Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Rachel Moran

@rachelmoran.bsky.social

1.6K followers 1.4K following 26 posts

Assistant Professor in Ecology & Evolution at UChicago. Evolutionary genomics and behavior in fishes. (she/her) https://rachelmoranlab.com

rachelmoranlab.com

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Rachel Moran @rachelmoran.bsky.social · Jun 2

Our lab is moving! I’m thrilled to be joining the Department of Ecology & Evolution at the University of Chicago this fall. I’ll be recruiting PhD students so please spread the word and reach out if interested!

6 18 84

Reposted by Rachel Moran

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 22h

Attempted eradication of smallmouth bass promotes rapid evolution. Here's the study that is the focus of the Scientific American article: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

1 37 62

Reposted by Rachel Moran

Linnea Lungstrom @linnealungstrom.bsky.social · 2d

No better reason to join Bluesky then to say the first chapter of my PhD is out as a preprint! New surgeonfish phylogeny, ecomorphological relationships, evolutionary shape correlations-with NEW method to accurately account for phylogenetic covariation among shapes!

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

Phylogenetic relationships and the evolution of fin and body shape in the surgeonfishes

Patterns of evolutionary change in the fin and body shapes of fishes are strongly related to dietary ecology and locomotor mechanisms, and associations between shapes affects ecomorphological relation...

www.biorxiv.org

5 23 70

Reposted by Rachel Moran

Kim Rosvall @rosvall-lab.bsky.social · 3d

Pumped to share our work on bird behavior and the 2024 Eclipse, in today's @science.org. 100k bird vocalizations + 10k continent-wide observations from the public = really fun collab led by Liz Aguilar, with @juncowren.bsky.social @mathcancer.bsky.social @imillercrews.bsky.social #NSF

2 28 88

Rachel Moran @rachelmoran.bsky.social · 2d

New sex determining regions can trap or release nuclear-encoded mitochondrial genes, creating pulses of hybrid breakdown and leaving genomic scars.
Broadly, this raises the possibility that speciation may follow predictable patterns shaped by inheritance asymmetries and genomic conflict.

Schematic chromosomes illustrate two genomic contexts for nuclear-encoded mitochondrial (N-mt) genes (orange). (A) N-mt genes within autosomal or pseudo-autosomal regions recombine freely and can track
mitochondrial evolution, minimizing mitonuclear conflict. (B) Local capture of N-mt genes in a non- recombining sex-linked stratum (purple) constrains compensatory evolution, intensifying mitonuclear conflict (lightning bolts) and often generating heterogametic-biased hybrid
breakdown.

Conceptual timeline showing how cycles of
sex-chromosome turnover modulate the intensity of mitonuclear conflict through time. Conflict is low
under the ancestral sex-determining region (SDR). When a turnover event establishes a new SDR that
captures an N-mt locus, conflict is amplified (upslope) as compensatory evolution is constrained in the
non-recombining stratum. A subsequent turnover that frees that locus from the SDR relieves conflict
(downslope). If a later turnover again captures a different N-mt locus, conflict rises anew. These repeated
amplification-then-relief cycles predict pulses of hybrid incompatibility and leave alternating genomic
“scars” of reduced introgression at formerly sex-linked regions.

Rachel Moran @rachelmoran.bsky.social · 2d

When sex chromosomes turnover, they can reset the rules of genomic conflict.
New preprint exploring how turnover reshapes barriers to gene flow through an “escape-hatch” model for mitonuclear conflict.
Any feedback would be welcome! ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...

Resetting the rules: Sex chromosome turnover as an escape hatch for mitonuclear conflict

ecoevorxiv.org

1 9 8

Reposted by Rachel Moran

Gina Baucom @gbaucom.bsky.social · 3d

I really hope this is successful! Please apply! Contact me if you have questions!

Daniel Bolnick @danielbolnick.bsky.social · 3d

@sse-evolution.bsky.social just announced the following:

Call for Proposals: Research Synthesis Working Groups
The Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE) invites proposals for sponsored Research Synthesis Working Groups at the 2026 Evolution meeting (up to two in-person and one virtual). ...

4 7

Reposted by Rachel Moran

Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 4d

Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE

nyti.ms

140 1.8K 4.7K

Reposted by Rachel Moran

Heidi B. Hammel @hbhammel.bsky.social · Jul 2

"Useless" and/or "silly" federally-funded research has turned the United States into the world’s leader in science and technology over the past 75 years. Such science is under attack throughout the federally-funded agencies in the United States. More at: www.americanscientist.org/article/%E2%...

The image shows "silly" research (reptile venom, microbes in Yellowstone Park, bee foraging patterns) that actually turned out to be transformational (anti-obesity drugs, DNA testing, and internet algorithms, respectively). From the article "Why are we funding this?": If someone had said, “Who cares how desert lizard venom works? Let’s not fund that research,” we never would have discovered semaglutide, a key component of drugs such as Wegovy and Ozempic, which have helped millions of Americans lose weight. If we hadn’t funded research into how bizarre microorganisms thrive in boiling Yellowstone geysers, we never would have discovered the bacterium Thermus aquaticus, whose Taq polymerase enzymes now enable medical tests for countless genetic diseases. If we had decided not to study how bees optimize nectar foraging and distribution among a colony because it sounds silly, we never would have developed an algorithm that allocates internet traffic among computer servers—a technology that powers the $50 billion web-hosting industry.

4 57 130

Reposted by Rachel Moran

Camille Roux @crouxevo.bsky.social · Sep 12

Hybridization and introgression are major evolutionary processes. Since the 1940s, the prevailing view has been that they shape plants far more than animals. In our new study (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
), we find the opposite: animals exchange genes more, and for longer, than plants

3 110 190

Rachel Moran @rachelmoran.bsky.social · Sep 12

Another pre-print led by @wrad07.bsky.social 🐟🧬
We generated a reference genome for Hypostomus & used whole genome re-sequencing to ID invasive suckermouth catfish species in TX. We also investigated genetic sex determination to assess feasibility of genetic biocontrol via YY supermale approaches.

bioRxiv Genetics @biorxiv-genetic.bsky.social · Sep 12

The genomic complexity of invasion: cryptic lineages, founder effects, and polygenic sex determination in armored catfish https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.06.674633v1

1 6

Reposted by Rachel Moran

Evolution Meetings @evolmtg.bsky.social · Sep 5

Evolution Meeting 2026 logo contest! The winner will receive meeting registration and an Evolution 2026 t-shirt. www.evolutionmeetings.org/2026-logo-co...

Evolution Conference Information

Evolution 2026 Cleveland needs a logo! Submit your design(s) to [email protected] with the subject header 'logo contest 2026' Guidance: 3-4 colors maximum try to avoid single organism...

www.evolutionmeetings.org

1 34 28

Rachel Moran @rachelmoran.bsky.social · Sep 4

Thanks!! We’re lucky darters are usually happy to hybridize and live in the lab 😂

1 1

Rachel Moran @rachelmoran.bsky.social · Sep 4

This work was led by @wrad07.bsky.social & @mysiadye.bsky.social with help from @dkimfish.bsky.social and Pavitra Muralidhar. @uchicagobsd.bsky.social @tamubiology.bsky.social @whitmancollege.bsky.social

Rachel Moran @rachelmoran.bsky.social · Sep 4

First pop gen paper from our lab! We find repeated evolutionary turn over of sex chromosomes in darters contributes to reproductive isolation. Turnover may be an escape hatch to resolve mitonuclear conflict & neo sex chromosomes evolved via a rare recessive mutation. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Top left: Results of genome-wide association study (GWAS) for sex in E. caeruleum, E. radiosum, and E. spectabile showing sex chromosome turnover has occurred repeatedly. Top right: Phylogeny showing sex chromosome turnover in darters and non-darter percids. Chromosome 9 is the putative ancestral sex chromosome, shared by Perca flavescens and multiple members of the orangethroat darter complex (e.g., E. spectabile, E. pulchellum). Bottom: Schematic depicting repeated turnover of sex chromosomes as a mechanism to resolve mitonuclear conflict and promote speciation.

2 19 42

Reposted by Rachel Moran

KLIVV Vienna @klivvvienna.bsky.social · Feb 12

"A single gene orchestrates androgen variation underlying male mating morphs in ruffs" New paper featuring @fusanilab.bsky.social out now in @science.org !

www.science.org/doi/full/10....
www.science.org/doi/full/10....

9 17

Reposted by Rachel Moran

Silu Wang (she/her)🇨🇦 @siluwang.bsky.social · Aug 30

Why do speciation rates vary across the tree of life?
Some of the best yet most underappreciated places for this investigation are natural hybrid zones.
This preprint takes you to the hybrid zones in the origin of species to find a clue. 👉 shorturl.at/N7FXE
#Speciation #Evolution #hybridization

2 53 110

Reposted by Rachel Moran

Laura K Hayward @lkhayward.bsky.social · Aug 23

Why do males and females often differ in traits?
The expected answer: selection.
But our new paper in GENETICS shows that genetic drift alone can generate sexual dimorphism — even when male & female optima are the same

4 49 110

Reposted by Rachel Moran

Emily Troyer @fishfetisher.bsky.social · Jul 18

Check out our new paper! We find cavefish colonized caves 3x and global cooling events may have influenced these events.

royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

Percopsiformes phylogeny showing three independent cave colonization events

2 25 64

Reposted by Rachel Moran

⚡️🔩Felsenstein's Monster🔩⚡️ @josephwb.bsky.social · Aug 15

Opportunity for ECR "to contribute to the visibility of science in our field, gain networking opportunities, & build skills for a future career in research, publishing, or science communication" in @molbioevol.bsky.social & @genomebiolevol.bsky.social
Due 31 Aug. 🧪

www.smbe.org/smbe-fellows...

SMBE Fellows Program

The SMBE Fellows Program aims to provide mentorship and guidance to early-career researchers in scientific writing for evolutionary and molecular biology. Specifically, we aim to develop skills in wri...

www.smbe.org

3 6

Reposted by Rachel Moran

Chris Kyriazis @ckyriazis.bsky.social · Aug 4

I am thrilled to share this paper outlining some ideas I’ve been thinking about for a little while on a simple but powerful approach for predicting risk of inbreeding depression from long runs of homozygosity and non-ROH heterozygosity. 1/n @klohmueller.bsky.social doi.org/10.1016/j.tr...

1 26 53

Reposted by Rachel Moran

Vaughn Cooper @vscooper.micropopbio.org · Aug 4

asm.org/press-releas...

Scientific Societies File Supreme Court Amicus Brief in Support of NIH Grantees

ASM and fellow societies filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court, calling for the swift restoration of NIH grant funding supporting early-career scientists, such as the MOSAIC program.

asm.org

9 34

Reposted by Rachel Moran

Journal of Evolutionary Biology @jevbio.bsky.social · Aug 4

NEW SPECIAL ISSUE JUST RELEASED!

Sex unfolded: sex, asex, sexes. Read the introductory editorial by Guest Editors D. Roze, S Glemin, @thomaslenormand.bsky.social & K. Van Doninck here: academic.oup.com/jeb/issue/38/7

Fantastic cover art by Caroline Blanc.

Volume 38 Issue 7 | Journal of Evolutionary Biology | Oxford Academic

Journal of Evolutionary Biology

academic.oup.com

1 14 18

Reposted by Rachel Moran

Thomas Lenormand @thomaslenormand.bsky.social · Jul 12

Interested to know more about a new theory relating the #evolution of #sexchromosomes to the rules of #speciation? Check out this paper that we published with Denis Roze in the last issue of #Science. PDF here: www.science.org/stoken/autho...

A single theory for the evolution of sex chromosomes and the two rules of speciation

Sex chromosomes are involved in three major empirical patterns: (i) Y (or W) chromosomes are often nonrecombining and degenerate; (ii) heterogametic offspring (XY or ZW) from interspecific crosses are...

www.science.org

17 31

Reposted by Rachel Moran

⚡️🔩Felsenstein's Monster🔩⚡️ @josephwb.bsky.social · Aug 3

Ancient hybridization underlies tuberization and radiation of the potato lineage www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Ancient hybridization underlies tuberization and radiation of the potato lineage

Genomic and functional analyses reveal that the potato lineage originated from a homoploid interspecific hybridization event between the Tomato and Etuberosum lineages 8–9 million years ago. The alter...

www.cell.com

3 4

Reposted by Rachel Moran

Silu Wang (she/her)🇨🇦 @siluwang.bsky.social · Jul 29

Check out our new special feature: Monitoring and Restoring Gene Flow in the Increasingly Fragmented Ecosystems of the Anthropocene www.pnas.org/topic/574 #biodiversity #evolution #ecology #popgen #ClimateEmergency

1 39 80