Evidence for Centromere Drive in the Holocentric Chromosomes of Caenorhabditis

In monocentric organisms with asymmetric meiosis, the kinetochore proteins, such as CENH3 and CENP-C, evolve adaptively to counterbalance the deleterious effects of centromere drive, which is caused by the expansion of centromeric satellite repeats. The selection regimes that act on CENH3 and CENP-C genes have not been analyzed in organisms with holocentric chromosomes, although holocentrism is speculated to have evolved to suppress centromere drive. We tested both CENH3 and CENP-C for positive selection in several species of the holocentric genus Caenorhabditis using the maximum likelihood approach and sliding-window analysis. Although CENP-C did not show any signs of positive selection, positive selection has been detected in the case of CENH3. These results support the hypothesis that centromere drive occurs in Nematoda, at least in the telokinetic meiosis of Caenorhabditis

Hydrogen and Biofuel Production in the Chloroplast

International audienc

An Introduction to Synthetic Biology

Synthetic biology is a newly emerged discipline that came into light several years ago. It is an interdisciplinary field bringing together the expertise from science, engineering, and computing to create artificial parts or systems in the biological world. This chapter provides a concise overview of the background and developments in synthetic biology with focus on some of the latest research findings. It is believed that synthetic biology can open new doors for solutions to many existing daily life problems. However, there are still many challenges to be overcome due to the complex nature of biological systems. The discoveries and knowledge that will be gained from the ongoing studies in synthetic biology will enrich our understanding towards how life has been designed by nature and to what extent it can be altered or improved by artificial interference

Advances in Genetic Engineering of Microalgae

Hallmann A. Advances in Genetic Engineering of Microalgae. In: Grand Challenges in Algae Biotechnology. Grand Challenges in Biology and Biotechnology. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2020: 159-221