Our paper on the near-chromosome level genome-assembly of the zoosporic and phototactic fungus Blastocladiella emersonii is out! 21 contigs that we hope will open a new gate towards understanding sensory-signalling systems in fungi! Check it out!

Now out PLOS Biology great interdisciplinary effort with Ula Lapinska, Sonja-Verena Albers, Alyson Santoro and @AncestralState. We show that archaeal lipid vesicles are more permeable to key metabolites compared to bacterial lipid vesicles. Thanks to Moore Foundation. journals.plos.org/plosbiology/ar…

Contrary to current orthodoxy, #archaeal #membrane mimics are more permeable to core metabolites than #bacterial #lipid membrane mimics, informing some of the earliest transitions in cell evolution Ula Lapinska @AncestralState MicrofluidicsExeter #PLOSBiology plos.io/3Kxa15c

Went out a bit quick, so legs got heavy for the second 5k, but very happy with a 50 second PB! Perfect day for it👌 good luck to everyone doing the half! #GreatBristolRun

Our review of ‘transporter proteins as ecological assets and features of microbial eukaryotic pangenomes’ is out in Annual Reviews! With @ancestralstate, Luis Javier Galindo and Nick Irwin. Read it here: annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.11…

Great to see this pre-print out for Vicky Attah’s excellent story from one of her PhD projects; a pleasure to be involved!

Just posted- Collaborative study led by Tom Richards (@AncestralState), Vicky Attah, Yufeng Fang, David Milner Guy Leonard with Xia Yan and Heitman lab at Duke - how and why does an ancestral HGT event from fungi to oomycete lead to extensive gene duplication & neo-functionalization?

Scientists solve the mystery of how predatory bacteria recognises prey - new research from Prof Liz Sockett Bdellovibrio Lab @UonLifeSci and Prof Andrew Lovering UoB Biosciences published Nature Microbiology Read more - ow.ly/F6Hy50QnNIZ

Exploring the mechanisms behind #symbiosis requires an understanding of these interactions in a range of model systems. Ben Jenkins discusses how the ciliate #protist Paramecium bursaria offers insights into how endosymbiotic interactions have evolved. plos.io/3U6FBLO

Prey killing without invasion by Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus defective for a MIDAS-family adhesin | Nature Communications nature.com/articles/s4146…

In this paper we show that membranes bearing a mixture of bacterial and archaeal lipid characteristics display selectivity for D- sugars and L- amino acid isomers suggesting a solution to the chirality problem during the evolution of life.

The latest version of AlphaFold models how proteins interact with other molecules — but DeepMind restricts access to the tool go.nature.com/4dsMcYP

Zone Chat

Now published at PNAS. Duplication and neofunctionalization of a horizontally transferred xyloglucanase as a facet of the Red Queen coevolutionary dynamic | PNAS pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pn…

Peer-reviewed version of our collaboration led by Tom Richards (@AncestralState), Vicky Attah, Yufeng "Francis" Fang David Milner Guy Leonard Xia Yan Heitman lab at Duke - An ancestral HGT from fungi to oomycetes has evolved by gene duplication & neo-functionalization? pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pn…

A 2 year PDRA job within the group is open jobs.ac.uk/job/DIQ295/pos… The project will involve single cell transcriptome, hyper-LOPIT 3D subcellular proteomics data combined with RNAi approaches to identify how a host cell can manipulate the fate of its endosymbiotic partner cells

De novo genome sequence assembly of the RNAi-tractable endosymbiosis model system Paramecium bursaria 186b reveals factors shaping ... biorxiv.org/cgi/content/sh… #biorxiv_genomic

Our study on fungal zoospores swimming pattern is out in Current Biology! This study came from one simple question: Do all chytrid zoospores have the same swimming behavior? (No, they don’t!) doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.… 👇

Immune-like glycan-sensing and horizontally-acquired glycan-processing orchestrate host control in a microbial endosymbiosis biorxiv.org/cgi/content/sh… #biorxiv_evobio

Excited and proud to share our preprint! A network of glycan sensing controls endosymbiosis in the protist, Paramecium bursaria 🦠 This includes an ancient eukaryote immune-like factor, and prokaryote proteins acquired via horizontal gene-transfer! 1/10 doi.org/10.1101/2024.0…