McGregor Lab

How did evolution drive massive genome contraction during oceanic island colonization? A new paper from our lab.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Interested in a PhD connecting sensory ecology and evolutionary genetics? Applications are now open for a project on the Speciation Genomics of Eye Size Variation in Heliconius Butterflies in our lab at LMU Munich: www.evol.bio.lmu.de/research/mer... Please repost!

🚨Registration for the UK #EvoDevo meeting is open! Join us on July 11th in London to enjoy an exciting day of talks, posters, friends, and superb science!
-Registration (only £5!): shorturl.at/9cQGL
-More info: londonevodevo.ac.uk

Very happy to have been part of this fantastic collaboration!

Gene editing technology began by people studying salt marshes. Ozempic began by folks studying the venom of Gila Monsters. Support for basic science has empowered us to understand our world. Tethering it to applications health has transformed and saved countless lives.

Congrats on the paper! Really nice work!

Great to have been part of this collaboration and especially thanks to Isabel for getting us over the line!

3D printed fly ommatidium
generated by our Wellcome Optical biology PhD student Courtney Lancaster @courtneyl7a7.bsky.social @lmcb-ucl.bsky.social @ucllifesciences.bsky.social
@wellcometrust.bsky.social
Visualising 3d bioimaging data !

Very happy to share our paper on the sense of smell in spiders.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
#chemicalecology, #pheromon, #sensoryorgans #spiders,

Assessing the impact of whole genome duplication on gene expression and regulation during arachnid development Whole genome duplication (WGD) generates new genetic material that can contribute to the evolution of the regulation of developmental processes and phenotypic diversification. A WGD occurred in an anc...

New preprint from our lab. Great work by @maaseremedios.bsky.social in collaboration with Ralf Janssen looking at gene regulation and expression after whole genome duplication by comparing a spider and harvestman:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

A shared developmental genetic basis for sexually antagonistic male and female adaptations in the toothed water strider Abstract. Sexual conflict can drive the divergence of male and female phenotypes and cross-species comparative analyses have documented patterns of correla

A shared developmental genetic basis for sexually antagonistic male and female adaptations in the toothed water strider
doi.org/10.1093/evle...

Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Claudia Pruvôt et al.

Postdoc @ evol-lab. A Leverhulme funded 3-year postdoc studying body shape evolution (through a sexual conflict lens) on Exeter's Penryn (UK) campus. Starts April 2025. Contact David Hosken @ U of Exeter for detail.

Oxford Brookes Helps Train Future Science Leaders - Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes partners with leading institutions to train the next generation of researchers addressing global challenges in life and environmental sciences.

Great opportunity to do a #PhD with me! Think #Drosophila #eyes are fun to work with? Love to do #microscopy? Want to look into organ size regulation and evolution? Maybe even in a pest species? Get in touch and check out how to apply via Oxford Brookes University: tinyurl.com/37h7pudv

A microRNA is the effector gene of a classic evolutionary hotspot locus In Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), the genomic region around the gene cortex is a “hotspot” locus, repeatedly implicated in generating intraspecific melanic wing color polymorphisms across 100 mi...

Our miRNA story is now in @science.org ! We found a microRNA, not a protein, that finally solved a long-standing evolutionary mystery of wing coloration in butterflies and moths. (1/n)
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Entangled and non-modular enhancer sequences producing independent spatial activities Regulatory mapping at a developmental gene reveals an unexpected architecture of entangled, rather than modular, enhancers.

What better way to start on 🦋 than by sharing our new publication?
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Come look at some cute spider embryos with stunning 🧬expression with me!

This gene is very exciting, and will be a major part of my PhD research! Watch this space for new updates🔬
@mcgregorlab.bsky.social
#EvoDevo #Biology #phdlife

Sexually antagonistic coevolution can explain female display signals and male sensory adaptations Abstract. The prevalence and diversity of female ornaments pose a challenge to evolutionary theory because males should prefer mates that spend resources o

A really exciting new study: evidence that males evolve better sight in order to detect female dishonesty in dance flies. One for the textbooks! A male resistance trait!
Great one from @rosalindmurray @luc_bussiere @dtgwynne & team

academic.oup.com/evolut/advan...

Developmental evolution in fast-forward: insect male genital diversification Insect male genitalia are among the fastest evolving structures of animals. Studying these changes among closely related species represents a powerful approach to dissect developmental processes and g...

New review on the evolution of insect male terminalia I wrote with Daniela Nunes: www.cell.com/trends/genet...

@mcgregorlab.bsky.social and I had the pleasure of writing a dispatch article discussing the latest work from @gavinrrice.bsky.social and @rebeizlab.bsky.social. You can find it over on this link: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Yes, polygenic sex determination is a thing! The process of sexual development in animals is modulated by a variety of mechanisms. Some species respond to environmental cues, while, in others, sex determination is thought to be controlled by a s...

If you're interested in the evolution of sex determination, check out this opinion piece from Tom Kocher, @tonygamble.bsky.social , @behrenskristen.bsky.social , Will Gammerdinger, and me. We argue that genetic variation in sex determination is probably more prevalent that most people think.

Drosophila and IF staining folks: any recommendations for antibody generation companies? I would also be looking to get the company (or a different company) to express and purify the target antigen too.

Thanks in advance!!

CaSE responds to the 2024 Autumn Budget - CaSE

Analysis of implications for science spend of UK budget

Appears worst fears of folding in Horizon Europe/ERC budget are not going to happen

www.sciencecampaign.org.uk/analysis-and...

Such a wonderful piece of research! Great work yet again by @gavinrrice.bsky.social and the @rebeizlab.bsky.social lab

Bumblebee on anthers that form the yellow central spot of a large pink flower. Out of focus greenery in the background.

Job Alert! New postdoc position in our lab investigating cognitive biases in wild bumblebees. Thanks to Wild Animal Initiative for the funding.

Position for 31 months. Deadline: December 9th. Please apply/boost

#PostdocJob #AcademicJobs #Bees

jobs.ncl.ac.uk/job/Newcastl...

Our paper, identifying all the cell types in the Drosophila melanogaster female reproductive tract (uterus, female-limited glands, sperm storage organs) is out today! We used single-nuclei RNA sequencing and a lot of in situ cross-validation www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2409850121 🪰 🧬🧪 1/n

Temperature affects conspecific and heterospecific mating rates in Drosophila https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.10.28.620639v1 Behavioral mating choices and mating success are important factors in the development of reproductiv

Temperature affects conspecific and heterospecific mating rates in Drosophila https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.10.28.620639v1

3D micrograph of the developing D. eugracilis terminalia

Our new @CurrentBiology paper provides a rare glimpse into a morphological novelty in Drosophila eugracilis
In it, @gavinrrice and colleagues, infer and reproduce the likely initial steps of a novelty's formation
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

I am thrilled to announce publication of a new paper led by Seth Frazer, showing we can accurately predict opsin phenotypes from their gene sequences

academic.oup.com/gigascience/... 🧪

Contextualising transcription factor binding during embryogenesis using natural sequence variation https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.10.24.619975v1 Understanding how genetic variation impacts transcription factor (TF) binding remains a major challe

Contextualising transcription factor binding during embryogenesis using natural sequence variation https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.10.24.619975v1