Rob Waterhouse
@rmwaterhouse.bsky.social
Director, Environmental Bioinformatics Group at SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics @sib.swiss. Chair, European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA, @ergabiodiv.bsky.social). #biodiversity #genomics www.rmwaterhouse.org
Pinned
Majority of local insect biomass decline linked to species loss
A new study shows that over 90% of insect biomass declines are driven by shrinking species numbers, posing a risk to ecosystem function.
www.idiv.de
A new study shows that over 90% of insect biomass declines are driven by shrinking species numbers, posing a risk to ecosystem function. www.idiv.de/majority-of-... #biodiversity
Population-scale long-read datasets, involving sequencing and de novo assembly of multiple individuals within a species, are better at capturing the full spectrum of structural variants, but such datasets are rare outside of humans www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #biodiversity #genomics
Multispecies pangenomes reveal a pervasive influence of population size on structural variation
Structural variants (SVs) are widespread in vertebrate genomes, yet their evolutionary dynamics remain poorly understood. Using 45 long-read de novo genome assemblies and pangenome tools, we analyze S...
www.science.org
December 15, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Population-scale long-read datasets, involving sequencing and de novo assembly of multiple individuals within a species, are better at capturing the full spectrum of structural variants, but such datasets are rare outside of humans www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #biodiversity #genomics
Join the last #ERGAPlenary of 2025 @ergabiodiv.bsky.social at 15:00 CET today!
December 15, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Join the last #ERGAPlenary of 2025 @ergabiodiv.bsky.social at 15:00 CET today!
Apennine brown bear #genomic diversity - comparing whole #genome resequencing data from Apennine, Central European, and North American brown bears academic.oup.com/mbe/article/... #biodiversity #genomics
Coexisting With Humans: Genomic and Behavioral Consequences in a Small and Isolated Bear Population
Abstract. Climate and land use change have increased human–wildlife interactions, potentially reducing wild species density and prompting behavioral adapta
academic.oup.com
December 15, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Apennine brown bear #genomic diversity - comparing whole #genome resequencing data from Apennine, Central European, and North American brown bears academic.oup.com/mbe/article/... #biodiversity #genomics
For our 2019 #Genome #Biology study we had just 6 beetle 🐞 genomes 🧬 to work with link.springer.com/article/10.1... ... today there are >300 chromosomal-level reference genomes for Coleoptera! #biodiversity #genomics
Genomic signatures accompanying the dietary shift to phytophagy in polyphagan beetles - Genome Biology
Background The diversity and evolutionary success of beetles (Coleoptera) are proposed to be related to the diversity of plants on which they feed. Indeed, the largest beetle suborder, Polyphaga, most...
link.springer.com
December 13, 2025 at 1:33 PM
For our 2019 #Genome #Biology study we had just 6 beetle 🐞 genomes 🧬 to work with link.springer.com/article/10.1... ... today there are >300 chromosomal-level reference genomes for Coleoptera! #biodiversity #genomics
Reposted by Rob Waterhouse
Please help! We are looking for tissue-specific RNA-seq datasets or pubs with both male and female individual gene expression data, not pooled, from animal species. If you know of any relevant resources, please drop a link in the comments or send me a DM. Also, please help spread the word - thanks!
December 5, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Please help! We are looking for tissue-specific RNA-seq datasets or pubs with both male and female individual gene expression data, not pooled, from animal species. If you know of any relevant resources, please drop a link in the comments or send me a DM. Also, please help spread the word - thanks!
Population resequencing data from five brood-parasitic species across three independent origins of brood parasitism—three parasitic finches, a honeyguide and a cowbird—alongside related non-parasitic outgroups www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Comparative population genomics reveals convergent adaptation across independent origins of avian obligate brood parasitism - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Population genetics analysis in a phylogenetic framework shows convergent evolution in the genomes of five brood-parasitic species, including selection on genes involved in spermatogenesis, sperm func...
www.nature.com
December 13, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Population resequencing data from five brood-parasitic species across three independent origins of brood parasitism—three parasitic finches, a honeyguide and a cowbird—alongside related non-parasitic outgroups www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Rob Waterhouse
The African Union has called for stronger cooperation to safeguard Africa's biodiversity, as leaders, scientists and policymakers gathered in Botswana for the first Africa Biodiversity Summit aimed at aligning environmental conservation with economic transformation.
🔗 https://ow.ly/W3lr50XpcZS
🔗 https://ow.ly/W3lr50XpcZS
Biodiversity: AU members nudged toward collective action
Africa’s ecosystems from the rainforests of the Congo Basin to the deserts of the Sahara are more than landscapes - they are also supportive lifelines.
ow.ly
December 13, 2025 at 10:05 AM
The African Union has called for stronger cooperation to safeguard Africa's biodiversity, as leaders, scientists and policymakers gathered in Botswana for the first Africa Biodiversity Summit aimed at aligning environmental conservation with economic transformation.
🔗 https://ow.ly/W3lr50XpcZS
🔗 https://ow.ly/W3lr50XpcZS
Reposted by Rob Waterhouse
Microbial eukaryotes keep challenging assumptions about eukaryotic cell and genome biology.
Our upcoming workshop explores the frontier of protist genomics and how it shapes cell biology, ecology and evolution.
Please save the date! Talks, posters and ECR events
Websites and details coming soon
Our upcoming workshop explores the frontier of protist genomics and how it shapes cell biology, ecology and evolution.
Please save the date! Talks, posters and ECR events
Websites and details coming soon
December 13, 2025 at 10:19 AM
Microbial eukaryotes keep challenging assumptions about eukaryotic cell and genome biology.
Our upcoming workshop explores the frontier of protist genomics and how it shapes cell biology, ecology and evolution.
Please save the date! Talks, posters and ECR events
Websites and details coming soon
Our upcoming workshop explores the frontier of protist genomics and how it shapes cell biology, ecology and evolution.
Please save the date! Talks, posters and ECR events
Websites and details coming soon
eggNOG v7, the first release implementing a fully phylogenetic, domain-centric workflow - Speciation and duplication events are detected using a noise-tolerant algorithm to generate hierarchically consistent, evolutionarily dated OGs academic.oup.com/nar/advance-... #orthology #evolution
eggNOG v7: phylogeny-based orthology predictions and functional annotations
Abstract. The eggNOG (evolutionary genealogy of genes: Non-supervised Orthologous Groups) database is a phylogenomic resource for orthology inference, evol
academic.oup.com
December 13, 2025 at 12:34 PM
eggNOG v7, the first release implementing a fully phylogenetic, domain-centric workflow - Speciation and duplication events are detected using a noise-tolerant algorithm to generate hierarchically consistent, evolutionarily dated OGs academic.oup.com/nar/advance-... #orthology #evolution
Sequencing and hybrid #genome assembly of 45 taxonomically and ecologically diverse termites and two cockroaches 🧬 www.nature.com/articles/s41... #biodiversity #genomics
Unravelling the evolution of wood-feeding in termites with 47 high-resolution genome assemblies - Nature Communications
Termites, the largest lineage of non-hymenopteran social insects, are important decomposers of plant organic matter in the tropics. Here, the authors sequence the genomes of 45 termites and two cockro...
www.nature.com
December 13, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Sequencing and hybrid #genome assembly of 45 taxonomically and ecologically diverse termites and two cockroaches 🧬 www.nature.com/articles/s41... #biodiversity #genomics
Reposted by Rob Waterhouse
A reference genome for Batesia hypochlora, the painted beauty from the Amazon - first reference genome for Biblidinae subfamily. Led by Tan Pham, with help from collaborators in Peru, UK, Finland, & Poland.
Here's to many more Neotropical Lepidoptera genomes!
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Here's to many more Neotropical Lepidoptera genomes!
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
December 12, 2025 at 3:43 PM
A reference genome for Batesia hypochlora, the painted beauty from the Amazon - first reference genome for Biblidinae subfamily. Led by Tan Pham, with help from collaborators in Peru, UK, Finland, & Poland.
Here's to many more Neotropical Lepidoptera genomes!
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Here's to many more Neotropical Lepidoptera genomes!
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Join us at #SMBE2026 in Copenhagen this summer!
🔵 With @ergabiodiv.bsky.social & @official-smbe.bsky.social
🟣 Symposium 21 | From genomic graphs to evolutionary insights: standardising #pangenomes for population inference
🟢 smbe2026.org/programme/
#biodiversity #genomics
🔵 With @ergabiodiv.bsky.social & @official-smbe.bsky.social
🟣 Symposium 21 | From genomic graphs to evolutionary insights: standardising #pangenomes for population inference
🟢 smbe2026.org/programme/
#biodiversity #genomics
Programme - SMBE 2026 - Copenhagen Denmark
SMBE 2026 Programme Days Hours Minutes Seconds CONFERENCE PROGRAMME This programme overview presents the preliminary conference program, offering a general outline of the planned sessions and activiti...
smbe2026.org
December 11, 2025 at 11:09 AM
Join us at #SMBE2026 in Copenhagen this summer!
🔵 With @ergabiodiv.bsky.social & @official-smbe.bsky.social
🟣 Symposium 21 | From genomic graphs to evolutionary insights: standardising #pangenomes for population inference
🟢 smbe2026.org/programme/
#biodiversity #genomics
🔵 With @ergabiodiv.bsky.social & @official-smbe.bsky.social
🟣 Symposium 21 | From genomic graphs to evolutionary insights: standardising #pangenomes for population inference
🟢 smbe2026.org/programme/
#biodiversity #genomics
Reposted by Rob Waterhouse
📣 ELIXIR homepage has a new look!
We have updated and modernised the ELIXIR homepage to help users reach key content quickly.
Browse through our new homepage and learn more about ELIXIR: https://loom.ly/6IC-fxk
We have updated and modernised the ELIXIR homepage to help users reach key content quickly.
Browse through our new homepage and learn more about ELIXIR: https://loom.ly/6IC-fxk
December 11, 2025 at 9:30 AM
📣 ELIXIR homepage has a new look!
We have updated and modernised the ELIXIR homepage to help users reach key content quickly.
Browse through our new homepage and learn more about ELIXIR: https://loom.ly/6IC-fxk
We have updated and modernised the ELIXIR homepage to help users reach key content quickly.
Browse through our new homepage and learn more about ELIXIR: https://loom.ly/6IC-fxk
Reposted by Rob Waterhouse
👉 Point your friends, family and connections to our new video 📹 on the point of bioinformatics!
The 90-second video is available in:
🇬🇧 youtu.be/yjbv1WZcM2M
🇫🇷 youtu.be/BG-h_nxwSE4
🇩🇪 youtu.be/e4S4m1IhfiU
🇮🇹 youtu.be/V4QcZHjnsGo
The 90-second video is available in:
🇬🇧 youtu.be/yjbv1WZcM2M
🇫🇷 youtu.be/BG-h_nxwSE4
🇩🇪 youtu.be/e4S4m1IhfiU
🇮🇹 youtu.be/V4QcZHjnsGo
December 10, 2025 at 8:55 AM
👉 Point your friends, family and connections to our new video 📹 on the point of bioinformatics!
The 90-second video is available in:
🇬🇧 youtu.be/yjbv1WZcM2M
🇫🇷 youtu.be/BG-h_nxwSE4
🇩🇪 youtu.be/e4S4m1IhfiU
🇮🇹 youtu.be/V4QcZHjnsGo
The 90-second video is available in:
🇬🇧 youtu.be/yjbv1WZcM2M
🇫🇷 youtu.be/BG-h_nxwSE4
🇩🇪 youtu.be/e4S4m1IhfiU
🇮🇹 youtu.be/V4QcZHjnsGo
Reposted by Rob Waterhouse
🔔Join the last #ERGAPlenary of 2025 next Monday for an end-of-year wrap-up! Our committees will present this year’s activities and outputs, and look ahead to 2026!
📅 15/12 at 15:00 CET
Register as an #ERGAmember to receive the link: www.erga-biodiversity.eu/join-contact
#Community #Genomics
📅 15/12 at 15:00 CET
Register as an #ERGAmember to receive the link: www.erga-biodiversity.eu/join-contact
#Community #Genomics
December 10, 2025 at 9:51 AM
🔔Join the last #ERGAPlenary of 2025 next Monday for an end-of-year wrap-up! Our committees will present this year’s activities and outputs, and look ahead to 2026!
📅 15/12 at 15:00 CET
Register as an #ERGAmember to receive the link: www.erga-biodiversity.eu/join-contact
#Community #Genomics
📅 15/12 at 15:00 CET
Register as an #ERGAmember to receive the link: www.erga-biodiversity.eu/join-contact
#Community #Genomics
À quoi sert la #bioinformatique?
🔴 @sib.swiss nous organisons les données des sciences de la vie, les conservons dans des bases de données et les transformons en connaissances
Découvrez la vidéo ⏩ www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG-h...
🔴 @sib.swiss nous organisons les données des sciences de la vie, les conservons dans des bases de données et les transformons en connaissances
Découvrez la vidéo ⏩ www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG-h...
Tout commence par un point | Ce que la bioinformatique apporte à la science et à la société
YouTube video by SIB - Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics
www.youtube.com
December 10, 2025 at 10:19 AM
À quoi sert la #bioinformatique?
🔴 @sib.swiss nous organisons les données des sciences de la vie, les conservons dans des bases de données et les transformons en connaissances
Découvrez la vidéo ⏩ www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG-h...
🔴 @sib.swiss nous organisons les données des sciences de la vie, les conservons dans des bases de données et les transformons en connaissances
Découvrez la vidéo ⏩ www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG-h...
What's the point of #bioinformatics?
🔴 @sib.swiss we organize life-science data, preserve them in databases, and transform them into knowledge
Check it out ⏩ youtu.be/yjbv1WZcM2M
🔴 @sib.swiss we organize life-science data, preserve them in databases, and transform them into knowledge
Check it out ⏩ youtu.be/yjbv1WZcM2M
What's the point? | The benefits of bioinformatics to science and society
YouTube video by SIB - Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics
youtu.be
December 10, 2025 at 10:02 AM
What's the point of #bioinformatics?
🔴 @sib.swiss we organize life-science data, preserve them in databases, and transform them into knowledge
Check it out ⏩ youtu.be/yjbv1WZcM2M
🔴 @sib.swiss we organize life-science data, preserve them in databases, and transform them into knowledge
Check it out ⏩ youtu.be/yjbv1WZcM2M
Reposted by Rob Waterhouse
A post on the genome of the yellow gorgonian Eunicella cavolini. Start for more analyses!
Remember this beautiful yellow gorgonian? @didier-aurelle.bsky.social wrote a blog post about why this species is important when studying genomic evolution.
Read more on our website 👉 biodiversitygenomics.eu/2025/12/09/u...
@biogeneurope.bsky.social, @horizoneu.bsky.social, @ergabiodiv.bsky.social
Read more on our website 👉 biodiversitygenomics.eu/2025/12/09/u...
@biogeneurope.bsky.social, @horizoneu.bsky.social, @ergabiodiv.bsky.social
Uncovering the evolution of Mediterranean soft corals with genomics - Biodiversity Genomics Europe
By Didier Aurelle, Université de Toulon, CNRS The yellow gorgonian (Eunicella cavolini) is one of the most widespread octocoral species found in the Mediterranean sea. As with other Anthozoans (the gr...
biodiversitygenomics.eu
December 9, 2025 at 9:05 PM
A post on the genome of the yellow gorgonian Eunicella cavolini. Start for more analyses!
Reposted by Rob Waterhouse
The traditional pipeline view of academia no longer reflects the reality of scientific #careers. In this Perspective, Alexandra A-T Weber @eawag.bsky.social reframes success as a network of paths that recognizes excellence in its many forms 🧪 #AcademicSky plos.io/4pSgzx5
December 9, 2025 at 5:30 PM
The traditional pipeline view of academia no longer reflects the reality of scientific #careers. In this Perspective, Alexandra A-T Weber @eawag.bsky.social reframes success as a network of paths that recognizes excellence in its many forms 🧪 #AcademicSky plos.io/4pSgzx5
🟢 Are you a researcher in #Switzerland involved in collecting species observations #data ? 🗺️🦋🐸🦉
🟣 Then you can help assess the needs, practices, & challenges on Swiss #biodiversity data mobilisation, publication, & sharing !
🔵 How ? Fill this short survey: form.jotform.com/253342763497...
🟣 Then you can help assess the needs, practices, & challenges on Swiss #biodiversity data mobilisation, publication, & sharing !
🔵 How ? Fill this short survey: form.jotform.com/253342763497...
BIODIVERSITY DATA MOBILIZATION INTO GBIF
Please click the link to complete this form.
form.jotform.com
December 9, 2025 at 3:05 PM
🟢 Are you a researcher in #Switzerland involved in collecting species observations #data ? 🗺️🦋🐸🦉
🟣 Then you can help assess the needs, practices, & challenges on Swiss #biodiversity data mobilisation, publication, & sharing !
🔵 How ? Fill this short survey: form.jotform.com/253342763497...
🟣 Then you can help assess the needs, practices, & challenges on Swiss #biodiversity data mobilisation, publication, & sharing !
🔵 How ? Fill this short survey: form.jotform.com/253342763497...
Reposted by Rob Waterhouse
📣 After years of development and earlier informal feedback rounds, the official @tdwg.org #DarwinCore public review is now live, your input is needed!
This is your chance to have your say in the official review for ratification! 🚀
🔗www.tdwg.org/news/20...
This is your chance to have your say in the official review for ratification! 🚀
🔗www.tdwg.org/news/20...
December 9, 2025 at 12:15 PM
📣 After years of development and earlier informal feedback rounds, the official @tdwg.org #DarwinCore public review is now live, your input is needed!
This is your chance to have your say in the official review for ratification! 🚀
🔗www.tdwg.org/news/20...
This is your chance to have your say in the official review for ratification! 🚀
🔗www.tdwg.org/news/20...
Reposted by Rob Waterhouse
🗣️ “Getting recognition and external validation for this, and all the work involved, feels very good” , said Ilan Gold from the @scverse.bsky.social core team, SIB Bioinformatics Innovative Resource Award 2025 laureate.
Read full interview www.sib.swiss/news/getting...
Read full interview www.sib.swiss/news/getting...
“Getting recognition and external validation for this, and all the work involved, feels very good”
scverse, a set of foundational tools for single-cell omics data analysis, received the SIB Bioinformatics Innovative Resource Award 2025. The jury was particularly impressed by scverse’s fo...
www.sib.swiss
December 9, 2025 at 8:31 AM
🗣️ “Getting recognition and external validation for this, and all the work involved, feels very good” , said Ilan Gold from the @scverse.bsky.social core team, SIB Bioinformatics Innovative Resource Award 2025 laureate.
Read full interview www.sib.swiss/news/getting...
Read full interview www.sib.swiss/news/getting...
Reposted by Rob Waterhouse
“This public recognition is an important step towards my goal of setting up my own lab” says @meyerdh.bsky.social, PhD Paper Award Laureate 2025 in his interview www.sib.swiss/news/this-pu...
“This public recognition is an important step towards my goal of setting up my own lab”
David Meyer, Bioinformatician at the Institute for Genome Stability in Aging and Disease, Uniklinik Köln, received the SIB Bioinformatics PhD Paper Award 2025 for his paper “Aging...
www.sib.swiss
November 10, 2025 at 9:21 AM
“This public recognition is an important step towards my goal of setting up my own lab” says @meyerdh.bsky.social, PhD Paper Award Laureate 2025 in his interview www.sib.swiss/news/this-pu...
Reposted by Rob Waterhouse
🗣️ “Several of the past winners of this award and their work have been very inspiring and important to me”, said @skinnider.bsky.social, SIB Bioinformatics Early Career Award 2025 laureate.
Read full interview. www.sib.swiss/news/several...
Read full interview. www.sib.swiss/news/several...
“Several of the past winners of this award and their work have been very inspiring and important to me”
Michael Skinnider, assistant professor at Princeton University (US), received the SIB Bioinformatics Early Career Award 2025 at the [BC]2 conference in Basel. The jury was particularly impressed by th...
www.sib.swiss
November 24, 2025 at 11:49 AM
🗣️ “Several of the past winners of this award and their work have been very inspiring and important to me”, said @skinnider.bsky.social, SIB Bioinformatics Early Career Award 2025 laureate.
Read full interview. www.sib.swiss/news/several...
Read full interview. www.sib.swiss/news/several...
Reposted by Rob Waterhouse
🚀 Partner with ECCB 2026 in Geneva (31 Aug–4 Sept), gathering 1,000+ experts in compbio, bioinformatics, AI, biodiversity & data-driven health, to:
🔹Showcase your innovations
🔹Increase your visibility in Europe
🔹Recruit top talents
👉 Explore our packages: eccb2026.org/become-partner
🔹Showcase your innovations
🔹Increase your visibility in Europe
🔹Recruit top talents
👉 Explore our packages: eccb2026.org/become-partner
November 25, 2025 at 11:14 AM
🚀 Partner with ECCB 2026 in Geneva (31 Aug–4 Sept), gathering 1,000+ experts in compbio, bioinformatics, AI, biodiversity & data-driven health, to:
🔹Showcase your innovations
🔹Increase your visibility in Europe
🔹Recruit top talents
👉 Explore our packages: eccb2026.org/become-partner
🔹Showcase your innovations
🔹Increase your visibility in Europe
🔹Recruit top talents
👉 Explore our packages: eccb2026.org/become-partner