Max Brown 🌱
@euphrasiologist.bsky.social
I like plants. Lecturer on plant genetics and ecology at Anglia Ruskin University. Views my own.
Reposted by Max Brown 🌱
TE dynamics across high-quality #genome assemblies of 75 bee species to quantify their diversity in an evolutionary context link.springer.com/article/10.1...
A comparative analysis of transposable element diversity and evolution across 75 bee genomes - BMC Genomics
Transposable elements (TEs) are repetitive DNA sequences that can alter their position and abundance within genomes. While TEs are known to have various impacts on genome structure and function, our u...
link.springer.com
November 15, 2025 at 2:05 PM
TE dynamics across high-quality #genome assemblies of 75 bee species to quantify their diversity in an evolutionary context link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Max Brown 🌱
Exciting PhD project with me and @vorontsovams.bsky.social RBG Kew on Grass Diversity, developing a phylogeny using morphology and genomics for the tropical forage grass genus Urochloa. Applications at centa.ac.uk/students... but contacts Bat or me to discuss
October 23, 2025 at 7:07 AM
Exciting PhD project with me and @vorontsovams.bsky.social RBG Kew on Grass Diversity, developing a phylogeny using morphology and genomics for the tropical forage grass genus Urochloa. Applications at centa.ac.uk/students... but contacts Bat or me to discuss
Lightbulb beer in Cambridge. Sheffield did it better @popgroup2026.bsky.social right? @cfcollins.bsky.social @luketdunning.bsky.social 😍
September 27, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Lightbulb beer in Cambridge. Sheffield did it better @popgroup2026.bsky.social right? @cfcollins.bsky.social @luketdunning.bsky.social 😍
Reposted by Max Brown 🌱
Genomic divergence across the tree of life 🧪🌐https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2319389122
Genomic divergence across the tree of life | PNAS
Nucleotide sequence data are being harnessed to identify species, even in cases in
which organisms themselves are neither in hand nor witnessed. Bu...
www.pnas.org
September 27, 2025 at 9:21 AM
Genomic divergence across the tree of life 🧪🌐https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2319389122
Reposted by Max Brown 🌱
How many chromosomes can an animal have?
In our paper out now in @currentbiology.bsky.social we show that the Atlas blue butterfly has 229 chromosome pairs- the highest in diploid Metazoa! These arose by rapid autosome fragmentation while sex chromosomes stayed intact.
www.cell.com/current-biol...
In our paper out now in @currentbiology.bsky.social we show that the Atlas blue butterfly has 229 chromosome pairs- the highest in diploid Metazoa! These arose by rapid autosome fragmentation while sex chromosomes stayed intact.
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Constraints on chromosome evolution revealed by the 229 chromosome pairs of the Atlas blue butterfly
The genome of the Atlas blue butterfly contains ten times more chromosomes than most
butterflies, and more than any other known diploid animal. Wright et al. show that
this extraordinary karyotype is ...
tinyurl.com
September 11, 2025 at 3:22 PM
How many chromosomes can an animal have?
In our paper out now in @currentbiology.bsky.social we show that the Atlas blue butterfly has 229 chromosome pairs- the highest in diploid Metazoa! These arose by rapid autosome fragmentation while sex chromosomes stayed intact.
www.cell.com/current-biol...
In our paper out now in @currentbiology.bsky.social we show that the Atlas blue butterfly has 229 chromosome pairs- the highest in diploid Metazoa! These arose by rapid autosome fragmentation while sex chromosomes stayed intact.
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Reposted by Max Brown 🌱
The original circos plot? From the 1947-1948 Carnegie Yearbook, the page prior to McClintock's Mutable Loci in Maize paper.
August 16, 2025 at 4:24 PM
The original circos plot? From the 1947-1948 Carnegie Yearbook, the page prior to McClintock's Mutable Loci in Maize paper.
Euphrasia marshallii, Fair Isle, 2018. What a beaut!
July 14, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Euphrasia marshallii, Fair Isle, 2018. What a beaut!
Reposted by Max Brown 🌱
The appearance of large language models caused a drastic shift in the vocabulary of academic writing, according to an analysis in #ScienceAdvances of more than 15 million biomedical abstracts published from 2010 to 2024. scim.ag/3IhpoQF
Delving into LLM-assisted writing in biomedical publications through excess vocabulary
Excess words track LLM usage in biomedical publications.
scim.ag
July 9, 2025 at 7:01 PM
The appearance of large language models caused a drastic shift in the vocabulary of academic writing, according to an analysis in #ScienceAdvances of more than 15 million biomedical abstracts published from 2010 to 2024. scim.ag/3IhpoQF
Reposted by Max Brown 🌱
Short-read metagenomic sequencing cannot recover genomes from many abundant marine prokaryotes due to high strain heterogeneity and platform-inherent GC bias (likely viruses, too), but Nanopore long reads can address this. A results thread on our recent preprint 🧵.
May 25, 2025 at 10:27 AM
Short-read metagenomic sequencing cannot recover genomes from many abundant marine prokaryotes due to high strain heterogeneity and platform-inherent GC bias (likely viruses, too), but Nanopore long reads can address this. A results thread on our recent preprint 🧵.
Potential Euphrasia vigursii, the Cornish Eyebright from fieldwork with Edinburgh University evolutionary biology PhD students. The Euphrasia work continues!
June 25, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Potential Euphrasia vigursii, the Cornish Eyebright from fieldwork with Edinburgh University evolutionary biology PhD students. The Euphrasia work continues!
Big Orobanche out in the verges. And bright yellow! What a beauty :)
June 19, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Big Orobanche out in the verges. And bright yellow! What a beauty :)
Reposted by Max Brown 🌱
#MolluscMonday Non-marine bivalves pack a spectacular stone panel in a 16th century fireplace at Hardwick Hall (NT), Derbyshire. This ‘cockleshell marble’ is associated with the Tupton coal seam of Late Carboniferous age.
June 16, 2025 at 5:23 AM
#MolluscMonday Non-marine bivalves pack a spectacular stone panel in a 16th century fireplace at Hardwick Hall (NT), Derbyshire. This ‘cockleshell marble’ is associated with the Tupton coal seam of Late Carboniferous age.
Reposted by Max Brown 🌱
A three year postdoctoral position is available in my group, investigating plant centromere structure, function and evolution @camplantsci.bsky.social
www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/51488/
www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/51488/
Research Assistant / Research Associate (Fixed Term) - Job Opportunities - University of Cambridge
Research Assistant / Research Associate (Fixed Term) in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Cambridge.
www.jobs.cam.ac.uk
May 30, 2025 at 12:13 PM
A three year postdoctoral position is available in my group, investigating plant centromere structure, function and evolution @camplantsci.bsky.social
www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/51488/
www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/51488/
Reposted by Max Brown 🌱
We have a unique opportunity for a junior researcher, PhD student or postdoc, to use a revolutionary technique for mineral nutrient imaging and tracing in plants. Please re-post! Interested candidates should apply through the portal at the link below:
career5.successfactors.eu/career?compa...
career5.successfactors.eu/career?compa...
Career Opportunities: Postdoc or PhD student position in Plant Physiology (22260)
career5.successfactors.eu
May 29, 2025 at 11:47 PM
We have a unique opportunity for a junior researcher, PhD student or postdoc, to use a revolutionary technique for mineral nutrient imaging and tracing in plants. Please re-post! Interested candidates should apply through the portal at the link below:
career5.successfactors.eu/career?compa...
career5.successfactors.eu/career?compa...
Reposted by Max Brown 🌱
There's a press release for our new @natplants.nature.com article!
Plants use fast DNA repair to guard against risky gene transfers from their own organelles—the lessons might go beyond plant biology
Release tinyurl.com/prnpegrb by @mpi-mp-potsdam.bsky.social
Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Plants use fast DNA repair to guard against risky gene transfers from their own organelles—the lessons might go beyond plant biology
Release tinyurl.com/prnpegrb by @mpi-mp-potsdam.bsky.social
Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Why Plants Patch Broken DNA So Fast
Researchers uncover how rapid DNA repair protects genomes from internal threats, with implications for cancer biology
www.mpimp-golm.mpg.de
May 26, 2025 at 2:19 PM
There's a press release for our new @natplants.nature.com article!
Plants use fast DNA repair to guard against risky gene transfers from their own organelles—the lessons might go beyond plant biology
Release tinyurl.com/prnpegrb by @mpi-mp-potsdam.bsky.social
Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Plants use fast DNA repair to guard against risky gene transfers from their own organelles—the lessons might go beyond plant biology
Release tinyurl.com/prnpegrb by @mpi-mp-potsdam.bsky.social
Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Max Brown 🌱
My PhD dissertation is now available here: dx.doi.org/10.25673/118...
In the thesis, I showed that trait expression, intraspecific and intraindividual trait variability depend on forest composition and species diversity. Further, they are components that matter for measuring functional diversity
In the thesis, I showed that trait expression, intraspecific and intraindividual trait variability depend on forest composition and species diversity. Further, they are components that matter for measuring functional diversity
Share_it: Patterns of intraspecific and intraindividual trait variation in trees along experimental diversity gradients
dx.doi.org
May 12, 2025 at 9:42 AM
My PhD dissertation is now available here: dx.doi.org/10.25673/118...
In the thesis, I showed that trait expression, intraspecific and intraindividual trait variability depend on forest composition and species diversity. Further, they are components that matter for measuring functional diversity
In the thesis, I showed that trait expression, intraspecific and intraindividual trait variability depend on forest composition and species diversity. Further, they are components that matter for measuring functional diversity
Reposted by Max Brown 🌱
Not really my announcement to make--I am but a lesser co-author--but IQ-TREE 3 has just been released!
(Most credit to Minh Bui and @roblanfear.bsky.social and their labs)
ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...
(Most credit to Minh Bui and @roblanfear.bsky.social and their labs)
ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...
IQ-TREE 3: Phylogenomic Inference Software using Complex Evolutionary Models
ecoevorxiv.org
April 10, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Not really my announcement to make--I am but a lesser co-author--but IQ-TREE 3 has just been released!
(Most credit to Minh Bui and @roblanfear.bsky.social and their labs)
ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...
(Most credit to Minh Bui and @roblanfear.bsky.social and their labs)
ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...
Reposted by Max Brown 🌱
We are excited to announce the 'official' start of our BBSRC funded sLoLa project, where we aim to uncover the role of rediploidisation in shaping evolution after genome duplication events across the tree of life!
Find out more:
www.rediploidisation.org
vet.ed.ac.uk/roslin/news-...
#WGDip #BBSRC
Find out more:
www.rediploidisation.org
vet.ed.ac.uk/roslin/news-...
#WGDip #BBSRC
Experts examine DNA changes that shaped life on Earth
Four-year collaborative project seeks to understand key process linked to evolution.
vet.ed.ac.uk
April 4, 2025 at 9:40 AM
We are excited to announce the 'official' start of our BBSRC funded sLoLa project, where we aim to uncover the role of rediploidisation in shaping evolution after genome duplication events across the tree of life!
Find out more:
www.rediploidisation.org
vet.ed.ac.uk/roslin/news-...
#WGDip #BBSRC
Find out more:
www.rediploidisation.org
vet.ed.ac.uk/roslin/news-...
#WGDip #BBSRC
We are mid Daffodil (Narcissus) season in the UK. Go out and see what you can find, these daffs are across 3 divisions but there are 12 to find :)
April 4, 2025 at 9:41 AM
We are mid Daffodil (Narcissus) season in the UK. Go out and see what you can find, these daffs are across 3 divisions but there are 12 to find :)
Reposted by Max Brown 🌱
My and Derek Setter's work on gene flow is now published in the latest issue of Genetics. We show that it is possible to detect past gene flow between two populations by summarising the asymmetry in pop-specific external branch lengths. 1/2
tinyurl.com/5ff8ch9e
tinyurl.com/5ff8ch9e
Genealogical asymmetry under the isolation with migration model and a two-taxon test for gene flow
Abstract. Methods for detecting gene flow between populations often rely on asymmetry in the average length of particular genealogical branches, with the A
tinyurl.com
December 12, 2024 at 2:17 PM
My and Derek Setter's work on gene flow is now published in the latest issue of Genetics. We show that it is possible to detect past gene flow between two populations by summarising the asymmetry in pop-specific external branch lengths. 1/2
tinyurl.com/5ff8ch9e
tinyurl.com/5ff8ch9e
Reposted by Max Brown 🌱
We would love feedback on a new NCBI-BLAST service we are launching today: sky-blast.com
Under the hood it's the same BLAST executable and databases provided by NCBI, with a replica of the NIH's interface - providing an alternative to the US gov service that's less congested, faster & more reliable
Under the hood it's the same BLAST executable and databases provided by NCBI, with a replica of the NIH's interface - providing an alternative to the US gov service that's less congested, faster & more reliable
March 11, 2025 at 11:50 PM
We would love feedback on a new NCBI-BLAST service we are launching today: sky-blast.com
Under the hood it's the same BLAST executable and databases provided by NCBI, with a replica of the NIH's interface - providing an alternative to the US gov service that's less congested, faster & more reliable
Under the hood it's the same BLAST executable and databases provided by NCBI, with a replica of the NIH's interface - providing an alternative to the US gov service that's less congested, faster & more reliable
Reposted by Max Brown 🌱
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 Max Brown 🌱
Looking for a PhD?
Come work with us on Horizontal Gene Transfer in crops!
Deadline 14th March
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Come work with us on Horizontal Gene Transfer in crops!
Deadline 14th March
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Horizontal gene transfer and its role in crop adaptation and evolution at University of Sheffield on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Horizontal gene transfer and its role in crop adaptation and evolution at University of Sheffield, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
February 27, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Looking for a PhD?
Come work with us on Horizontal Gene Transfer in crops!
Deadline 14th March
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Come work with us on Horizontal Gene Transfer in crops!
Deadline 14th March
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...