Authors: Yaqing Ou and James McInerney. Abstract The formation of new genes by combining parts of existing genes is an important evolutionary process. Remodelled genes, which we call composites, have been investigated in many species, however, their distribution across all of life is still unknown. We set out to examine the extent to which genomes […]
Read MoreShort interview with Bill Martin about the manuscript in Nature that deals with the different kinds of gene transfer that we typically see in prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
Read MoreNature have just published a full article concerning an analysis of horizontal (or lateral) gene transfer and how it is different between prokaryotes and eukaryotes [1]. Also, we examined whether eukaryotes experience significant continuous gene gains from prokaryotes over long periods of time, or whether we see evidence for discrete bursts of gene acquisitions. Hint: […]
Read MoreThere is a post-doc position available in my research group in Ireland. The position is to continue our work on the origins and early evolution of eukaryotes. In this case, we are going to dig into the metabolism of early eukaryotes. We will spend time trying to reconstruct ancestral metabolisms, analysing the origins of eukaryote-specific […]
Read MoreCurrent State of Registrations: [wppb progress=100 option=”red candystripe” location=inside] We’re full. What?: Week-long, intensive phylogenetics course covering all aspects of bioinformatics and phylogenetics/phylogenomics. Where?: Department of Biology, National University of Ireland Maynooth. This is approximately 40 minutes from Dublin Airport (Aer Lingus, British Airways, Ryanair, American Airlines, Lufthansa, Air France, etc.) , 25km from the centre […]
Read MoreProfessor McInerney has been invited to speak at the International Union of Microbiology Societies annual meeting in Montréal, Canada from July 27th-August 1, 2014. This meeting is collectively known as the International Congress of Microbiology and it consists of three separate congresses: the XIVth International Congress of Bacteriology and Applied Microbiology, the XVIth International Congress of Virology and the XIVth International […]
Read MoreEd Yong has written an excellent article on Eukaryote Origins. Professor McInerney was interviewed as part of the article and the article also includes interviews with several other people involved with trying to understand the origin of the eukaryote cell. In this article, Yong makes a distinction between the “slow fuse” type of hypothesis governing […]
Read MoreIn the last five years, there has been tremendous progress made in understanding the origin of the eukaryote cell. This progress has been on a number of fronts – phylogenetic, metabolic and bioenergetic and in terms of other data that relate directly to evolution. Our latest paper in PNAS is, I feel, the latest in […]
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