Do experiments in model organisms reveal universal biological rules, or only local regularities shaped by evolutionary history? Here is a short synthesis, inspired by our work, on how comparative genomics helps us distinguish between the two. #PhD #Biology #RNA rnastuff.com/2026/05/10/c...

New research shows bacteria can redefine stop codons by shortening tRNA anticodon stems. This "extended superwobble" proves tRNAs aren't passive—they're active drivers that can evolve entirely new genetic codes! doi.org/10.1093/nar/...

A threonine-to-aspartate ACA codon reassignment in uncultivated Acidimicrobiales bacteria https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.05.03.722492v1

We have a new preprint on a rare sense-to-sense genetic code reassignment in uncultivated Acidimicrobiales bacteria. We report evidence that ACA, normally a threonine codon, is reassigned to aspartate in a RAAP-2 lineage. #tRNA #PhD #evolution Link: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

On DRT3: a fascinating discovery that makes us rethink textbook diagrams, but does it really break the central dogma of molecular biology? #RNA #PhD #Science rnastuff.com/2026/05/04/d...

Our latest contribution is out! In this highly collaborative paper, we show that tRNAs with a 4-base-pair anticodon stem are surprisingly frequent across organisms. Our atomistic MD simulations reveal the role of the 5th base pair. academic.oup.com/nar/article/...

Check out my new post! It is a short and accessible digest of our recently published work in Nucleic Acids Research, highlighting the main findings and the broader implications of the study. #RNA #RNAsky #evolution #science #PhD rnastuff.com/2026/04/20/t...

My first author paper is published in @narjournal.bsky.social , co-led with Satish Nandipati and Ambar Kachale. In this work, we build on the implications of the unusual genetic code features of Blastocrithidia nonstop... #RNAsky #RNA #evolution #molecular academic.oup.com/nar/article/...

Subcellular proteomics reveals a blueprint for endosymbiont integration in trypanosomatid Angomonas deanei. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The origin of life challenge is about finding the right corridor of usefull disorder. What does QT45 tell us about that? Check the latest post on my blog! #RNA #PhD rnastuff.com/2026/03/19/w...

We just got an ERC synergy to work on our beloved tRNAs and see what nature could tell us! Very happy and excited to be part of this mission! Congratulations to all the 4 labs! More in this link: erc.europa.eu/news-events/... #ERC #synergy_grants #RNA #rnasky

Day 2 of #EMBLProtein meeting in Heidelberg, great talks and discussions with pioneers in the field. Also, if you're interested in tRNAs and their role in codon re-assignment visit my poster (nb 108) #rnasky

You can go your own way: The targeting signals of trypanosomatid parasites journals.plos.org/plospathogen...

A preprint from Paris lab showing a novel layer of gene expression regulation in leishmania. #rna #rnasky www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Blastocrithidia-A Genetic Alien from the Planet Earth pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40721315/

Massively parallel ribosome profiling allows the investigation of open reading frames in viral sequences, a tool that could be used to expand the repertoire of vaccine targets www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #NBThighlight

Here, we show that bacterial ribosomes—often viewed as conserved drug targets—actually vary across species due to extensive sequence variation in their drug-binding residues. In some cases, this divergence may lead to intrinsic drug resistance in certain bacterial clades: doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...

Blastocrithidia nonstop on the cover of Molecular Microbiology! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/13652958...

📣 A new #Breakthrough article published in NAR reveals how ribosomes in eukaryotes maintain high levels of accuracy during translation compared to prokaryotes. 👉 Read the full article here: academic.oup.com/nar/article/... #Ribosomes #RNA #Translation

DNA Replication: A Tale of Two Worlds. #DNA #phdlife #Evolution rnastuff.com/2025/04/30/d...

An across-genome comparison between Blastocrithidia and Obscuromonas species highlights the dynamic interplay between genome evolution and the emergence of deviations from the standard genetic code. #Biology #RNAsky #Evolution journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Available now - the Feature Review "Emerging mechanisms of human #MitochondrialTranslation regulation" from Antoni Barrientos and co (@brischigliaro.bsky.social). #Mitoribosome #ProgrammedFrameshifting #RibosomeStalling #RibosomeRecycling Read it here: authors.elsevier.com/a/1kv-f3S6Gf...

Blastocithidia nonstop, a trypanosomatid with a non-canonical genetic code, is now genetically tractable! In this work, with the Yurchenko lab in Ostrava, we successfully modified B. nonstop by tagging its endogenous catalase gene and knocking it out. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Precision-edited histone tails disrupt polycistronic gene expression controls in trypanosomes. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

🚨New paper!🚨 A comprehensive take on the origins and evolution of translation factors & how these essential players evolved across the tree of life. 🌍🧬 Led by Evrim Fer @uwmadisonmdtp.bsky.social grad student! 👏 Free access: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... @cp-trendsgenetics.bsky.social

Have you caught a cold recently? Check out the latest post on RNA Stuff to uncover how #viruses are experts in genetic engineering. #phd #phdlife #evolution rnastuff.com/2025/03/23/v...

"these approaches estimate the number of ribosomes on a transcript, the translation initiation rate, and the overall number of translation events before its decay, all in a genome-wide manner" #rnasky #ribosome www.nature.com/articles/s41...

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Tour de force by Barna Lab

Visualization of mRNA Translation Within Germ Granule Biphasic Organization in Drosophila Early Embryo bio-protocol.org/en/bpdetail?...

“… the groundbreaking discovery of RNAi was initiated by a failed control experiment demonstrating that the straightforward concept behind antisense inhbition could not explain the observed results.” www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

An engineered compressed genetic code in E. coli uses UAA as the sole stop codon while repurposing UAG and UGA for synthetic amino acids. #RNAsky #genetics #molecularbiology www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Amazing stuff from @marvintanenbaum.bsky.social! Long-term imaging of individual ribosomes reveals ribosome cooperativity in mRNA translation: Cell www.cell.com/cell/fulltex... #RNAsky #RNABiology

Translation of the downstream ORF from bicistronic mRNAs by human cells. #phd #RNAbiology onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Could variations in the genetic code have occurred since its early development in Archaea?! #RNAsky #RNAbiology #phd #evolution pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39694177/

How subunit rotation controls tRNA dynamics in the ribosome https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.01.22.634288v1

At Davos, it feels like every tenth word is “AI.” But as George Yancopoulos pointed out, if you ask people what it actually means, most can’t tell you.

Sunsets from my bench! #phdlife #phd #lab

Ribosomal A-site interactions with near-cognate tRNAs drive stop codon readthrough. #rnasky #rnabiology www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Taking sides in #science sparks debate and progress, but true advancement comes from embracing diverse perspectives grounded in empirical evidence. #ScienceDebate #Biology #phd #phdlife rnastuff.com/2025/01/10/t...

Join us for the first Virtual #Diplonemid Research Conference, April 2–3, 2025, featuring 14 renowned speakers—register free by March 1! #phd #conference #evolution Details: idipcon.pythonanywhere.com#general-info

Perkinsela sp., a kinetoplastid endosymbiont of Amoebozoa, is the first eukaryote entirely lacking cis-splicing while retaining trans-splicing. #RNAbiology #RNAsky pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

#Transcription factors required for the integrity of the mitoribosome in T. gondii. A beautiful example of constructive neutral #evolution in the phylum Apicomplexa. #phd #RNAbiology #RNAsky www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Our latest work is out in Nature today! Using smFRET, we directly visualized recruitment of the eIF4F complex to the 5' cap of eukaryotic mRNAs and formation of an activated mRNA. Our findings reveal new and surprising roles for each eIF4F component. 1/3 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A microRNA is the effector gene of a classic evolutionary hotspot locus. #RNAsky #RNAbiology www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

A new role for transfer RNA in protein synthesis #rnasky www.pnas.org/post/journal...

Check out my new post, where I discuss a couple of lesser-known functions of #tRNA during #translation and regulation of #gene expression. #RNA #RNAsky #RNAbiology rnastuff.com/2024/12/05/n...

Molecular basis of mRNA delivery to the bacterial ribosome. @science.org #scisky #biology #news #science "Visualized the early encounter between a transcribing RNA polymerase and a ribosome, which initiates translation on the nascent mRNA." Read more www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Human eIF2A has a minimal role in translation initiation and in uORF-mediated translational control www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

The annual meeting of #Czech protistologists (#Protodays) will take place next year from 21-25 April, 2025 l. It will be hosted by our lab in the wonderful village of Frymburk, Czech Republic. Looking forward!! #PhD #parasitology www.chromera.org/konference/5...

An interesting read! Crick's central dogma has held up well to this day, but it can now be viewed more as a dynamic process rather than a unidirectional flow of information.... #PhDlife #PhD www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...