Alex de Mendoza
@deMendoza_Alex
Evolution of gene regulation in eukaryotes @QMUL | DNA methylation / Transposable elements / Transcription factors | Birder. Also in 🟦 sky.
Does 6mA exist in eukaryotic DNA? This is our take on this dispute: yes it does, and can be very abundant, but mostly correlates with presence of the MT-A70 writer AMT1. Then, 6mA is associated with transcriptionally-permissive chromatin (H3K4me3) 1/6: biorxiv.org/content/10.110…
"The study implies that key genes involved in stem cell formation might have originated far earlier than the stem cells themselves, perhaps helping pave the way for the multicellular life we see today." nature.com/articles/s4146…
🚨Registration for the UK #EvoDevo meeting is open! Join us on July 11th @QMUL to enjoy an exciting day of talks, posters, friends, and superb science! -Registration: shorturl.at/9cQGL -More info: londonevodevo.ac.uk Supported by @AzentaSciences @Novogene_Europe
🚀 What a great week! 🧬 Huge thanks to @MooHoll @james_ord and @deMendoza_Alex for delivering an amazing course on DNA Methylation in Ecology & Evolution! 🙌 Shout-out to our attendees whose engagement and curiosity made every session both enriching and enjoyable! 💡✨
We're excited to announce the official QMUL Centre for Epigenetics Launch Conference 2025! 🎉 To find out more and book your free ticket, please follow the link below: eventbrite.co.uk/e/qmul-centre-… @QMUL @Barts_Charity @blizard_inst @QMULepigenetics
I am thrilled to announce that I’ve been awarded the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship! I will join @deMendoza_Alex group at @QMUL 🇬🇧 to investigate the evolution of small RNAs in the context of endogenous giant virus, using unicellular eukaryotes as main models #SMALLGIANT #MSCA
🚀 We’ve just kicked off our DNA Methylation course! 🎉 StartiStartedng strong with two brilliant lectures by @deMendoza_Alex and @MooHoll , setting the stage for an exciting hands-on session with @james_ord . 🔬🧬
Thrilled and honoured to be selected as an @EMBO Installation Grant fellow! 🎉
Ten scientists from Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Poland and Portugal receive EMBO Installation Grants. Welcome and congratulations! embo.org/press-releases… #LifeSciences
Breaking paradigms: Finding 6mA DNA methylation in eukaryotes Francisco Falcon @FcoJFalcon highlights research from @deMendoza_Alex and team on 6mA in eukaryotes. #preprint #preLights 👀⤵️ prelights.biologists.com/highlights/ade…
Before there were animals, there were transcription factors! Researchers in Drs. Alex de Mendoza's (@deMendoza_Alex) and Ralf Jauch's (@jauchr) teams showed that Sox and POU factors predate animal stem cells. 📑 @NatureComms: go.nature.com/49dsMFx 🎙️: bit.ly/4g70Sxm
Happy to see our work on Sox/POU origins covered in detail at the @washingtonpost by @KashaPatel. Thanks to @beaplab_ibe and Sandie Degnan for their contributions: washingtonpost.com/climate-enviro…
SOX and POU are crucial Transcription Factors in animal development, believed to be innovations. We found them in unicellular relatives of animals. And hold tight, you can use a choanoflagellate 🦠 SOX gene to make a full chimeric 🐁 ! Read more here: rdcu.be/d0dPN 1/6
Very cool and relevant work and another example of the modular evolution of transcriptional networks at the onset of animals. Here, Sox and POU are shown to be present in choanoflagellates, filastereans and, potentially, corallochytreans. So, yes, the unicellular ancestor…
This has been a fully collaborative project with @jauchr group in @HKUniversity, none of this would be possible without their enthusiasm, expertise and effort. It all started with an email about the origins of SOX/POU and a BLAST search. The hits were intriguing... 2/6
Animal Stem cells probably appeared 700-800 million years ago. We found that two key molecules that make our stem cells the way they are even older than that as they even existed before the evolution of animals. 1/n