Alejandro Manzano Marín
Senior Scientist 👨🏽🔬 @dome-vienna.bsky.social, @univie.ac.at
🇲🇽🇪🇺(🇦🇹🇫🇷🇪🇸) Symbionts, bacteria, insects, leeches, viruses, bioinformatics, evolution, genomics. Opinions are my very own.
#SymbioSky
besymblab.univie.ac.at
ecoevo.social/@amanzanom
- This is a really cool study on one of my favourite obligate symbiotic systems: Aphid + Buchnera by @jerrymaeda.bsky.social, @nancy-moran.bsky.social, & co. A secreted #endosymbiont protein (SyeA, formally Yba3) essential for colonizing host cells doi.org/10.1101/2025... #SymbioSky
- Yba3 (sorry, SyeA) was one of those enigmatic Buchnera proteins: (almost) always there, but who knows what it did.... Now we know! SyeA is "secreted and homologous to secreted effectors of bacterial pathogens AND is essential for Buchnera transmission"! Really cool work! (image: Ext. Data Fig 2.)
- Reposted by Alejandro Manzano MarínCalling all OrthoFinder users! We’ve just released GLADE, a tool to infer gene gains, losses, duplications, and ancestral genomes across a phylogeny. GLADE runs directly on OrthoFinder results. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... github.com/lauriebelch/... (1/10)
- Reposted by Alejandro Manzano MarínAnnouncing our next #NSFfunded workshop on "Telling Stories Through Data", co-lead by myself + @vgwschutte.bsky.social! It’s half bioinformatics data viz & half #SciComm - this year’s focus is host-associated microbiome datasets. Apply here to join us (form closes 1/10) bit.ly/TSTD2026 #symbiosky
- Reposted by Alejandro Manzano MarínChromoMapper: a new tool to quickly compare large genome assemblies. #GenomeAssembly #GenomeComparison #Bioinformatics #Genomics @bioinfoadv.bsky.social 🧪🧬 🖥️ academic.oup.com/bioinformati...
- After a long(ish) while, the reference genome for the #leech #Hirudo verbana is officially out! doi.org/10.12688/ope... w/@ergabiodiv.bsky.social, @biogeneurope.bsky.social, @leibnizlib.bsky.social, & @sangerinstitute.bsky.social @dome-vienna.bsky.social, @cemess.bsky.social, @univie.ac.at 1/3..
- A new @ergabiodiv.bsky.social - @biogeneurope.bsky.social reference genome is available! 🥳 Have you heard about this European medicinal leech? Hirudo verbana! Learn more about this medicinal leech here 👉 www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mily... @iboleurope.bsky.social @horizoneu.bsky.social
- This specific #leech was collected in Vienna, where it should not naturally occur, likely representing an historical introduction into an artificial pond. This so-called "medicinal" leech was erroneously treated for a long time as H. medicinalis, but now is one of several recognised European species
- .... of course, it would not be entirely "me" if I missed the "symbiont part", which is certainly under work and you can expect some cool (in my not-so-humble opinion) work to see the light of day soon.... #SymbioSky
- Reposted by Alejandro Manzano Marín
- REFEREE 1: “I conclude with a simple, direct statement - this is the best paper I have read all year!” #TransparentPeerReview Co-evolving infectivity and expression patterns drive the diversification of endogenous retroviruses @juliusbrennecke.bsky.social et al www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
- Reposted by Alejandro Manzano MarínOlvera-Vazquez, @cornilleamand.bsky.social et al. analyzed olfactory and gustatory receptor genes in 12 aphid genomes with varying host plant ranges. Aphid lineages with broader host ranges exhibited higher evolutionary rates. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf238 #evobio #molbio
- Reposted by Alejandro Manzano MarínLast week we wrapped up the first edition of the Virus evolution and ecology course under the umbrella of the brand new Master in Microbiome Science offered @univie.ac.at. We learned about viruses, their evolution, and their ecological impact across different ecosystems. 1/2 #VirEvol
- Reposted by Alejandro Manzano MarínIt’s exciting to see converging evidence across systems! 😀 Alongside the new work on gutless worms, our study shows that organosulfur cycling is also essential in lucinid holobionts. Lucinid host provides DMSP to its symbionts, sulphur-oxidising Thiodiazotropha and, a new member, Endozoicomonas.
- Reposted by Alejandro Manzano MarínDon’t say that! Every academic will start putting it on their CVs. 🤣
- We have #leech #cocoons! The hard work of @pegah-kalatehjari.bsky.social already paying off. Soon to come, baby leeches @dome-vienna.bsky.social @fwf-at.bsky.social @univie.ac.at
- Really cool #review Natural and artificial variations of the standard #geneticCode Of course with mention of #endosymbiont lineages doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
- Reposted by Alejandro Manzano MarínWe are excited to share @probstlab.bsky.social's latest publication on the diversity of CRISPR-Cas spacers, led by @katharinasures.bsky.social !! 🧬 Have a read!! ➡️ doi.org/10.1093/gbe/... @emilruff.bsky.social @alexjaffe.bsky.social @geomicrosoares.bsky.social & others not in Bluesky!
- Reposted by Alejandro Manzano Marín[This post could not be retrieved]
- Reposted by Alejandro Manzano MarínProfits 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.
- Reposted by Alejandro Manzano Marín🚨vConTACT3 preprint live!🚨(Peer Review soon...!) vConTACT3 delivers a unified, scalable, and transparent framework for genome-based virus taxonomy — helping translate big viral data into systematic classification. 🔗 Read the preprint: doi.org/10.1101/2025... Improvements details below 👇
- .... 2nd work 2) Parallel #evolution of #Bacteroidota as Long-Term #endosymbionts of #insects by Jinyeong Choi, Cong Liu, Pradeep Palanichamy, Yumiko Masukagami, Hirotaka Tanaka, Takumasa Kondo, Matthew E. Gruwell, @filiphusnik.bsky.social doi.org/10.1101/2025... #SymbioSky @oistedu.bsky.social
- Two great works by @filiphusnik.bsky.social group @oistedu.bsky.social on scale insect's #symbioses. 1) Genomic diversity and functional potential of facultative bacterial #symbionts across #scaleInsects by Pradeep Palanichamy, Jinyeong Choi, Arno Hagenbeek doi.org/10.1101/2025... #SymbioSky
- Reposted by Alejandro Manzano MarínHad to draw a cartoon for this fascinating finding! Defensive fungal symbiosis on insect hindlegs: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #SymbioSky
- Reposted by Alejandro Manzano MarínPhD studentship for interested chinese nationals funded by the China Scholarship Council! Come work with us to investigate how innate immunity works in an important agricultural pest, and disentangle how the immune system evolves. 🇬🇧🇨🇳 For more info, see: bit.ly/4ntrsEe #Drosophila #Aphid #Immunity
- Reposted by Alejandro Manzano MarínCommentary: a review of technical considerations for planning an RNA-Sequencing experiment. #RNAseq #TechnicalConsidertions #ExperimentDesign #LibraryPrep #DataAnalysis #BMCgenomics 🧪🧬 🖥️ bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
- The Endosymbiont consortia of two #Cixiidae #Planthoppers reveal an ancient #Symbiosis with ‘Candidatus #Mirabilia symbiotica’ #SymbioSky doi.org/10.1111/1758...
- Reposted by Alejandro Manzano MarínWe’re back! ✨ The next #MeeHubs26 is coming with 7 hubs across the globe and incredible lineups at each. Can’t wait to share more soon! meehubs.org
- Reposted by Alejandro Manzano MarínViral AlphaFold Database (VAD) is live in Science Advances ~27,000 predicted viral protein monomers & homodimers Conserved folds across bacteria, archaea & eukaryotic viruses New toxin–antitoxin system KreTA uncovered Vast “functional darkness” remains uncharted www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
- Reposted by Alejandro Manzano Marín437 million years ago in what is now Wisconsin, the earliest known leeches were terrorizing trilobites. Instead of sucking blood, these critters were likely engulfing invertebrates whole or vacuuming out their insides! Latest for @nytimes.com on a fantastic #fossil: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/01/s...
- Reposted by Alejandro Manzano MarínPrecisely calling mutations across hundreds of bacterial isolates has been hard, requiring manual filtering and expertise. Until now, using AccuSNV. Herui Liao trained an ML model based on our previous meticulously called SNVs. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
- Reposted by Alejandro Manzano MarínLast Friday, we published the 500th article of Peer Community Journal! 🥳
- Hey #SymbioSky! (@symbionticism.bsky.social, @amelialindsey.bsky.social, @shropshirejd.bsky.social???) I'm preparing material for a lecture on phages of beneficial endosymbionts. Looking for an up-to-date review on #phageWO and/or #Wolbachia....
- I think I have it covered, but have a feeling I am missing a recent work on the former..... can't seem to remember the citation... or maybe I'm making it up in my head.... Thanks for any pointers here
- #Symbionts with eroded genomes adjust gene expression according to host life-stage and environment #SymbioSky @kaltenpoth-lab.bsky.social doi.org/10.1038/s443...
- Evolution and comparative #genomics of #tick- #associated Francisella #endosymbionts: insights into metabolic pathways and historical biogeographic patterns #SymbioSky doi.org/10.1101/2025...
- The facultative intracellular #symbiont #Lariskella is neutral for lifetime fitness and spreads through #cytoplasmicIncompatibility in the leaffooted bug, Leptoglossus zonatus #SymbioSky doi.org/10.3389/fmic...
- Diversity and spread of #cytoplasmicIncompatibility genes among maternally inherited #symbionts #SymbioSky doi.org/10.1371/jour...
- Reposting for #SymbioSky
- www.cell.com/cell/abstrac... A host organelle (in sea slugs) integrates stolen chloroplasts for animal photosynthesis
- reposting for #giantVirus feed
- Naiavirus: an enveloped giant virus with a pleomorphic, flexible tail nature.com/articles/s41467-025-63463-6
- Digging into the evolutionary history of the fungus-growing-ant #symbiont, #Escovopsis (Hypocreaceae) @ngerardo.bsky.social & many others I wouldn't find here.... #SymbioSky #MicroSky #EvolSky doi.org/10.1038/s420...
- On the topic of new additions to the lab, Pegah (@pegah-kalatehjari.bsky.social) joined the group last month. She will delve into symbiont transmission in #leeches working under the #SymBirth_FWF1k project (doi.org/10.55776/TAI...). Exciting times ahead! #SymbioSky @dome-vienna.bsky.social
- #Hirudo orientalis made it to the lab: an exciting new symbiotic system!
- Reposted by Alejandro Manzano Marín🚨 Save the date! Thrilled to be co-organizing the next iteration of the @embl.org Symposium on the Cellular Mechanics of Symbiosis (📅 March 17-20), w/ @floravincent.bsky.social, @hassansalem.bsky.social & Tom Richards. www.embl.org/about/info/c... #EESSymbiosis #Symbiosis #SymbioSky #MicroSky 🦠
- Reposted by Alejandro Manzano MarínMolecular evolution of dietary shifts in ladybirds 🐞 expansions of digestive & detoxifying #gene families in the herbivorous ladybirds, & absence of most plant cell wall-degrading enzymes in the ladybirds from the transition to carnivory link.springer.com/article/10.1...
- Reposted by Alejandro Manzano MarínNew preprint from our lab! We show that #Bartonellaceae bacteria, mostly known as mammalian #pathogens, also colonizes #planthoppers. The planthopper #symbionts typically resemble related ant symbionts in nutritional functions, but show a much greater breadth of #genome sizes and functions. 1/2
- The before and after paella... w/ @berasymbionts.bsky.social, @hassansalem.bsky.social, @marlenygarcial.bsky.social, @francespi.bsky.social, and co. (couldn't find them here....) #ESEB2025
- @symbnet.bsky.social alumni crowd at #ESEB2025 w/ @berasymbionts.bsky.social & @vandriienko.bsky.social #SymbioSky
- #ESEB2025 just wrapped up today. Had a great time talking about #leeches, meeting with friends, family, and checking out cool science making. @berasymbionts.bsky.social @hassansalem.bsky.social @annamichalik.bsky.social @danieltamarit.bsky.social @willemsenanouk.bsky.social @nicrodemo.bsky.social
- Thanks to @eseb2025.bsky.social for facilitating attending with family. Still more to be done, but on a good track. 'Till 2027!
- Looking forward to discussing ongoing #symbiosis research with the team led by Jun-Bo Luan at the Shenyang Agricultural University (www.junboluanlab.com) Already a great start with a delicious park BBQ! #SymbioSky
- And here, the amazing lineup for the #symbiosis speakers and poster presenters at #SMBE2025 #SymbioSky
