Ciliates have developed a unique nuclear dualism two nuclei of di erent functionality the germline micronucleus and the somatic macronucleus The way that ciliates assemble the macronuclear genes after cell mating constitutes one of the most intricate DNA processings in living organisms This processing is also very interesting from the computational point of view In this paper we investigate the...

A recommendation of: Brandon Kwee Boon Seah, Aditi Singh, Estienne Carl Swart Karyorelict ciliates use an ambiguous genetic code with context-dependent stop/sense codons https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.04.12.488043

The way that ciliates transform genes from their micronuclear to the macronuclear form is very interesting (and unique), also from a computational point of view. In this paper, we describe the model of gene assembly in ciliates presented in [2], [3], and [4]. Moreover, we prove that the set of three operations underlying this model is universal, in the sense that it suffices for gene assembly f...

Genome remodeling occurs in cells as either a slow evolutionary process, or a rapid programmed developmental process. Intriguing examples of each type permeate the tree of life. This summer REU will feature research projects related to rapid programmed developmental processes. Algorithmic details of the developmental program of an organism allow one to investigate the mathematical and technolog...

An important habit of ciliates, namely, their behavioral preference for walls, is revealed through experiments and hydrodynamic simulations. A simple mechanical response of individual ciliary beating (i.e., the beating is stalled by the cilium contacting a wall) can solely determine the sliding motion of the ciliate along the wall and result in a wall-preferring behavior. Considering ciliate et...

We measured the feeding and growth rates of sessile peritrich ciliate Vorticella similis on seven picocyanobacterial strains their accompanying bacterial flora in microcosm experiments. This several closely related species are important indicators activated sludge water treatment plants contribute significantly to purification process. The picocyanobacteria were isolated from oligo-mesotrophic ...

Ciliated protists exhibit nuclear dimorphism through the presence of somatic macronuclei (MAC) and germline micronuclei (MIC). In some ciliates, DNA from precursor segments in the MIC genome rearranges to form transcriptionally active genes in the mature MAC genome, making these ciliates model organisms to study the process of somatic genome rearrangement. Similar broad scale, somatic rearrange...