Fragmentation Lab
The Cell Dynamics and Fragmentation lab at We study how single cells move and fragment in complex environments using microfluidics. We bring tools and concep...
celldynamicslab.com
November 11, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Launching celldynamicslab.com, the homepage of our new group at EPFL working on cell fragmentation, membrane and cortex mechanics, FLIM imaging, and microfluidics tools. MSc/PhD or postdocs interested in quantitative cell biology are welcome to reach out. We're also hiring a lab manager in 2026!
Reposted by Alessandro Scacchetti
𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗗𝗡𝗔 𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲?Excited to share our new study “Repair of DNA double-strand breaks leaves heritable impairment to genome function”, revealing DNA repair’s hidden cost, out now @science.org tinyurl.com/5n6zw3ye. Led by @sbantele.bsky.social and Jiri Lukas.🧵👇1/n
Repair of DNA double-strand breaks leaves heritable impairment to genome function
Upon DNA breakage, a genomic locus undergoes alterations in three-dimensional chromatin architecture to facilitate signaling and repair. Although cells possess mechanisms to repair damaged DNA, it is ...
tinyurl.com
November 6, 2025 at 11:05 PM
𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗗𝗡𝗔 𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲?Excited to share our new study “Repair of DNA double-strand breaks leaves heritable impairment to genome function”, revealing DNA repair’s hidden cost, out now @science.org tinyurl.com/5n6zw3ye. Led by @sbantele.bsky.social and Jiri Lukas.🧵👇1/n
Reposted by Alessandro Scacchetti
Having a lot of fun at #EMBOMobileGenome 😃
Perfect timing for our paper from the lab of @toddmacfarlan.bsky.social to be out @natcomms.nature.com!!
…and I’m currently on the job market looking for a new scientific home!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Perfect timing for our paper from the lab of @toddmacfarlan.bsky.social to be out @natcomms.nature.com!!
…and I’m currently on the job market looking for a new scientific home!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Young KRAB-zinc finger gene clusters are highly dynamic incubators of ERV-driven genetic heterogeneity in mice - Nature Communications
KRAB-zinc finger proteins repress retrotransposons and rapidly evolve in mammals. Here, the authors show that ERV insertions drive the emergence and diversification of new KZFP genes in mice, revealin...
www.nature.com
November 6, 2025 at 9:40 AM
Having a lot of fun at #EMBOMobileGenome 😃
Perfect timing for our paper from the lab of @toddmacfarlan.bsky.social to be out @natcomms.nature.com!!
…and I’m currently on the job market looking for a new scientific home!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Perfect timing for our paper from the lab of @toddmacfarlan.bsky.social to be out @natcomms.nature.com!!
…and I’m currently on the job market looking for a new scientific home!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Alessandro Scacchetti
And another interesting paper from Bonasio lab @upenn.edu www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... "Pseudouridine selects RNAs for extracellular transport" noting among other things "..that MYL6 is a pU-binding protein required for secretion of RNAs." notable MYL6 is found in the Kossiakoff work as a csRBP!
Pseudouridine selects RNAs for extracellular transport
RNAs move through the extracellular space to transmit information between cells, including mammalian neurons, yet how specific RNAs are channeled into these extracellular routes is unknown. Using geno...
www.biorxiv.org
November 2, 2025 at 7:44 PM
And another interesting paper from Bonasio lab @upenn.edu www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... "Pseudouridine selects RNAs for extracellular transport" noting among other things "..that MYL6 is a pU-binding protein required for secretion of RNAs." notable MYL6 is found in the Kossiakoff work as a csRBP!
Reposted by Alessandro Scacchetti
Pseudouridine selects RNAs for extracellular transport https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.28.685156v1
October 30, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Pseudouridine selects RNAs for extracellular transport https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.28.685156v1
Reposted by Alessandro Scacchetti
Pseudouridine selects RNAs for extracellular transport https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.28.685156v1
October 30, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Pseudouridine selects RNAs for extracellular transport https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.28.685156v1
RNAs outside of cells?! How did they get there?
(Thread coming soon 👀)
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
(Thread coming soon 👀)
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Pseudouridine selects RNAs for extracellular transport
RNAs move through the extracellular space to transmit information between cells, including mammalian neurons, yet how specific RNAs are channeled into these extracellular routes is unknown. Using geno...
www.biorxiv.org
October 30, 2025 at 8:07 PM
RNAs outside of cells?! How did they get there?
(Thread coming soon 👀)
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
(Thread coming soon 👀)
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Alessandro Scacchetti
Exciting news for the RNA research community!
The Human RNome Project has been launched: a global effort to map all human RNAs and their chemical modifications. Proud to support it and contribute to the article in Genome Biology doi.org/10.1186/s130...
#RNA #bioinformatics #RNAstructure #modomics
The Human RNome Project has been launched: a global effort to map all human RNAs and their chemical modifications. Proud to support it and contribute to the article in Genome Biology doi.org/10.1186/s130...
#RNA #bioinformatics #RNAstructure #modomics
Unlocking the regulatory code of RNA: launching the Human RNome Project - Genome Biology
The human RNome, the complete set of RNA molecules in human cells, arises through complex processing and includes diverse molecular species. While research traditionally focuses on four canonical nucl...
genomebiology.biomedcentral.com
October 25, 2025 at 10:27 PM
Exciting news for the RNA research community!
The Human RNome Project has been launched: a global effort to map all human RNAs and their chemical modifications. Proud to support it and contribute to the article in Genome Biology doi.org/10.1186/s130...
#RNA #bioinformatics #RNAstructure #modomics
The Human RNome Project has been launched: a global effort to map all human RNAs and their chemical modifications. Proud to support it and contribute to the article in Genome Biology doi.org/10.1186/s130...
#RNA #bioinformatics #RNAstructure #modomics
Reposted by Alessandro Scacchetti
Congratulations to Roberto Bonasio (@PennCDB), recipient of the NIH Director's Pioneer Award! Learn more about Dr. Bonasio & his research interests here➡️ www.bonasiolab.org #NIHHighRisk
October 21, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Congratulations to Roberto Bonasio (@PennCDB), recipient of the NIH Director's Pioneer Award! Learn more about Dr. Bonasio & his research interests here➡️ www.bonasiolab.org #NIHHighRisk
Reposted by Alessandro Scacchetti
AWESOME CONFERENCE ALERT!!
I had an absolute blast at the Fusion “Genome Regulation Through RNA” meeting back in 2024, and psyched to see its upcoming return! Let’s geek out about all things Chromatin and RNA together, in Cancun!
Talk abstract deadline: 10/17
Details👇
I had an absolute blast at the Fusion “Genome Regulation Through RNA” meeting back in 2024, and psyched to see its upcoming return! Let’s geek out about all things Chromatin and RNA together, in Cancun!
Talk abstract deadline: 10/17
Details👇
September 19, 2025 at 11:44 PM
AWESOME CONFERENCE ALERT!!
I had an absolute blast at the Fusion “Genome Regulation Through RNA” meeting back in 2024, and psyched to see its upcoming return! Let’s geek out about all things Chromatin and RNA together, in Cancun!
Talk abstract deadline: 10/17
Details👇
I had an absolute blast at the Fusion “Genome Regulation Through RNA” meeting back in 2024, and psyched to see its upcoming return! Let’s geek out about all things Chromatin and RNA together, in Cancun!
Talk abstract deadline: 10/17
Details👇
Reposted by Alessandro Scacchetti
New from the lab led by @natrigg.bsky.social. We started by characterizing mRNA in sperm, EVs, and the epithelium across epididymal transit. This revealed evidence that sperm acquire specific mRNAs through fusion with epididymal EVs, which we further established with in vitro co-incubation assays
Epididymal extracellular vesicles harbor and convey mRNA to sperm for transfer to zygotes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.18.670952v1
August 23, 2025 at 6:30 PM
New from the lab led by @natrigg.bsky.social. We started by characterizing mRNA in sperm, EVs, and the epithelium across epididymal transit. This revealed evidence that sperm acquire specific mRNAs through fusion with epididymal EVs, which we further established with in vitro co-incubation assays
Reposted by Alessandro Scacchetti
Epididymal extracellular vesicles harbor and convey mRNA to sperm for transfer to zygotes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.18.670952v1
August 22, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Epididymal extracellular vesicles harbor and convey mRNA to sperm for transfer to zygotes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.18.670952v1
Reposted by Alessandro Scacchetti
🎼 Did you know all #ISEV2025 Education Day Talks are on our YouTube channel?
🤩 Check out our playlist: youtu.be/ovtLcTMeyQU?...
🤩 Check out our playlist: youtu.be/ovtLcTMeyQU?...
Education Day 2025 Part 1: EVs. What are they? Where are they from? Where do they go?
YouTube video by EVClub: Extracellular Vesicle Club
youtu.be
August 19, 2025 at 1:42 PM
🎼 Did you know all #ISEV2025 Education Day Talks are on our YouTube channel?
🤩 Check out our playlist: youtu.be/ovtLcTMeyQU?...
🤩 Check out our playlist: youtu.be/ovtLcTMeyQU?...
What?!
AN UNBELIEVABLE LAP FROM CHARLES!!!
LECLERC TAKES POLE FOR THE HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX!!! 🤩
#F1 #HungarianGP
LECLERC TAKES POLE FOR THE HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX!!! 🤩
#F1 #HungarianGP
August 2, 2025 at 4:05 PM
What?!
Reposted by Alessandro Scacchetti
For what I consider the best inter-generational study to date @jamiehackett.bsky.social used over 2,000 mice.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
While that's a lot of mice, it is better animal welfare to perform a definitive study than to perform hundreds of uninterpretable studies.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
While that's a lot of mice, it is better animal welfare to perform a definitive study than to perform hundreds of uninterpretable studies.
July 29, 2025 at 11:39 AM
For what I consider the best inter-generational study to date @jamiehackett.bsky.social used over 2,000 mice.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
While that's a lot of mice, it is better animal welfare to perform a definitive study than to perform hundreds of uninterpretable studies.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
While that's a lot of mice, it is better animal welfare to perform a definitive study than to perform hundreds of uninterpretable studies.