Pío Sierra
@piosierra.bsky.social
Research Assistant at University of Cambridge. Mobile DNA, pangenomes, things that evolve.
Investigador en la Universidad de Cambridge. ADN móvil, pangenomas, cosas que evolucionan.
Investigador en la Universidad de Cambridge. ADN móvil, pangenomas, cosas que evolucionan.
Reposted by Pío Sierra
Kicked off a series on #Drosophila TE discovery and naming. The first post covers elements that predate the term "mobile element", and more. artemilin.dev/posts/te_nam...
Drosophila TE name origins, Part 1 – Postdoc Postpunk
artemilin.dev
September 21, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Kicked off a series on #Drosophila TE discovery and naming. The first post covers elements that predate the term "mobile element", and more. artemilin.dev/posts/te_nam...
Reposted by Pío Sierra
🌎👩🔬 For 15+ years biology has accumulated petabytes (million gigabytes) of🧬DNA sequencing data🧬 from the far reaches of our planet.🦠🍄🌵
Logan now democratizes efficient access to the world’s most comprehensive genetics dataset. Free and open.
doi.org/10.1101/2024...
Logan now democratizes efficient access to the world’s most comprehensive genetics dataset. Free and open.
doi.org/10.1101/2024...
September 3, 2025 at 8:39 AM
🌎👩🔬 For 15+ years biology has accumulated petabytes (million gigabytes) of🧬DNA sequencing data🧬 from the far reaches of our planet.🦠🍄🌵
Logan now democratizes efficient access to the world’s most comprehensive genetics dataset. Free and open.
doi.org/10.1101/2024...
Logan now democratizes efficient access to the world’s most comprehensive genetics dataset. Free and open.
doi.org/10.1101/2024...
This is really cool!
The preprint of my first article is available on bioRxiv! We use a transposon ecology framework to analyze the distribution of insertion sequences within prokaryotic genomes. We characterize their ecological niche and show evidence of niche construction 🧪🧬💻
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Unwelcome guests: characterizing the ecological niche of insertion sequences within prokaryotic genomes
Insertion sequences (ISs) are widespread prokaryotic transposable elements, often regarded as genomic parasites that primarily cause deleterious mutations. However, they can also promote adaptive chan...
www.biorxiv.org
July 29, 2025 at 10:19 AM
This is really cool!
So true.
Really important points by @alexbateman1.bsky.social on the importance of curation, addressing some of the myths out there.
Deeply resonates with the commentary Paul Thomas and I wrote last year www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Deeply resonates with the commentary Paul Thomas and I wrote last year www.nature.com/articles/s41...
July 24, 2025 at 10:46 AM
So true.
Reposted by Pío Sierra
Ever wonder how nature got so diverse? The secret might lie in these colorful cichlid fish 🐠
Cambridge scientists discovered that ‘flipped’ segments of DNA act like evolutionary turbo boosts — helping species adapt fast and evolve into new ones. 👇
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adr9961
Cambridge scientists discovered that ‘flipped’ segments of DNA act like evolutionary turbo boosts — helping species adapt fast and evolve into new ones. 👇
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adr9961
June 17, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Ever wonder how nature got so diverse? The secret might lie in these colorful cichlid fish 🐠
Cambridge scientists discovered that ‘flipped’ segments of DNA act like evolutionary turbo boosts — helping species adapt fast and evolve into new ones. 👇
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adr9961
Cambridge scientists discovered that ‘flipped’ segments of DNA act like evolutionary turbo boosts — helping species adapt fast and evolve into new ones. 👇
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adr9961
Reposted by Pío Sierra
What do we know about the earliest history of cichlid fishes? Here’s an extended and updated English version of my article on the biogeography and early evolution of cichlids, which I originally published in German in 2020. 🐟 🧪 #cichlid #biogeography #paleontology
cichlidae.com/article.php?...
cichlidae.com/article.php?...
Biogeography, evolution, and ecology of the ancestral cichlids
This article examines the early evolution and biogeography of cichlids, discussing fossil evidence and the hypotheses regarding their origins. It reviews the debate between Gondwanan vicariance and ma...
cichlidae.com
May 27, 2025 at 5:53 PM
What do we know about the earliest history of cichlid fishes? Here’s an extended and updated English version of my article on the biogeography and early evolution of cichlids, which I originally published in German in 2020. 🐟 🧪 #cichlid #biogeography #paleontology
cichlidae.com/article.php?...
cichlidae.com/article.php?...
Reposted by Pío Sierra
Latest findings on cryptic infection of giant viruses published in @ScienceMagazine. We discovered a large virus hiding within a green algal genome producing virions.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Cryptic infection of a giant virus in a unicellular green alga
Latency is a common strategy in a wide range of viral lineages, but its prevalence in giant viruses remains unknown. Here we describe a 617 kbp integrated giant viral element in the model green alga C...
www.science.org
April 12, 2025 at 7:56 AM
Latest findings on cryptic infection of giant viruses published in @ScienceMagazine. We discovered a large virus hiding within a green algal genome producing virions.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Pío Sierra
1/10 Today in @science.org in collaboration with
the Liu group we report the development of a laboratory-evolved CRISPR-associated transposase (evoCAST) that supports therapeutically relevant levels of RNA-programmable gene insertion in human cells. drive.google.com/file/d/1I-Ub...
the Liu group we report the development of a laboratory-evolved CRISPR-associated transposase (evoCAST) that supports therapeutically relevant levels of RNA-programmable gene insertion in human cells. drive.google.com/file/d/1I-Ub...
May 15, 2025 at 10:49 PM
1/10 Today in @science.org in collaboration with
the Liu group we report the development of a laboratory-evolved CRISPR-associated transposase (evoCAST) that supports therapeutically relevant levels of RNA-programmable gene insertion in human cells. drive.google.com/file/d/1I-Ub...
the Liu group we report the development of a laboratory-evolved CRISPR-associated transposase (evoCAST) that supports therapeutically relevant levels of RNA-programmable gene insertion in human cells. drive.google.com/file/d/1I-Ub...
🚨 🐟🐠 🚨
African Cichlid Lake Radiations Recapitulate Riverine Axial Morphologies Through Repeated Exploration of Morphospace https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.13.653847v1
May 16, 2025 at 8:12 AM
🚨 🐟🐠 🚨
Reposted by Pío Sierra
📢 HPRC Release 2 is here!
Now with phased genomes from 200+ individuals, a 5x increase from Release 1.
Explore sequencing data, assemblies, annotations & alignments in our interactive data explorer ⬇️:
humanpangenome.org/hprc-data-re...
Now with phased genomes from 200+ individuals, a 5x increase from Release 1.
Explore sequencing data, assemblies, annotations & alignments in our interactive data explorer ⬇️:
humanpangenome.org/hprc-data-re...
May 12, 2025 at 1:15 PM
📢 HPRC Release 2 is here!
Now with phased genomes from 200+ individuals, a 5x increase from Release 1.
Explore sequencing data, assemblies, annotations & alignments in our interactive data explorer ⬇️:
humanpangenome.org/hprc-data-re...
Now with phased genomes from 200+ individuals, a 5x increase from Release 1.
Explore sequencing data, assemblies, annotations & alignments in our interactive data explorer ⬇️:
humanpangenome.org/hprc-data-re...
Reposted by Pío Sierra
Massively parallel jumping assay (MPJA) enables to test the jumping potential of thousands of transposons. Analysis of >160,000 Alu haplotypes identified transposition-asssociated domains. Amazing work by Navneet Matharu, Jingjing Zhao, Martin Kircher and many others.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Massively parallel jumping assay decodes Alu retrotransposition activity - Nature Communications
Here, the authors develop a high-throughput assay to measure the jumping potential of thousands of transposons in parallel.
www.nature.com
May 9, 2025 at 3:50 AM
Massively parallel jumping assay (MPJA) enables to test the jumping potential of thousands of transposons. Analysis of >160,000 Alu haplotypes identified transposition-asssociated domains. Amazing work by Navneet Matharu, Jingjing Zhao, Martin Kircher and many others.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A new result with Teratorns involved. 150Kb!
The phenotypic variation of widefins medaka is due to the insertion of a giant transposon containing a viral genome within hoxca cluster https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.04.28.651082v1
May 2, 2025 at 8:37 AM
A new result with Teratorns involved. 150Kb!
"Essential components of the genome", indeed.
💥🥳 At long last, our latest paper is out!
Gag proteins of endogenous retroviruses are required for zebrafish development
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Led heroically by Sylvia Chang & @jonowells.bsky.social
A study which has changed the way I think of #transposons! No less! 🧵 1/n
Gag proteins of endogenous retroviruses are required for zebrafish development
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Led heroically by Sylvia Chang & @jonowells.bsky.social
A study which has changed the way I think of #transposons! No less! 🧵 1/n
Gag proteins encoded by endogenous retroviruses are required for zebrafish development | PNAS
Transposable elements (TEs) make up the bulk of eukaryotic genomes and examples abound
of TE-derived sequences repurposed for organismal function. ...
www.pnas.org
April 30, 2025 at 12:26 PM
"Essential components of the genome", indeed.
This is a such a great work! So many things to find out now that we start having complete™ genomes.
A project five years in the making, we've now published complete "T2T" genomes for six additional ape species! It turns out that finishing (and analyzing) six genomes is slightly more work than one... doi.org/10.1038/s415...
April 10, 2025 at 8:35 AM
This is a such a great work! So many things to find out now that we start having complete™ genomes.
Reposted by Pío Sierra
I’m very proud and happy to share the first paper of my PhD with @millanek.bsky.social that is now published in the latest issue of the journal Evolution @journal-evo.bsky.social.
academic.oup.com/evolut/artic...
academic.oup.com/evolut/artic...
Rapid evolution of recombination landscapes during the divergence of cichlid ecotypes in Lake Masoko
Abstract. Variation of recombination rate along the genome is of crucial importance to rapid adaptation and organismal diversification. Many unknowns remai
academic.oup.com
March 14, 2025 at 4:42 PM
I’m very proud and happy to share the first paper of my PhD with @millanek.bsky.social that is now published in the latest issue of the journal Evolution @journal-evo.bsky.social.
academic.oup.com/evolut/artic...
academic.oup.com/evolut/artic...
Pretty much sums up all my concerns, genetic and computational. 😅
xkcd.com
xkcd.com
Lungfish
xkcd.com
March 18, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Pretty much sums up all my concerns, genetic and computational. 😅
xkcd.com
xkcd.com
I was so much looking for this after I saw her presenting it last year. Great story!
1/ Transposable elements are often called "jumping genes" because they mobilize within genomes. 🧬
But did you know they can also jump 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 cells? 🤯
Our new study reveals how retrotransposons invade the germline directly from somatic cells.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A short thread 🧵👇
But did you know they can also jump 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 cells? 🤯
Our new study reveals how retrotransposons invade the germline directly from somatic cells.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A short thread 🧵👇
March 18, 2025 at 1:07 PM
I was so much looking for this after I saw her presenting it last year. Great story!
Reposted by Pío Sierra
An excellent postdoc opportunity with Adrian Baez-Ortega at the University of Cambridge on the genomics of transmissible cancer.
Adrian is a brilliant scientist and mentor, this is a fantastic opportunity I strongly recommend.
Adrian is a brilliant scientist and mentor, this is a fantastic opportunity I strongly recommend.
March 17, 2025 at 7:33 AM
An excellent postdoc opportunity with Adrian Baez-Ortega at the University of Cambridge on the genomics of transmissible cancer.
Adrian is a brilliant scientist and mentor, this is a fantastic opportunity I strongly recommend.
Adrian is a brilliant scientist and mentor, this is a fantastic opportunity I strongly recommend.
Reposted by Pío Sierra
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
In collaboration with Andrew Lang and Alison Buchan, we just published a review on the complex and sometimes convoluted interactions and evolutionary relationships among bacterial mobile genetic elements.
#phage #plasmid #evolution #bacteria #plasmidbiology #MGE
In collaboration with Andrew Lang and Alison Buchan, we just published a review on the complex and sometimes convoluted interactions and evolutionary relationships among bacterial mobile genetic elements.
#phage #plasmid #evolution #bacteria #plasmidbiology #MGE
Interactions and evolutionary relationships among bacterial mobile genetic elements - Nature Reviews Microbiology
In this Review, Lang and colleagues present an overview of the current knowledge landscape regarding mobile genetic elements in bacteria, with a focus on their evolutionary relationships and interacti...
www.nature.com
March 11, 2025 at 1:12 PM
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
In collaboration with Andrew Lang and Alison Buchan, we just published a review on the complex and sometimes convoluted interactions and evolutionary relationships among bacterial mobile genetic elements.
#phage #plasmid #evolution #bacteria #plasmidbiology #MGE
In collaboration with Andrew Lang and Alison Buchan, we just published a review on the complex and sometimes convoluted interactions and evolutionary relationships among bacterial mobile genetic elements.
#phage #plasmid #evolution #bacteria #plasmidbiology #MGE
Reposted by Pío Sierra
We did it! We caught Starship #transposons moving between #fungal species in the lab, including between species separated by ~100my. We think Starships are a mediator of HGT in fungi, akin to conjugative elements in bacteria. Check out the preprint. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
March 7, 2025 at 7:18 AM
We did it! We caught Starship #transposons moving between #fungal species in the lab, including between species separated by ~100my. We think Starships are a mediator of HGT in fungi, akin to conjugative elements in bacteria. Check out the preprint. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Pío Sierra
Why do some animals, like whales, live exceptionally long lives free from many age-related diseases? 🐋
Join Dr Alex Cagan to find out how nature’s solutions to longevity may hold the key to tackling our own health challenges.
🗓️ 03 April
⌚ 8-9pm
📍 Cambridge Union
🎫 Booking required
Join Dr Alex Cagan to find out how nature’s solutions to longevity may hold the key to tackling our own health challenges.
🗓️ 03 April
⌚ 8-9pm
📍 Cambridge Union
🎫 Booking required
March 7, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Why do some animals, like whales, live exceptionally long lives free from many age-related diseases? 🐋
Join Dr Alex Cagan to find out how nature’s solutions to longevity may hold the key to tackling our own health challenges.
🗓️ 03 April
⌚ 8-9pm
📍 Cambridge Union
🎫 Booking required
Join Dr Alex Cagan to find out how nature’s solutions to longevity may hold the key to tackling our own health challenges.
🗓️ 03 April
⌚ 8-9pm
📍 Cambridge Union
🎫 Booking required
Reposted by Pío Sierra
Did you know that two jumping sequences (LINE-1 and Alu) make up nearly 30% of our genomes? Ever wonder how they jump into new genomic sites? We have some exciting discoveries to share new in @science.org on the structural mechanisms of LINE-1 retrotransposition (aka jumping 🧬➡️🧬) 🧪 #ScienceResearch
March 7, 2025 at 12:22 AM
Did you know that two jumping sequences (LINE-1 and Alu) make up nearly 30% of our genomes? Ever wonder how they jump into new genomic sites? We have some exciting discoveries to share new in @science.org on the structural mechanisms of LINE-1 retrotransposition (aka jumping 🧬➡️🧬) 🧪 #ScienceResearch
Reposted by Pío Sierra
Happy to share our manuscript on the in situ visualization of the copia retrotransposon in its final form today published in @cellcellpress.bsky.social www.cell.com/cell/fulltex.... What’s new?
March 5, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Happy to share our manuscript on the in situ visualization of the copia retrotransposon in its final form today published in @cellcellpress.bsky.social www.cell.com/cell/fulltex.... What’s new?
Reposted by Pío Sierra
Want to level up in #pangenomics? Join our workshop, conference & biohackathon in #Memphis, May 11-15, 2025. Connect with leading scientists, embrace genomic diversity, and contribute to cutting-edge software. Register now! pangenome.github.io/MemPanG25/ #Bioinformatics #MemPanG25
February 24, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Want to level up in #pangenomics? Join our workshop, conference & biohackathon in #Memphis, May 11-15, 2025. Connect with leading scientists, embrace genomic diversity, and contribute to cutting-edge software. Register now! pangenome.github.io/MemPanG25/ #Bioinformatics #MemPanG25