The Rokas Lab at Vanderbilt University
@rokaslab.bsky.social
The Laboratory of Antonis Rokas at Vanderbilt University. Tweets should be interpreted as bookmarks, not as endorsements. All opinions are Antonis'.
http://www.rokaslab.org
http://www.rokaslab.org
Reposted by The Rokas Lab at Vanderbilt University
Last week, faculty, trainees, alumni and friends gathered for our annual retreat. It was a day of talks, trivia and conversation spanning #evolution, medicine, ecology, and genomics. A great reminder of the interdisciplinary community that makes ESI work. More retreat highlights soon…
December 18, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Last week, faculty, trainees, alumni and friends gathered for our annual retreat. It was a day of talks, trivia and conversation spanning #evolution, medicine, ecology, and genomics. A great reminder of the interdisciplinary community that makes ESI work. More retreat highlights soon…
Reposted by The Rokas Lab at Vanderbilt University
Grateful to share our paper on gene-specific selective sweeps in human gut microbiomes, now out in Nature! It has been a joy to work with @rwolff.bsky.social, whose insights and hard work made this possible.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Gene-specific selective sweeps are pervasive across human gut microbiomes - Nature
Development and application of the integrated linkage disequilibrium score (iLDS) reveals both selective pressures impacting the human gut microbiome and the mechanisms by which gut bacteria adapt to ...
www.nature.com
December 17, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Grateful to share our paper on gene-specific selective sweeps in human gut microbiomes, now out in Nature! It has been a joy to work with @rwolff.bsky.social, whose insights and hard work made this possible.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by The Rokas Lab at Vanderbilt University
Our raxtax tool for taxonomic classification is published: it is 2.7–100 times faster than competing tools but equally accurate - raxtax has increasing speedups with growing query and reference sequence numbers compared to existing tools: academic.oup.com/bioinformati...
December 17, 2025 at 8:01 AM
Our raxtax tool for taxonomic classification is published: it is 2.7–100 times faster than competing tools but equally accurate - raxtax has increasing speedups with growing query and reference sequence numbers compared to existing tools: academic.oup.com/bioinformati...
Reposted by The Rokas Lab at Vanderbilt University
We are excited to present the accepted paper on the Mycetohabitans pangenome now in @genomebiolevol.bsky.social! 🧬🦠
Thanks to @bhuwanabbot.bsky.social
for leading and collaborators:
@raw937.bsky.social @andrabuchan.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/gbe/advance-...
Thanks to @bhuwanabbot.bsky.social
for leading and collaborators:
@raw937.bsky.social @andrabuchan.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/gbe/advance-...
Comparative genomics reveals multipartite genomes undergoing loss in the fungal endosymbiotic genus Mycetohabitans
Abstract. Endosymbiotic bacteria extensively impact phenotypes of their eukaryotic hosts, while experiencing dramatic changes to their own genome as they b
academic.oup.com
December 2, 2025 at 5:16 PM
We are excited to present the accepted paper on the Mycetohabitans pangenome now in @genomebiolevol.bsky.social! 🧬🦠
Thanks to @bhuwanabbot.bsky.social
for leading and collaborators:
@raw937.bsky.social @andrabuchan.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/gbe/advance-...
Thanks to @bhuwanabbot.bsky.social
for leading and collaborators:
@raw937.bsky.social @andrabuchan.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/gbe/advance-...
Reposted by The Rokas Lab at Vanderbilt University
Just a few days left to apply to the PhD position in our group. It focuses on selfish genes in #fungi and how they might affect the spread of giant #TEs called Starships.
We're looking for a PhD student! If you're interested in #fungal #genomics & #TEs, meiotic drive, or pathogens, please consider applying. The project is about toxin/antidote genes in the human fungal pathogen A. fumigatus. uu.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
December 17, 2025 at 6:55 AM
Reposted by The Rokas Lab at Vanderbilt University
Did you miss of Friend of Darwin and Friend of the Planet Awards webinar last week? No worries, we have you covered. It's up on our youtube page now, so you can watch at your leisure. https://youtu.be/XV56GYpLmX4?si=7v58y5BlefZ16EnX
December 13, 2025 at 12:15 AM
Did you miss of Friend of Darwin and Friend of the Planet Awards webinar last week? No worries, we have you covered. It's up on our youtube page now, so you can watch at your leisure. https://youtu.be/XV56GYpLmX4?si=7v58y5BlefZ16EnX
Reposted by The Rokas Lab at Vanderbilt University
New preprint with @rokaslab.bsky.social! We used genomic, metabolic, environmental, and phenotypic data sets from 1,154 Saccharomycotina strains to asses filamentation variability and predict filamentation types across the subphylum. 🧩
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
The Macroevolution of Filamentation Morphology Across the Saccharomycotina Yeast Subphylum
Saccharomycotina yeasts are a highly diverse and widely distributed subphylum of ascomycete fungi that exhibit diversity in their asexual growth morphologies; the human commensal yeast Candida albican...
www.biorxiv.org
December 8, 2025 at 9:00 PM
New preprint with @rokaslab.bsky.social! We used genomic, metabolic, environmental, and phenotypic data sets from 1,154 Saccharomycotina strains to asses filamentation variability and predict filamentation types across the subphylum. 🧩
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by The Rokas Lab at Vanderbilt University
Join us online tomorrow, Thursday, December 4 at 6 PM ET as we honor this year's Friend of Darwin and Friend of the Planet recipients! The event is free and open to the public. To register - us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
#celebrate #sciencesky #edusky #evobio #climatesky #ecosky #webinar
#celebrate #sciencesky #edusky #evobio #climatesky #ecosky #webinar
December 3, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Join us online tomorrow, Thursday, December 4 at 6 PM ET as we honor this year's Friend of Darwin and Friend of the Planet recipients! The event is free and open to the public. To register - us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
#celebrate #sciencesky #edusky #evobio #climatesky #ecosky #webinar
#celebrate #sciencesky #edusky #evobio #climatesky #ecosky #webinar
Reposted by The Rokas Lab at Vanderbilt University
🚨Last chance! Submit an abstract to #Fungal26 by tomorrow, December 4: buff.ly/1AMwJhf
They can cover an array of topics including #ComparativeGenomics #FunctionalGenomics #Pathogenic #GeneRegulation #CellBiology #Biochemistry #Metabolism #FungalEcology #Evo #DevelopmentalBio #PopGen and more.
They can cover an array of topics including #ComparativeGenomics #FunctionalGenomics #Pathogenic #GeneRegulation #CellBiology #Biochemistry #Metabolism #FungalEcology #Evo #DevelopmentalBio #PopGen and more.
December 3, 2025 at 2:02 PM
🚨Last chance! Submit an abstract to #Fungal26 by tomorrow, December 4: buff.ly/1AMwJhf
They can cover an array of topics including #ComparativeGenomics #FunctionalGenomics #Pathogenic #GeneRegulation #CellBiology #Biochemistry #Metabolism #FungalEcology #Evo #DevelopmentalBio #PopGen and more.
They can cover an array of topics including #ComparativeGenomics #FunctionalGenomics #Pathogenic #GeneRegulation #CellBiology #Biochemistry #Metabolism #FungalEcology #Evo #DevelopmentalBio #PopGen and more.
Reposted by The Rokas Lab at Vanderbilt University
Essential reading if you care about the health of scientific inquiry in the US
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
The U.S. Is Funding Fewer Grants in Every Area of Science and Medicine
A quiet policy change means the government is making fewer bets on long-term science.
www.nytimes.com
December 2, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Essential reading if you care about the health of scientific inquiry in the US
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Reposted by The Rokas Lab at Vanderbilt University
Reminder! Our Friend of Darwin and Friend of the Planet webinar is coming up this Thurs., 12/4! Join us virtually as we celebrate 2025's award recipients. This online event is free and will include a Q&A after brief comments from the winners. Register - us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
#soundscience
#soundscience
Join us virtually on 12/4 at 6 ET as we celebrate our 2025 Friend of Darwin and Friend of the Planet recipients. Register in advance for a link - us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi... #CelebrateScience #ScienceSky #ClimateSky
December 1, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Reminder! Our Friend of Darwin and Friend of the Planet webinar is coming up this Thurs., 12/4! Join us virtually as we celebrate 2025's award recipients. This online event is free and will include a Q&A after brief comments from the winners. Register - us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
#soundscience
#soundscience
Reposted by The Rokas Lab at Vanderbilt University
How do new centromeres evolve while staying compatible with the division machinery?
Discover it in our new Nature paper! We show centromeres transition gradually via a mix of drift, selection, and sex, reaching new states that still work with the kinetochore.
👉 doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09779-1
Discover it in our new Nature paper! We show centromeres transition gradually via a mix of drift, selection, and sex, reaching new states that still work with the kinetochore.
👉 doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09779-1
November 26, 2025 at 4:21 PM
How do new centromeres evolve while staying compatible with the division machinery?
Discover it in our new Nature paper! We show centromeres transition gradually via a mix of drift, selection, and sex, reaching new states that still work with the kinetochore.
👉 doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09779-1
Discover it in our new Nature paper! We show centromeres transition gradually via a mix of drift, selection, and sex, reaching new states that still work with the kinetochore.
👉 doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09779-1
Reposted by The Rokas Lab at Vanderbilt University
Gonçalves, @rokaslab.bsky.social @hittingerlab.bsky.social et al. surveyed 1,154 yeast genomes to examine gene repertoires linked to genome stability and elevated evolutionary rates, showing hypermutators persist across macroevolutionary timescales.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf285
#evobio #molbio
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf285
#evobio #molbio
Stable Hypermutators Revealed by the Genomic Landscape of Genes Involved in Genome Stability Among Yeast Species
Abstract. Mutator phenotypes are short-lived due to the rapid accumulation of deleterious mutations. Yet, recent observations reveal that certain fungi can
doi.org
November 25, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Gonçalves, @rokaslab.bsky.social @hittingerlab.bsky.social et al. surveyed 1,154 yeast genomes to examine gene repertoires linked to genome stability and elevated evolutionary rates, showing hypermutators persist across macroevolutionary timescales.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf285
#evobio #molbio
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf285
#evobio #molbio
Reposted by The Rokas Lab at Vanderbilt University
Check out Brynn Wooten's work featured in @livescience.com and covered on our website - https://loom.ly/rVt1O2o! Proud alum of Fort Hays State University @vuartsci.bsky.social #HellPig
November 20, 2025 at 2:07 AM
Check out Brynn Wooten's work featured in @livescience.com and covered on our website - https://loom.ly/rVt1O2o! Proud alum of Fort Hays State University @vuartsci.bsky.social #HellPig
Reposted by The Rokas Lab at Vanderbilt University
Debating submitting an abstract to present at #Fungal26?
Share your science with a supportive community, ready to provide important feedback, exchange ideas, and build new collaborations to further the field of fungal genetics.
Submit an abstract: buff.ly/SSt7GDF
Share your science with a supportive community, ready to provide important feedback, exchange ideas, and build new collaborations to further the field of fungal genetics.
Submit an abstract: buff.ly/SSt7GDF
November 18, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Debating submitting an abstract to present at #Fungal26?
Share your science with a supportive community, ready to provide important feedback, exchange ideas, and build new collaborations to further the field of fungal genetics.
Submit an abstract: buff.ly/SSt7GDF
Share your science with a supportive community, ready to provide important feedback, exchange ideas, and build new collaborations to further the field of fungal genetics.
Submit an abstract: buff.ly/SSt7GDF
Reposted by The Rokas Lab at Vanderbilt University
We are hiring!! Biological Sciences as UNC Charlotte has a broad search for a new assistant professor.
Apps reviewed 12/15.
Please spread the word! 💚⛏️
#PlantSci 🧪🦠🧬
jobs.charlotte.edu/postings/65141
Apps reviewed 12/15.
Please spread the word! 💚⛏️
#PlantSci 🧪🦠🧬
jobs.charlotte.edu/postings/65141
Assistant Professor
Applicants should possess a Ph.D. in the biological sciences or related fields.Candidates are expected to document expertise in their specialty by a record of postdoctoral training, peer reviewed publ...
jobs.charlotte.edu
November 17, 2025 at 2:52 PM
We are hiring!! Biological Sciences as UNC Charlotte has a broad search for a new assistant professor.
Apps reviewed 12/15.
Please spread the word! 💚⛏️
#PlantSci 🧪🦠🧬
jobs.charlotte.edu/postings/65141
Apps reviewed 12/15.
Please spread the word! 💚⛏️
#PlantSci 🧪🦠🧬
jobs.charlotte.edu/postings/65141
Reposted by The Rokas Lab at Vanderbilt University
This is a remarkable study describing a new fungal species in a 407 million year old plant - Rugososporomyces lavoisierae Strullu-Derrien and Schornack sp. nov - using some amazing technology. Worth a read 👇
Confocal scanning laser microscopy, fluorescence lifetime imaging & Raman analyses allowed @nhm-london.bsky.social, @slcuplants.bsky.social & @cambridge-ee.bsky.social researchers to resolve plant & fungal structures fossil
Read in @newphyt.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1111/nph....
@dromius.bsky.social
Read in @newphyt.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1111/nph....
@dromius.bsky.social
November 14, 2025 at 9:37 AM
This is a remarkable study describing a new fungal species in a 407 million year old plant - Rugososporomyces lavoisierae Strullu-Derrien and Schornack sp. nov - using some amazing technology. Worth a read 👇
Reposted by The Rokas Lab at Vanderbilt University
This year's recipients:
Katie Hinde - @mammalssuck.bsky.social
Evolutionary Studies at Vanderbilt - @evolutionvu.bsky.social
Randolph M. Nesse - @randynesse.bsky.social
John Toohey Morales - @johnmoralestv.bsky.social
CLEO Institute - @cleoinstitute.bsky.social
Kim Cobb - @kimcobb.bsky.social
Katie Hinde - @mammalssuck.bsky.social
Evolutionary Studies at Vanderbilt - @evolutionvu.bsky.social
Randolph M. Nesse - @randynesse.bsky.social
John Toohey Morales - @johnmoralestv.bsky.social
CLEO Institute - @cleoinstitute.bsky.social
Kim Cobb - @kimcobb.bsky.social
November 13, 2025 at 6:55 PM
This year's recipients:
Katie Hinde - @mammalssuck.bsky.social
Evolutionary Studies at Vanderbilt - @evolutionvu.bsky.social
Randolph M. Nesse - @randynesse.bsky.social
John Toohey Morales - @johnmoralestv.bsky.social
CLEO Institute - @cleoinstitute.bsky.social
Kim Cobb - @kimcobb.bsky.social
Katie Hinde - @mammalssuck.bsky.social
Evolutionary Studies at Vanderbilt - @evolutionvu.bsky.social
Randolph M. Nesse - @randynesse.bsky.social
John Toohey Morales - @johnmoralestv.bsky.social
CLEO Institute - @cleoinstitute.bsky.social
Kim Cobb - @kimcobb.bsky.social
Reposted by The Rokas Lab at Vanderbilt University
Join us virtually on 12/4 at 6 ET as we celebrate our 2025 Friend of Darwin and Friend of the Planet recipients. Register in advance for a link - us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi... #CelebrateScience #ScienceSky #ClimateSky
November 13, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Join us virtually on 12/4 at 6 ET as we celebrate our 2025 Friend of Darwin and Friend of the Planet recipients. Register in advance for a link - us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi... #CelebrateScience #ScienceSky #ClimateSky
Reposted by The Rokas Lab at Vanderbilt University
NSF is open again!
A few comments:
*Please be patient.
During a shutdown NSF employees cannot open computers or respond to emails.
*Merit review will continue. However panels won’t resume until after Dec 8th.
*POs remain excited and committed to advancing science and the scientific workforce.
A few comments:
*Please be patient.
During a shutdown NSF employees cannot open computers or respond to emails.
*Merit review will continue. However panels won’t resume until after Dec 8th.
*POs remain excited and committed to advancing science and the scientific workforce.
November 13, 2025 at 5:58 PM
NSF is open again!
A few comments:
*Please be patient.
During a shutdown NSF employees cannot open computers or respond to emails.
*Merit review will continue. However panels won’t resume until after Dec 8th.
*POs remain excited and committed to advancing science and the scientific workforce.
A few comments:
*Please be patient.
During a shutdown NSF employees cannot open computers or respond to emails.
*Merit review will continue. However panels won’t resume until after Dec 8th.
*POs remain excited and committed to advancing science and the scientific workforce.
Reposted by The Rokas Lab at Vanderbilt University
NEW pub in @science.org 🥳
Is it sponges (panels A & B) or comb jellies (C & D) that root the animal tree of life?
For over 15 years, #phylogenomic studies have been divided.
We provide new evidence suggesting that...
🔗: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Is it sponges (panels A & B) or comb jellies (C & D) that root the animal tree of life?
For over 15 years, #phylogenomic studies have been divided.
We provide new evidence suggesting that...
🔗: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
November 13, 2025 at 8:34 PM
NEW pub in @science.org 🥳
Is it sponges (panels A & B) or comb jellies (C & D) that root the animal tree of life?
For over 15 years, #phylogenomic studies have been divided.
We provide new evidence suggesting that...
🔗: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Is it sponges (panels A & B) or comb jellies (C & D) that root the animal tree of life?
For over 15 years, #phylogenomic studies have been divided.
We provide new evidence suggesting that...
🔗: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by The Rokas Lab at Vanderbilt University
Excited to share our latest paper led by Ph.D. Candidate, Owen Hale, titled Elevated rates and Biased Spectra of Mutations in Anaerobically Cultured Lactic Acid Bacteria out now in mBio!
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Elevated rates and biased spectra of mutations in anaerobically cultured lactic acid bacteria | mBio
Despite Earth’s oxygen-free origins and the abundance of microorganisms that thrive
without oxygen, little is known about the rates and patterns of mutations in anaerobic
species. This study directly ...
journals.asm.org
November 13, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Excited to share our latest paper led by Ph.D. Candidate, Owen Hale, titled Elevated rates and Biased Spectra of Mutations in Anaerobically Cultured Lactic Acid Bacteria out now in mBio!
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Abstract submission open for #Fungal26 through Dec 4! Comparative & functional genomics, gene regulation, cell biology, biochemistry and metabolism, population & evolutionary genetics, host-pathogen interactions, ecology, and more. Can’t wait to see your science!
genetics-gsa.org/fungal-2026/...
genetics-gsa.org/fungal-2026/...
November 12, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Abstract submission open for #Fungal26 through Dec 4! Comparative & functional genomics, gene regulation, cell biology, biochemistry and metabolism, population & evolutionary genetics, host-pathogen interactions, ecology, and more. Can’t wait to see your science!
genetics-gsa.org/fungal-2026/...
genetics-gsa.org/fungal-2026/...
Reposted by The Rokas Lab at Vanderbilt University
I am so excited to share new work on a TE insertion that regulates iridescence in swordtails, led by fantastic grad student @nadiahaghani.bsky.social and with help from many coauthors! In a time that has been so difficult to navigate, this & other projects have kept my spirits up: shorturl.at/NE65A
Insertion of an invading retrovirus regulates a novel color trait in swordtail fish
For over a century, evolutionary biologists have been motivated to understand the mechanisms through which organisms adapt to their environments. Coloration and pigmentation are remarkably variable wi...
shorturl.at
November 12, 2025 at 8:34 PM
I am so excited to share new work on a TE insertion that regulates iridescence in swordtails, led by fantastic grad student @nadiahaghani.bsky.social and with help from many coauthors! In a time that has been so difficult to navigate, this & other projects have kept my spirits up: shorturl.at/NE65A
Reposted by The Rokas Lab at Vanderbilt University
With @linder-surprise.bsky.social and the @rokaslab.bsky.social, we recently expanded upon an analysis where glucose uptake rates were inversely correlated with the cell surface area-to-volume ratio, testing 282 species in the Saccharomycotina yeast subphylum.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org
November 11, 2025 at 4:38 PM
With @linder-surprise.bsky.social and the @rokaslab.bsky.social, we recently expanded upon an analysis where glucose uptake rates were inversely correlated with the cell surface area-to-volume ratio, testing 282 species in the Saccharomycotina yeast subphylum.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...