Miguel Gómez-Raya

With Eugene Koonin, we propose a concept of “the selfish ribosome”, under which evolution of life is viewed as a ribosomal takeover, where the ribosome evolved to consume most of the cell’s resources, while other cellular componentry ensures the propagation of the ribosome. arxiv.org/abs/2602.23268

Clonal-aggregative multicellularity tuned by salinity in a choanoflagellate - Nature The choanoflagellate Choanoeca flexa forms motile and contractile cell monolayers purely clonally, purely aggregatively or through a combination of both processes depending on environmental conditions.

A study in Nature shows that the single-celled form of a tiny, aquatic organism can turn into a multicellular version by three different routes. The discovery adds insight to the possible origins of multicellular life, suggesting a previously unrecognized degree of flexibility. 🧪

Screenshot of the title and author list of the preprint entitled "Deep learning extracts MoA-specific signatures from high-throughput images of chemically and genetically perturbed Corynebacteria"

Our preprint outlining a deep learning-based phenotypic screening approach for the discovery of new TB drugs is out on bioRxiv now 💊🦠

🔗 doi.org/10.64898/202...

Thank you @awehenkel.bsky.social @chzimmer.bsky.social @spetrella.bsky.social @curieuseny.bsky.social and everyone else not on bsky (yet)🙏

The evolutionary origins of synaptic proteins and their changing roles in different organisms across evolution Nature Reviews Neuroscience - Recent studies have shed further light on the evolutionary origins of chemical synapses, In this Review, Colgren and Burkhardt explore how ancient proteins were...

First neurons didn’t appear overnight. We trace their roots to ancient secretory cells - showing how lifestyle & behavior shaped the evolution of first synapses.🧠🌊 #Evolution #Neuroscience

Our latest in @natrevneuro.nature.com
Link: rdcu.be/eMX3E

@jeffcolgren.bsky.social @msarscentre.bsky.social

Congrats Katy so excitiiing!!! 🌝🎉

Beyond thrilled to share that our study has been published!
This project encompasses years of work, including my thesis research on Asgard archaea in the @archaeal.bsky.social lab at @utmsi.bsky.social and
@texasscience.bsky.social!!!
#MicroSky #ArchaeaSky 1/12

Finally out in @nature.com: a new piece of the puzzle of how complex life evolved. Lead by @archaeal.bsky.social & @katyappler.bsky.social. Great collab with @greening.bsky.social and @kassipan.bsky.social. More pieces to follow soon! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A 🆕 #Ichthyosporea story
Led by@margaridaaraujo.bsky.social, in Co. @gautamdey.bsky.social & @hiralshah.bsky.social+🔥team across @embl.org & @sciencesunige.bsky.social
We finally have a look at what #microtubules are doing during #cellularization in #Sphaeroforma
▶️ tinyurl.com/MTSARC
#ProtistsOnSky

We are happy to share our newest preprint on a novel strain of Ca. Lokiarchaeum ossiferum, that contains an active provirus, capable of excision and independent replication! We propose a novel virus family: Fylgjaviridae.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Our latest preprint: Together with the team of Jan Löwe, @danieltamarit.bsky.social and many others we discovered and characterized several Asgard tubulin genes and propose that microtubule architecture and dynamics evolved in Asgard archaea prior to eukaryogenesis
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Active virus-host system in a Lokiarchaeon culture https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.13.705702v1

Olee!! Muchas felicidades a los dos!!!

Phosphorylation of the α subunit inhibits proteasome assembly and regulates cell cycle in an archaeon Archaea of the order Sulfolobales possess a eukaryote-like cell division machinery and display a eukaryote-like cell cycle; however, the cell division…

Phosphorylation of the α subunit inhibits proteasome assembly and regulates cell cycle in an archaeon www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... #jcampubs

The paradox of immune systems conservation between prokaryotes and eukaryotes - Nature Reviews Microbiology The widespread prokaryotic immune systems, in particular restriction–modification, CRISPR–Cas and defensive toxin–antitoxin systems, are absent in eukaryotes, whereas relatively rare ones, such as Arg...

The immune systems paradox

Some widespread prokaryotic immune systems are absent in eukaryotes, whereas relatively rare ones became central to eukaryotic innate immunity

@audeber.bsky.social & E. Koonin hypothesize the answer is #HGT

shareable link: rdcu.be/e2EmD

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

✨PPU Selection Week 2026

We welcomed 30 young scientists from 16 countries on our campus to dive into the heart of the PPU International Doctoral Program, offering a real immersion into what their next three years at the Institut Pasteur could look like 🎓

👉 www.pasteur.fr/en/education...

The paradox of immune systems conservation between prokaryotes and eukaryotes - Nature Reviews Microbiology The widespread prokaryotic immune systems, in particular restriction–modification, CRISPR–Cas and defensive toxin–antitoxin systems, are absent in eukaryotes, whereas relatively rare ones, such as Arg...

Aude Bernheim @audeber.bsky.social and Eugene Koonin discuss one of most interesting questions in the field connecting bacterial and animal immunity!

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Extremophile alert!

Registration is OPEN for the 2026 EMBO Archaeal workshop in Cambridge.

Spaces are limited, so register soon with an abstract if you’d like to give a talk.

If you can’t come in person, we are welcoming virtual attendees. So join us online where all talks will be screened!

DAY 243
SPECIES 243 - Ca. Lokiarchaeum ossiferum
STAGE: Archaea
MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek watercolor. Sakura pen

NOTES: Yesterday was 10% shading and 90% painting, Todays was 90% shading with a 10min paint job. Looked better before painting, but I'll spend some more time on later archaea.

DAY 242
SPECIES 242 - Prometheoarchaeum syntrophicum
STAGE: Archaea
MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek watercolor. Sakura pen

NOTES: I was unaware of asgard archaea last year, now they are one of my favorite creatures. Excited to learn more about them.

#sciart #watercolor #archaea #art #paint

Bacteria chromosomes contain Genomic Islands that provide virulence, antibiotic resistance, MGE-defence,... They transfer between cells, but the mechanism of most remains elusive.

Here we explore the conjugative capacity of these mysterious Genomic Islands.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Un poste de Maître de Conférence est ouvert pour rejoindre notre unité à Lyon !

Possibilité de rejoindre mon équipe pour travailler sur:
- caractérisation des mécanismes de défense anti-phage
- transfert horizontal et interactions entre éléments génétiques mobiles

N'hésitez pas à me contacter

We found a new mode by which bacteria deplete NAD+ to protect from phages. And then we found how phages overcome this defense

Discovered by talented biochemist Dr Ilya Osterman, read the preprint: tinyurl.com/Narp-ap

A thread 🧵

Researcher Florian Wollweber standing next to a cryo-focused ion beam microscope in a laboratory, with technical infrastructure visible in the background.

The origin of eukaryotic cells continues to be one of the greatest mysteries in biology.

EMBL Grenoble is excited to welcome Florian Wollweber, who will use cutting-edge imaging techniques to study Asgard archaea — microbes closely related to our earliest ancestors. 🦠🔬

www.embl.org/news/people-...

Using micropatterning & thousands of hours on the microscope
@manuelthery.bsky.social and the #CytoMorphoLab reimagined the Musée D’Orsay. Accompanied by an orchestra and poet, their images transported us into the cellular universe. I remembered why I am a cell biologist. All of this is in us. Wow!

A reminder to sign up for the 2026 EMBO archaeal meeting im Cambridge: meetings.embo.org/event/26-arc.... Registration is open. We are looking forward to hosting you!

DAY 230
SPECIES 230 - Archaeoglobus veneficus
STAGE: Archaea
MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek watercolor, Sakura pen, Tombow colored pencil

A. veneficus is a hyperthermophilic archaeon, found in deep-sea hydrothermal vents. It's often linked to iron corrosion in oil systems

#sciart #painting #art

Dominant contribution of Asgard archaea to eukaryogenesis - Nature A survey of the reconstructed gene set of the last eukaryotic common ancestor shows a consistent link between Asgard archaea and the origin of numerous, functionally diverse eukaryotic genes, dem...

#NatMicroPicks

Asgard archaea and the origin of eukaryotes! 🦠

Eukaryotic cellular complexity evolved largely within the Asgard lineage before mitochondrial endosymbiosis and later bacterial gene acquisitions

#MicroSky

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

If you are interested in ssDNA viruses of bacteria, archaea or eukaryotes (yes, from all walks of life!), this is the conference for you - International Symposium on ssDNA Viruses (ISS3DV)! isdv2026.com
The deadline for the early bird registration is approaching...

Dominant contribution of Asgard archaea to eukaryogenesis

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Ordering of cell cycle events by regulated proteolysis is not just for eukaryotes:
@buzzbaum.bsky.social et al define mechanisms underlying switch-like degradation of archaeal ESCRT-III CvdB in Sulfolobus
Thanks to @reviewcommons.org for another #RefereedPreprint
link.springer.com/article/10.1...