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cp-trendsgenetics.bsky.social
Trends in Genetics
@cp-trendsgenetics.bsky.social
2.9K followers 1.4K following 110 posts
A reviews journal from Cell Press that fosters an appreciation for advances being made on all fronts of genetic research.
Editor: Maria Smit
https://www.cell.com/trends/genetics/home
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"The illusion of clarity in familiar genetics diagrams"
by L. Kate Wright & colleagues

"Visual representations are indispensable in genetics education; yet, their apparent simplicity can mask deep conceptual challenges for learners."

FREE till Jan 6th at
authors.elsevier.com/a/1m77ScQbJF...
November 17, 2025 at 3:19 PM
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"Returning Research Results Isn’t Rocket Science"
by Sarah LeBaron von Baeyer

"Effective return of results depends on cultural context, clear communication, and collaboration with communities."

FREE to read till Jan 4th at this link:
authors.elsevier.com/a/1m6XtcQbJF...
Figure 1. Photos illustrating the return of results process for a genomic research study that took place in 2023 with the Pukapuka community of Auckland.
November 17, 2025 at 3:16 PM
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"Science, Society, and Agricultural Biotechnology in Sub-Saharan Africa"
by Michael Okoi Itam & Kate M. Creasey Krainer

"Without co-creation, inclusion, and ethical delivery, science fails to take root socially."

FREE to read till Jan 4th at this link:
authors.elsevier.com/a/1m6XtcQbJF...
Figure 1. Key components for sustainable innovation and adoption of Agribiotech in sub-Saharan Africa.
November 17, 2025 at 3:10 PM
cp-trendsgenetics.bsky.social
"Homologous recombination counteracts mismatch repair to promote fertility and genetic diversity"
by Ting-Fang Wang (@tingfangwang.bsky.social) & Ji-Long Liao (廖吉隆)

"We postulate that counter-actions of MMR and HR contribute to the post-zygotic isolation..."

authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
Figure 1. During homeologous recombination, homologous recombination (HR) proteins antagonize mismatch repair (MMR) in several homology-directed double-strand break (DSB) repair steps, including D-loop formation, capture of the second processed DSB ends, and formation of ZZM-dependent class I crossover (CO) products.
November 14, 2025 at 2:25 PM
cp-trendsgenetics.bsky.social
"HistENCODE: a proposed project to decipher functional interactions among and between histone PTMs"
by A. Gregory Matera

FREE till Dec. 24th with this link:
authors.elsevier.com/a/1m2gJcQbJF...
Figure 1. Genetic platform to study roles of histone residues during animal development.
November 10, 2025 at 4:10 PM
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TiG’s November issue is live!

Huge thanks to Rosa Fernández (@rosafernandez.bsky.social) and colleagues for the cool cover image! Check out their Review on massive genome rearrangements in clitellates.

The entire contents list with links to articles is at
www.cell.com/trends/genet...
November 3, 2025 at 7:06 PM
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"The Reciprocal Influence of Genetics and Culture"
by Jay Clayton & colleagues

"Scientists dedicate their careers to expanding knowledge of the natural world, but they are not the only people shaping the meaning of science..."

FREE to read till Dec. 19th here:
authors.elsevier.com/a/1m0x1cQbJF...
November 1, 2025 at 1:59 PM
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"If We Could Turn Back Time"
by R. Alta Charo

"De-extinction sits at the intersection of scientific possibility and ethical complexity...

FREE till Dec. 12th at
authors.elsevier.com/a/1l%7ERLcQb...
Figure 1. The Tasmanian tiger was driven to extinction by human activities in the 19th and 20th centuries.
October 23, 2025 at 1:56 PM
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A new preprint Spotlight from @genomicspc.bsky.social is now live!

"Advancing methods for multi-ancestry genomics"
by Lathan Liou & Christa Caggiano

authors.elsevier.com/a/1lxdMcQbJF...
Figure 1. Novel methods addressing the challenge of multi-ancestry individuals.
October 15, 2025 at 1:36 PM
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"The histone code at a crossroads: history, context, and new approaches"
by Michael Werner & colleagues

"Recent ‘top-down’ approaches within an eco-evo-devo framework have been successful at finding epigenetic mechanisms in an unbiased way."

FREE till Dec 2nd:
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lwwPcQbJF...
Figure 2. ‘Top-down’ versus ‘bottom-up’ approaches for studying histone modifications. In ‘top-down’ experiments, environmentally influenced phenotypes serve as the starting point, from which molecular methods are used to reveal underlying mechanisms. This approach is in contrast to traditional ‘bottom-up’ approaches, which start with a molecule of interest and then attempt to assign function. Cartoon images adapted from [77,81,82].
October 13, 2025 at 1:42 PM
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"Sequence-independent 6mA methyltransferases for epigenetic profiling and editing"
by Shan Gao & colleagues

"The newly re-recognized DNA N6-methyladenine (6mA)...has facilitated the development of innovative chromatin profiling approaches..."

FREE till Nov 28:
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lvWNcQbJF...
Figure 3. Sequence-independent methyltransferase as a tool to profile protein–DNA interactions.
October 9, 2025 at 2:07 PM
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October is here!

The issue begins with a fascinating TrendsTalk with Gene Robinson and Dalton Conley on the field(s?!) of sociogenomics.

Other topics include arcRNAs (see cover), pathway-level convergence, male infertility, protist genomics, and more.

Check it out!
www.cell.com/trends/genet...
The October 2025 cover of Trends in Genetics Description: Architectural RNAs (arcRNAs) represent a novel functional category of lncRNAs. In this issue, Tetsuro Hirose et al. describe how arcRNAs serve as blueprints for assembling membraneless organelles (MLOs) via phase separation. They show how arcRNAs, by sequestering multiple RNA-binding proteins through modular domains into MLOs, act as crucibles, sponges, or hubs to regulate gene expression. These findings highlight the essential roles of arcRNAs in organizing dynamic intracellular compartments and orchestrating diverse cellular functions. Illustration by Hiroko Uchida.
October 6, 2025 at 4:35 PM
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"The untapped potential of short-read sequencing in biodiversity research"
by Christoph Bleidorn (@cblei.bsky.social) et al

"Genomic resources have the potential to transform our understanding of the vast, still largely unknown diversity of species..."

More at:
authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
Figure 1. Graphic summary of short-read applications discussed in this review.
October 2, 2025 at 8:35 PM
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In November, TiG's editor, Maria Smit, will be attending the Fusion Conference (@fusionconf.bsky.social) on Endogenous Retrotransposable Elements & Human Diseases in Mexico.

The final poster and registration deadline is fast approaching.

Join us! 🧬

www.fusion-conferences.com/conference/187
September 11, 2025 at 3:57 PM
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"Striking diversity of male-killing symbionts and their mechanisms"
by Hiroshi Arai (@haraipapilio.bsky.social), Daisuke Kageyama (@daisukekageyama.bsky.social) & co

"Why [and how] do maternally inherited endosymbionts kill male hosts?"

Find out here:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Figure 1. Diversity of male-killing (MK) endosymbionts across arthropods.
September 11, 2025 at 2:21 PM
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"Unmasked: transposable elements as drivers and targets in cancer"
by Ting Wang & colleagues

"This review synthesizes a growing body of work that positions TEs as both catalysts and antagonists of the tumor state."

Check it out!
authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
Figure I. Origins of transposable element (TE)-encoded and TE-derived proteins in cancer.
September 11, 2025 at 1:53 PM
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"Complex diseases meet deep phenotyping and generative AI"
by Jordi Merino (@jmerino.bsky.social)

The recently published Human Phenotype Project is "a landmark study [that] offers a blueprint for the future of medicine."

FREE till Oct. 29th with this link:
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lk-dcQbJF...
Figure 1. Key dimensions of the Human Phenotype Project (HPP) as a blueprint for precision health.
September 9, 2025 at 4:20 PM
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TiG's September issue is live!

Many thanks to Yichen Si and Hyun Min Kang for the cover image, which illustrates the power and precision of submicron-level spatial transcriptomics. Thanks also to Jun Hee Lee, who helped lead the accompanying Review.

For the TOC, see
www.cell.com/trends/genet...
September 8, 2025 at 4:06 PM
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"A tale of two sociogenomics: Shall the twain ever meet?"
by Gene E. Robinson & Dalton Conley

In this TrendsTalk article, we meet two leaders in sociogenomics, who help us better understand both the animal and human ‘sides’ of this evolving field.

Check it out!

www.cell.com/trends/genet...
Figure 1. One focus of sociogenomics has been species living in complex societies that have produced the most elaborate products of social evolution, such as those depicted here.
September 2, 2025 at 8:20 PM
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"Interruptions impact clinical features of repeat expansion diseases, but how are they gained and lost?"
by Vincent Dion & co

"We propose that synthesis-dependent microhomology-mediated end joining accounts for most, if not all, documented interruptions."

authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
Figure 2. Synthesis-dependent microhomology-mediated end joining.
September 2, 2025 at 1:49 PM
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"Towards DNA-based taxonomy of prokaryotes and microeukaryotes"
by Leho Tedersoo & colleagues

"Here, we analyze the pros and cons of DNA-based taxonomic approaches and propose guidelines and examples for their appropriate use..."

FREE till Oct 18 at this link:
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lh5wcQbJF...
Figure 1. Decision map for choosing the taxonomic type (yellow boxes) depending on a type of organism (violet boxes).
September 2, 2025 at 1:44 PM
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"Déjà Vu in Clubroot Resistance: Same Genes, New Names"
by Edel Pérez-López (@edelplopez.bsky.social) & colleagues

"If we want meaningful progress...we must critically re-evaluate what qualifies as a truly novel R gene."

FREE access till Oct. 15th here:
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lg2acQbJF...
Figure 1. Nucleotide-binding site leucine-rich repeat (NLRs) and clubroot resistance (CR) genes in Brassica species.
August 26, 2025 at 1:18 PM
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"Single-cell omics sequencing technologies: The long-read generation"
by Fuchou Tang & co

"In this review, we introduce SMS platform-based single-cell genome, epigenome, and transcriptome sequencing technologies – the current situation and future perspectives."

authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
Figure 3. Comparison between next-generation sequencing (NGS) and single-molecule long-read sequencing (SMS)-based single-cell epigenome sequencing techniques.
August 22, 2025 at 6:17 PM
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"3D Genome Sequencing Technology in its Mid-Teens: Past, Present, and Future"
by Yijun Ruan

"[W]e focus on...sequencing-based technologies in mapping 3D genomic landscapes and envisage the next frontiers in advancing the 3D genome biology."

FREE till Oct 11 at
authors.elsevier.com/a/1leWucQbJF...
Figure 4. The schematics of ligation-free 3D genome mapping technologies for detecting multiplex chromatin interactions.
August 22, 2025 at 11:56 AM
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"The Genetic and Epigenetic Landscape of Male Infertility"
by Emma R. James, Kenneth I. Aston, and colleagues

"[T]he testis is one of the most transcriptionally and translationally complex tissues in the human body..."

FREE access till Oct. 10th here:
authors.elsevier.com/a/1leHvcQbJF...
Figure 1. The process of spermatogenesis in the male testis and infertility-associated gene expression patterns.
August 21, 2025 at 2:33 PM