The moss Physcomitrella patens is becoming widely recognized as an experimental organism of choice not only for basic molecular, cytological, and developmental questions in plant biology, but also as a key link in understanding plant evolutionary questions, especially those related to genome evolution. Physcomitrella is well placed phylogenetically to provide important comparisons with the flowering…
Why Sequence Spironucleus vortens and Naegleria gruberi?
The comparative genomic study of basal eukaryotes affords a unique perspective on the origins and evolution of core features of eukaryotic cells, such as the nucleus and cytoskeleton. Phylogenomic analysis of basal eukaryotic groups makes possible the construction of an evolutionary “map” of the key events in eukaryote evolution, such as the elaboration of various…
Why Sequence Mycosphaerella?
Mycosphaerella is one of the largest genera of plant pathogenic fungi, having more than 1,000 named species, many of which cause economically important diseases in temperate and tropical crops. A few species of Mycosphaerella cause disease in humans and other vertebrates, so the genus is of interest both for human and plant health. Two species…
Why Sequence Reniera?
All animals, from the simplest invertebrates to humans, arose from a common ancestor that existed over 600 million years ago. Recent molecular phylogenetic and developmental data indicate that demosponges are part of the most ancient and basal metazoan lineage and have many hallmarks of animal development, including gastrulation and pattern formation. Sequencing the genome of…
Why Sequence Sporobolomyces roseus?
Sporobolomyces roseus is a unicellular basidiomycete “red” yeast species, a member of the class Urediniomycetes, that occurs in many different habitats but is frequently associated with plants. The attraction of S. roseus for genome sequencing is twofold. First, it has the smallest known genome size among basidiomycetes, by a factor of two. At 10 Mbp,…
Why Sequence Trichoplax?
The sole representative species of the phylum Placozoa, Trichoplax adhaerens represents the simplest known animal, with the smallest known animal genome. The DNA sequence of the 50-Mbp Trichoplax genome will have far-reaching scientific importance, providing significant genomic insights into our understanding of how animal life evolved. This genome will have enormous utility to the scientific…
Why Sequence Selaginella moellendorffii?
The lycophytes are an ancient lineage of vascular plants that arose about 400 million years ago. Lacking true leaves and roots, they are a key node of the plant evolutionary tree. The nuclear genome content of the lycophyte Selaginella moellendorffii (65-88Mbp) has the smallest genome size reported for a land plant species, about two-thirds that…
Why Sequence Bacillus Cereus strains?
The Bacillus cereus group is now attracting the greatest interest among researchers working on bacilli and other gram-positive bacteria. One of the fundamental and practical questions being asked is how the ecological adaptation of these bacteria results in pathogens for animals and insects (like B. anthracis or some B. thuringiensis lines). This has inspired intensive…
Why Sequence Lactobacillus reuteri?
Lactobacillus reuteri is a gram-positive bacterial species that commonly inhabits the gut of mice, poultry, and pigs as a member of the normal microbiota. These bacteria are autochthonous (indigenous) to the gut of these animals because they persist throughout the life of the host at characteristic population sizes in specific regions of the gut. Moreover,…
Why Sequence Contaminated Groundwater?
Because the majority of microorganisms in nature have never been cultured, little is known about their genetic properties, biochemical functions, and metabolic characteristics. Although the sequence of the microbial community “genome” can now be determined with high-throughput sequencing technology, the complexity and magnitude of most microbial communities make meaningful data acquisition and interpretation difficult. Thus,…