Sean Montgomery
seanamontgomery.bsky.social
Sean Montgomery
@seanamontgomery.bsky.social
Postdoc in the Sebé-Pedrós lab at the CRG studying heterochromatin diversity and function across eukaryotes. Can be found chasing frisbees when not in the lab.
Pinned
We're looking for a potential PhD student to come explore the evolution of chromatin across eukaryotes in the @arnausebe.bsky.social lab! The project is flexible and a wide range of backgrounds will be considered! Please reach out if you have any questions. Link to application: shorturl.at/LlsJw
Reposted by Sean Montgomery
🌍Open call: Junior Group Leader positions!

Join a world-class biomedical research institute at the heart of the Vienna BioCenter, where curiosity drives discovery.

Lead your own lab, pursue bold ideas, and shape the future of science at the IMP: www.imp.ac.at/career/open-...
November 10, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Reposted by Sean Montgomery
this looks very interesting with numerous implications for nuclear biology and gene expression.

Mapping chromatin structure at base-pair resolution unveils a unified model of cis-regulatory element interactions: Cell www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Mapping chromatin structure at base-pair resolution unveils a unified model of cis-regulatory element interactions
Li et al. apply base-pair resolution Micro Capture-C ultra to map chromatin contacts between individual motifs within cis-regulatory elements and reveal a unified model of biophysically mediated enhan...
www.cell.com
November 9, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Reposted by Sean Montgomery
How is epigenetic information inherited? We found that CDCA7 proteins are critical players in the inheritance of DNA methylation at CG sites in plants, and this is true both in the lab and in the wild. How does this work? 🧵👇
New paper! Work led by @p-bourguet.bsky.social and Frédéric Berger at the GMI of the @oeaw.bsky.social and @esasaki007.bsky.social identified how protein CDCA7 helps plants stably maintain epigenetic modifications across generations.

Read more: www.oeaw.ac.at/gmi/detail/n...
November 7, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Reposted by Sean Montgomery
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 Sean Montgomery
🚨Our collaboration with @centriolelab.bsky.social & @gautamdey.bsky.social is out today in @cp-cell.bsky.social
We show that #Expansion #Microscopy is a broad-spectrum modality for Euks, enabling 3D phenotypic maps rooted to phylogeny.
#ProtistsOnSky #SciComm #SciSky

www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
October 31, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Reposted by Sean Montgomery
Very happy to see our paper published online natcomms.nature.com. Thank you to @wellcometrust.bsky.social for funding this work during my time with @robklose.bsky.social and David Booth! Thanks also to collaborators @garcialabms.bsky.social @alexdemendoza.bsky.social and the other authors!
Chromatin profiling identifies putative dual roles for H3K27me3 in regulating cell type-specific genes and transposable elements in choanoflagellates
Nature Communications - Here, the authors investigate chromatin-based gene regulation in the closest relative of animal, choanoflagellates. They uncover a putative dual role for the histone...
rdcu.be
October 29, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Reposted by Sean Montgomery
Lab’s first paper is out!! We show the first structures of #Asgard #chromatin by #cryo-EM 🧬❄️
Asgard histones form closed and open hypernucleosomes. Closed are conserved across #Archaea, while open resemble eukaryotic H3–H4 octasomes and are Asgard-specific. More here: www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
October 28, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Reposted by Sean Montgomery
New preprint! We unexpectedly discovered that some Caenorhabditis species delete parts of their somatic genome early in development, which fragments their chromosomes and eliminates key germline genes. Multiple lines of evidence suggest this bizarre process was present in the ancestors of C. elegans
October 28, 2025 at 12:11 PM
Reposted by Sean Montgomery
The CRG PhD call is now open. Exciting opportunities across diverse topics and within a world-class scientific environment.

Our group is offering one PhD position to study chromatin evolution.

Consider applying or share with anyone who might be interested!

www.crg.eu/en/content/t...
Are you looking for a PhD? Join us in Barcelona! You'll dive into a community of >100 PhD students from 30 countries exploring the frontiers of biology. You can also join an online workshop on 6 November (15:00 CET) to learn how to find the right lab for you.

More info: www.crg.eu/en/content/t...
October 23, 2025 at 11:54 AM
Reposted by Sean Montgomery
Our latest paper on a histone methyltransferase-independent function of PRC2 controlling small RNA dynamics during programmed DNA elimination in Paramecium is now published in #NAR.
#RNAbiology #TEsky #smallRNAs #PRC2 #DNAelimination
1/5
academic.oup.com/nar/article-...
A histone methyltransferase-independent function of PRC2 controls small RNA dynamics during programmed DNA elimination in Paramecium
Abstract. To limit transposable element (TE) mobilization, most eukaryotes have evolved small RNAs to silence TE activity via homology-dependent mechanisms
academic.oup.com
October 17, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Reposted by Sean Montgomery
Hot off the press! Our latest work on the evolution of facultative symbiosis in stony corals, focusing on a remarkable Mediterranean species: Oculina patagonica.

🪸 🌊

#evobio #corals #coralbiology

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
October 15, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Reposted by Sean Montgomery
Opportunity for a Master’s/Bachelor’s student:
- Join us for up to 5 months 🗓️
- Build computational/mathematical models 💻
- Learn about genotype-phenotype maps and evolution 🧬
- Work closely with PhD student Manuela Giraud - full info here:
www.crg.eu/en/content/t...
October 7, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Reposted by Sean Montgomery
Happy to share the Biodiversity Cell Atlas white paper, out today in @nature.com. We look at the possibilities, challenges, and potential impacts of molecularly mapping cells across the tree of life.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
September 24, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Brown algae up to some interesting strategies regarding gene repression, losing all "traditional" pathways while expanding the DOT1 (H3K79me writer) protein family! I hope to learn more at the EMBO workshop next month in Barcelona!
September 22, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Reposted by Sean Montgomery
Activity of most genes is controlled by multiple enhancers, but is there activation coordinated? We leveraged Nanopore to identify a specific set of elements that are simultaneously accessible on the same DNA molecules and are coordinated in their activation. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
August 18, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Reposted by Sean Montgomery
Evolution’s eye game is wild, but mollusks take it to another level

CRISPR in apple snails gives us a new model to dissect how nature rebuilds complex organs like the camera-type eyes we humans possess

It turns out Evolution doesn’t just innovate, it rewinds, remixes, & regenerates

rdcu.be/ezw0t
A genetically tractable non-vertebrate system to study complete camera-type eye regeneration
Nature Communications - Accorsi et al. show that the apple snail Pomacea canaliculata has eyes similar to humans and can fully regenerate them. They then developed genetic tools to establish these...
url.us.m.mimecastprotect.com
August 6, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Reposted by Sean Montgomery
Very happy to share our new paper where we develop CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing in our favorite unicellular relative of animals, Corallochytrium limacisporum! With @sebasn1.bsky.social @multicellgenome.bsky.social Elena and Claudio.

Check it out:
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing in Corallochytrium limacisporum,a key species for understanding animal origins | Open Biology
Microbial holozoans are the closest unicellular relatives of animals. They share a substantial gene repertoire with animals and exhibit complex life cycles. Studying these organisms is crucial for und...
royalsocietypublishing.org
July 25, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Reposted by Sean Montgomery
I just published: Academic poaching: when other PIs steal your trainees

There are many toxic behaviors in academia, but one we rarely talk about is #AcademicPoaching. Have you ever been a victim?

#AcademicChatter #AcademicSky #phdchat

medium.com/p/academic-p...
Academic poaching: when other PIs steal your trainees
There are many toxic behaviors in academia, but one we rarely talk about is #AcademicPoaching. Have you ever been a victim?
medium.com
July 28, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Reposted by Sean Montgomery
And another opportunity! Any postdocs looking forward to start your lab on a tenure track? Supportive environment, great core facilities and an outstanding PhD program.
📢 Open Call! The Max Perutz Labs invite applications for a Tenure-Track Professorship in Mechanistic Cell and Developmental Biology. More details ➡️ tinyurl.com/3fbkp89c
July 23, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Reposted by Sean Montgomery
New Pre-print! A long-standing question for transcription factor biology is how their chromatin context dependency works in plants. In this collaboration with Fred Berger lab, we present some new ideas not only in Arabidopsis but also in Marchantia. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Conservation of chromatin states and their association with transcription factors in land plants
The complexity of varied modifications of chromatin composition is integrated in archetypal combinations called chromatin states that predict the local potential for transcription. The degree of conse...
www.biorxiv.org
July 21, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Reposted by Sean Montgomery
We are looking for new colleagues to come join us in Galway as group leaders (Junior and Senior). The Centre for Chromosome Biology is a great place and it is a good time to join. Please reach out if you want to chat about the opportunity!
www.nature.com/naturecareer...
July 16, 2025 at 8:56 AM
Reposted by Sean Montgomery
Pls. share widely

Calling all transposon fans & lovers of genetic innovation

MOBILE GENOME welcomes you in Heidelberg, Nov. 4–7 2025

→ Vibrant & friendly community
→ Cutting-edge talks from mechanisms to physiology
→ Plenty of surprises (TEs never stop innovating)

submit abstract by July 29
⏰ Abstract deadline for 'The mobile genome' is 29 July!

👉 https://s.embl.org/mge25-01-bl

Join us 4–7 Nov 2025 at EMBL Heidelberg (or online) to explore the impact of TEs across biology. 🧬🔍

⭐🧑🏼‍🔬 24 talks + 15 flash talks from posters – don't miss out!

#EMBOMobileGenome
July 16, 2025 at 8:43 AM
Reposted by Sean Montgomery
We are looking for a student to continue our work on chromatin evolution:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

The project with @seanamontgomery.bsky.social will focus on chromatin state readers across eukaryotes.

More info: recruitment.crg.eu/content/jobs...
July 15, 2025 at 11:30 AM
We're looking for a potential PhD student to come explore the evolution of chromatin across eukaryotes in the @arnausebe.bsky.social lab! The project is flexible and a wide range of backgrounds will be considered! Please reach out if you have any questions. Link to application: shorturl.at/LlsJw
July 15, 2025 at 7:12 AM