Complete de novo assembly of Wolbachia endosymbiont of Drosophila willistoni using long-read genome sequencing.

Wolbachia is an obligate intracellular α-proteobacterium, which commonly infects arthropods and filarial nematodes. Different strains of Wolbachia are capable of a wide range of regulatory manipulations in their diverse hosts, including the modulation of host cellular differentiation to influence host reproduction. The genetic basis for the majority of these phenotypes is unknown.

Diverse genetic conflicts mediated by molecular mimicry and computational approaches to detect them.

In genetic conflicts between intergenomic and selfish elements, driver and killer elements achieve biased survival, replication, or transmission over sensitive and targeted elements through a wide range of molecular mechanisms, including mimicry. Driving mechanisms manifest at all organismal levels, from the biased propagation of individual genes, as demonstrated by transposable elements, to the biased transmission of genomes, as illustrated by viruses, to the biased transmission of cell lineages, as in cancer. Targeted genomes are vulnerable to molecular mimicry through the conserved motifs they use for their own signaling and regulation.

Complete de novo assembly of endosymbiont of Drosophila willistoni using long-read genome sequencing.

is an obligate intracellular α-proteobacterium which commonly infects arthropods and filarial nematodes. Different strains of are capable of a wide range of regulatory manipulations in many hosts and modulate host cellular differentiation to influence host reproduction. The genetic basis for the majority of these phenotypes is unknown.

A Structural Proteome Screen Identifies Protein Mimicry in Host-Microbe Systems.

Host-microbe systems are evolutionary niches that produce coevolved biological interactions and are a key component of global health. However, these systems have historically been a difficult field of biological research due to their experimental intractability. Impactful advances in global health will be obtained by leveraging screens to identify genes involved in mediating interspecific interactions.