This month's GBE Highlight by SMBE @haorancai.bsky.social focuses on the recent paper by Bastian, Enard & Lartillot on the nearly neutral theory. "Bridging Micro- and Macroevolution: Phylogenomic Evidence for the Nearly Neutral Theory in Mammals" 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evag074 #genome #evolution

Join us for a seminar by Dr. Francois Mallard (Institute de Biologie, École Normale Supérieure, Paris-France) about 'The genetic architecture of phenotypic plasticity' on 30th April, 2026, 3 pm CET. Zoom link here: polygenic-adaptation-network.org/seminars/

@haorancai.bsky.social and Des Marais investigated gene expression variability in duplicate genes, suggesting a mechanism facilitating gene expression divergence, functional gains, and duplicate retention following small-scale duplications. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evag077 #genome #evolution

Bastian, Enard & Lartillot tested predictions of the nearly-neutral theory of molecular evolution across time scales, confirming the role of effective population size in tuning selection efficacy in placental mammals. 🖌️ Léa Backory 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evag030 #genome #evolution

🚨 New Paper 🚨 Thrilled to share new work with @evodaveo.bsky.social eo.bsky.social! We dive into the evolution of gene duplicates and demonstrate how expression variability might contribute to retention following duplication. Read the full article here: academic.oup.com/gbe/article/...

We posted a new theory preprint. I am very interested to hear what the community thinks about it. We looked at the dynamics of evolution on several (simple) models of modular genotype-phenotype-fitness maps and found that populations approach a quasi-steady state we call "module-selection balance".

Our work as Editor's choice in @evolletters.bsky.social !✨️ Developmental biases & micro- to macroevution in the lizard skull 🦎 academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...

The Cooper lab is hiring a postdoc with a strong background in mouse genetics and molecular biology to advance.our gene drive work. Must be extremely organized, engineering-minded, and outcomes-oriented. Spread the word and have interested candidates email me directly.

New group website: www.noramartin-lab.com Get in touch if you are interested in joining the group, or know anyone who might be 📮

How does development shape the variation evolution can act on? In our new paper in @pnas.org , we bridge developmental dynamics and quantitative genetics, linking dynamical models of phenotype formation with the statistical parameters used to study evolutionary change www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Join us for this exciting seminar and hear about redundancy in genome-wide epistatic interactions!

How does development affect the evolutionary process? Join our symposium at www.evodevoconference26.com in Glasgow this June. We have a strong lineup of invited speakers, chaired by me and @milocco.bsky.social Submit your abstract before Thursday! ⏰

Now online ‪Communications Biology!‬ We showed that variation aligns across biological levels. We proposed that #macroevolution mould #developmentalbias with a cascading effect on variation. #Microevolution, then, may be a result—not a cause of—macroevolution. nature.com/articles/s42...

Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA) has been the go to program for analysis of gene expression modules for nearly two decades but it is a difficult to implement. To make it easier to use WGCNA, I used Codex to build a human in the loop agentic workflow. github.com/lowrylab/WGC...

2 PhD & 1 postdoc available at BioM in Oslo www.uio.no/english/rese... Interdisciplinary methods to model and govern biodiversity under uncertainty. Re-post widely! Work with statistical ecologists Olav Skarpaas (Natural History Museum Oslo @uio.no) @t-ergon.bsky.social

Promises to be poppin (🍿) BUT SRSLY PLEASE REGISTER, WE ARE SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!

A pleiotropic hitchhiking model recapitulates alignments between fly wing divergence and variation https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.19.706930v1

Don't miss this issue's Editor's Choice article: "Gene network topology drives the mutational landscape of gene expression" by Sylvain Pouzet & Arnaud Le Rouzic. Free to read here: doi.org/10.1093/evol...

In #GENETICS, a new model developed by @christianlandry.bsky.social and colleagues examines how molecular dominance determines total protein activity and contributes to phenotypic dominance. buff.ly/CfaTDp7

Apply for PhD Fellowships at the Centre for Planetary Habitability in Oslo! There are projects for geologists, paleontologists, paleobiologists, astrobiologists, stats-y folks, geoscientists and planetary folks! www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...

Our paper is out in MBE! doi.org/10.1093/molb... We tracked TF binding site evolution across 589 grass species, and found that while binding preferences are pretty stable over 80 million years of evolution, individual binding sites have turned over a lot. Thread here: bsky.app/profile/char...

Fun news! @gcbias.bsky.social and I are teaching a 2-week online population genetics workshop this summer to raise money for the Center for Population Biology at UC Davis. We're trying to gauge interest -- please fill this out if you might be interested! And please share broadly!

The recent MBE Review on the evolution of dark skin in humans is the focus of January's Highlight. Highlight: Dark skin and cancer suppression in humans—an evolutionary spandrel? 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag012 #evobio #molbio

This is a very special paper for me. I had the idea of combining transcription factor binding with chromatin in 2016/8. It took some time, but thanks to Fred and Vikas, we can finally share the story in @plos.org Genetics looking at chromatin states in Arabidopsis and Marchantia. #PlantScience

PEQG! My favorite conference ever*. Single session, fantastic talks, great discussions. Only once every 2 years. And in the best conference location too! Abstract deadline coming up Feb 5! *Disclosure: I am required to say it's the best conference because it is and I told my mom I wouldn't lie.

A genome-wide comparison of #gene regulatory sequences & embryonic gene expression in arachnids - new insights into the impact of the arachnopulmonate whole #genome duplication academic.oup.com/gbe/article/... #biodiversity #genomics

How do bacteria deal with double costs? And how costly are unusual levels of mistranslation anyway? In short - antibiotics are more of an issue than less/more mistranslation, but the latter changes how populations deal with antibiotics. For the long story, check out our new paper!

I am currently searching for a new postdoctoral researcher to study the evolution, genetics, and physiology of cold acclimation and freezing tolerance in switchgrass at Michigan State University. This work will be funded by a newly funded five-year DOE grant. careers.msu.edu/jobs/researc...

TWO curatorial positions at the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON, Canada. Curator of Birds, and Curator of Plants and Sustainability... please pass the word and amplify! royalontariomuseum.applytojob.com/apply/XBR2Yc... & royalontariomuseum.applytojob.com/apply/Sf2iAO...

Ecology faces an accumulation of models but not an accumulation of confidence. Our new paper w/ Jonathan Levine www.nature.com/articles/s41... in @natecoevo.nature.com introduces a rigorous test rooted in queueing theory to falsify inadequate models and build confidence in useful ones.

We have an open PhD position (application deadline 9 January 2026) in "Theory of fitness landscapes" at @unibe.ch 🤓⛰️📊👩‍💻🎓: banklab.github.io/positions/ Please share widely! #QueerInSTEM #DisabledInSTEM #BlackInSTEM #WomenInSTEM #CarersInSTEM #AcademicSky #HigherED

I'm thrilled to be selected and grateful to be able to contribute to our community @official-smbe.bsky.social Looking forward to new connections and future initiatives! @official-smbe.bsky.social @molbioevol.bsky.social @genomebiolevol.bsky.social

Incredible new paper from @schacherer.bsky.social et al rdcu.be/eLcTH

We're excited to be recruiting an NIH funded postdoc to work in the Coop lab at UC Davis. We're specifically interested in candidates who are want to work at the intersection of human genetics, GWAS, and population genetics modeling. Please RT

🚨🚨JOB ALERT 🚨🚨 Fresh new position in Comparative Biology at OSU! We're looking for a comp. biologist, especially those who investigate biomechanics, functional anatomy, neuroanatomy, or morphological development. Feel free to ask me any questions! jobs.okstate.edu/jobs/assista...

The Hopkins Lab (hopkins-lab.com) at the University of Florida is looking to recruit a postdoc to work on the genetics of organ function and evolution across Drosophila and beyond. Please visit tinyurl.com/vcsjpmzz or email me for more info. And please RT or send to anyone who might be interested!

C. elegans is a real animal and we set out to understand how it comes to have its distinctive biogeography. Its ancestral center of diversity is in the higher elevation forests of Hawaii. Its closest relatives are spread across east Asia. Did they travel from Asia? [Preprint 🧵]

Dear colleagues! @davidmccandlish.bsky.social and I are serving as guest editors for the new special issue of GENETICS on fitness landscapes: doi.org/10.1093/gene... Submissions are due on March 18, 2026. Please spread the word! And reach out if you have questions.

*Postdoc in Evolutionary genomics at Stockholm University* We are recruiting a postdoc for a large interdisciplinary project to investigate evolutionary drivers and genomic consequences of pollen evolution in response to pollination mode shifts in flowering plants. 1/5 su.varbi.com/what:job/job...

Calling early-career developmental biologists! Apply for a funded place at our #Workshop, Novelty, Co-option and Divergence During Gene Network Evolution. Application deadline: 5 December www.biologists.com/workshops/ju... #DevBio #BiologistsWorkshops #Collaboration #Networking

I'm excited to share with you all a conference I'm planning Oct. 10-12: Dialectical Biology Today: Legacies of Richard Lewontin. It will be hybrid in Toronto and on zoom, so please join us however you can! Register for zoom link here: ihpst.utoronto.ca/events/diale...

Really excited to share our latest paper led by @simonaube.bsky.social. Fascinating results examining whether regulatory mutations can lead to adaptation as fast as coding mutations do. #mevosky #evobio #evoSky www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

We are proud to present the new logo of Genome Biology and Evolution! 🙌 Our new face reflects our continued commitment to serving the fields of genomics and evolutionary biology as a society journal belonging to @official-smbe.bsky.social #genome #evolution #science #biology #societyjournal

The next stand-alone meeting of the American Society of Naturalists @asn-amnat.bsky.social will be on the East Coast!!! Mark your calendars for January 8-12, 2027 and we'll talk evolution, ecology, behavior, and integrative organismal biology at www.themansionatglencove.com/meeting-venues

Full paper now out in GENETICS: The relationship between sexual dimorphism and intersex correlation: do models support intuition? 🔗 academic.oup.com/genetics/art... #Evolution #QuantGenetics @GeneticsGSA

Are you looking for a PhD position and want to spend your summers in the Rocky Mountains? My lab @cudenverclas.bsky.social is looking for 1 PhD student to work on a NSF-funded project to study elevational range shifts in Colorado! 🧪🌍🐙 Apply by Nov 1! Details here docs.google.com/document/d/1...

We are on the lookout for postdocs for two different projects at the intersection of ecology, evolution, and the human microbiome. See thread for more information and reach out!

An updated version www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1.... Don't hesitate to talk to me at SMBE2025 if you are interested!! #SMBE25

Looking forward to meeting old and new friends in Beijing!!

Elegant empirical validation of a theoretical expectation that changing your mutation bias allows you to access more beneficial mutations. From @deepaagashe.bsky.social & colleagues in @plosbiology.org