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The recently discovered Acanthamoeba polyphaga Mimivirus is the largest known DNA virus. Its particle size (>400 nm), genome length (1.2 million bp) and large gene repertoire (911 protein coding genes) blur the established boundaries…
Gene duplication is key to molecular evolution in all three domains of life and may be the first step in the emergence of new gene function. It is a well recognized feature in large DNA viruses, but has not been studied extensively in the…
Giant double-stranded DNA viruses (such as record breaking Acanthamoeba polyphaga Mimivirus), with particle sizes of 0.2 to 0.6 micron, genomes of 300 kbp to 1.200 kbp, and commensurate complex gene contents, constitute an evolutionary…
The initial analysis of the recently sequenced genome of Acanthamoeba polyphaga Mimivirus, the largest known double-stranded DNA virus, predicted a proteome of size and complexity more akin to small parasitic bacteria than to other…
Mitochondrial genomes in the Pinaceae family are notable for their large size and structural complexity. In this study, we sequenced and analyzed the mitochondrial genome of Cathaya argyrophylla, an endangered and endemic Pinaceae species,…
DNA replication is a process which is common to all domains of life yet different replication mechanisms are seen among different organisms. The mechanism of replication on such a structure is not yet understood. With this bigger picture in…
Giant viruses contain large genomes, encode many proteins atypical for viruses, replicate in large viral factories, and tend to infect protists. The giant virus replication factories can in turn be infected by so called virophages, which…
Reputed intractable, the question of the origin of viruses has long been neglected. In the modern literature 'Virus evolution' has come to refer to study more akin to population genetics, such as the world-wide scrutiny on new polymorphisms…
Salamanders (urodela) have among the largest vertebrate genomes, ranging in size from 10 to over 80 pg. The urodela are divided into ten extant families each with a characteristic range in genome size. Although changes in genome size often…
Background: The length of a protein sequence is largely determined by its function, i.e. each functional group is associated with an optimal size. However, comparative genomics revealed that proteins length may be affected by additional…
The diversity revealed by large scale genomics in microbiology is calling into question long held beliefs about genome stability, evolutionary rate, even the definition of a species. MacArthur and Wilson's theory of insular biogeography…
Bacteriophages, phages for short, are viruses of bacteria. The majority of phages contain a double-stranded DNA genome packaged in a capsid at a density of ~500 mg/ml. This high density requires substantial compression of the normal B form…
Very low levels of genetic diversity have been reported in vertebrates with large genomes, notably salamanders and lungfish [1-3]. Interpreting differences in heterozygosity, which reflects genetic diversity in a population, is complicated…
The Cambrian explosion is a grand challenge to science today and involves multidisciplinary study. This event is generally believed as a result of genetic innovations, environmental factors and ecological interactions, even though there are…
The unconstrained genomic DNA of bacteria forms a coil, which volume exceeds 1000 times the volume of the cell. Since prokaryotes lack a membrane-bound nucleus, in sharp contrast with eukaryotes, the DNA may consequently be expected to…
Data on the number of Open Reading Frames (ORFs) coded by genomes from the 3 domains of Life show some notable general features including essential differences between the Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes, with the number of ORFs growing linearly…
Genome length varies widely among organisms, from compact genomes of prokaryotes to vast and complex genomes of eukaryotes. In this study, we theoretically identify the evolutionary pressures that may have driven this divergence in genome…
As organisms are faced with intense rapidly changing selective pressures, new genetic material is required to facilitate adaptation. Among sources of genetic novelty, gene duplications and transposable elements (TEs) offer new genes or new…
The evolutionary reason for the increase in gene length from archaea to prokaryotes to eukaryotes observed in large scale genome sequencing efforts has been unclear. We propose here that the increasing complexity of protein-protein…
Darwin introduced the concept of the "living fossil" to describe species belonging to lineages that have experienced little evolutionary change, and suggested that species in more slowly evolving lineages are more prone to extinction (1).…