This story started during my post-doc with @tlaszlo.bsky.social while looking at TAFs isoforms for another project. Striking that a fundamental component of the basal transcription machinery can undergo such species-specific (rather drastic) evolutionary innovations. Thanks to everyone involved!
Check out our preprint where we describe, characterize and trace the origin of a novel human-specific isoform of TAF8, a scaffold subunit in TFIID. We were surprised to discover that TAF8 recently underwent genetic changes generating a truncated isoform with altered properties in humans!
Thanks Andrea and everybody who participated!
High-resolution binding data of TFIID and cofactors show promoter-specific differences in vivo https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.22.691305v1
Read our new preprint where we uncover a hierarchy in human PIC assembly and establish a quantitative framework that connects factor exchange kinetics to the regulation of Pol II activity in living human cells. doi: doi.org/10.64898/202...
By A. Oravecz and our collaborators @molinalab.bsky.social
Intrigued by a long-standing conundrum in small RNA biology—how nuclear Argonaute proteins silence transposons when they *need* target transcription for their own recruitment—we studied the piRNA pathway.
And found a hidden RNA-decay axis from Piwi to the RNA exosome.
All of this was spearheaded by the exceptional experimentalist & scientist @changweiyu.bsky.social who came with a strong background in transcription from @tlaszlo.bsky.social and developed into a remarkable RNA biologist.
Please RT 📧
Registration open for ➡️"Summer School on Chromatin Biology" Our 2 weeks hands on expedition 🧪👩💻August 2026. 3. edition. Learn CUT@Tag, CUT@Run, ChIPseq, ATACseq AND to analyse your own data at @helmholtzmunich.bsky.social Daily letures by experts in the field !
▶️ shorturl.at/jrA8i
Structure of the transcriptional co-activator SAGA complex (from fungus Chaetomium thermophilum), including the histone acetyltransferase module #cryoEM
www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
What is a promoter? And how does it work?
We very happy to share our latest work trying to understand enhancer-promoter compatibility.
I am very excited about the results of @blanka-majchrzycka.bsky.social, which changed the way I think about promoters
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Today it was announced that Sir John Gurdon passed away.
His ground-breaking discovery was that differentiated cells can be reprogrammed. He was a creative and distinguished developmental biologist, a kind person with a great inquisitive mind and original ideas
www.cam.ac.uk/research/new...
With self-deprecating humor, Sir John loved to tell the story of his Biology teacher (1949)
Do not forget to apply to the FEBS Advanced Lecture Course: 6th Danube Conference on Epigenetics (19–22 October 2026, Budapest, Hungary. Will be a great meeting as always. Check out the site: network.febs.org/posts/febs-a...
"In our view, it [hexanediol] should thus be avoided and not be used as evidence for the formation of an assembly via phase separation or the fluid-like nature of a condensate in vitro or in vivo." doi.org/10.1038/s414...
Read this interesting preprint from the lab of Krishnamurthy Natarajan: Cotranslational assembly confers specificity for in vivo target heterodimerization of paralogous H2B-like TAF12 proteins in the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans
doi: doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Could you add me please. Thanks. László Tora
One more movie!
Using the RL algorithm (from pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...),
@masaashimazoe.bsky.social analyzed our nucleosome tracking data and classified them by their mobility.
Hotter color = faster motion (Slow🔵→ 🟢 → 🟡 → 🟠 Fast)
Check out our new collaborative preprint about Affinity-ligand purification of native human low-abundance multi-protein complexes doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Exquisite work. Well done to the whole team.
🚨 New preprint out! Do you think Single Molecule Footprinting and Fiber-seq are super cool but aren't sure how to unlock their full potential? HiddenFoot can help you: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Friday we celebrated my 40 years of scientific career in France, with present and past lab members and many friends. It was a fantastic day full of emotions, memories and great science. Thanks for making the day so memorable !
The importance of moving away from bulk! Occupancy of Pol II at promoters is dramatically different between fly and mouse cells! When looking single molecule! Proud of the team! @kasitc.bsky.social @molinalab.bsky.social doi.org/10.1038/s443...
Two more weeks to send us your abstract! >20 abstract selected talks. Priority to junior scientists and cool biology on gene regulation (DNA/RNA/protein). Come to meet the world leaders in single molecule genomics and single molecule imaging! Help shaping the future of the field in the workshops!
👍
PMID: 40106549, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adr1492
Read our collaborative paper
@longchrom.bsky.social and @molinalab.bsky.social
showing that disruption of NuA4 and ATAC coactivator complexes cause gene-specific transcript buffering, suggesting that cells dynamically adjust RNA export/degradation to sustain cellular homeostasis.
