📣 Check out this excellent #Postdoc opportunity @leibniz-hki.de which is part of Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions #MSCA #COFUND. Consider applying to join my lab if you’re interested in opportunistic infections caused by #Fusarium (research area 5). Call ends 26 May 2026
www.fellows4fungi.eu
Thrilled to see this finally out!!
Our new work suggests #Starships helped #Colletotrichum acquire the genes needed to infect lupin.
A glimpse into how fungal pathogens emerge through horizontal transfer and genome reshaping.
biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
#Fungi #Genomics #Pathogenicity #evolution
🧬 Interested in Transposable Elements?
Join our course with @valentinapeona.bsky.social @ritarebollo.bsky.social @clementgoubert.bsky.social & learn about TE libraries, genome annotation, insertion polymorphism, transcriptomics, manual curation and much more www.physalia-courses.org/courses-work...
#TEsky Glomhopper-a subfamily of DUF3504-encoding CryptonA elements in Glomeromycota doi.org/10.1186/s131...
As promised: We have an open 2-year postdoc position in my lab at HHU Düsseldorf, starting September 2026.
Come join us and help pioneering structural biology of fungal GPCRs!
More about the lab: altegoerlab.de
Apply here: karriere.hhu.de/index.php?ac...
Please share with interested candidates!
Happy to share our work! 🍄🍇 Botrytis cinerea grapevine-specialized strains harbor a specific repertoire of transposons. While retrotransposon-derived small RNAs do not appear to play a significant role in virulence on grapevine, a new giant transposon—a #Starship— confers arsenic resistance.
We’re hiring! 🇸🇪🔬
Tenure-track Assistant Professor in Prokaryotic Microbiology (molecular focus) at Stockholm University.
Supportive environment + strong molecular research
👉https://su.varbi.com/en/what:job/jobID:921526/type:job/where:125/apply:1
Please share!!
We just received funding for a 2yr postdoc position on cryoEM of fungal gpcrs. Official call will open soon.
Contact me if you‘re interested!
Have you registered for CGUE yet? Head on over to comparativegenomics2026.com Registration includes all meals and hotel nights.
Background Transposable elements drive genomic changes and are mobilized by specific nucleases. Among them are tyrosine recombinases (YRs), which mediate DNA cleavage and rejoining. YR-encoding elements, such as DIRS, Ngaro, Crypton, and Starships, occur in diverse eukaryotes and display characteristic terminal repeat structures that enable their mobility. Their activity in fungi results in large-scale chromosomal rearrangements, horizontal gene transfer, and the movement of genes for pathogenicity, symbiosis, and secondary metabolism. Other YR-elements underwent domestication giving rise to ZMYM transcriptional regulators in animals. Results We identify and characterize the fungal members of the CryptonA lineage of tyrosine recombinase-encoding transposons, which we name Glomhoppers. These elements encode a DUF3504 domain that retains the conserved catalytic residues characteristic of active YRs. In contrast, many domesticated animal DUF3504 homologs lack key catalytic residues, whereas active CryptonA transposon-derived DUF3504 elements have also been reported in animals. Structural modeling suggested the presence of a putative DNA-binding groove, and phylogenetic analyses placed Glomhoppers as a well-supported subclade within the CryptonA lineage, together with domesticated ZMYM-like derivatives. Across 72 Glomeromycota genomes, ~ 1,800 Glomhopper copies were identified, representing a subset of DUF3504-containing loci, mostly truncated or intronized, but ~ 25% lacked introns and maintained intact catalytic motifs, consistent with potential mobility. Genomic context analysis revealed their frequent localization within highly repetitive compartments, often alongside other transposon families. Expression data indicated that intronless variants respond to stress, reaching several-fold higher expression levels than intron-containing forms, especially in Gigaspora species. This is consistent with the possibility that a subset of Glomhoppers remains transcriptionally active and potentially mobilizable, although direct evidence of transposition is lacking. Conclusion Our findings establish Glomhoppers as a novel subfamily of DUF3504-encoding CryptonAs. The lineage-specific distribution, intron variation, and stress-responsive expression of Glomhoppers suggest divergent evolutionary trajectories, potentially including both mobility and domestication. These elements expand the known diversity of YR transposons and highlight DUF3504 as a candidate domain for further functional and evolutionary studies.
Institutionen för molekylär biovetenskap, Wenner-Grens institut (MBW) bedriver experimentell grundforskning inom molekylär cellbiologi, integrativ biologi och infektions- och immunbiologi. Forsknin
Role of transposons in the specialization of Botrytis cinerea to grapevine: Insights into small RNAs and a new Starship https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.05.30.728154v1
Der Biologe Dr. Florian Altegoer vom Institut für Mikrobiologie der Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf (HHU) erhält einen mit 210.000 Euro dotierten „Exploration Grant“ der Boehringer Ingelheim Stiftung (BIS).
We just received funding for a 2yr postdoc position on cryoEM of fungal gpcrs. Official call will open soon.
Contact me if you‘re interested!
