Frederic Delsuc
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freddelsuc.bsky.social
Frederic Delsuc
@freddelsuc.bsky.social
520 followers 590 following 12 posts
Evolutionary biologist at CNRS - ISEM - University of Montpellier - Phylogenomics - Mammals - Convergence - Microbiome
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freddelsuc.bsky.social
Frederic Delsuc @freddelsuc.bsky.social · Feb 25
New @erc.europa.eu funded #ConvergeAnt preprint on using the evolution of pseudogenes to document the parallel regression of oral anatomy in myrmecophagous mammals posted at @biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Regression of genes linked to the oral apparatus in myrmecophagous mammals
Reposted by Frederic Delsuc
jpvacher.bsky.social
“Handbook of Amphibians of French Guiana” by Antoine Fouquet, Elodie A. Courtois, Maël Dewynter is now available in English. This reference book presents detailed keys, distribution maps, phylogeography, ecology and calls of all species of 🐸 and caecilians.

sciencepress.mnhn.fr/en/collectio...
November 20, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Reposted by Frederic Delsuc
yawaguchi.bsky.social
I’ve released a tool to sketch and edit phylogenetic trees!
yawak.jp/PhyloWeaver/

Load a Newick file and intuitively add/remove/resize branches.
Useful for quick conceptual trees, extracting subtrees, or turning ideas into Newick.
PhyloWeaver – Interactive phylogenetic tree editor
Edit and visualize phylogenetic trees directly in your browser. PhyloWeaver lets you interactively rearrange tree topologies and export high-quality figures for publications and presentations.
yawak.jp
November 18, 2025 at 1:59 AM
Reposted by Frederic Delsuc
jlsteenwyk.bsky.social
NEW pub in @science.org 🥳

Is it sponges (panels A & B) or comb jellies (C & D) that root the animal tree of life?

For over 15 years, #phylogenomic studies have been divided.

We provide new evidence suggesting that...

🔗: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
November 13, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Reposted by Frederic Delsuc
adamrutherford.bsky.social
Right. Hitler's DNA. Brace yourselves for a deluge of misinformation and bad science.

I'm in Australia, so do get in touch if you want some expert debunking.
November 13, 2025 at 6:37 AM
Reposted by Frederic Delsuc
tanialouis.fr
De mon côté on m'a confié le micro pour la chronique sciences.

Cette fois j'ai décidé de parler du fonctionnement scandaleux de l'édition scientifique, peu connu en dehors des labos : www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg2C...

Mais 4 minutes c'est court, alors j'ajoute quelques ressources ci-dessous !
Le beurre, l’argent du beurre et le c*l des chercheurs- La chronique de Tania Louis dans La dernière
YouTube video by Radio Nova
www.youtube.com
November 12, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Reposted by Frederic Delsuc
bruceslieberman.bsky.social
If you're a #teacher interested in a great #openaccess write up on reading #phylogenetic trees, check out www.digitalatlasofancientlife.org/learn/system... created by @jonhendricks.bsky.social and Elizabeth Hermsen.
2.1 Reading Trees
Chapter contents: Systematics — 1. Taxonomy — 2. Phylogenetics —— 2.1 Reading trees ← —— 2.2 Building trees —— 2.3 Character mapping —— 2.4 Phylogenetic trees and classificationParts of a tree A phylo...
www.digitalatlasofancientlife.org
November 11, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Reposted by Frederic Delsuc
anaserrasilva.bsky.social
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)🧪
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
Reposted by Frederic Delsuc
hansonmark.bsky.social
We wrote the Strain on scientific publishing to highlight the problems of time & trust. With a fantastic group of co-authors, we present The Drain of Scientific Publishing:

a 🧵 1/n

Drain: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Strain: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
Oligopoly: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
A table showing profit margins of major publishers. A snippet of text related to this table is below. 1. The four-fold drain 1.1 Money Currently, academic publishing is dominated by profit-oriented, multinational companies for whom scientific knowledge is a commodity to be sold back to the academic community who created it. The dominant four are Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley and Taylor & Francis, which collectively generated over US$7.1 billion in revenue from journal publishing in 2024 alone, and over US$12 billion in profits between 2019 and 2024 (Table 1A). Their profit margins have always been over 30% in the last five years, and for the largest publisher (Elsevier) always over 37%. Against many comparators, across many sectors, scientific publishing is one of the most consistently profitable industries (Table S1). These financial arrangements make a substantial difference to science budgets. In 2024, 46% of Elsevier revenues and 53% of Taylor & Francis revenues were generated in North America, meaning that North American researchers were charged over US$2.27 billion by just two for-profit publishers. The Canadian research councils and the US National Science Foundation were allocated US$9.3 billion in that year. A figure detailing the drain on researcher time. 1. The four-fold drain 1.2 Time The number of papers published each year is growing faster than the scientific workforce, with the number of papers per researcher almost doubling between 1996 and 2022 (Figure 1A). This reflects the fact that publishers’ commercial desire to publish (sell) more material has aligned well with the competitive prestige culture in which publications help secure jobs, grants, promotions, and awards. To the extent that this growth is driven by a pressure for profit, rather than scholarly imperatives, it distorts the way researchers spend their time. The publishing system depends on unpaid reviewer labour, estimated to be over 130 million unpaid hours annually in 2020 alone (9). Researchers have complained about the demands of peer-review for decades, but the scale of the problem is now worse, with editors reporting widespread difficulties recruiting reviewers. The growth in publications involves not only the authors’ time, but that of academic editors and reviewers who are dealing with so many review demands. Even more seriously, the imperative to produce ever more articles reshapes the nature of scientific inquiry. Evidence across multiple fields shows that more papers result in ‘ossification’, not new ideas (10). It may seem paradoxical that more papers can slow progress until one considers how it affects researchers’ time. While rewards remain tied to volume, prestige, and impact of publications, researchers will be nudged away from riskier, local, interdisciplinary, and long-term work. The result is a treadmill of constant activity with limited progress whereas core scholarly practices – such as reading, reflecting and engaging with others’ contributions – is de-prioritized. What looks like productivity often masks intellectual exhaustion built on a demoralizing, narrowing scientific vision. A table of profit margins across industries. The section of text related to this table is below: 1. The four-fold drain 1.1 Money Currently, academic publishing is dominated by profit-oriented, multinational companies for whom scientific knowledge is a commodity to be sold back to the academic community who created it. The dominant four are Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley and Taylor & Francis, which collectively generated over US$7.1 billion in revenue from journal publishing in 2024 alone, and over US$12 billion in profits between 2019 and 2024 (Table 1A). Their profit margins have always been over 30% in the last five years, and for the largest publisher (Elsevier) always over 37%. Against many comparators, across many sectors, scientific publishing is one of the most consistently profitable industries (Table S1). These financial arrangements make a substantial difference to science budgets. In 2024, 46% of Elsevier revenues and 53% of Taylor & Francis revenues were generated in North America, meaning that North American researchers were charged over US$2.27 billion by just two for-profit publishers. The Canadian research councils and the US National Science Foundation were allocated US$9.3 billion in that year. The costs of inaction are plain: wasted public funds, lost researcher time, compromised scientific integrity and eroded public trust. Today, the system rewards commercial publishers first, and science second. Without bold action from the funders we risk continuing to pour resources into a system that prioritizes profit over the advancement of scientific knowledge.
November 11, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Reposted by Frederic Delsuc
danbrockington.bsky.social
Profits from scientific publishing are eye-watering, costing us billions. In ‘The Drain of Scientific Publishing’ (arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820), (building on ‘The Strain of Scientific Publishing’ doi.org/10.1162/qss_a_00327) we show how it is harmful – and unnecessary.
The Drain of Scientific Publishing
The domination of scientific publishing in the Global North by major commercial publishers is harmful to science. We need the most powerful members of the research community, funders, governments and ...
arxiv.org
November 12, 2025 at 11:41 AM
Reposted by Frederic Delsuc
luciezinger.bsky.social
Retour sur quatorze années de recherche sur la #biodiversité #tropicale d'Amazonie avec le Centre d’Etude de la Biodiversité Amazonienne (Labex #CEBA) 😍 - Un grand merci à Jerôme Chave et tous les autres acteurs du LabEx! anr.fr/fr/actus/det...
Plongée au cœur de quatorze années de recherche sur la biodiversité amazonienne avec le laboratoire d’excellence (Labex) CEBA (Centre d’Etude de la Biodiversité Amazonienne)
La Guyane est un laboratoire naturel idéal pour étudier la biodiversité tropicale. Depuis 14 ans, le Labex CEBA, basé en Guyane française et porté par le CNRS, cherche à comprendre l’origine et le mai...
anr.fr
November 4, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Reposted by Frederic Delsuc
quentinwildlife.bsky.social
Thrilled to have won the Amphibians and Reptiles category of the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year and to be able to share this fascinating frog behavior! #wpy61 #frogs #herpetology www.quentinmartinez.fr
October 20, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Reposted by Frederic Delsuc
selfishmeme.bsky.social
Cross-species cloning in ants 🐜
These two males belong to different species—but share the same mother. How? Why?
To celebrate the print release of our last paper in this week’s @nature.com (issue 8084), here’s a thread summarizing the results. Why? Let’s dive in🧵👇 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
October 14, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Reposted by Frederic Delsuc
marcelauliano.bsky.social
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...
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
Reposted by Frederic Delsuc
andrewfoote.bsky.social
October 1, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Reposted by Frederic Delsuc
richardsever.bsky.social
Another record month for bioRxiv - and further evidence the pandemic spike+dip was just that and growth continues. Thanks to all involved and that includes 🫵
October 1, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Reposted by Frederic Delsuc
spit-lab.bsky.social
What have 🦷🦷 #TEETH 🦷🦷, 🥛 #MILK 🥛, and💧💧 #SALIVA 💧💧to do with each other? Ask PetarPajic, Luane Landau, and Omer Gokcumen @gokcumenlab.bsky.social ❗️

academic.oup.com/gbe/article-...
Saliva Protein Genes in Humans were Shaped During Primate Evolution
Abstract. Genes within the secretory calcium-binding phosphoprotein locus diversified along with the formation of a calcified skeleton in vertebrates, the
academic.oup.com
September 27, 2025 at 12:43 AM
Reposted by Frederic Delsuc
evolvwing.bsky.social
Awesome new paper by @lucalivraghi.bsky.social et al.
doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
in @currentbiology.bsky.social
on the evo-devo of a butterfly color variation

enjoy the show!
April 14, 2025 at 2:53 AM
Reposted by Frederic Delsuc
phypapers.bsky.social
Targeted ortholog search in unannotated genome assemblies with fDOG-Assembly https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.19.677253v1
September 22, 2025 at 12:07 AM
Reposted by Frederic Delsuc
couplingdmi.bsky.social
Sujet de stage M2 sur la "dock mussel", cet écotype de moules hybrides qui habite dans les ports. L'objectif est de tester si la dock mussel s’est adaptée grâce à sa variance génétique d’admixture ou si l’admixture n’est que le corolaire du contact secondaire entre les deux espèces parentales.
September 17, 2025 at 6:49 AM
Reposted by Frederic Delsuc
alexandradelbot.bsky.social
🐜 Une nouvelle étude révèle un phénomène inédit dans le règne animal : certaines reines donnent naissance à des mâles d’une autre espèce. Ce mécanisme appelé « xénoparité » permet à leurs colonies de survivre.

Explications avec des GIF de fourmis ⬇️
Chez les fourmis moissoneuses, des reines enfantent des mâles d’une autre espèce
Une nouvelle étude révèle un phénomène inédit dans le règne animal : certaines reines donnent naissance à des mâles d’une autre espèce. Ce mécanisme appelé « xénoparité » permet à leurs colonies de su...
www.radiofrance.fr
September 16, 2025 at 6:13 AM
Reposted by Frederic Delsuc
science.org
A new Science study of ants in Fiji—involving genomic sequencing of over 4000 ant specimens from museum collections—shows that most native species have been in decline since humans first arrived in the archipelago 3000 years ago. https://scim.ag/489mI2o
Genomic signatures indicate biodiversity loss in an endemic island ant fauna
Insect populations have declined worldwide, but the extent and drivers of these declines are debated. Most studies rely on field surveys performed in the past century, leaving gaps in our understandin...
www.science.org
September 15, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Reposted by Frederic Delsuc
selfishmeme.bsky.social
If you’ve heard about our study on ants producing two different species but are still confused about how it works (and don’t have time to read the paper), this 10-minute video made by @bengthomas.bsky.social is very informative:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-O4...

Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The Ants That Broke Biology
YouTube video by 7 Days of Science
www.youtube.com
September 15, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Reposted by Frederic Delsuc
marcelauliano.bsky.social
PhD opportunity in Bodø! You’ll sequence genomes from invasive and non-invasive slug (A. vulgaris) populations to uncover the molecular basis of invasion dynamics. Supervised by Prof. Les Noble & co-supervisor by me. Fully funded, cutting-edge science, great team. Apply by Sept 21: shorturl.at/zJT06
shorturl.at
September 8, 2025 at 9:12 AM
Reposted by Frederic Delsuc
charlottewright.bsky.social
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...
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
September 11, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Reposted by Frederic Delsuc
crouxevo.bsky.social
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
September 12, 2025 at 7:55 AM