An IGNITE-funded research article has been published in the Nature Communications journal and looks into the animal genomic evolution with the chromosomal-level assembly of the freshwater sponge Ephydatia Muelleri. The genomes of non-bilaterian metazoans are key to understanding the molecular basis of early animal evolution. However, a full comprehension of how animal-specific traits, such as nervous systems arose, is hindered by the scarcity and... show more

A research article recently published in the ISME journal presents new findings on the cellular adaptations of Foraminifera to anoxic environment. The paper called "Anaerobic metabolism of Foraminifera thriving below the seafloor" presents proof that the single-celled eukaryotes’ metabolic functions are stimulated in anoxic environments. Figure. Census count of foraminifera tests and corresponding geochemical profiles ... show more

A research article recently published in the Nature Communications journal presents an algorithm inspired from computer vision that can detect patterns in contact maps. The paper called "Computer vision for pattern detection in chromosome contact maps" outlines the development of the Chromosight algorithm which provides insights into genomes by using visible patterns on genome-wide contact maps generated by chromosome conformation captu... show more

An IGNITE-supported paper investigating the invasion of the aphid-like grape phylloxera Daktulosphaira vitifoliae is now available in the BMC Biology Journal.  Biological invasions are known to viciously affect ecosystems, as well as human species and economies, by threatening food production. According to the study, the grape phylloxera Daktulosphaira vitifoliae is one of the few biological pests which affects cultivated plant species to... show more

A research article recently published in the Genome Biology journal presents a new software for genome scaffolding on a chromosome level. The paper called "InstaGRAAL: chromosome-level quality scaffolding of genomes using a proximity ligation-based scaffolder" outlines the development and testing of the InstaGRAAL software for large genome assembly based on chromosomal conformation capture data. A step-by-step top to bottom corre... show more