Rupinder Kaur, PhD

Such an impactful work showing that the "chromatin fatigue" is real to pose consistent stress for the survival of the cell! Kudos to the team! 👏👏

Beyond Wolbachia—Can a small molecule control insect reproduction?

Photo of book “Thriving as an International Scientist” written by Sonali Majumdar

This book has never been more timely. Thanks to @sonali-m-19.bsky.social for writing it and for sending me a copy.

Thank you Gopal!

🚨 New pub alert! Check out our latest one that showcases how chemical and genetic innovations can recreate complex host–symbiotic interactions in the absence of the symbiont.

www.cell.com/cell-reports...

Direct single-molecule detection and super-resolution imaging with a low-cost portable smartphone-based microscope - Nature Communications Loretan and colleagues present a low-cost smartphone-based microscope capable of detecting single-molecule fluorescence. This approach opens doors to personalised and widely distributed applications in diagnostics, biosensing, and science education.

Direct single-molecule detection and super-resolution imaging with a low-cost portable smartphone-based microscope www.nature.com/articles/s41... #jcampubs

#mustread

Fathers shape embryonic development through molecular ‘signatures’. Credits: Daniela Velasco/EMBL

New research from EMBL Rome shows how paternal environment prior to conception can shape early embryo development.

These findings are a step toward understanding the mechanism of epigenetic inheritance, opening up new possibilities for disease prevention.
www.embl.org/news/science...

absolutely wild, from the Small Molecules Considered (SMC) branch:
"...this work provides another piece in a complex biological puzzle aiming to understand the persistent and pervasive nature of 𝘞𝘰𝘭𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘢 endosymbionts." (doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...)
#MicroSky #SymbioSky

This project would not have been possible without @symbionticism.bsky.social and his unwavering support, my undergrad student Mahip Kalra for his relentless troubleshooting efforts that brought the chemical experiments to life, and the incredible Lab team for their timely help every step of the way!

Why does it matter to mimic symbiotic traits?
👉 It develops symbiont-independent tool kit for insect population control
👉 It expands symbiont-based biocontrol approaches to species that cannot be stably infected with the bacterium
👉 Inspires ways to study how epigenetics shape host–symbiont biology

Stay tuned for the full banger! Meanwhile, enjoy the commentary on our upcoming pub, where we show that #Wolbachia modify host reproduction via reduced histone acetylation—a fundamental epigenetic process that can be synthetically mimicked by a tiny molecule, even in the absence of Wolbachia!

Beyond Wolbachia—Can a small molecule control insect reproduction? Kaur et al. demonstrate reduced histone acetylation as a key mechanism underpinning Wolbachia’s paternal-effect embryonic lethality trait in Drosophila melanogaster. Recapitulation of this trait by in...

#Wolbachia has puzzled scientists with its power to rewire insect reproduction. What if I tell you that we found one of the keys Wolbachia use to rewire its host AND a small molecule inhibitor uses this key to mimic what this microbe has mastered for millions of years.

www.cell.com/cell-reports...

Jaw dropping!! Beautiful work. Is it live testes culture?

"What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make"

Figure 1: Fluorophore intensity in the Drosophila blastoderm (n.c. 14). Comparison of (A) green and (B) red fluorescence intensity using the same intensity scaling in n.c. 14. The fluorescence signal did not saturate. Shown are single imaging planes. Normalised histograms of fluorescence intensity for green (C) and red (D) fluorophores averaged across at least n=3 embryos per line. Scale bars = 20 μm

Identification of optimal fluorophores for use in the Drosophila embryo by Timothy E Saunders and team: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Extraordinary pictures show what a common antibiotic does to E. coli A commonly used class of antibiotics seems to kill bacteria like E. coli by breaking down their tough armour

These awesome microscopy images show what actually happens when E. coli is exposed to an antibiotic.

A bacterium starts to look bumpy as it tries to put more “bricks” in its defensive wall. But as it builds, it leaves gaps that let the antibiotic to kill it. 🧪

www.newscientist.com/article/2498...

Transposable elements are vectors of recurrent transgenerational epigenetic inheritance DNA methylation loss at transposable elements (TEs) can affect neighboring genes and be epigenetically inherited in plants, yet the determinants and significance of this additional system of inheritan...

Out First Release in @science.org this week:

A large scale analysis of the epigenetics of transposable elements in Arabidopsis shows transgenerational stability

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

#PlantScience

Homepage - 67th Annual Drosophila Research Conference Visit our website to learn more.

T-minus 14 days for registration opening for the Annual #Drosophila Research Conference in Chicago next March.

Looking forward to seeing all our meeting support staff from @genetics-gsa.bsky.social . Ditto for our valued curators @flybase.bsky.social .

#genetics

genetics-gsa.org/drosophila-2...

ReMOT Control reagents are now available on @addgene.bsky.social! Go git 'em!

www.addgene.org/Jason_Rasgon

Figure 1. Diversity of male-killing (MK) endosymbionts across arthropods.

"Striking diversity of male-killing symbionts and their mechanisms"
by Hiroshi Arai (@haraipapilio.bsky.social), Daisuke Kageyama (@daisukekageyama.bsky.social) & co

"Why [and how] do maternally inherited endosymbionts kill male hosts?"

Find out here:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Thanks friend! Gotta follow your footsteps..eh! :)

Thanks Kevin! I’m so looking forward to it!

Excited for you to join us!

Yay! Team Midwest! 👏 Thanks Mark, I can’t wait to host you :)

Congratulations Rim! Will be great to have you in the Midwest!

Thank you Nichole! Super pumped for the next chapter myself! 🤓😎

Congratulation Rim! I can not wait to see what you accomplish in your next chapter!

Super team force to be reckoned with! 💪

Ignite and launch: After six years of super science together, @kaurr.bsky.social is heading to Chicago to start a science team and lab. 🚀