Editor’s Selections: Sex is for fighting parasites, the hidden fungi, and microbial communities in the deep sea
May 27th, 2011 Editor's Selections No Comments
Vincent Racaniello selects several notable posts each week from molecular and cellular biology and virology. He unravels viruses at virology blog.
<img title=”Vincent Racaniello” src=”http://researchblogging.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/smallvincent.jpg” alt=”Vincent Racaniello” width=”47″ height=”47″ />Vincent Racaniello selects several notable posts each week from molecular and cellular biology and virology. He writes about viruses at <a href=”http://www.virology.ws” target=”_blank”>virology blog</a>.
- Some of the most brilliant minds in evolutionary biology have spent their careers wondering about the value of sex. Evidence suggests that sex serves to rapidly change our genetic makeup in order to keep pace with the threat from parasites.
- Current estimates of fungal diversity, based mainly on culturing, are apparently very wrong. Deep genome sequencing of environmental samples has revealed that the fungal tree of life is far bigger than previously thought.
- Deep ocean hydrothermal vents are extreme ecosystems, with a limited number of species able to tolerate the harsh conditions. Deep DNA sequencing was used to determine if the microbes present in mucilaginous biofilms correlate with the age and physical characteristics of actively venting chimneys.
I’ll be back next Friday with more selections.
