- Independent localization of H2AK119Ub and H3K27me3 in worm embryos. - Removing Ub did not influence K27me3 levels, and vice versa. - It is interesting that different cells/organisms utilize conserved chromatin-modifying machineries differently. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

We did journal club today on this preprint - interesting parallels that CHD4 and its partners block aberrant TF binding in mESCs (this preprint), human cells (PMID:38281186), and fly testis (PMID:28522526). Fascinated by how CHD4 controls cryptic regulatory elements without a strong presence there.

Exciting work on orphan genes in fertilization and evolution!

Avidity. In plants, PRC2 accessory VEL proteins polymerize much like PRC1 subunits in animals, reinforcing silencing. Multimerization - overcoming weak affinity through 'avidity' - seems to be an important conserved principle in chromatin regulation. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40858112/

Donated. FlyBase is a truly essential resource!

A brief mountain break.

Reducing H1 levels (by CRAMP1 KD) derepresses PRC2 target genes without reducing H3K27me3. It was interesting: 1) once again, H3K27me3 mark alone seems not sufficient for gene repression, 2) how is H1 deposited at Polycomb target sites? Congrats, Iva!

True: my ESI MIRA, submitted last February, was withdrawn three weeks before the study section because of a support letter. No sub-award, no expected co-authorship, just a letter. So be careful - their definition of 'collaboration' is very broad.

I find unstructured regions in proteins enigmatic and very interesting.

" The common genetic marker Stubble influences Fab2L transgene expression" - balancer and marker mutations are not always inert.

Today’s the day! I’m happy to announce that the Murphy Lab will be moving to Cornell this July! The lab will be in Biotech and I’ll be joining the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. There will be lots of recruiting soon, including students and postdocs. Please RT. 🙏 TY.

Great opportunity for postbacs to do exciting research and gain experience before graduate school!

The sun has been rather scarce in Ithaca lately. Nice to see some sunrise this morning.

Hello Bluesky friends! I am a #newPI starting at UC Irvine in April, interested in gene regulation and functional genomics in stem cell models of development (esp neural crest). We are hiring at all levels – please reach out/spread the word! sskimlab.org