Plastids and mitochondria each arose from a single endosymbiotic event and share many
similarities in how they were reduced and integrated with their host. However, the …

A comprehensive understanding of the origin and spread of plastids remains an important
yet elusive goal in the field of eukaryotic evolution. Combined with the discovery of new …

Metal transporters are a central component in the interaction of algae with their environment.
They represent the first line of defense to cellular perturbations in metal concentration, and …

Solid semi-crystalline starch and hydrosoluble glycogen define two distinct physical states of
the same type of storage polysaccharide. Appearance of semi-crystalline storage …

We address three fundamental questions: What does it mean for an entity to be living? What
is the role of inter-organismic collaboration in evolution? What is a biological individual? Our …

Background It is commonly accepted that a single primary endosymbiosis gave rise to the
photosynthetic organelles of plants, the plastids. Recently, we presented evidence that …

The significance of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in eukaryotic evolution remains
controversial. Although many eukaryotic genes are of bacterial origin, they are often …

Plastids are descended from a cyanobacterial symbiosis which occurred over 1.2 billion
years ago. During the course of endosymbiosis, most genes were lost from the …

Eukaryotic cells are composed of a variety of membrane-bound organelles that are thought
to derive from symbiotic associations involving bacteria, archaea, or other eukaryotes. In …

Resolving the structure of the eukaryotic tree of life remains one of the most important and
challenging tasks facing biologists. The notion of six eukaryotic 'supergroups' has recently …