Rory Craig
rorycraig.bsky.social
Rory Craig
@rorycraig.bsky.social
Interested in mobile DNA and genome evolution, mostly working with eukaryotic algae.

Lecturer in Genomics at the University of Melbourne.
Reposted by Rory Craig
Excited to share our new preprint on BioRxiv!
A collaborative effort spanning many years and several labs to uncover what the germline chromosomes of Paramecium really look like. 🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
1/5
The tiny germline chromosomes of Paramecium aurelia have an exceptionally high recombination rate and are capped by a new class of Helitrons
Background. Paramecia belong to the ciliate phylum of unicellular eukaryotes characterized by nuclear dimorphism. A diploid germline micronucleus (MIC) transmits genetic information across sexual gene...
www.biorxiv.org
November 10, 2025 at 9:21 AM
Reposted by Rory Craig
This Halloween, we have a spooky evolutionary story for you.
The brainchild of @delaconcepcionjc.bsky.social, Nick Irwin and our fantastic collaborators is now out in @natplants.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Here’s why I love this work — and why I think you’ll enjoy it too. 👇
October 31, 2025 at 10:19 AM
Reposted by Rory Craig
1/ Ever needed to annotate TEs in a fungal genome, but didn't know where to start?

We have released #MycoMobilome, a community-focused non-redundant database of transposable element consensus sequences for the fungal kingdom, constructed from >4,000 fungal genomes!

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
October 29, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Excited to introduce Auxenochlorella as a new algal reference organism for fundamental plant science and bioengineering. A paper in two parts: a genetic toolkit for site-specific genomic manipulation, paired with the most unusual genome I’ve ever worked on

academic.oup.com/plcell/artic...
Targeted genetic manipulation and yeast-like evolutionary genomics in the green alga Auxenochlorella
Auxenochlorella, green algae shaped by evolutionary forces acting on vegetative diploids, are amenable to discovery research and bioengineering via efficie
academic.oup.com
October 29, 2025 at 6:59 AM
Reposted by Rory Craig
Programmed DNA elimination was present in the last common ancestor of Caenorhabditis nematodes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.23.681605v1
October 24, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Reposted by Rory Craig
So happy to see my first first-author paper published! 🎈
A short thread on how Ectocarpus and its TE secrets have kept me busy lately:

rdcu.be/eITQH
Characterization of the transposable element landscape shaping the Ectocarpus genome | Genome Biology
rdcu.be
October 1, 2025 at 8:12 AM
Fortunate to have played a small role in this project led by @caroleduchene.bsky.social. Phaeoviruses likely integrate into their host genomes using a promiscuous tyrosine recombinase, before reactivating in reproductive cells. Exciting to see diverse latency mechanisms emerging for giant viruses
September 24, 2025 at 11:35 PM