María Angélica Bravo Núñez

Technician III - Department of Microbiology Position Summary This position will be in the lab of Dr. Joseph E. Peters in the Department of Microbiology. Research in the Peters’ lab broadly involves deciphering mechanisms in genome stability and...

The Peters lab is looking for a new team member! The role transposons play in evolution, basic mechanisms regulating transposition, and applying transposons as tools for genome modification with a special focus on guide RNA-directed transposition. cornell.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/CornellCaree...

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...

The Eukaryotic homology search complex distorts donor DNA structure to probe for homology Homologous recombination (HR) is a DNA double-strand break repair pathway that facilitates genetic exchange and protects damaged replication forks during DNA synthesis. As a template-based repair proc...

Just throwing this out there as a significant conceptual advance in the field

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

HOME Visit the post for more.

This week we said farewell to the amazing @caitlinkowa.bsky.social as she moves to start her new lab at Dartmouth. So grateful for all her leadership and mentoring the last few years.

If you’re interested in all things skin microbes (especially fungi) check out her lab! I can’t recommend enough.

Go Nicolle!!! 🎉🎉🎉 so well deserved!

CONGRATS CHANTELL!!!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉

IRE1α promotes phagosomal calcium flux to enhance macrophage fungicidal activity McFadden et al. find the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress sensor inositol-requiring enzyme 1α (IRE1α) is activated by C-type lectin receptor signaling during Candida albicans infection without protei...

I finally decided to be more active here after missing the science side of twitter. Please check out my paper, "IRE1α promotes phagosomal calcium flux to enhance macrophage fungicidal activity" with @drbadbug.bsky.social and @teresaomeara.bsky.social!

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

I'm also excited to share some recent observations with @teresaomeara.bsky.social about how the growth phase of the emerging fungal pathogen Candida auris influences its pathogenesis:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Congrats Maribel!!!!!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

1/3 It’s official 🙌🏽
The Reyes Ruiz Lab is opening in 2026 at the University of Wisconsin, Madison in the Department of Pathobiological Sciences. My lab will focus on host antibacterial effectors and adaptation of bacteria to host-imposed stress during S. aureus infections.

Gag proteins encoded by endogenous retroviruses are required for zebrafish development | PNAS Transposable elements (TEs) make up the bulk of eukaryotic genomes and examples abound of TE-derived sequences repurposed for organismal function. ...

💥🥳 At long last, our latest paper is out!

Gag proteins of endogenous retroviruses are required for zebrafish development

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Led heroically by Sylvia Chang & @jonowells.bsky.social

A study which has changed the way I think of #transposons! No less! 🧵 1/n

A conserved opal termination codon optimizes a temperature-dependent trade-off between protein production and processing in alphaviruses Alphaviruses optimize viral polymerase production and polyprotein processing at distinct temperatures via a premature stop codon.

Our study exploring the evolutionary mechanism of alphavirus opal codon retention is now online! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Intercellular bridges are essential for transposon repression and meiosis in the male germline - Nature Communications A conserved feature of metazoan meiosis is that it occurs in a syncytium. Here, the authors show that intercellular bridges that connect germ cells in a syncytium are critical for ensuring proper meio...

For my first science post here, I’m proud to advertise our latest work exploring why germ cell connectivity is really important for meiosis 🐁

Done with some awesome colleagues @florpratto.bsky.social

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

🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ congrats!!!

Transposable elements may enhance antiviral resistance in HIV-1 elite controllers - Genome Biology Background Less than 0.5% of people living with HIV-1 are elite controllers (ECs)—individuals who maintain undetectable plasma viremia without antiretroviral therapy, despite having replication-compet...

Feels awkward but necessary to celebrate scientific progress in this imperiled time for US biomedical research.

Proud of our latest paper out today exploring the role of transposable elements in antiviral resistance to HIV 🦠

genomebiology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
🧵1/n

👀👀👀

deeply humbled to receive the Larry Sandler Award, named after the Larry Sandler that found meiotic drive

I'd like to think this award belongs to my mentors, colleagues, lab mates, and the wonderful fly community that has supported me & so many others in their scientific journeys. #basicscienceFTW

CONGRATS PEIWEI!! 🎉

Illustration of FuSpok killing a cell which has lost an accessory chromosome. Core chromosome in blue, accessory chromosome in red. Black circle: FuSpok. Green circle: antidote function. Red triangle: toxin function.

Interested in #fungal accessory chromosomes or toxin/antidote genes? Check out our new preprint! We show that the Spok gene family in Fusarium include active toxin/antidote genes. We present a model for how these genes influence the evolution of fungal genomes. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

I’m so sorry for your loss, Danny

🎉🎉🎉🎉

over the moon to share the news that I got selected as a
@hhmi.bsky.social HHMI Hanna Gray Fellow 😄 super humbled to join this wonderful community to learn and grow and do cool science!! 🔬🧪🧬 also thanks to so many of my mentors and friends who have supported me along the way 🙏 #HannaGrayFellows

Congrats 🎉🎉🎉

Congratulations 🎉🎉

Today we're thrilled to announce our 2024 #HannaGrayFellows! Please join us in welcoming and celebrating these outstanding early career scientists!

Argonaute proteins regulate the timing of the spermatogenic transcriptional program Argonaute proteins are best known for their role in microRNA-mediated post-transcriptional gene silencing. Here, we show that AGO3 and AGO4, but not AGO2, localize to the sex chromatin of pachytene sp...

Happy new year to all! I am delighted to say that our new preprint went on @biorxiv-genetic.bsky.social today! The work was a labor of love for Mercedes Carro from my lab and Alexis Dzuibek from Andrew Grimson's lab - congrats to all! #meiosis #meiosis4eva #RNA

biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...

If you are a scientist in the field of #mitosis cell division. Did you ever wonder whether your favorite protein could be dependent on interactions with #RNA? Our latest preprint might be very helpful 👇

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

#AURKA #KIFC1 #HSET #TPX2 #spindle

Got an early Christmas gift this morning!!! Super happy that our article on analyses of intrachromosomal repeated sequences that can mediate ectopic recombination rearrangements in the human genome has been accepted for publication!!! Looking forward to sharing it very soon!!! 🤩🎁

t.co/bvIoMFy7Cn

Strategies for genetic manipulation of the halotolerant black yeast Hortaea werneckii: ectopic DNA integration and marker-free CRISPR/Cas9 transformation | Microbiology Spectrum Hortaea werneckii is a remarkable yeast capable of growing in high salt concentration, and its cell division cycle alternates between fission-like and budding. For these unique attributes, H. wernecki...

I am so happy to see this finally published! Being able to manipulate Hortaea genetically has been a dream since I was a postdoc, and now it is a reality! This was possible thanks to the @mblscience.bsky.social Whitman Fellowship, which let me spend my summer studying this amazing yeast.

Can’t wait!!!