B. Snel

Intracellular signaling in proto-eukaryotes evolves to alleviate regulatory conflicts of endosymbiosis

This study uses a computational model to show how intracellular signaling evolved to resolve regulatory conflicts during mitochondrial endosymbiosis in eukaryogenesis.

A farnesyl-dependent structural role for CENP-E in expansion of the fibrous corona

This study identifies a farnesyl-dependent structural role for CENP-E in fibrous corona expansion during mitosis, independent of its motor activity.

Uncoupled evolution of the Polycomb system and deep origin of non-canonical PRC1

This study investigates the evolutionary relationship between PRC1 and PRC2 complexes, showing they evolved independently and that cPRC1 originated from ncPRC1.

Obligate Endosymbiosis Explains Genome Expansion During Eukaryogenesis

This paper constructs an evolutionary model of obligate endosymbiosis to study how it impacts genome evolution and cell-cycle coordination, finding that large host genomes and small symbiont genomes perform best over long timescales.

Increased sampling and intra-complex homologies favor vertical over horizontal inheritance of the Dam1 complex

The paper analyzes the evolutionary history of the Dam1 complex, finding it originated in the Last Common Ancestor and evolved through stepwise duplications, not horizontal gene transfer.

Integrating phylogenetics with intron positions illuminates the origin of the complex spliceosome

The paper uses phylogenetic analysis to trace the evolutionary origin of spliceosomal proteins and shows that complexity arose through protein duplication after introns spread in proto-eukaryotes.

Caenorhabditis elegans MES-3 is a highly divergent ortholog of the canonical PRC2 component SUZ12

This study identifies MES-3 in C. elegans as a divergent ortholog of SUZ12, a core PRC2 subunit, through sequence analysis and structural predictions.

The spread of the first introns in proto-eukaryotic paralogs

The paper identifies ancient intron positions shared between paralogs to infer the spread of the first introns in proto-eukaryotic genes.

Evolution of Regulatory Complexity for Cell-Cycle Control

This study uses computational models to show that complex cell-cycle regulation evolves through adaptive network expansion and genomic organization, leading to distinct eco-evolutionary strategies.

Timing the origin of eukaryotic cellular complexity with ancient duplications

The paper uses phylogenomics to infer the timing of gene duplications during eukaryogenesis, showing early expansion of cytoskeletal and membrane trafficking genes and later expansion after mitochondrial endosymbiosis.

The first eukaryotic kinome tree illuminates the dynamic history of present-day kinases

The paper constructs the first eukaryotic kinome tree, revealing that the Last Eukaryotic Common Ancestor had at least 92 kinases and showing diverse evolutionary dynamics among present-day eukaryotes.

Mosaic origin of the eukaryotic kinetochore

This study identifies the origin of the eukaryotic kinetochore by analyzing its protein composition and evolutionary history, revealing a mosaic origin involving both prokaryotic and eukaryotic proteins.