Alex de Mendoza

Nov 3, 2024 | biorxiv.org | Cédric Blais |Morgan J. Colp |Luke A Sarre |Alex de Mendoza

AbstractAcanthamoeba is a cosmopolitan freshwater amoebae known for its association with Nucleocytoplasmic Large DNA Viruses (NCLDVs). Previous studies have shown that Acanthamoeba spp. undergo lateral gene transfer (LGT) with NCLDVs. Here we have leveraged chromosome-scale assemblies of two strains of Acanthamoeba castellanii, Neff and C3, to investigate the occurrence and genomic context of viral LGT in Acanthamoeba.

May 15, 2024 | nature.com | Alex de Mendoza

AbstractThe DNA methyltransferase DNMT3C appeared as a duplication of the DNMT3B gene in muroids and is required for silencing of young retrotransposons in the male germline. Using specialized assay systems, we investigate the flanking sequence preferences of DNMT3C and observe characteristic preferences for cytosine at the -2 and -1 flank that are unique among DNMT3 enzymes.

Jan 11, 2024 | nature.com | Yandong Ren |Yongxin Li |Iori Sato |James Clark |Joseph N. Keating |Richard P Dearden | +20 more

AbstractPolyploidy or whole-genome duplication (WGD) is a major event that drastically reshapes genome architecture and is often assumed to be causally associated with organismal innovations and radiations. The 2R hypothesis suggests that two WGD events (1R and 2R) occurred during early vertebrate evolution.

Aug 10, 2023 | science.org | Amin Haghani |Vivek K. Bajpai |Angelo Carlino |Alex de Mendoza

PerspectiveEpigeneticsA study of 348 species offers clues into the diversity of mammalian life spansScience10 Aug 2023Vol 381, Issue 6658pp. 602-603Get full access to this articleView all available purchase options and get full access to this article. References and Notes1A. Haghani et al., Science 381, eabq5693 (2023). 2E. Kreibich, A. R. Krebs, FEBS Lett. 597, 1805 (2023). 3D. Schübeler, Nature 517, 321 (2015). 4P. D. Yousefi et al., Nat. Rev. Genet. 23, 369 (2022). 5A. Arneson et al., Nat. Commun.