NLGenomeSweeper: A Tool for Genome-Wide NBS-LRR Resistance Gene Identification.

Although there are a number of bioinformatic tools to identify plant nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NLR) disease resistance genes based on conserved protein sequences, only a few of these tools have attempted to identify disease resistance genes that have not been annotated in the genome. The overall goal of the NLGenomeSweeper pipeline is to annotate NLR disease resistance genes, including RPW8, in the genome assembly with high specificity and a focus on complete functional genes. This is based on the identification of the complete NB-ARC domain, the most conserved domain of NLR genes, using the BLAST suite.

Interspecies conservation of organisation and function between nonhomologous regional centromeres.

Despite the conserved essential function of centromeres, centromeric DNA itself is not conserved. The histone-H3 variant, CENP-A, is the epigenetic mark that specifies centromere identity. Paradoxically, CENP-A normally assembles on particular sequences at specific genomic locations.

Multiple gene movements into and out of haploid sex chromosomes.

Background: Long-term evolution of sex chromosomes is a dynamic process shaped by gene gain and gene loss. Sex chromosome gene traffic has been studied in XY and ZW systems but no detailed analyses have been carried out for haploid phase UV sex chromosomes. Here, we explore sex-specific sequences of seven brown algal species to understand the dynamics of the sex-determining region (SDR) gene content across 100 million years of evolution.

Eic1 links Mis18 with the CCAN/Mis6/Ctf19 complex to promote CENP-A assembly.

CENP-A chromatin forms the foundation for kinetochore assembly. Replication-independent incorporation of CENP-A at centromeres depends on its chaperone HJURP(Scm3), and Mis18 in vertebrates and fission yeast. The recruitment of Mis18 and HJURP(Scm3) to centromeres is cell cycle regulated.

Dosage compensation and demasculinization of X chromosomes in Drosophila.

The X chromosome of Drosophila shows a deficiency of genes with male-biased expression, whereas mammalian X chromosomes are enriched for spermatogenesis genes expressed premeiosis and multicopy testis genes. Meiotic X-inactivation and sexual antagonism can only partly account for these patterns. Here, we show that dosage compensation (DC) in Drosophila may contribute substantially to the depletion of male genes on the X.

Bumblebees exhibit the memory spacing effect.

Associative learning is key to how bees recognize and return to rewarding floral resources. It thus plays a major role in pollinator floral constancy and plant gene flow. Honeybees are the primary model for pollinator associative learning, but bumblebees play an important ecological role in a wider range of habitats, and their associative learning abilities are less well understood.