Gilles FISCHER

The Multifaceted Role of Rad9 in the DNA Damage Response of Saccharomyces cerevisiae To maintain the integrity of the genome, cells have evolved a complex signalling system, termed the DNA damage response (DDR), which detects DNA damage and promotes DNA repair. To date, over 600 prot....

In the latest #Yeast review article, A. Kiely, F. O'Halloran, P. Young, N. F. Lowndes, @murielgalway.bsky.social and K. Finn discuss the latest advances in understanding the versatile role of Rad9 in the DNA Damage Response in Saccharomyces cerevisiae 🧬

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Repeated losses of self-fertility shaped heterozygosity and polyploidy in yeast evolution | PNAS Evolutionary transitions in mating strategy have profound consequences for genetic variation and adaptation. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, mating-ty...

This work is the second paper issued from a fantastic collaboration with @litinice.bsky.social , Bertrand Llorente and @spcggroup.bsky.social aiming at revisiting the yeast life cycle.
Hopefully more is coming...

First paper is here:
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

📢 In our new study, we identify the predominant natural route to polyploidy in S. cerevisiae.

Stepwise polyploidization operates through iterative cycles of events termed "Sporulate–Endoreplicate–Mate" (SEM).

Really excellent work led by @cintiagomez.bsky.social 👏

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Ancient co-option of LTR retrotransposons as yeast centromeres - Nature Evolutionarily related ‘proto-point’ centromeres providing resolution to the evolutionary origins of point centromeres are identified in yeast, and comparison shows they evolved in an ancestor with re...

Our paper is now out in Nature:

“Ancient co-option of LTR retrotransposons as yeast centromeres”

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A short thread on how retrotransposons helped give rise to yeast point centromeres.

1/14

Mechanisms linking cytoplasmic decay of translation-defective mRNA to transcriptional adaptation Transcriptional adaptation (TA) is a genetic robustness mechanism through which mutant messenger RNA (mRNA) decay induces sequence-dependent up-regulation of so-called adapting genes. How cytoplasmica...

This is a fascinating paper that reveals defined and clear mechanism for a phenomenon that for some seemed unbelievable- the up regulation of genes paralogous to those with specific types of inactivating mutations. This is called transcriptional adaptation 1/ www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Hello Bluesky!

Does Nₑ really explain mutation rate (μ) or genome size (GS) in vertebrates?

We find the apparent Nₑ–μ link in Bergeron et al. (2023) is a “back-door” path via generation time, and GS is decoupled from both Nₑ and life-history traits.

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

#evobio #PNAS

Inducing novel endosymbioses by implanting bacteria in fungi - Nature A study presents an approach to establish and track a new endosymbiotic partnership by implanting bacteria in a non-host fungus and shows that stable inheritance of the implanted bacteria is possible ...

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A small polymerase ribozyme that can synthesize itself and its complementary strand The emergence of a chemical system capable of self-replication and evolution is a critical event in the origin of life. RNA polymerase ribozymes can replicate RNA, but their large size and structural ...

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Top: Subcellular localization of Cap1-GFP in wild-type background (top, tetO-CAP1-GFP/CAP1), Cap1-GFP with C446* (middle, TeO-CAP1C446*-GFP/CAP1) and wild-type Cap1-RFP (bottom, CAP1C446*/TeO-CAP1-RFP) in CAP1/CAP1C446* background. Scale bar, 5 μm. Bottom: Schematic of subcellular localization and transcription activation of CAP1 in wild-type (CAP1/CAP1, left) and CAP1/CAP1C446*. Figure generated with BioRender.

#Azole resistance in #Candida albicans poses a growing threat, and is linked to #StressResponse. @annaselmecki.bsky.social &co show that mutations in the oxidative stress TF Cap1 promote #DrugResistance while exposing a lethal vulnerability at high azole doses @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4rOrfOz

Check out our new review in Nature Reviews Genetics on de novo emerged genes and proteins. How they emerge, are lost and persist - and how de novo emerged proteins relate to randomized proteins! @bornberglab.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Discovery of additional ancient genome duplications in yeasts Whole-genome duplication (WGD) has had profound macroevolutionary impacts on diverse lineages,1,2 preceding adaptive radiations in vertebrates,3,4,5 t…

Excited to announce our latest publication in reporting evidence for three (3!) new whole genome duplications (WGDs) in yeasts. Scientists have often wondered why WGD is so rare in fungi, it turns out we may just not have been looking hard enough! 🧪 🍄 🧬
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Registration is open for the inaugural GRC conference in the Function of Evolving Systems. Aug 9-14, 2026, Waterville Valley. Truly stellar speaker lineup. Student/postdoc fellowships are available! Please come join us! www.grc.org/function-of-... @joybergelson.bsky.social

The deadline for the submission of papers to the special issue on the International Yeast Meetings of 2025 has been extended to 31 March. Papers should be connected to one of the meetings listed below. Hurry up and don't miss this chance!

More information at:
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal...

EMBL is deeply saddened by the passing of our Interim Director General Peer Bork, a pioneering scientist who left an indelible imprint on life science research in Europe and beyond.

We extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues.

www.embl.org/news/people-...

Sad to hear that Oxford Nanopore wants to discontinue the P2Solo later this year in favor of the P2i (the very pricey P2Solo that comes with a GPU to do the basecalling in it)

It feels like such a big step in the wrong direction. They are a great sequencing company, not a great GPU upseller...

📣 #paper "Uncovering actionable trade-offs of antifungal resistance in a yeast pathogen"

Check out our new publication in @molsystbiol.org where we systematically map stress-related trade-off associated with drug resistance in Candida glabrata (N. glabratus)

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Last paper in collaboration with Zhou XU. We explored the natural telomere length diversity in S. cerevisiae and found that ploidy level, and subtelomere structure drive telomere length variation. Higher ploidy levels lead to telomere elongation! genome.cshlp.org/content/earl...

📣 #EMBOEvoEco returns in 2026 to uncover the mechanistic foundations of ecological and evolutionary change!

Keynote lectures will spotlight the ecology and evolution of symbiosis.

Submit your abstract for the EMBO Workshop: https://s.embl.org/eae26-01-bl!

Fresh news on de novo genes! Happy to present our latest work published in Nature communications: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Keywords not in specific order: intergenic ORFs, de novo genes, GC content, foldability, genetic code, ancestral sequence reconstruction and more :)

Happy to share that the our manuscript "Cyclin CLB2 mRNA localization and protein synthesis link cell cycle progression to bud growth" is now finally out in its final form @natcomms.nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Below a short🧵 with the key findings!

First paper of the year for the HaploTeam, showing how domestication repeatedly reshapes sexual–asexual life cycle trade-offs in yeast, and revealing convergent evolution. Huge kudos to the team, brilliantly led by Jing Hou!
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Our work is published back to back with a complementary study led by Jing Hou in @schacherer.bsky.social lab www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

This work is the first paper issued from a fantastic collaboration with @litinice.bsky.social , Bertrand Llorente and Marco Cosentino Lagomarsino aiming at revisiting the yeast life cycle onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/.... Hopefully more is coming soon :-)

Great paper on the genetics of facultative multicellularity in marine yeast www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Last work of the lab showing that Repeated losses of self-fertility shaped heterozygosity and polyploidy in yeast evolution | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

📢 Join us in sunny Lisbon 🇵🇹 2-5 June for the @embo.org workshop ☀️

“The rules of the game: biophysical & molecular principles in cellular evolution”

Apply by March 1st!
Please repost to help spread the word!

meetings.embo.org/event/26-cel...
#EMBORulesOfTheGame @gimmfoundation.bsky.social

Here is our first publication of 2026 which is the first article of a special issue that mark the journal 40 anniversary - happy new year to all the #yeast community

Happy 40th birthday Yeast: Yeast: Vol 42, No 12 Yeast is a microbiology journal for research in the rapidly moving field of yeast biology. We publish the most significant developments in unicellular fungi.

The new year has just started and we are happy to share the news that the new issue of #Yeast (Volume 42, Number 12, December 2025) is finally out!!! 😀😀😀

This issue includes two research articles and two reviews.

You can browse it at this link:

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/10970061...

Extinction rarely departs with drama, it slips out the back door while we’re still debating the guest list. These records are made official on the Red List. "Conservation failures are often recognised only once they can no longer be reversed."
via @mongabay.com: news.mongabay.com/short-articl...

share.google/QjCMRLGj1uQk...