Southern Saami Language and Culture—Between Stigma and Pride, Tradition and Modernity

In this chapter, I will present an analysis of how a Southern Sámi identity is performed in our late modern society, first and foremost how this identity is expressed through the use—or omittance—of the Southern Sámi language. It has been pointed out that it is more or less a miracle that Southern Sámi is still a living language. In my chapter, I will try to demonstrate how some sociocultural and political factors through history have inhibited the use of this language, while other factors have supported—directly or indirectly—the transmission of this linguistic repertoire from one generation to another. The master story of the Southern Sámi language and culture is intimately connected to the general ‘climate of opinion’ when it comes to minority–majority relations in Norway. The position of the Sámi population today has in several ways been fundamentally changed, compared with how the Sámi were regarded by the Norwegian majority population well into the twentieth century, as a lesser and inferior people. Some of the main aspects of my analysis will be related to contrasts like stigma versus pride, tradition versus modernity—as these values are attached to the Sámi culture

Genome sequencing reveals metabolic and cellular interdependence in an amoeba-kinetoplastid symbiosis

Endosymbiotic relationships between eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells are common in nature. Endosymbioses between two eukaryotes are also known; cyanobacterium-derived plastids have spread horizontally when one eukaryote assimilated another. A unique instance of a non-photosynthetic, eukaryotic endosymbiont involves members of the genus Paramoeba, amoebozoans that infect marine animals such as farmed fish and sea urchins. Paramoeba species harbor endosymbionts belonging to the Kinetoplastea, a diverse group of flagellate protists including some that cause devastating diseases. To elucidate the nature of this eukaryote-eukaryote association, we sequenced the genomes and transcriptomes of Paramoeba pemaquidensis and its endosymbiont Perkinsela sp. The endosymbiont nuclear genome is ~9.5 Mbp in size, the smallest of a kinetoplastid thus far discovered. Genomic analyses show that Perkinsela sp. has lost the ability to make a flagellum but retains hallmark features of kinetoplastid biology, including polycistronic transcription, trans-splicing, and a glycosome-like organelle. Mosaic biochemical pathways suggest extensive 'cross-talk' between the two organisms, and electron microscopy shows that the endosymbiont ingests amoeba cytoplasm, a novel form of endosymbiont-host communication. Our data reveal the cell biological and biochemical basis of the obligate relationship between Perkinsela sp. and its amoeba host, and provide a foundation for understanding pathogenicity determinants in economically important Paramoeba