Chung Hyun Cho

So I pleased to announce the conceptual spawn of FigTree: PearTree (acronym still to be finalised). If you want to dive right in it is hosted as a web app here: artic-network.github.io/peartree (click the “Example...” button for immediate candy and then click every button you can find).

Final version @nature.com of our paper describing unconventional multicellular development in a choanoflagellate inhabiting an extreme environment. A ton of new data since the first @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social preprint (which we've kept updating).

A brief 🧵 (carried over from the old place)

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. 🧪

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 condi...

Salinity tunes mode of multicellularity in a tidepool choanoflagellate www.nature.com/articles/s41... - paper in @nature.com

In this review we map the journey to animal multicellularity and define three extinct ancestral stages:
🔹 LUAA: Last Unicellular Animal Ancestor.
🔹 FACA: First Animal Common Ancestor.
🔹 LACA: Last Animal Common Ancestor.
Check it out: bit.ly/4azuLVY @embojournal.org

1/New preprint just dropped! 🔥🔥 We investigate how the genome is destroyed in apoptotic cells in a way that prevents DNA fragments from spreading beyond the dying cell 🧬⚰

Done here at @imbavienna.bsky.social & in the super @rcollepardo.bsky.social & Rosen labs:

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

Response to heat stress is mediated by reactive oxygen species accumulation that is enhanced in PtMCA-III triple KO mutants.

Metacaspases contribute to the cellular response to heat stress in a marine diatom

Sadeh et al. @vardilab.bsky.social

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

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 condi...

Clonal-aggregative multicellularity tuned by salinity in a choanoflagellate www.nature.com/articles/s41... #jcampubs

Really happy to see this one out: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... Alibek's drive & great coll w/ friends @gekaragoz.bsky.social & E. Hallacli resulted in a cool story that starts with our beloved #Marchantia and ends with iPSC-derived neurons 🤩🤪 A short 🧵

Fig. 2 Life cycle of Cyanidiophyceae.

✨ Paper spotlight ✨

(🧵 1/2) Fascinating single cell red algae: models for evolution and adaptation
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

#PlantScience

Life cycle of Cyanidiophyceae.

Fascinating single-cell red algae: models for evolution and adaptation

#TansleyReview by Berger et al.

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

#plantscience

Just out @natcomms.nature.com Our new paper led by @karaslab.bsky.social with our help (Thalassiosira pseudonana).

Breaking the cell wall for efficient DNA delivery to #diatoms

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

Scientists have seen Asgard archaea crawling for the first time. When it comes to the origin of eukaryotes, this is like seeing a feathered dinosaur in the wild. (Video courtesy of Philipp Ralder)

Ancient co-option of LTR retrotransposons as yeast centromeres - Nature Evolutionarily related ‘proto-point’ centromeres providing resolution to the evolutionary origins of point centromeres are identified in yeast, and comparison shows they evolved in an ancestor with re...

Our paper is now out in Nature:

“Ancient co-option of LTR retrotransposons as yeast centromeres”

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

A short thread on how retrotransposons helped give rise to yeast point centromeres.

1/14

EMBO Press co-evolves with molecular ecology and evolutionary biology - The EMBO Journal The EMBO Journal - Molecular ecology and evolution are central to understanding how biological systems function, interact, and diversify. A special issue of this journal reflects the growing...

Read how @embopress.org is expanding its focus on molecular ecology and evolution as central underpinnings of functions/interactions/diversification of biological systems – by @yehumoran.bsky.social, @berndpulverer.bsky.social, and our new team of Editorial Advisors
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

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

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

How does the piRNA pathway solve the self vs. non-self problem? 🧬

Since piRNAs come from single-stranded RNA, how does the cell choose the right ones? For years, "piRNA clusters" were seen as THE privileged source. But are they really special and earmarked for biogenesis? (1/19)

Structural ontogeny of protein-protein interactions

Registration is now open! The 4th edition of the Mendel Early Career Symposium will take place on 21-22 May at the GMI, part of the @viennabiocenter.bsky.social. This two-day event brings together researchers across career stages to discuss the latest research in all areas of plant science.

Thermophilic bacteria employ a contractile injection system in hot spring microbial mats Abstract. Bacterial contractile injection systems (CISs) are multiprotein complexes that facilitate the bacterial response to environmental factors or inte

Contractile Injection Systems - Hot Springs - cryoET: Read the final version of our paper here:
academic.oup.com/ismej/advanc...
#microsky #teamtomo

Check out our latest pre-print of our favourite pets - the breviates. This work was led by Zhezhen Yi in collaboration with @andrewjroger.bsky.social and many others! By studying diverse breviates we were able to see how different metabolic pathways can evolved in response to low-oxygen.

🚨Preprint alert🚨 How does chromatin “architecture” form at CTCF sites? Our new preprint with @voslab.org and @andersshansen.bsky.social shows CTCF dimerization promotes nucleosome oligomerization on chromatin. tinyurl.com/CTCF-nucleos...

Spatial Proteomics Workshop for Protists

(see more in thread below)

Registration
Early Bird Monday 22nd June 2026.
Regular Monday 10th August 2026.
There will be a conference dinner on day 1. To register visit protistology.org.uk/autumn-meeti...

Mapping of the viral shunt across widespread coccolithophore blooms using metabolic biomarkers | PNAS The viral shunt is a fundamental ecosystem process which diverts the flux of organic carbon fixed through photosynthesis during algal bloom events ...

🌊Paper announcement! 📣
Viral infections rewire the metabolic makeup of their host and thereby create distinct chemical signatures. Can we use metabolic biomarkers to diagnose infections of algal blooms in the ocean?
Well, take a look at our new article led by Conny Kuhlisch in @pnas.org
>>

Unique territorial and compartmental organization of chromosomes in the holocentric silkworm - The EMBO Journal Hallmarks of multicellular eukaryotic genome organization are chromosome territories, compartments, and loop-extrusion-mediated structures, including TADs. However, these have mainly been observed in ...

How do compartmentalization & loop extrusion organize eukaryotic genomes beyond classical model organisms?
Hi-C analysis of silkworm chromosomes by Drinnenberg, Muller, Mirny et al reveals new combination of these mechanisms, and a new, secluded “S” compartment
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

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.

Comparative Genomics of Unicellular Eukaryotes (San Feliu, Spain):
Abstract submission is open, with a short deadline! comparativegenomics2026.com

Join us as we explore the most diverse, surprising, and still largely uncharted branches of the eukaryotic tree.