A sex-determining gene region in ants, bees, and wasps has maintained its function for over 150 million years through its chromosomal position rather than its DNA sequence, as evidenced by the lack of sequence homology among lineages. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/n9eU50XWipU

Excited to share that I’m starting a research group at MPI for Biology Tübingen — and we’re recruiting PhD students! We are offering two fully funded PhD positions on sex determination and development in Hymenoptera 🐜🐝. Please share with prospective students who might be interested.

Sign up now for EMBO Workshop "Molecular mechanisms of selfish elements and strategies" in Bern, Switzerland, 8–11 February 2026. Abstract submission/Registration by: 15 December 2025/15 January 2026 https://meetings.embo.org/event/26-selfish-elements #EMBOselfishElements #GeneSky #EMBOevents 🧪

Check-out this very interesting result by Clément Plessis, PhD student in our group! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

🌱 RESEARCH 🌱 Wheat varieties with a high root projected area in pure stands experience a strong relaxation of below-ground competition in mixtures at the seedling stage under resource-limited conditions – Montazeaud et al. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/... #PlantScience 🧪 @germtz.bsky.social

Check out this cool work from @crouxevo.bsky.social and others, congrats!!! 🥳 Rapid establishment of species barriers in plants compared with that in animals | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Save the date! Next fall (2026), we will be hosting an interdisciplinary conference on crop diversification in Paris.

PhD fellowship available 📢! We are offering a 3-year fully funded PhD fellowship at the interface between functional ecology and quantitative genetics in Montpellier FR ! (Application deadline 31 July)

Last chance to attend the school for free if you're doing your PhD in an Official Development Assistance (ODA) country ! Apply by 15 May for a full scholarship covering tuition, travel, accommodation, and meals.

New paper out in @jxbotany.bsky.social! 🌱🌾 We found that mixing different wheat varieties can decrease belowground competition at early growth stages, especially under resource limited conditions.