@sandraduharcourt.bsky.social
Paramecium genome(s) aficionado; small RNAs, transposable elements, chromatin biology
PI at Institut Jacques Monod, Paris, France
PI at Institut Jacques Monod, Paris, France
Pinned
A histone methyltransferase-independent function of PRC2 controls small RNA dynamics during programmed DNA elimination in Paramecium
Abstract. To limit transposable element (TE) mobilization, most eukaryotes have evolved small RNAs to silence TE activity via homology-dependent mechanisms
academic.oup.com
Our latest paper on a histone methyltransferase-independent function of PRC2 controlling small RNA dynamics during programmed DNA elimination in Paramecium is now published in #NAR.
#RNAbiology #TEsky #smallRNAs #PRC2 #DNAelimination
1/5
academic.oup.com/nar/article-...
#RNAbiology #TEsky #smallRNAs #PRC2 #DNAelimination
1/5
academic.oup.com/nar/article-...
Reposted
The 21st Course on Epigenetics which will take place from March 25th to April 1st, 2026 at the Institut Curie (Paris).
The Course is open to M2 and PhD students. Application via the Advanced Training Office website before December 15th, 2025 at:
minilien.curie.fr/3avv47
The Course is open to M2 and PhD students. Application via the Advanced Training Office website before December 15th, 2025 at:
minilien.curie.fr/3avv47
Epigenetics - 21st Course on Epigenetics 2026: Towards a quantitative understanding of nuclear dynamics during development and diseases | Institut Curie Advanced Training
The aim of this course is to provide an overview of epigenetic mechanisms and their links to gene expression and chromatin dynamics, in different systems. The diverse functions of the nucleus involvin...
minilien.curie.fr
November 12, 2025 at 10:58 AM
The 21st Course on Epigenetics which will take place from March 25th to April 1st, 2026 at the Institut Curie (Paris).
The Course is open to M2 and PhD students. Application via the Advanced Training Office website before December 15th, 2025 at:
minilien.curie.fr/3avv47
The Course is open to M2 and PhD students. Application via the Advanced Training Office website before December 15th, 2025 at:
minilien.curie.fr/3avv47
Excited to share our new preprint on BioRxiv!
A collaborative effort spanning many years and several labs to uncover what the germline chromosomes of Paramecium really look like. 🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
1/5
A collaborative effort spanning many years and several labs to uncover what the germline chromosomes of Paramecium really look like. 🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
1/5
The tiny germline chromosomes of Paramecium aurelia have an exceptionally high recombination rate and are capped by a new class of Helitrons
Background. Paramecia belong to the ciliate phylum of unicellular eukaryotes characterized by nuclear dimorphism. A diploid germline micronucleus (MIC) transmits genetic information across sexual gene...
www.biorxiv.org
November 10, 2025 at 9:21 AM
Excited to share our new preprint on BioRxiv!
A collaborative effort spanning many years and several labs to uncover what the germline chromosomes of Paramecium really look like. 🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
1/5
A collaborative effort spanning many years and several labs to uncover what the germline chromosomes of Paramecium really look like. 🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
1/5
Reposted
📢 Institut Jacques Monod Seminar
📅 November 14th
📍 Institut Jacques Monod
Invited by @sandraduharcourt.bsky.social 's Lab, Cécile Courret will present the Institut Jacques Monod seminar « Rapid turnover of centromeric DNA reveals signatures of genetic conflict in Drosophila »
➡️ buff.ly/Wso6MPE
📅 November 14th
📍 Institut Jacques Monod
Invited by @sandraduharcourt.bsky.social 's Lab, Cécile Courret will present the Institut Jacques Monod seminar « Rapid turnover of centromeric DNA reveals signatures of genetic conflict in Drosophila »
➡️ buff.ly/Wso6MPE
November 3, 2025 at 9:01 AM
📢 Institut Jacques Monod Seminar
📅 November 14th
📍 Institut Jacques Monod
Invited by @sandraduharcourt.bsky.social 's Lab, Cécile Courret will present the Institut Jacques Monod seminar « Rapid turnover of centromeric DNA reveals signatures of genetic conflict in Drosophila »
➡️ buff.ly/Wso6MPE
📅 November 14th
📍 Institut Jacques Monod
Invited by @sandraduharcourt.bsky.social 's Lab, Cécile Courret will present the Institut Jacques Monod seminar « Rapid turnover of centromeric DNA reveals signatures of genetic conflict in Drosophila »
➡️ buff.ly/Wso6MPE
Reposted
Very happy to see our paper published online natcomms.nature.com. Thank you to @wellcometrust.bsky.social for funding this work during my time with @robklose.bsky.social and David Booth! Thanks also to collaborators @garcialabms.bsky.social @alexdemendoza.bsky.social and the other authors!
Chromatin profiling identifies putative dual roles for H3K27me3 in regulating cell type-specific genes and transposable elements in choanoflagellates
Nature Communications - Here, the authors investigate chromatin-based gene regulation in the closest relative of animal, choanoflagellates. They uncover a putative dual role for the histone...
rdcu.be
October 29, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Very happy to see our paper published online natcomms.nature.com. Thank you to @wellcometrust.bsky.social for funding this work during my time with @robklose.bsky.social and David Booth! Thanks also to collaborators @garcialabms.bsky.social @alexdemendoza.bsky.social and the other authors!
Reposted
#JobOffer
💼 Un poste susceptible d’être vacant de Professeur en stabilité des génomes devrait s’ouvrir pour la rentrée 2026 au sein de l’Institut Jacques Monod
➡️ Informations concernant ce poste et la procédure de candidature 🔗 www.ijm.fr/poste-de-pro...
💼 Un poste susceptible d’être vacant de Professeur en stabilité des génomes devrait s’ouvrir pour la rentrée 2026 au sein de l’Institut Jacques Monod
➡️ Informations concernant ce poste et la procédure de candidature 🔗 www.ijm.fr/poste-de-pro...
October 28, 2025 at 1:41 PM
#JobOffer
💼 Un poste susceptible d’être vacant de Professeur en stabilité des génomes devrait s’ouvrir pour la rentrée 2026 au sein de l’Institut Jacques Monod
➡️ Informations concernant ce poste et la procédure de candidature 🔗 www.ijm.fr/poste-de-pro...
💼 Un poste susceptible d’être vacant de Professeur en stabilité des génomes devrait s’ouvrir pour la rentrée 2026 au sein de l’Institut Jacques Monod
➡️ Informations concernant ce poste et la procédure de candidature 🔗 www.ijm.fr/poste-de-pro...
Our latest paper on a histone methyltransferase-independent function of PRC2 controlling small RNA dynamics during programmed DNA elimination in Paramecium is now published in #NAR.
#RNAbiology #TEsky #smallRNAs #PRC2 #DNAelimination
1/5
academic.oup.com/nar/article-...
#RNAbiology #TEsky #smallRNAs #PRC2 #DNAelimination
1/5
academic.oup.com/nar/article-...
A histone methyltransferase-independent function of PRC2 controls small RNA dynamics during programmed DNA elimination in Paramecium
Abstract. To limit transposable element (TE) mobilization, most eukaryotes have evolved small RNAs to silence TE activity via homology-dependent mechanisms
academic.oup.com
October 17, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Our latest paper on a histone methyltransferase-independent function of PRC2 controlling small RNA dynamics during programmed DNA elimination in Paramecium is now published in #NAR.
#RNAbiology #TEsky #smallRNAs #PRC2 #DNAelimination
1/5
academic.oup.com/nar/article-...
#RNAbiology #TEsky #smallRNAs #PRC2 #DNAelimination
1/5
academic.oup.com/nar/article-...
Huge congratulations to Thomas on this well-deserved award. His PhD defense last week was outstanding too - a great moment. He’ll on the lookout for a postdoc position soon…spread the word!
📣 Congratulations to @thomasbalan.bsky.social (@sandraduharcourt.bsky.social Lab) who won the Best Poster Award at the Gordon Research Epigenetics conference “Variation: Mechanisms and Impact across Systems”!
More informations 🔗 buff.ly/NhLWE6G
@cnrs-idf-villejuif.bsky.social @upcite.bsky.social
More informations 🔗 buff.ly/NhLWE6G
@cnrs-idf-villejuif.bsky.social @upcite.bsky.social
September 23, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Huge congratulations to Thomas on this well-deserved award. His PhD defense last week was outstanding too - a great moment. He’ll on the lookout for a postdoc position soon…spread the word!
Reposted
Please re-post:
Interested in chromatin and its evolution? Good news! There's still time to join us in beautiful Catalonia (9-12 Dec) to discuss eukaryotic, bacterial, archaeal, and viral chromatin and how it all hangs together meetings.embo.org/event/24-evo...
Abstract deadline: 30 September
Interested in chromatin and its evolution? Good news! There's still time to join us in beautiful Catalonia (9-12 Dec) to discuss eukaryotic, bacterial, archaeal, and viral chromatin and how it all hangs together meetings.embo.org/event/24-evo...
Abstract deadline: 30 September
EvoChromo: Evolutionary approaches to research in chromatin
Chromatin is the complex of DNA, RNA and protein that is found making up the chromosomes in eukaryotic cells. Chromatin is essential for proper genome function and is involved in chromosome segregati…
meetings.embo.org
September 8, 2025 at 11:14 AM
Please re-post:
Interested in chromatin and its evolution? Good news! There's still time to join us in beautiful Catalonia (9-12 Dec) to discuss eukaryotic, bacterial, archaeal, and viral chromatin and how it all hangs together meetings.embo.org/event/24-evo...
Abstract deadline: 30 September
Interested in chromatin and its evolution? Good news! There's still time to join us in beautiful Catalonia (9-12 Dec) to discuss eukaryotic, bacterial, archaeal, and viral chromatin and how it all hangs together meetings.embo.org/event/24-evo...
Abstract deadline: 30 September
Reposted
📢 Institut Jacques Monod Seminar
📅 September 18th
📍 Institut Jacques Monod
Invited by @sandraduharcourt.bsky.social’s lab, Peter Andersen ( @germline.bsky.social ) will give the IJM Seminar "Running to stand still – Recurrent innovation of animal germline genome regulation"
➡️ buff.ly/yaK2kTQ
📅 September 18th
📍 Institut Jacques Monod
Invited by @sandraduharcourt.bsky.social’s lab, Peter Andersen ( @germline.bsky.social ) will give the IJM Seminar "Running to stand still – Recurrent innovation of animal germline genome regulation"
➡️ buff.ly/yaK2kTQ
August 25, 2025 at 12:02 PM
📢 Institut Jacques Monod Seminar
📅 September 18th
📍 Institut Jacques Monod
Invited by @sandraduharcourt.bsky.social’s lab, Peter Andersen ( @germline.bsky.social ) will give the IJM Seminar "Running to stand still – Recurrent innovation of animal germline genome regulation"
➡️ buff.ly/yaK2kTQ
📅 September 18th
📍 Institut Jacques Monod
Invited by @sandraduharcourt.bsky.social’s lab, Peter Andersen ( @germline.bsky.social ) will give the IJM Seminar "Running to stand still – Recurrent innovation of animal germline genome regulation"
➡️ buff.ly/yaK2kTQ
Reposted
A little late to share, but still thrilled 🤗!
What started as two independent stories, one in Clermont-Ferrand (@igred.fr) and one in Cambridge (Hannon’s group @cruk-mi.bsky.social ), turned into a joint adventure to decode how Rhino picks its favorite piRNA clusters.
When forces unite…
👇👇👇
What started as two independent stories, one in Clermont-Ferrand (@igred.fr) and one in Cambridge (Hannon’s group @cruk-mi.bsky.social ), turned into a joint adventure to decode how Rhino picks its favorite piRNA clusters.
When forces unite…
👇👇👇
New online: Binding of heterochromatin protein Rhino to a subset of piRNA clusters depends on a combination of two histone marks
Binding of heterochromatin protein Rhino to a subset of piRNA clusters depends on a combination of two histone marks
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 17 June 2025; doi:10.1038/s41594-025-01584-8The authors reveal that, in fruit fly ovaries, the protein Rhino is guided to specific regions of the genome by a combination of two histone modifications, enhancing understanding of how cells protect their DNA from harmful virus-like elements.
go.nature.com
July 2, 2025 at 3:09 PM
A little late to share, but still thrilled 🤗!
What started as two independent stories, one in Clermont-Ferrand (@igred.fr) and one in Cambridge (Hannon’s group @cruk-mi.bsky.social ), turned into a joint adventure to decode how Rhino picks its favorite piRNA clusters.
When forces unite…
👇👇👇
What started as two independent stories, one in Clermont-Ferrand (@igred.fr) and one in Cambridge (Hannon’s group @cruk-mi.bsky.social ), turned into a joint adventure to decode how Rhino picks its favorite piRNA clusters.
When forces unite…
👇👇👇
Bravo Thomas!
I add an amazing time last week at the Epigenetics 2025 meeting from the @gensocuk.bsky.social in sunny Belfast! Great discussions and insights on my PhD project! Also very honored to have been awarded the best poster prize!
April 30, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Bravo Thomas!
Reposted
🚨 Preprint alert 🚨
Excited to share our work on "Ab-trapping," an antibody artifact causing misleading peripheral ("rim") staining in imaging & genomics (IF, CUT&Tag, CUT&RUN). Antibodies fail to penetrate structures, accumulating at the periphery. A 🧵👇
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Excited to share our work on "Ab-trapping," an antibody artifact causing misleading peripheral ("rim") staining in imaging & genomics (IF, CUT&Tag, CUT&RUN). Antibodies fail to penetrate structures, accumulating at the periphery. A 🧵👇
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Ab-trapping - a peripheral staining artifact in antibody-based microscopy and genomics
Antibodies (Ab) are essential for detecting specific epitopes in microscopy and genomics, but can produce artifacts leading to erroneous interpretations. Here, we characterize a novel artifact, Ab-tra...
doi.org
April 14, 2025 at 8:08 PM
🚨 Preprint alert 🚨
Excited to share our work on "Ab-trapping," an antibody artifact causing misleading peripheral ("rim") staining in imaging & genomics (IF, CUT&Tag, CUT&RUN). Antibodies fail to penetrate structures, accumulating at the periphery. A 🧵👇
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Excited to share our work on "Ab-trapping," an antibody artifact causing misleading peripheral ("rim") staining in imaging & genomics (IF, CUT&Tag, CUT&RUN). Antibodies fail to penetrate structures, accumulating at the periphery. A 🧵👇
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Reposted
Why NIH/NIGMS funding of basic research matters with our latest work now out in @cp-cellreports.bsky.social sky.social. We solved a >30-year-old mystery of what transcription factor drives the Flamenco piRNA cluster required for female Drosophila fertility. /1
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Traffic Jam activates the Flamenco piRNA cluster locus and the Piwi pathway to ensure transposon silencing and Drosophila fertility
Rivera et al. discover Drosophila Flamenco piRNA cluster enhancers bound and activated
by the Traffic Jam transcription factor. Traffic Jam also binds many follicle cell
genes including activating mul...
www.cell.com
April 11, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Why NIH/NIGMS funding of basic research matters with our latest work now out in @cp-cellreports.bsky.social sky.social. We solved a >30-year-old mystery of what transcription factor drives the Flamenco piRNA cluster required for female Drosophila fertility. /1
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Reposted
🔬 This event is organized by @sandraduharcourt.bsky.social , @daphne-cabianca.bsky.social , Germano Cecere , Pierre-Antoine Defossez, Ines Drinnenberg, @rodvilla.bsky.social
April 9, 2025 at 3:17 PM
🔬 This event is organized by @sandraduharcourt.bsky.social , @daphne-cabianca.bsky.social , Germano Cecere , Pierre-Antoine Defossez, Ines Drinnenberg, @rodvilla.bsky.social
Reposted
📣 The @ijmonod.bsky.social is hosting this year the Paris-Munich Epigenetics - Workshop and Symposium, an exciting exchange between the Paris and Munich epigenetic research communities!
April 9, 2025 at 3:17 PM
📣 The @ijmonod.bsky.social is hosting this year the Paris-Munich Epigenetics - Workshop and Symposium, an exciting exchange between the Paris and Munich epigenetic research communities!
Reposted
wow, telomeric transposons in bacteria with linear chromosomes! (of course this was first figured out in flies, inc by Bob Levis, who i was happy to see few days ago at the fly meeting). 🪰
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Telomeric transposons are pervasive in linear bacterial genomes
Eukaryotes have linear DNA, and their telomeres are hotspots for transposons, which in some cases took over telomere maintenance. We identified several families of independently evolved telomeric tran...
www.science.org
March 27, 2025 at 8:55 PM
wow, telomeric transposons in bacteria with linear chromosomes! (of course this was first figured out in flies, inc by Bob Levis, who i was happy to see few days ago at the fly meeting). 🪰
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted
In her Essay, Renata Basto highlights the huge budget cuts facing the scientific community in France. In response to the cuts, a group of researchers has formed the ‘Pour une Recherche d'Avenir’ initiative to secure the future of French research.
journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...
journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...
The importance of delivering Recherche d'Avenir – research for the future
In recent years, several European countries, including France, have reduced their investment in scientific research, with biomedical research taking a significant hit. The primary casualty is basic re...
journals.biologists.com
February 26, 2025 at 10:42 AM
In her Essay, Renata Basto highlights the huge budget cuts facing the scientific community in France. In response to the cuts, a group of researchers has formed the ‘Pour une Recherche d'Avenir’ initiative to secure the future of French research.
journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...
journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...
Reposted
Our paper on Alternative epigenetic states of Arabidopsis Transposable Elements is finally out in Genome Biology !
rdcu.be/d6Yly
rdcu.be/d6Yly
Alternative silencing states of transposable elements in Arabidopsis associated with H3K27me3
rdcu.be
January 22, 2025 at 12:17 PM
Our paper on Alternative epigenetic states of Arabidopsis Transposable Elements is finally out in Genome Biology !
rdcu.be/d6Yly
rdcu.be/d6Yly
Reposted
@tbadet.bsky.social and I have a preprint out on transposon silencing in fungi!
Genome size evolution is fascinating and showcases the dynamic nature of transposon activation.
What we understand less are the dynamics of transposon defense systems encoded by the genomes.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Genome size evolution is fascinating and showcases the dynamic nature of transposon activation.
What we understand less are the dynamics of transposon defense systems encoded by the genomes.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
January 16, 2025 at 9:09 PM
@tbadet.bsky.social and I have a preprint out on transposon silencing in fungi!
Genome size evolution is fascinating and showcases the dynamic nature of transposon activation.
What we understand less are the dynamics of transposon defense systems encoded by the genomes.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Genome size evolution is fascinating and showcases the dynamic nature of transposon activation.
What we understand less are the dynamics of transposon defense systems encoded by the genomes.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Reposted
Pericentromeric #heterochromatin clusters into chromocenters. @skrutlnize.bsky.social &co use quantitative mass spec to characterize the chromocenter proteome in multiple tissues, identifying a link between satellite DNA-binding proteins & #transposon repression🧪 @plosbiology.org plos.io/4akuNAi
January 16, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Pericentromeric #heterochromatin clusters into chromocenters. @skrutlnize.bsky.social &co use quantitative mass spec to characterize the chromocenter proteome in multiple tissues, identifying a link between satellite DNA-binding proteins & #transposon repression🧪 @plosbiology.org plos.io/4akuNAi
January 13, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Reposted
Our lab has multiple open positions for post-docs to study the regulation and function of cytoplasm mechanics during embryo development.
Details below 👇👇
Please Repost !!!
@ijmonod.bsky.social @cnrs.bsky.social
Details below 👇👇
Please Repost !!!
@ijmonod.bsky.social @cnrs.bsky.social
January 3, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Our lab has multiple open positions for post-docs to study the regulation and function of cytoplasm mechanics during embryo development.
Details below 👇👇
Please Repost !!!
@ijmonod.bsky.social @cnrs.bsky.social
Details below 👇👇
Please Repost !!!
@ijmonod.bsky.social @cnrs.bsky.social
Reposted
www.academics.com/jobs/univers...
Please help us find a new colleague at Mainz University. Thanks!
#evolbiol
Please help us find a new colleague at Mainz University. Thanks!
#evolbiol
University Professor of Life History Evolution W3 - Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz looks for University Professor of Life History Evolution W3 in Mainz - apply now!
www.academics.com
December 18, 2024 at 1:57 PM
www.academics.com/jobs/univers...
Please help us find a new colleague at Mainz University. Thanks!
#evolbiol
Please help us find a new colleague at Mainz University. Thanks!
#evolbiol
Thank you @cnrs.bsky.social for the highlight (in French) on our recent publication.
A brief overview of my latest project in the Duharcourt lab, highlighted by @cnrs.bsky.social and a sneak peek in the head of an artist (aka my sister) inspired by Paramecium.
Tri sélectif des petits ARN : un enjeu pour préserver l’intégrité du génome
Dans un article publié dans Nucleic Acids Research, des scientifiques ont identifié un nouveau rôle pour la protéine
www.insb.cnrs.fr
December 18, 2024 at 5:29 PM
Thank you @cnrs.bsky.social for the highlight (in French) on our recent publication.