Linley Sherin
@linley-sherin.bsky.social
PhD student in the Mank Lab at UBC.
Interested in evolution, genomics, sexual dimorphism, variation.
Interested in evolution, genomics, sexual dimorphism, variation.
Reposted by Linley Sherin
I wrote a little bit about the "missing heritability" question and several recent studies that have brought it to a close. A short 🧵
The missing heritability question is now (mostly) answered
Not with a bang but with a whimper
theinfinitesimal.substack.com
November 21, 2025 at 10:34 PM
I wrote a little bit about the "missing heritability" question and several recent studies that have brought it to a close. A short 🧵
Reposted by Linley Sherin
Team fish - we need your help! We are trying to build a database of all the fish chromosome-scale genomes where sex chromosomes have been identified. Have you build one or some? Do you know someone who has? Can you post the link in the comments? Please spread the word and repost! Thank you!
November 20, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Team fish - we need your help! We are trying to build a database of all the fish chromosome-scale genomes where sex chromosomes have been identified. Have you build one or some? Do you know someone who has? Can you post the link in the comments? Please spread the word and repost! Thank you!
Reposted by Linley Sherin
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 Linley Sherin
One of the most exciting works of my career, years in the making. We used high-throughput precision genome editing to test the fitness effects of thousands of natural variants. Our findings challenge the long-held assumption that common variants are inconsequential.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Massively parallel interrogation of the fitness of natural variants in ancient signaling pathways reveals pervasive local adaptation
The nature of standing genetic variation remains a central debate in population genetics, with differing perspectives on whether common variants are almost always neutral as suggested by neutral and n...
www.biorxiv.org
October 22, 2025 at 5:46 PM
One of the most exciting works of my career, years in the making. We used high-throughput precision genome editing to test the fitness effects of thousands of natural variants. Our findings challenge the long-held assumption that common variants are inconsequential.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Linley Sherin
We have TWO post-doctoral fellowships in the Biodiversity Centre at UBC next year! Am happy to chat if you might want to be hosted in my lab. biodiversity.ubc.ca/training-and... Deadline January 15th!
November 3, 2025 at 5:16 PM
We have TWO post-doctoral fellowships in the Biodiversity Centre at UBC next year! Am happy to chat if you might want to be hosted in my lab. biodiversity.ubc.ca/training-and... Deadline January 15th!
Reposted by Linley Sherin
Pleiotropy increases with gene age in six model multicellular eukaryotes
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Reese Martin and Ann T Tate
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Reese Martin and Ann T Tate
Pleiotropy increases with gene age in six model multicellular eukaryotes
Abstract. Fundamental traits of genes, including function, length, and Guanine-Cytosine (GC) content, all vary with gene age. Pleiotropy, where a single ge
doi.org
October 29, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Pleiotropy increases with gene age in six model multicellular eukaryotes
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Reese Martin and Ann T Tate
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Reese Martin and Ann T Tate
Reposted by Linley Sherin
Myself and Alastair Wilson wrote an updated version of our 2016 primer to quantitative genetics in the wild: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti.... Happy to share a copy if interested. It is also on research gate
Quantitative Genetics in Natural Populations
Phenotypes evolve under natural selection if, and only if, they are genetically variable. While evolutionary ecologists have long studied natural sele…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 21, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Myself and Alastair Wilson wrote an updated version of our 2016 primer to quantitative genetics in the wild: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti.... Happy to share a copy if interested. It is also on research gate
Reposted by Linley Sherin
Sex or growth? Life must continually balance these strategies. We forced yeast to choose and captured the trade-off in real time. Evolution rewired existing regulators and fixed them through genetic assimilation, creating specialists for sex at the cost of growth.
www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
September 28, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Sex or growth? Life must continually balance these strategies. We forced yeast to choose and captured the trade-off in real time. Evolution rewired existing regulators and fixed them through genetic assimilation, creating specialists for sex at the cost of growth.
www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
Reposted by Linley Sherin
📢 NEW GENOME ALERT
In #G3journal, @squarehare.bsky.social, @judithmank.bsky.social, and team generated a genome assembly of the Amazon guppy, Poecilia bifurca and showed how this species shares sex chromosomes with related species, albeit with substantial Y chromosome degeneration. buff.ly/lM7etkw
In #G3journal, @squarehare.bsky.social, @judithmank.bsky.social, and team generated a genome assembly of the Amazon guppy, Poecilia bifurca and showed how this species shares sex chromosomes with related species, albeit with substantial Y chromosome degeneration. buff.ly/lM7etkw
September 26, 2025 at 6:02 PM
📢 NEW GENOME ALERT
In #G3journal, @squarehare.bsky.social, @judithmank.bsky.social, and team generated a genome assembly of the Amazon guppy, Poecilia bifurca and showed how this species shares sex chromosomes with related species, albeit with substantial Y chromosome degeneration. buff.ly/lM7etkw
In #G3journal, @squarehare.bsky.social, @judithmank.bsky.social, and team generated a genome assembly of the Amazon guppy, Poecilia bifurca and showed how this species shares sex chromosomes with related species, albeit with substantial Y chromosome degeneration. buff.ly/lM7etkw
Reposted by Linley Sherin
Hybridogenesis as an intermediate step between sexual reproduction and parthenogenesis https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.19.677091v1
September 21, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Hybridogenesis as an intermediate step between sexual reproduction and parthenogenesis https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.19.677091v1
Reposted by Linley Sherin
🚀 Check out our new review article “From Tiny Exons to Big Insights: The Expanding Field of #Microexons” now out in Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics!
doi.org/10.1146/annu...
Special thanks to @mirimiam.bsky.social, @crg.eu and @upf.edu!
doi.org/10.1146/annu...
Special thanks to @mirimiam.bsky.social, @crg.eu and @upf.edu!
August 31, 2025 at 1:42 PM
🚀 Check out our new review article “From Tiny Exons to Big Insights: The Expanding Field of #Microexons” now out in Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics!
doi.org/10.1146/annu...
Special thanks to @mirimiam.bsky.social, @crg.eu and @upf.edu!
doi.org/10.1146/annu...
Special thanks to @mirimiam.bsky.social, @crg.eu and @upf.edu!
Come join us in Vancouver !
Interested in joining the lab? The Killam Postdoctoral Fellowships are designed to bring outstanding scholars from around the world to UBC. I can nominate one person, and help with application materials. More information at www.postdocs.ubc.ca/award/killam...
DM if you are interested!
DM if you are interested!
August 20, 2025 at 4:50 AM
Come join us in Vancouver !
Reposted by Linley Sherin
The evolution of reversible plasticity in stable environments
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Nicole Walasek et al.
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Nicole Walasek et al.
The evolution of reversible plasticity in stable environments
Abstract. Reversible plasticity, i.e., the ability to deconstruct phenotypic specializations based on environmental conditions, is widespread in nature. De
doi.org
August 18, 2025 at 3:34 PM
The evolution of reversible plasticity in stable environments
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Nicole Walasek et al.
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Nicole Walasek et al.
Reposted by Linley Sherin
"The main fates after gene duplication are gene loss, redundancy, subfunctionalization and neofunctionalization".
In our new review, @fedemantica.bsky.social and I argue we are missing the most prevalent one: specialization. And the same applies to alternative splicing! 1/7
tinyurl.com/45k7kbmp
In our new review, @fedemantica.bsky.social and I argue we are missing the most prevalent one: specialization. And the same applies to alternative splicing! 1/7
tinyurl.com/45k7kbmp
March 18, 2025 at 1:53 PM
"The main fates after gene duplication are gene loss, redundancy, subfunctionalization and neofunctionalization".
In our new review, @fedemantica.bsky.social and I argue we are missing the most prevalent one: specialization. And the same applies to alternative splicing! 1/7
tinyurl.com/45k7kbmp
In our new review, @fedemantica.bsky.social and I argue we are missing the most prevalent one: specialization. And the same applies to alternative splicing! 1/7
tinyurl.com/45k7kbmp
Reposted by Linley Sherin
Our paper showing that variation in transcription factor binding sites underlies the majority of additive genetic variance for phenotypic variation in maize is finally out!
Sadly they didn't use our suggested cover image below (made by the inimitable Andi Kur).
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Sadly they didn't use our suggested cover image below (made by the inimitable Andi Kur).
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
August 11, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Our paper showing that variation in transcription factor binding sites underlies the majority of additive genetic variance for phenotypic variation in maize is finally out!
Sadly they didn't use our suggested cover image below (made by the inimitable Andi Kur).
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Sadly they didn't use our suggested cover image below (made by the inimitable Andi Kur).
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Linley Sherin
Delighted to announce our last review piece on MHC variation in space and time doi.org/10.1002/ece3.... Thanks to @Mette Lillie and Kayla King. Enjoy reading!
MHC Diversity Across Time and Space
The article discusses the importance of genetic diversity, particularly in the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) loci, in maintaining evolution and protecting against infectious disease. We revi....
doi.org
May 2, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Delighted to announce our last review piece on MHC variation in space and time doi.org/10.1002/ece3.... Thanks to @Mette Lillie and Kayla King. Enjoy reading!
Reposted by Linley Sherin
Defective splicing of Y-chromosome-linked gigantic genes underlies hybrid male sterility in Drosophila https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.22.655455v1
May 27, 2025 at 11:33 AM
Defective splicing of Y-chromosome-linked gigantic genes underlies hybrid male sterility in Drosophila https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.22.655455v1
Reposted by Linley Sherin
Excited for this to be out officially! It was a great team effort and has a lot of useful tidbits for studying isoform function. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Cas13d-mediated isoform-specific RNA knockdown with a unified computational and experimental toolbox - Nature Communications
The majority of human genes can produce multiple isoforms, but studying their functional relevance requires tools to target specific isoforms. Here, the authors develop a CRISPR-based exon-exon juncti...
www.nature.com
July 29, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Excited for this to be out officially! It was a great team effort and has a lot of useful tidbits for studying isoform function. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Linley Sherin
1/13 In a new preprint, we (with @xliaoyi.bsky.social in the @arbelharpak.bsky.social lab) find that expression from the “inactivated” X (Xi) is consequential for both female-male differences in gene expression and variation among females in disease and physiology: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Escape from X inactivation drives sex differences and female trait variation
X chromosome inactivation (XCI) partially balances gene dosage between sexes, yet expression from the inactive X (Xi) is variable across genes. In this study, we investigate whether gene-level Xi expr...
www.biorxiv.org
August 6, 2025 at 2:42 AM
1/13 In a new preprint, we (with @xliaoyi.bsky.social in the @arbelharpak.bsky.social lab) find that expression from the “inactivated” X (Xi) is consequential for both female-male differences in gene expression and variation among females in disease and physiology: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Linley Sherin
This preprint from Helen Sakharova is one of the coolest things to come out of my lab: “Protein language models reveal evolutionary constraints on synonymous codon choice.” Codon choice is a big puzzle in how information is encoded in genomes, and we have a new angle. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Protein language models reveal evolutionary constraints on synonymous codon choice
Evolution has shaped the genetic code, with subtle pressures leading to preferences for some synonymous codons over others. Codons are translated at different speeds by the ribosome, imposing constrai...
www.biorxiv.org
August 7, 2025 at 8:29 AM
This preprint from Helen Sakharova is one of the coolest things to come out of my lab: “Protein language models reveal evolutionary constraints on synonymous codon choice.” Codon choice is a big puzzle in how information is encoded in genomes, and we have a new angle. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Linley Sherin
Excited to finally have the pre-print up for this work on evolutionary rescue from my PhD at UBC!
Previous theoretical work on the effects of negative density-dependent growth on evolutionary rescue has uncovered inconsistent results, leading to an incomplete understanding of its influence.
Previous theoretical work on the effects of negative density-dependent growth on evolutionary rescue has uncovered inconsistent results, leading to an incomplete understanding of its influence.
Evolutionary rescue in a consumer-resource system: Adaptation and persistence depend on the affected ecological traits https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.04.668505v1
August 8, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Excited to finally have the pre-print up for this work on evolutionary rescue from my PhD at UBC!
Previous theoretical work on the effects of negative density-dependent growth on evolutionary rescue has uncovered inconsistent results, leading to an incomplete understanding of its influence.
Previous theoretical work on the effects of negative density-dependent growth on evolutionary rescue has uncovered inconsistent results, leading to an incomplete understanding of its influence.
So happy to share that our paper on guppy colour pattern is out in @natecoevo.nature.com !
Click below for the 🧵 from first author and guppy phenotyping king @vdbijl.bsky.social
Click below for the 🧵 from first author and guppy phenotyping king @vdbijl.bsky.social
🚨 Super exited to see our paper on the inheritance and genetic basis of guppy color variation come out in @natecoevo.nature.com rdcu.be/eugWV
Guppy males have enormous variation in color patterns, with many combinations of ornamental spots and stripes. But where does all this variation come from?
Guppy males have enormous variation in color patterns, with many combinations of ornamental spots and stripes. But where does all this variation come from?
July 1, 2025 at 7:11 PM
So happy to share that our paper on guppy colour pattern is out in @natecoevo.nature.com !
Click below for the 🧵 from first author and guppy phenotyping king @vdbijl.bsky.social
Click below for the 🧵 from first author and guppy phenotyping king @vdbijl.bsky.social
Reposted by Linley Sherin
Recent studies have revealed unexpected Y chromosome diversity and suggest that the Y may play a big role in evolution. @vdbijl.bsky.social and I wrote this perspective for
@evolletters.bsky.social with a few suggestions and requests. academic.oup.com/evlett/advan... Figs by www.jacelyndesigns.com
@evolletters.bsky.social with a few suggestions and requests. academic.oup.com/evlett/advan... Figs by www.jacelyndesigns.com
November 28, 2024 at 4:49 PM
Recent studies have revealed unexpected Y chromosome diversity and suggest that the Y may play a big role in evolution. @vdbijl.bsky.social and I wrote this perspective for
@evolletters.bsky.social with a few suggestions and requests. academic.oup.com/evlett/advan... Figs by www.jacelyndesigns.com
@evolletters.bsky.social with a few suggestions and requests. academic.oup.com/evlett/advan... Figs by www.jacelyndesigns.com