Maya Voichek

Lastly, I’m excited to join @imbmainz.bsky.social in 2026 to start my own lab. We'll explore new mechanisms in eukaryotic gene expression, leveraging ‘evolutionary play’ to uncover how regulation, repurposing, and hijacking shape RNA biology. tinyurl.com/y4x29ctt
Thanks for reading! 20/20

Are you an early-stage graduate student (2nd or 3rd year) or early-stage postdoc based in the US or Canada, working primarily in Drosophila? Would you like to help improve the experience of all trainees working in Drosophila research? If so, read on.

(Please repost to reach a broad audience.)

Some impressions from the rather fabulous #EMBOmobilegenome Mobile Genome meeting in Heidelberg
Morning walk through the woods, exciting panel discussion, flash talks, lab community, drosophila friends, …
@events.embl.org

The transposon community is going very strong. see you all again in 2027!!

Graphical abstract: The Drosophila OSC Genome as a resource for transposon and piRNA biology. The figure illustrates the workflow and key findings. Left: De novo genome assembly using Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) long reads and Hi-C data generates a phased assembly distinguishing unique (blue) and repetitive (orange) sequences. Dot plot comparison between OSC-r1.01 and dm6 reference genomes shows overall synteny with extensive structural variation. Middle: A freely accessible UCSC genome browser session displays multi-omics data tracks including gene models, transposon insertions, chromatin accessibility, transcription, small RNAs, and histone modifications. Right: New insights into flamenco piRNA cluster biology reveal >730 kb transcribed from a single promoter without major splicing. Tethering assays demonstrate long-range silencing effects across the locus, and genome browser tracks show coordinated regulation of piRNA production, transcription, and chromatin state. This resource enables comprehensive studies of transposon regulation and piRNA pathway function in a widely-used Drosophila cell line.

When transposons jump, genomes diverge - even in cultured cells.
I am happy to share our new preprint: a chromosome-scale genome assembly for Drosophila OSC cells, one of the key model systems in the piRNA field, especially for nuclear piRNA biology. 🧬🧵 (1/12)

1/ How do animals develop immunity against a newly encountered transposable element from scratch? Our study reveals that the mobility of TEs is their Achilles heel, allowing hosts to develop a powerful small RNA-mediated silencing response.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Manipulation of the nucleotide pool in human, bacterial and plant immunity - Nature Reviews Immunology Modification of the nucleotide pool is emerging as key to innate immunity in animals, plants and bacteria. This Review explains how immune pathways conserved from bacteria to humans manipulate the nuc...

We wrote a review on the free nucleotide pool as a central playground in human, bacterial, and plant immunity – now out in Nature Reviews in Immunology

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

Was fun to write this piece with Dina Hochhauser!

Here is a thread to explain the premises

1/

Transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of transposable elements and their roles in development and disease - Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology Transposable elements (TEs) comprise nearly half of the human genome. This Review discusses transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms that repress TE activity, how TEs escape this suppressio...

We wrote a review on Transposable Elements (TEs) and almost all aspects of TE silencing and their roles in biological processes & disease.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Although we didn't make it to a cover, it was so wonderful to work with @mariadiazillus.bsky.social on designing an artwork inspired by our work. Thank you Maria! We love it and will be proudly showing it around.

Rover ERV wandering around the chromatin rapped around the moons of the solar system:

🚨📢 New paper alert!
A study led by Kirsten Senti and Julius Brennecke offers new insights into how ancient endogenous retroviruses diversified to exploit different cell “niches” in the fruit fly ovary, and how the host’s defenses adapted in return. https://imba.science/Brennecke_EMBOJ

REFEREE 1: “I conclude with a simple, direct statement - this is the best paper I have read all year!”
#TransparentPeerReview

Co-evolving infectivity and expression patterns drive the diversification of endogenous retroviruses
@juliusbrennecke.bsky.social et al

www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

Drosophila Genetic Database The Drosophila Genetic Database, FlyBase, is on the brink of collapse due to the sudden termination of the FlyBase NIH grant, which includes salaries for 5 literature curators based at the University ...

Flybase lost all of the NIH support overnight - it is a disaster for the community. Please consider donating. I just did! www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk/give-to-camb...

Microscopic picture of Drosophila Sperm (green, yellow, orange, red) and Muscle cells (teal, blue). Depth coded.

Happy #FluorescenceFriday !🌈

Today, sperm cells & developing gametes (Dapi, 🟢🟡🟠🔴) and testis muscles (Phalloidin (🔵🟢) in/on a #Drosophila non-melanogaster (guess the species and you’re the 🐐)
#cellbio #devbio #science #sciart #microscopy

Scope: Zeiss Airyscan 980❤️@zeiss-microscopy.bsky.social

📣 Our new VIP3 Postdoc program is accepting applications! Wondering what's it's like to do a postdoc at the Vienna Biocenter? Find out here👇 🎉

Drosophila Genetic Database The Drosophila Genetic Database, FlyBase, is on the brink of collapse due to the sudden termination of the FlyBase NIH grant, which includes salaries for 5 literature curators based at the University ...

#drosophila @flybase.bsky.social request emergency funding:
"As it stands, by the end of July, 2025, there will be no future updates to FlyBase, and in the worst case scenario access to the website will also be lost" => please donate!

www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk/give-to-camb...

A screencapture of the page dedicated to the transcription factor isl1/tailup. There is information about the flybase ID, function, classification, keywords, and a very long wall of text under BIOLOGICAL OVERVIEW. Fly people rock tbh

The Interactive Fly logo, showing a cartoon of two adult Drosophila melanogaster on a yellow background. There's subtext that reads "A cyberspace guide to Drosophila development and metazoan evolution".

Did you know? 🧪 "The Interactive Fly" is a wonderful website hosted by @socdevbio.bsky.social where you can learn about their development, the history of gene discovery/name, and it is full of super useful resources for the #DevBio community 🪰https://www.sdbonline.org/sites/fly/aimain/1aahome.htm

Direct cell-to-cell transmission of retrotransposons - preLights Blurring the lines between retrotransposons & viruses! sORF2 enables envelope-independent, direct cell-to-cell transmission of retrotransposons in Drosophila, challenging our understanding of mobile g...

Blurring the lines between retrotransposons & viruses!

sORF2 enables direct transmission of retrotransposons challenging our understanding of mobile genetic elements. #preprint @juliusbrennecke.bsky.social Lab

#preLight from Ally Simpson & Alyss Humphrey!
👉 prelights.biologists.com/highlights/d...

Thanks Sonya! Indeed this story had its share of twists and turns... Very kind of you :)

Hsc70-4: An unanticipated mediator of dsRNA internalization in Drosophila Hsc70-4 localizes to the cell surface of Drosophila cells, binds to exogenous dsRNA, and mediates its internalization.

Stop for a second and try to imagine this: a heat shock protein relocalizes to the cell surface and mediates dsRNA binding and internalization!
Intrigued? Read our newly minted paper in Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Congrats to all the authors and thanks to reviewers and editor!

We are hiring! Join the BioOptics team as a Data Scientist in Image Analysis and contribute to the team’s mission of providing microscopy applications, flow cytometry, and image analysis services. Link below. #europe #research #lifesciences

Repeat-element RNAs integrate a neuronal growth circuit SINEs of recovery: A subset of small RNAs encoded by repetitive genomic elements are induced by nerve lesion to regulate protein synthesis and enhance axonal growth.

Online now at @cp-cell.bsky.social , the culmination of a 12-year effort. 🧵 to follow later this evening

www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

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

I have exhorted others to share positive news even in these uncertain times for US science.

I am really excited that @tamanash.bsky.social’s first paper on the remarkable evolutionary gymnastics of dual-host viruses (even in single codons) is now online.

Follow along here 🧪🧵

Our colleague Prof. Benny (Ben Zion) Shilo passed away this morning @WeizmannScience . Benny worked at the forefront of world science in the study of molecular and developmental genetics. Among other things, he won the A.M.T. Prize in the field of genetics in 2013. He was also a great explainer of science, a kind teacher - and an artist photographer with a sharp eye and a sensitive soul. Benny, we will miss you very much. May his memory be blessed.

Our field has lost an amazing scientist, mentor, and old friend. Benny, along with Mike Hoffman, had a brilliant idea in the early 1980s. The first oncogenes were being cloned and they realized if we wanted to understand their roles in cancer, we needed to understand their normal function 1/n 🧪

The mobile genome: genetic and physiological impacts of transposable elements

Do you have transposon-related research cooking, with some cool results you are exciting to share? Start thinking about registering to #EMBOMobileGenome workshop! Nov 4-7 2025 in Heidelberg. One of the historical TE meetings, with a diverse and welcoming community. www.embl.org/about/info/c...
1/3

we received so many nice comments for this work on this platform, it is really wonderful. Thank you all so much!!

Thank you so much Peiwei! I hope you're having lots of fun at #Dros25 :)

Thanks Alexandros! Indeed, it would be really interesting to look at these short ORFs as well, although with plasmodesmata as far as I understand there would already be a way to move between plant cells.... :)

Thank you so much Silvia :) It's a lot of fun working in such a supportive environment!

Thanks Katherine! It's really a lot of fun imaging Drosophila ovaries, highly recommended! :)

Thanks Sofia! I'm glad you like it.