Author's posts

Dec 30

Lateral transfer of introns in the cryptophyte plastid genome.

Lateral transfer of introns in the cryptophyte plastid genome.
Nucleic Acids Res. 2008 May;36(9):3043-53
Authors: Khan H, Archibald JM
Abstract
Cryptophytes are unicellular eukaryotic algae that acquired pho…

Dec 30

Organelles in Blastocystis that blur the distinction between mitochondria and hydrogenosomes.

Organelles in Blastocystis that blur the distinction between mitochondria and hydrogenosomes.
Curr Biol. 2008 Apr 22;18(8):580-5
Authors: Stechmann A, Hamblin K, Pérez-Brocal V, Gaston D, Richmond GS, van der Giezen M, Cla…

Dec 30

Organelle evolution: what's in a name?

Organelle evolution: what’s in a name?
Curr Biol. 2008 Apr 22;18(8):R345-7
Authors: Keeling PJ, Archibald JM
Abstract
Plastids are organelles derived from cyanobacterial endosymbionts and the evolutionary pro…

Dec 30

Complete sequence and analysis of the mitochondrial genome of Hemiselmis andersenii CCMP644 (Cryptophyceae).

Complete sequence and analysis of the mitochondrial genome of Hemiselmis andersenii CCMP644 (Cryptophyceae).
BMC Genomics. 2008;9:215
Authors: Kim E, Lane CE, Curtis BA, Kozera C, Bowman S, Archibald JM
Abstract
…

Dec 30

Detecting lateral genetic transfer : a phylogenetic approach.

Detecting lateral genetic transfer : a phylogenetic approach.
Methods Mol Biol. 2008;452:457-69
Authors: Beiko RG, Ragan MA
Abstract
Nucleotide sequences of microbial genomes provide evidence that genes have …

Oct 30

Faculty Position in Marine Eukaryotic Microbial Ecology at UBC

The Departments of Botany and Zoology at the University of British Columbia invite applications for a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Marine Eukaryotic Microbial Ecology. This is a tenure track position, with initial appointment to be made at the Assistant Professor level, beginning no earlier than July 1, 2012. We seek an outstanding …

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Sep 30

Seeing biosphere's dark matter

We are organizing a symposium within 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), which will take placein the City of Vancouver, Canada in February 2012. Our symposium will be part of a special, day-long seminar “Unlocking Biology’s Potential and will verse on the exploration of uncultured microbial diversity, its …

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Sep 26

Teach evolution not creationism

Are you in the UK? Sign the Creationism In Schools Isn’t Science petition!

Sep 02

Genome analysis exposes hidden sex secrets

Comment on “Conserved meiotic machinery in Glomus spp., a putatively ancient asexual fungal lineage” by S. Halary et al. 2011. The origin and significance of sex remains one of the most intriguing topics in evolutionary biology. Sexual reproduction requires a big deal of complexity and energy expense at all levels, from the intricate molecular gymnastics …

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Aug 31

Conserved meiotic machinery in Glomus spp., a putatively ancient asexual fungal lineage

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) represent an ecologically important and evolutionarily intriguing group of symbionts of land plants, currently thought to have propagated clonally for over 500 Myr. AMF produce multinucleate spores and may exchange nuclei through anastomosis, but meiosis has never been observed in this group. A provocative alternative for their successful and long asexual evolutionary history is that these organisms may have cryptic sex, allowing them to recombine alleles and…