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
Tag: mitosis
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
De novo origins of multicellularity in response to predation
De novo origins of multicellularity in response to predation SUMMARY: Chlamydomonas are common, single-celled green algae that are flagellated and can move around. They’re a strange cross between plants and protists. In this study, scientists subjected chlamydomonas to predation by paramecia (common freshwater ciliates) and observed that after about 750 generations, the chlamydomonas took on… Continue reading De novo origins of multicellularity in response to predation
Rotifer Reproduction Mechanism
Genetic exchange among bdelloid rotifers is more likely due to horizontal gene transfer than to meiotic sex SUMMARY: This study looked at the conclusion drawn by another study that said bdelloid rotifers used a type of meiosis similar to that found in a genus of plants called Oenothera [1]. Five hundred seventy-six rotifers of the… Continue reading Rotifer Reproduction Mechanism