Evolutionary transfer of the chloroplast tufA gene to the nucleus

Evolutionary gene transfer is a basic corollary of the now widely accepted endosymbiotic theory, which proposes that mitochondria and chloroplasts originated from once free-living eubacteria. The small organellar chromosomes are remnants of larger bacterial genomes, with most endosymbiont genes having been either transferred to the nucleus soon after endosymbiosis or lost entirely, with some being functionally replaced by pre-existing nuclear genes. Several lines of evidence indicate that relocation of some organelle genes could have been more recent. These include the abundance of non-functional organelle sequences of recent origin in nuclear DNA, successful artificial transfer of functional organelle genes to the nucleus, and several examples of recently lost organelle genes, although none of these is known to have been replaced by a nuclear homologue that is clearly of organellar ancestry. We present gene sequence and molecular phylogenetic evidence for the transfer of the chloroplast tufA gene to the nucleus in the green algal ancestor of land plants.     

Comparative genomic analysis of three Leishmania species that cause diverse human disease

Leishmania parasites cause a broad spectrum of clinical disease. Here we report the sequencing of the genomes of two species of Leishmania: Leishmania infantum and Leishmania braziliensis. The comparison of these sequences with the published genome of Leishmania major reveals marked conservation of synteny and identifies only approximately 200 genes with a differential distribution between the three species. L. braziliensis, contrary to Leishmania species examined so far, possesses components of a putative RNA-mediated interference pathway, telomere-associated transposable elements and spliced leader-associated SLACS retrotransposons. We show that pseudogene formation and gene loss are the principal forces shaping the different genomes. Genes that are differentially distributed between the species encode proteins implicated in host-pathogen interactions and parasite survival in the macrophage.     

A Cenozoic record of the equatorial Pacific carbonate compensation depth

Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and climate are regulated on geological timescales by the balance between carbon input from volcanic and metamorphic outgassing and its removal by weathering feedbacks; these feedbacks involve the erosion of silicate rocks and organic-carbon-bearing rocks. The integrated effect of these processes is reflected in the calcium carbonate compensation depth, which is the oceanic depth at which calcium carbonate is dissolved. Here we present a carbonate accumulation record that covers the past 53 million years from a depth transect in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. The carbonate compensation depth tracks long-term ocean cooling, deepening from 3.0-3.5?kilometres during the early Cenozoic (approximately 55?million years ago) to 4.6 kilometres at present, consistent with an overall Cenozoic increase in weathering. We find large superimposed fluctuations in carbonate compensation depth during the middle and late Eocene. Using Earth system models, we identify changes in weathering and the mode of organic-carbon delivery as two key processes to explain these large-scale Eocene fluctuations of the carbonate compensation depth.