Peter Duchek

Conflicts and coalitions among selfish toxin-antidote elements shape the evolution of hyperdivergent haplotypes

The paper investigates genetic conflict between toxin-antidote elements in C. tropicalis, revealing their role in shaping hyperdivergent haplotypes through competition and recombination.

Direct cell-to-cell transmission of retrotransposons

The paper identifies a noncanonical retrotransposon transmission mechanism in Drosophila that bypasses the need for viral envelope proteins.

Evolution of an Aurora Kinase A Inhibitor from an Essential tRNA Synthetase

The paper shows how a duplicated tRNA synthetase evolved into a novel toxin by losing its ancestral function and acquiring a new role in targeting Aurora kinase A.

RNA decay via the nuclear exosome is essential for piwi-mediated transposon silencing

The paper shows that the Drosophila Piwi-piRNA pathway silences transposons by degrading their RNA via the nuclear exosome, with TEsup proteins facilitating this process.

A regulatory module driving the recurrent evolution of irreducible molecular complexes.

The paper investigates how interdependent protein interactions evolve by studying toxin-antidote elements, finding that toxins and antidotes can arise simultaneously through the duplication of a regulatory module.

Evolutionary Adaptation of an HP1-protein Chromodomain Integrates Chromatin and DNA Sequence Signals

This study identifies an amino acid change in the HP1 protein Rhino that disrupts its interaction with Kipferl, altering chromatin binding and piRNA profiles in Drosophila.

The Drosophila ZAD zinc finger protein Kipferl guides Rhino to piRNA clusters

This study identifies Kipferl as a cofactor that recruits Rhino to piRNA clusters by binding DNA motifs and interacting with Rhino's chromodomain, revealing DNA sequence as a determinant of piRNA source loci.

The evolution of an RNA-based memory of self in the face of genomic conflict

The paper investigates how selfish toxin-antidote elements evade silencing in C. tropicalis by showing maternal mRNA licenses zygotic expression through counteracting piRNAs.

A SUMO-dependent regulatory switch connects the piRNA pathway to the heterochromatin machinery in Drosophila

The paper reveals how the piRNA pathway connects to the heterochromatin machinery in Drosophila through SUMOylation of Panoramix and its interaction with Sov.

The molecular principles of Piwi-mediated co-transcriptional silencing through the dimeric SFiNX complex

This study identifies the role of the SFiNX complex dimerization in enabling co-transcriptional silencing via molecular condensate formation in Drosophila.