Eukaryotes News and Research

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Fluid Dynamics of Stentors Offers New Insight Into Evolution of Multicellular Life

Life emerged on Earth some 3.8 billion years ago. The "primordial soup theory" proposes that chemicals floating in pools of water, in the presence of sunlight and electrical discharge, spontaneously formed organic molecules.

1 Apr 2025

How Does DNA Unwind? Study Explores Helicase Mechanisms In DNA Replication

This study reveals how SV40 helicase unwinds DNA, highlighting ATP hydrolysis's role in translocation and offering insights into viral replication mechanisms.

28 Mar 2025

Unraveling the Evolutionary Link to Eukaryotic Cells

A decade ago, the existence of Asgard archaea was unknown. However, in 2015, researchers analyzing deep-sea sediments uncovered gene fragments that suggested the presence of a new, previously unidentified group of microbes.

24 Mar 2025

Study Shows How Transposons Exploit Telomeres in Bacteria

Transposons, or "jumping genes" – DNA segments that can move from one part of the genome to another – are key to bacterial evolution and the development of antibiotic resistance.

8 Mar 2025

How Bacteriophages Build a Protein-Based Nucleus to Outsmart Bacteria

Jumbo phages utilize a complex protein import system, with Imp1 as a key gatekeeper, to transport proteins into their protective nucleus-like compartment.

14 Feb 2025

Understanding the Complex Architecture of the Minor Spliceosome

In human cells, only a small proportion of the information written in genes is used to produce proteins. How does the cell select this information? A large molecular machine called the spliceosome continuously separates the coding and non-coding regions of our genes – and it's doing this even as you read these lines.

13 Feb 2025

New Consensus Paper Advances Nomenclature for Mitochondria Transfer and Transplantation

Most animal, plant and fungal cells contain organelles called mitochondria. These descendants of a primordial bacterial endosymbiont still preserve distinct genes and are known for their ability to create ATP as chemical energy.

28 Jan 2025

Deep Sea Foraminifera Species Unveil Secrets of Life in Extreme Environments

Most life on Earth relies on the sun's energy for survival, but what about organisms in the deep sea that live beyond the reach of its rays? A new study led by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), published in The ISME Journal, sheds light on how a species of foraminifera, single-celled organisms found in almost all marine habitats, thrives in a dark, oxygen-free environment.

17 Jan 2025

Is Calcium Signaling the Bridge Between Unicellular and Multicellular Life?

Calcium-dependent signaling in S. rosetta uncovers mechanisms of cellular coordination, shedding light on the evolution of multicellularity and sensory systems.

16 Jan 2025

Arabidopsis Study Finds that Centromeres Call the Shots in Retrotransposon Integration

Centromeres play a crucial role in cell division, with CENH3 guiding retrotransposon Tal1 integration, revealing insights into genome evolution and stability.

10 Jan 2025

Study Reveals Mechanism Behind Retrotransposon Insertion in Centromeres

A joint research group team led by Sayuri Tsukahara and Tetsuji Kakutani of the University of Tokyo has clarified a mechanism of how retrotransposons, genetic elements that can "jump around" chromosomes and are known drivers of evolution, preferentially insert in the centromere.

2 Jan 2025

Unraveling the Evolutionary Trajectories of Early Eukaryotes

Advanced tools and expanded fossil datasets have painted a clearer picture of the eukaryotic diversity of the Proterozoic eon, which has been hard to quantify. The findings show that Earth's severe Cryogenian glaciations catalyzed a pivotal shift in the evolution and diversity of early eukaryotes during this eon, 2500 to 538 million years ago.

20 Dec 2024

New Virus Found to Alter Cell Machinery in Eukaryotic Cells

Julie Thomy, lead author of the study and postdoctoral researcher in the Daniel K. Inouye Center for Microbial Oceanography: Research and Education (C-MORE) and Department of Oceanography in the UH Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST)

18 Dec 2024