Anhydrobiosis without trehalose in bdelloid rotifers SUMMARY: There are many types of organisms that can dry out, rehydrate, and then go about their lives with no problems. Many of the larger ones use trehalose or sucrose as an antifreeze. Bdelloid rotifers (tiny microscopic animals) do not. This study looked at the carbohydrate content in desiccated… Continue reading Anhydrobiosis without trehalose in bdelloid rotifers
Category: Inheritance 4: Asexual/Sexual (MS)
Develop and use a model to describe why asexual reproduction results in offspring with identical genetic information and sexual reproduction results in offspring with genetic variation.
Sexual reproduction in parasitic protists
Sexual reproduction and genetic exchange in parasitic protists SUMMARY: Sexual reproduction is often murky in parasites because it’s difficult to observe. There are two other ways to determine if an organism has sex: differences in genomes and genes for meiosis. However, in parasites, there are exceptions to this rule in that some organisms may have… Continue reading Sexual reproduction in parasitic protists
Chloroplast Division
Chloroplast Division SUMMARY: Chloroplast division in plants is still a fairly unknown topic when it comes to specific cellular/molecular mechanisms. This paper describes, step by step, all the proteins and enzymes involved in helping chloroplasts divide (FtsZ, Min system, ARC6, etc.) It also compares the division of chloroplasts to binary fission in various prokaryotes (FtsZ… Continue reading Chloroplast Division
Meiotic Genes in Colpodean Ciliates Support Secretive Sexuality
Meiotic Genes in Colpodean Ciliates Support Secretive Sexuality SUMMARY: Researchers compared the genomes of two ciliates: one known to have sex, and another that has not been observed to have sex under laboratory conditions. Genes for meiosis were found in both classes of ciliates. Also, structures such as the micronuclei and macronuclei indicate that perhaps… Continue reading Meiotic Genes in Colpodean Ciliates Support Secretive Sexuality
Environmental DNA sequencing primers for eutardigrades and bdelloid rotifers
Environmental DNA sequencing primers for eutardigrades and bdelloid rotifers SUMMARY: This article talked about using soil eutardigrades and bdelloid rotifer primers to quickly and easily identify these organisms directly. Due to the fact that there are so many types of microorganisms in soil, many of which are still unidentified and unable to be cultured in… Continue reading Environmental DNA sequencing primers for eutardigrades and bdelloid rotifers
Rotifers Eating Foreign DNA
Evidence Supporting the Uptake and Genomic Incorporation of Environmental DNA in the “Ancient Asexual” Bdelloid Rotifer Philodina roseola SUMMARY: This study looked at whether bdelloid rotifers were better at taking in DNA compared to Monogononta rotifers. Bdelloids are a class of rotifers that only reproduce asexually. There has never been a male observed. Their cells… Continue reading Rotifers Eating Foreign DNA