Charlotte Wright
@charlottewright.bsky.social
Evolution, genomics, butterflies and moths 🦋
Postdoc in the Tree of Life, Wellcome Sanger Institute &
Research fellow at Darwin College, University of Cambridge
Postdoc in the Tree of Life, Wellcome Sanger Institute &
Research fellow at Darwin College, University of Cambridge
Pinned
Constraints on chromosome evolution revealed by the 229 chromosome pairs of the Atlas blue butterfly
The genome of the Atlas blue butterfly contains ten times more chromosomes than most
butterflies, and more than any other known diploid animal. Wright et al. show that
this extraordinary karyotype is ...
tinyurl.com
How many chromosomes can an animal have?
In our paper out now in @currentbiology.bsky.social we show that the Atlas blue butterfly has 229 chromosome pairs- the highest in diploid Metazoa! These arose by rapid autosome fragmentation while sex chromosomes stayed intact.
www.cell.com/current-biol...
In our paper out now in @currentbiology.bsky.social we show that the Atlas blue butterfly has 229 chromosome pairs- the highest in diploid Metazoa! These arose by rapid autosome fragmentation while sex chromosomes stayed intact.
www.cell.com/current-biol...
I'm very excited that our paper on Project Psyche is now published! 🦋🧬
Over the last two years we've built an incredible community & already made huge progress. Read about this & how @projectpsyche.bsky.social will drive exciting and collaborative science here:
www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...
Over the last two years we've built an incredible community & already made huge progress. Read about this & how @projectpsyche.bsky.social will drive exciting and collaborative science here:
www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...
Project Psyche: reference genomes for all Lepidoptera in Europe
Project Psyche is a transnational initiative to generate and study chromosome-level
reference genomes of all ~11 000 species of Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) found
in Europe. Here, we describe t...
www.cell.com
November 27, 2025 at 11:14 AM
I'm very excited that our paper on Project Psyche is now published! 🦋🧬
Over the last two years we've built an incredible community & already made huge progress. Read about this & how @projectpsyche.bsky.social will drive exciting and collaborative science here:
www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...
Over the last two years we've built an incredible community & already made huge progress. Read about this & how @projectpsyche.bsky.social will drive exciting and collaborative science here:
www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...
We need your help! If you have a few minutes, please fill out a very short survey about your preferences on butterflies and art - all responses are welcome! www.unveiling.eu
This is part of a project that aims to understand how the beauty of butterflies influences conservation: Unveiling (1/2)
This is part of a project that aims to understand how the beauty of butterflies influences conservation: Unveiling (1/2)
Unveiling - Home
www.unveiling.eu
November 26, 2025 at 8:59 PM
We need your help! If you have a few minutes, please fill out a very short survey about your preferences on butterflies and art - all responses are welcome! www.unveiling.eu
This is part of a project that aims to understand how the beauty of butterflies influences conservation: Unveiling (1/2)
This is part of a project that aims to understand how the beauty of butterflies influences conservation: Unveiling (1/2)
Reposted by Charlotte Wright
How do new centromeres evolve while staying compatible with the division machinery?
Discover it in our new Nature paper! We show centromeres transition gradually via a mix of drift, selection, and sex, reaching new states that still work with the kinetochore.
👉 doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09779-1
Discover it in our new Nature paper! We show centromeres transition gradually via a mix of drift, selection, and sex, reaching new states that still work with the kinetochore.
👉 doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09779-1
November 26, 2025 at 4:21 PM
How do new centromeres evolve while staying compatible with the division machinery?
Discover it in our new Nature paper! We show centromeres transition gradually via a mix of drift, selection, and sex, reaching new states that still work with the kinetochore.
👉 doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09779-1
Discover it in our new Nature paper! We show centromeres transition gradually via a mix of drift, selection, and sex, reaching new states that still work with the kinetochore.
👉 doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09779-1
Reposted by Charlotte Wright
Happy to present TOGA2, developed by Yury Malovichko @ymalovichko.bsky.social, the faster, memory-efficient & more accurate TOGA1 successor (github.com/hillerlab/TO...). And annotations, orthologs & gene loss/dup data generated with 4 references for 883 placental mammal and with 5 refs for 676 ...
November 23, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Happy to present TOGA2, developed by Yury Malovichko @ymalovichko.bsky.social, the faster, memory-efficient & more accurate TOGA1 successor (github.com/hillerlab/TO...). And annotations, orthologs & gene loss/dup data generated with 4 references for 883 placental mammal and with 5 refs for 676 ...
Reposted by Charlotte Wright
Latest work out today in @currentbiology.bsky.social
We find the fly development gene bicoid is much older than previously thought (~20 million yrs older!) 🪰🧬
To pinpoint its origins we tackled the Diptera phylogeny, providing some resolution (many open questions remain).
🔗 tinyurl.com/2vyuevpy
We find the fly development gene bicoid is much older than previously thought (~20 million yrs older!) 🪰🧬
To pinpoint its origins we tackled the Diptera phylogeny, providing some resolution (many open questions remain).
🔗 tinyurl.com/2vyuevpy
Revised evolutionary relationships within Brachycera and the early origin of bicoid in flies
Mulhair et al. uncover a functional bicoid in non-cyclorrhaphan flies, pushing the
gene's origin back by ∼20 million years. Reassessing the Diptera phylogeny using the
largest dataset to date permits ...
www.cell.com
October 17, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Latest work out today in @currentbiology.bsky.social
We find the fly development gene bicoid is much older than previously thought (~20 million yrs older!) 🪰🧬
To pinpoint its origins we tackled the Diptera phylogeny, providing some resolution (many open questions remain).
🔗 tinyurl.com/2vyuevpy
We find the fly development gene bicoid is much older than previously thought (~20 million yrs older!) 🪰🧬
To pinpoint its origins we tackled the Diptera phylogeny, providing some resolution (many open questions remain).
🔗 tinyurl.com/2vyuevpy
Do you use genomic data to study Lepidoptera in Europe? Do you want to visit a lab to learn a new skill or build a new collaboration? If so, you should apply for a short term scientific mission! These are small grants to fund research exchanges as part of our Lep10K COST action. All info below!
(1/4) 📣 Exciting news! 📣
The #10KLepGenomes COST Action has opened the second call for Short Term Scientific Missions #STSMs
Keep reading for all the details 👇
The #10KLepGenomes COST Action has opened the second call for Short Term Scientific Missions #STSMs
Keep reading for all the details 👇
November 17, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Do you use genomic data to study Lepidoptera in Europe? Do you want to visit a lab to learn a new skill or build a new collaboration? If so, you should apply for a short term scientific mission! These are small grants to fund research exchanges as part of our Lep10K COST action. All info below!
Reposted by Charlotte Wright
It's out, Minos transgenesis in the pantry moth by
@donyaniyaz.bsky.social
@lucalivraghi.bsky.social
High efficient, glowing eye and silk gland markers
peerj.com/articles/202...
@peerj.bsky.social
@donyaniyaz.bsky.social
@lucalivraghi.bsky.social
High efficient, glowing eye and silk gland markers
peerj.com/articles/202...
@peerj.bsky.social
November 12, 2025 at 2:40 PM
It's out, Minos transgenesis in the pantry moth by
@donyaniyaz.bsky.social
@lucalivraghi.bsky.social
High efficient, glowing eye and silk gland markers
peerj.com/articles/202...
@peerj.bsky.social
@donyaniyaz.bsky.social
@lucalivraghi.bsky.social
High efficient, glowing eye and silk gland markers
peerj.com/articles/202...
@peerj.bsky.social
Reposted by Charlotte Wright
What a remarkable discovery! In SW Turkey a new species of Lycaenid was discovered, Rapala suleymani sp.n., of a genus that was only known from the eastern palearctic & indomalayan realms, it's closest relative flies 7000km away! doi.org/10.31184/M00...
Rapala suleymani sp. n., (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) a new thecline...: Ingenta Connect
doi.org
November 5, 2025 at 2:07 PM
What a remarkable discovery! In SW Turkey a new species of Lycaenid was discovered, Rapala suleymani sp.n., of a genus that was only known from the eastern palearctic & indomalayan realms, it's closest relative flies 7000km away! doi.org/10.31184/M00...
A fantastic writeup by Glenn Zorpette from @spectrum.ieee.org. Glenn joined us in Italy where we collectively sampled hundreds of new species for @projectpsyche.bsky.social. Shoutout to Luigi Avantaggiato for the spectacular photos and @costprogramme.bsky.social funding for bringing groups together.
In July, our reporter traveled to the Italian Alps and to Barcelona, Spain, to observe researchers capturing moths and butterflies and then sequencing their genomes. It was all part of the most ambitious biology project ever: to sequence every species on Earth.
The Genome Revolution Takes Flight: Mapping the DNA of Europe’s Lepidoptera
An expedition in the Italian Alps unleashes advanced genome sequencing
spectrum.ieee.org
November 5, 2025 at 10:29 PM
A fantastic writeup by Glenn Zorpette from @spectrum.ieee.org. Glenn joined us in Italy where we collectively sampled hundreds of new species for @projectpsyche.bsky.social. Shoutout to Luigi Avantaggiato for the spectacular photos and @costprogramme.bsky.social funding for bringing groups together.
Reposted by Charlotte Wright
It is so nice to finally see the first paper of my PhD published! It was possible thanks to invaluable contributions of Andrea Chiocchio, @mariaheikkila.bsky.social, @jadrankarota.bsky.social, Lauri Kaila, and @lepphylo.bsky.social.
Gelechioidea, that superdiverse superfamily of Lepidoptera that has been a super mess taxonomically, finally gets some structure at the family level with phylogenomics! Read all about it in our article led by PhD student @etkayapar.bsky.social !
resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Integrating Sanger and next‐generation sequencing data sheds light on phylogenetic relationships among gelechioid moths (Lepidoptera: Gelechioidea)
The maximum-likelihood analysis of a phylogenomic dataset of 1767 protein-coding genes from 57 ingroup taxa yields a robust family-level topology for Gelechioidea, revealing novel among-family relat...
resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 31, 2025 at 9:51 PM
It is so nice to finally see the first paper of my PhD published! It was possible thanks to invaluable contributions of Andrea Chiocchio, @mariaheikkila.bsky.social, @jadrankarota.bsky.social, Lauri Kaila, and @lepphylo.bsky.social.
Reposted by Charlotte Wright
Claire Merot opens the afternoon session at the #biodiversity25 with a presentation about the structural genetic diversity across the tree of life. Structural variants (SVs) are in order de magnitude higher than SNPs. TEs accounts for many SVs. SVs are different across different lineages.
October 28, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Claire Merot opens the afternoon session at the #biodiversity25 with a presentation about the structural genetic diversity across the tree of life. Structural variants (SVs) are in order de magnitude higher than SNPs. TEs accounts for many SVs. SVs are different across different lineages.
Reposted by Charlotte Wright
New preprint! We unexpectedly discovered that some Caenorhabditis species delete parts of their somatic genome early in development, which fragments their chromosomes and eliminates key germline genes. Multiple lines of evidence suggest this bizarre process was present in the ancestors of C. elegans
October 28, 2025 at 12:11 PM
New preprint! We unexpectedly discovered that some Caenorhabditis species delete parts of their somatic genome early in development, which fragments their chromosomes and eliminates key germline genes. Multiple lines of evidence suggest this bizarre process was present in the ancestors of C. elegans
Reposted by Charlotte Wright
Programmed DNA elimination was present in the last common ancestor of Caenorhabditis nematodes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.23.681605v1
October 24, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Programmed DNA elimination was present in the last common ancestor of Caenorhabditis nematodes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.23.681605v1
Reposted by Charlotte Wright
Really nice paper from @tiff-ki.bsky.social & co. shows no overall decline in butterfly species richness in Sulawesi over 166 yrs, but changing communities with endemics & forest specialists declining. Short-term trends unreliable measures of long term. royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/... 🌏
October 20, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Really nice paper from @tiff-ki.bsky.social & co. shows no overall decline in butterfly species richness in Sulawesi over 166 yrs, but changing communities with endemics & forest specialists declining. Short-term trends unreliable measures of long term. royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/... 🌏
Reposted by Charlotte Wright
The new European Butterfly Red List is published today, with worrying findings. Over 1/4 (28%) of Europe’s 442 species are threatened with extinction or are close to being so. The situation is far worse for our 148 endemic species, 40% are now threatened or nearly so www.bc-europe.eu/webpage.php?...
October 11, 2025 at 9:17 AM
The new European Butterfly Red List is published today, with worrying findings. Over 1/4 (28%) of Europe’s 442 species are threatened with extinction or are close to being so. The situation is far worse for our 148 endemic species, 40% are now threatened or nearly so www.bc-europe.eu/webpage.php?...
Reposted by Charlotte Wright
🚀 Second STSM of 10kLepGenomes!
Jakub Tetla (Jagiellonian Univ., Poland) visited @jadrankarota.bsky.social (Lund, Sweden) from 24–26 Sept 2025.
The goal was to integrate museum collections with phylogenomics to study West Palearctic tiger moths.
#10kLepGenomes #Lepidoptera #Museomics
Jakub Tetla (Jagiellonian Univ., Poland) visited @jadrankarota.bsky.social (Lund, Sweden) from 24–26 Sept 2025.
The goal was to integrate museum collections with phylogenomics to study West Palearctic tiger moths.
#10kLepGenomes #Lepidoptera #Museomics
October 15, 2025 at 4:34 PM
🚀 Second STSM of 10kLepGenomes!
Jakub Tetla (Jagiellonian Univ., Poland) visited @jadrankarota.bsky.social (Lund, Sweden) from 24–26 Sept 2025.
The goal was to integrate museum collections with phylogenomics to study West Palearctic tiger moths.
#10kLepGenomes #Lepidoptera #Museomics
Jakub Tetla (Jagiellonian Univ., Poland) visited @jadrankarota.bsky.social (Lund, Sweden) from 24–26 Sept 2025.
The goal was to integrate museum collections with phylogenomics to study West Palearctic tiger moths.
#10kLepGenomes #Lepidoptera #Museomics
This week we celebrated reaching 1000 lepidopteran genomes in the Tree of Life (ToL) programme @ the @sangerinstitute.bsky.social with butterfly crafts and cake! Many of these genomes were sequenced by the wonderful ToL teams as part of @projectpsyche.bsky.social & the Darwin Tree of Life project 🦋🧬
October 10, 2025 at 1:56 PM
This week we celebrated reaching 1000 lepidopteran genomes in the Tree of Life (ToL) programme @ the @sangerinstitute.bsky.social with butterfly crafts and cake! Many of these genomes were sequenced by the wonderful ToL teams as part of @projectpsyche.bsky.social & the Darwin Tree of Life project 🦋🧬
Reposted by Charlotte Wright
Now published! Our paper on:
(1) Accurate sequencing of sperm at scale
(2) Positive selection of spermatogenesis driver mutations across the exome
(3) Offspring disease risks from male reproductive aging
[1/n]
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
(1) Accurate sequencing of sperm at scale
(2) Positive selection of spermatogenesis driver mutations across the exome
(3) Offspring disease risks from male reproductive aging
[1/n]
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Sperm sequencing reveals extensive positive selection in the male germline - Nature
A combination of whole-genome NanoSeq with deep whole-exome and targeted NanoSeq is used to accurately characterize mutation rates and genes under positive selection in sperm cells.
www.nature.com
October 8, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Now published! Our paper on:
(1) Accurate sequencing of sperm at scale
(2) Positive selection of spermatogenesis driver mutations across the exome
(3) Offspring disease risks from male reproductive aging
[1/n]
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
(1) Accurate sequencing of sperm at scale
(2) Positive selection of spermatogenesis driver mutations across the exome
(3) Offspring disease risks from male reproductive aging
[1/n]
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Charlotte Wright
Today´s Guardian has an article about our study on butterfly colors, where we compare butterfly colors in native forest to those in eucalyptus plantations. This is study is a partnership between labs from Denmark, Spain, and Brazil.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
As forests are cut down, butterflies are losing their colours
The insects’ brilliant hues evolved in lush ecosystems to help them survive. Now they are becoming more muted to adapt to degraded landscapes – and they are not the only things dulling down
www.theguardian.com
October 6, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Today´s Guardian has an article about our study on butterfly colors, where we compare butterfly colors in native forest to those in eucalyptus plantations. This is study is a partnership between labs from Denmark, Spain, and Brazil.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Charlotte Wright
Preprint Alert! 🦥
We produced complete genomes for 2 Xenarthra and placed them in a mammalian comparative framework. We found that Xenarthra harbour the largest number of retrocopies in mammals! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We produced complete genomes for 2 Xenarthra and placed them in a mammalian comparative framework. We found that Xenarthra harbour the largest number of retrocopies in mammals! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Retrocopy formation and domestication shape genome evolution in sloths and other xenarthrans
Xenarthrans, comprising sloths, anteaters, and armadillos, represent one of the most morphologically and physiologically specialised mammalian clades, yet the genomic basis of their adaptations remain...
www.biorxiv.org
October 2, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Preprint Alert! 🦥
We produced complete genomes for 2 Xenarthra and placed them in a mammalian comparative framework. We found that Xenarthra harbour the largest number of retrocopies in mammals! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We produced complete genomes for 2 Xenarthra and placed them in a mammalian comparative framework. We found that Xenarthra harbour the largest number of retrocopies in mammals! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Charlotte Wright
Project Psyche is featured in a new article out now on @spectrum.ieee.org! Check it out to get an insight into the efforts of @ebpgenome.bsky.social and the milestones achieved during the fieldtrip of #ProjectPsyche and @10klepgenomes.bsky.social to the Italian Alps 🦋
Whole Genome Sequencing Will Transform Our Understanding of Life. The Earth BioGenome Project is using cutting-edge tech like long-read sequencing to map the DNA of 1.8 million organisms. Researchers anticipate major discoveries in evolution and medicine.
Mass-Scale Genome Sequencing Will Change Our Understanding of Life
The Earth BioGenome Project aims to sequence 1.8 million species. It's one of the most ambitious science projects ever, and it will revolutionize biology
spectrum.ieee.org
October 3, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Project Psyche is featured in a new article out now on @spectrum.ieee.org! Check it out to get an insight into the efforts of @ebpgenome.bsky.social and the milestones achieved during the fieldtrip of #ProjectPsyche and @10klepgenomes.bsky.social to the Italian Alps 🦋
Reposted by Charlotte Wright
If you're interested in understanding discordance in phylogenomic analyses, the @evojlinnsoc.bsky.social's special issue 'Phylogenomic Discordance: Patterns, Processes, and Solutions' is for you!
tinyurl.com/v2eces3s
I'll be sharing a few articles a week until we're through the issue! (1/n)🧪
tinyurl.com/v2eces3s
I'll be sharing a few articles a week until we're through the issue! (1/n)🧪
Phylogenomic Discordance: Patterns, Processes, and Solutions
Phylogenomics, the study of evolutionary relationships using genomic data, has revolutionized our understanding of the Tree of Life. As a field, phylogenomics h
academic.oup.com
September 29, 2025 at 4:00 PM
If you're interested in understanding discordance in phylogenomic analyses, the @evojlinnsoc.bsky.social's special issue 'Phylogenomic Discordance: Patterns, Processes, and Solutions' is for you!
tinyurl.com/v2eces3s
I'll be sharing a few articles a week until we're through the issue! (1/n)🧪
tinyurl.com/v2eces3s
I'll be sharing a few articles a week until we're through the issue! (1/n)🧪
Reposted by Charlotte Wright
Exciting news!
The next #PopGroup meeting will take place in Lille 🍟, France, 7–9 January 2026 – just 1 hour by train from London, Brussels, and Paris.
This year, PopGroup will also host ALPHY, the annual meeting of Evolutionary Genomics.
More info: populationgeneticsgroup.org.uk
See you there !
The next #PopGroup meeting will take place in Lille 🍟, France, 7–9 January 2026 – just 1 hour by train from London, Brussels, and Paris.
This year, PopGroup will also host ALPHY, the annual meeting of Evolutionary Genomics.
More info: populationgeneticsgroup.org.uk
See you there !
Population Genetics group 59
populationgeneticsgroup.org.uk
September 29, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Exciting news!
The next #PopGroup meeting will take place in Lille 🍟, France, 7–9 January 2026 – just 1 hour by train from London, Brussels, and Paris.
This year, PopGroup will also host ALPHY, the annual meeting of Evolutionary Genomics.
More info: populationgeneticsgroup.org.uk
See you there !
The next #PopGroup meeting will take place in Lille 🍟, France, 7–9 January 2026 – just 1 hour by train from London, Brussels, and Paris.
This year, PopGroup will also host ALPHY, the annual meeting of Evolutionary Genomics.
More info: populationgeneticsgroup.org.uk
See you there !
Reposted by Charlotte Wright
k-mer-based diversity scales with population size proxies more than nucleotide diversity in a meta-analysis of 98 plant species.
academic.oup.com/evlett/artic...
academic.oup.com/evlett/artic...
k-mer-based diversity scales with population size proxies more than nucleotide diversity in a meta-analysis of 98 plant species
Abstract. A key prediction of neutral theory is that the level of genetic diversity in a population should scale with population size. However, as was note
academic.oup.com
September 26, 2025 at 12:00 PM
k-mer-based diversity scales with population size proxies more than nucleotide diversity in a meta-analysis of 98 plant species.
academic.oup.com/evlett/artic...
academic.oup.com/evlett/artic...
Reposted by Charlotte Wright
Funded PhD position available 🎉 Come and work with me in Helsinki to uncover the pathways producing colourful tiger moth wings. Lots of options for genomics, CRISPR, fieldwork, behaviour experiments… Email with questions! jobs.helsinki.fi/job/Helsinki...
September 24, 2025 at 8:53 AM
Funded PhD position available 🎉 Come and work with me in Helsinki to uncover the pathways producing colourful tiger moth wings. Lots of options for genomics, CRISPR, fieldwork, behaviour experiments… Email with questions! jobs.helsinki.fi/job/Helsinki...