Rebecca Tarnopol
@tarnopol.bsky.social
Pushing flies at UC Berkeley | Functional evolutionary geneticist, interested in toxins/insects/microbes
Pinned
Rebecca Tarnopol
@tarnopol.bsky.social
· Dec 20
Experimental horizontal transfer of phage-derived genes to Drosophila confers innate immunity to parasitoids
Metazoan parasites have played a major role in shaping innate immunity in animals. Insect hosts and parasitoid wasps are excellent models for illumina…
www.sciencedirect.com
Excited to share the major work of my dissertation, out now in @currentbiology.bsky.social! We use Drosophila genetics to dissect the evolution of phage-derived toxins that were horizontally transferred to insects and now function as potent anti-parasitoid defenses (1/n): tinyurl.com/2k9ypyxr
Reposted by Rebecca Tarnopol
The GRFP lives!! (due end of October)
www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...
www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
www.nsf.gov
September 8, 2025 at 6:23 PM
The GRFP lives!! (due end of October)
www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...
www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...
Reposted by Rebecca Tarnopol
Excited to share the latest work by outstanding PhD student @kdc509.bsky.social. This was one of our first forays into experimental evolution and uncovered some cool connections between potassium transport and antimicrobial resistance in S. aureus. Major kudos to Killian!
Evolution of polyamine resistance in Staphylococcus aureus through modulation of potassium transport | mSphere
Staphylococcus aureus is a leading cause of infectious disease-related deaths globally. Understanding factors
that govern adaptation and survival of S. aureus and other pathogens in the host environme...
journals.asm.org
August 22, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Excited to share the latest work by outstanding PhD student @kdc509.bsky.social. This was one of our first forays into experimental evolution and uncovered some cool connections between potassium transport and antimicrobial resistance in S. aureus. Major kudos to Killian!
Reposted by Rebecca Tarnopol
FlyBase needs your help! We ask that European labs continue to contribute to Cambridge, UK FlyBase, whereas US and other non-European labs can contribute to US FlyBase. For more information and how to donate: wiki.flybase.org/wiki/FlyBase...
FlyBase:Contribute to FlyBase - FlyBase Wiki
wiki.flybase.org
August 15, 2025 at 12:45 PM
FlyBase needs your help! We ask that European labs continue to contribute to Cambridge, UK FlyBase, whereas US and other non-European labs can contribute to US FlyBase. For more information and how to donate: wiki.flybase.org/wiki/FlyBase...
Reposted by Rebecca Tarnopol
@ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social undergrads, there is still space in this course on the cellular, genetic, and developmental basis of evolution taught by Professor Nicole King and me this Fall. Find out why, as Dobzhansky, said "nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution."
July 28, 2025 at 11:32 PM
@ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social undergrads, there is still space in this course on the cellular, genetic, and developmental basis of evolution taught by Professor Nicole King and me this Fall. Find out why, as Dobzhansky, said "nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution."
Reposted by Rebecca Tarnopol
Applications now open for the SSE GREG Rosemary Grant Advanced Awards! These grants provide up to $3500 to expand your dissertation work. Submit your proposal by September 15!
www.evolutionsociety.org/content/soci...
www.evolutionsociety.org/content/soci...
July 15, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Applications now open for the SSE GREG Rosemary Grant Advanced Awards! These grants provide up to $3500 to expand your dissertation work. Submit your proposal by September 15!
www.evolutionsociety.org/content/soci...
www.evolutionsociety.org/content/soci...
Reposted by Rebecca Tarnopol
📢 There is a lab technician or lab specialist position available in my lab, starting fall 2025. The position will involve molecular biology, microbiology, drosophila work, and more. Please share with anyone who may be interested and apply here: jobs.virginia.edu/us/en/job/R0...
Biology Lab Tech 2 or Lab Specialist in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States of America | Research at University of Virginia
Apply for Biology Lab Tech 2 or Lab Specialist job with University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States of America. Research at University of Virginia
jobs.virginia.edu
July 14, 2025 at 7:50 PM
📢 There is a lab technician or lab specialist position available in my lab, starting fall 2025. The position will involve molecular biology, microbiology, drosophila work, and more. Please share with anyone who may be interested and apply here: jobs.virginia.edu/us/en/job/R0...
Reposted by Rebecca Tarnopol
Pleased this paper led by Teru Matsunaga at University of Tokyo (former postdoc) and in collaboration with many colleagues is out @official-smbe.bsky.social Molecular Biology & Evolution: doi.org/10.1093/molb.... Palp-expressed Or42a is an isothiocyanate sensor and can drive aversion to ITCs…
Odorant receptors mediating avoidance of toxic mustard oils in Drosophila melanogaster are expanded in herbivorous relatives
Abstract. Plants release defense volatile compounds that can deter herbivores. Among them are electrophilic toxins, such as isothiocyanates from mustard pl
doi.org
July 5, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Pleased this paper led by Teru Matsunaga at University of Tokyo (former postdoc) and in collaboration with many colleagues is out @official-smbe.bsky.social Molecular Biology & Evolution: doi.org/10.1093/molb.... Palp-expressed Or42a is an isothiocyanate sensor and can drive aversion to ITCs…
Reposted by Rebecca Tarnopol
We currently have a call for support that has gone out to European labs, to support FlyBase-UK. We are asking our colleagues from labs in the US and other countries to wait for a similar call to them that will go out in the near future, to support the US sites. We thank you for your patience.
URGENT: FlyBase has lost practically all its funding overnight; even user fees are tied up in denied grant funding. 🤬🤯
Any lab using @flybase.bsky.social please donate using the link in post below.
This incredible community, on whose backs our #Drosophila labs depend, can't be left out to dry.
Any lab using @flybase.bsky.social please donate using the link in post below.
This incredible community, on whose backs our #Drosophila labs depend, can't be left out to dry.
My lab studies bacterial infections. We spend a lot of time looking at (or for) species-specific genetic and genomic databases for hosts and microbes. FlyBase is the best of all—there is literally no comparison. Its existence is under threat. Please donate.
www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk/give-to-camb...
www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk/give-to-camb...
June 3, 2025 at 9:17 PM
We currently have a call for support that has gone out to European labs, to support FlyBase-UK. We are asking our colleagues from labs in the US and other countries to wait for a similar call to them that will go out in the near future, to support the US sites. We thank you for your patience.
Reposted by Rebecca Tarnopol
Get the word out far and wide. New opportunity from the Simons Foundation in the Eco-Evo space.
2026 Simons Graduate Fellowship in Ecology and Evolution Awards, due July 31, 2025, only for incoming PhD students who plan to start their PhDs in Fall 2026.
www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...
2026 Simons Graduate Fellowship in Ecology and Evolution Awards, due July 31, 2025, only for incoming PhD students who plan to start their PhDs in Fall 2026.
www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...
Simons Graduate Fellowships in Ecology and Evolution
The purpose of these awards is to provide support for students entering U.S.-based Ph.D. programs with a plan to perform research in ecology and evolution. While we will consider all projects in ecolo...
www.simonsfoundation.org
June 2, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Get the word out far and wide. New opportunity from the Simons Foundation in the Eco-Evo space.
2026 Simons Graduate Fellowship in Ecology and Evolution Awards, due July 31, 2025, only for incoming PhD students who plan to start their PhDs in Fall 2026.
www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...
2026 Simons Graduate Fellowship in Ecology and Evolution Awards, due July 31, 2025, only for incoming PhD students who plan to start their PhDs in Fall 2026.
www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...
Reposted by Rebecca Tarnopol
🚨New paper alert!🚨
We show that hummingbird beaks have changed in shape & size since around WWII, driven by the rise of commercialized feeders! 🧵
📄 Paper: dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb....
#ornithology #evolution #GlobalChangeBiology
We show that hummingbird beaks have changed in shape & size since around WWII, driven by the rise of commercialized feeders! 🧵
📄 Paper: dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb....
#ornithology #evolution #GlobalChangeBiology
Supplemental Feeding as a Driver of Population Expansion and Morphological Change in Anna's Hummingbirds
Bird beaks are highly adaptable, with the potential to undergo rapid morphological shifts in response to environmental change such as climatic variation or food availability. Anna's Hummingbirds (Cal...
dx.doi.org
May 21, 2025 at 1:20 PM
🚨New paper alert!🚨
We show that hummingbird beaks have changed in shape & size since around WWII, driven by the rise of commercialized feeders! 🧵
📄 Paper: dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb....
#ornithology #evolution #GlobalChangeBiology
We show that hummingbird beaks have changed in shape & size since around WWII, driven by the rise of commercialized feeders! 🧵
📄 Paper: dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb....
#ornithology #evolution #GlobalChangeBiology
Reposted by Rebecca Tarnopol
Wolbachia uses ankyrin repeats to target specific fly proteins https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.15.654400v1
May 17, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Wolbachia uses ankyrin repeats to target specific fly proteins https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.15.654400v1
Reposted by Rebecca Tarnopol
I know you like #Drosophila and I know you like #Genomes - but do you also like #Genes? Coding DNA annotation of 304 species of Drosophilidae! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Comparative gene annotation of 304 species of Drosophilidae
www.biorxiv.org
April 16, 2025 at 6:21 AM
I know you like #Drosophila and I know you like #Genomes - but do you also like #Genes? Coding DNA annotation of 304 species of Drosophilidae! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Rebecca Tarnopol
Genomics and reproductive biology of Leptopilina malgretoutensis Buffington, Lue, Davis & Tracey sp. nov. (Hymenoptera: Figitidae): An asexual parasitoid of Caribbean Drosophila https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.03.28.645512v1
March 31, 2025 at 2:32 AM
Genomics and reproductive biology of Leptopilina malgretoutensis Buffington, Lue, Davis & Tracey sp. nov. (Hymenoptera: Figitidae): An asexual parasitoid of Caribbean Drosophila https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.03.28.645512v1
Excited to be in sunny San Diego for my 5th (!) fly meeting #Dros25! I will be giving a poster (329T) tomorrow on some new host-parasitoid experiments — would love to chat with interested folks!
March 19, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Excited to be in sunny San Diego for my 5th (!) fly meeting #Dros25! I will be giving a poster (329T) tomorrow on some new host-parasitoid experiments — would love to chat with interested folks!
Excellent news about an excellent resource from our excellent collaborator!!
#Drosophila community: Dr. Istvan Ando has generously donated his invaluable anti-hemocyte monoclonal Abs to the #NIH-founded public repository @dshb-antibodies.bsky.social in #Iowa. We’ve tested several of them and they look great. See the🧵 for details.
(1/5)
(1/5)
February 26, 2025 at 6:48 AM
Excellent news about an excellent resource from our excellent collaborator!!
Reposted by Rebecca Tarnopol
Our work on Velvet Ant venom was published online today in Current Biology www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Multiple mechanisms of action for an extremely painful venom
Evolutionary arms races can lead to extremely specific and effective defense mechanisms, including venoms that deter predators by targeting nociceptiv…
www.sciencedirect.com
January 6, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Our work on Velvet Ant venom was published online today in Current Biology www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Excited to share the major work of my dissertation, out now in @currentbiology.bsky.social! We use Drosophila genetics to dissect the evolution of phage-derived toxins that were horizontally transferred to insects and now function as potent anti-parasitoid defenses (1/n): tinyurl.com/2k9ypyxr
Experimental horizontal transfer of phage-derived genes to Drosophila confers innate immunity to parasitoids
Metazoan parasites have played a major role in shaping innate immunity in animals. Insect hosts and parasitoid wasps are excellent models for illumina…
www.sciencedirect.com
December 20, 2024 at 5:58 PM
Excited to share the major work of my dissertation, out now in @currentbiology.bsky.social! We use Drosophila genetics to dissect the evolution of phage-derived toxins that were horizontally transferred to insects and now function as potent anti-parasitoid defenses (1/n): tinyurl.com/2k9ypyxr