CMCB Life Sciences Seminar: Prof. Ross Waller, University of Cambridge, Department of Biochemistry, UK

Host: Nils Kröger

Title: "An evolutionary cell biology approach to understanding the transition from algae to parasites"

Abstract: Dinoflagellates and apicomplexans—together forming the Myzozoa supergroup—are microbial eukaryotes that dominate both marine and terrestrial environments. While superficially they represent a dichotomy between algae and parasites, closer inspection shows that parasitism has arisen multiple times independently in both groups. How is this propensity for transition to parasitism explained? A challenge to answering this question is the vast number of unique genes and proteins found in myzozoans for which we have no knowledge of their cellular location or function. We are using spatial proteomics to give cellular context to this novelty that defines myzozoans and reconstruct the evolutionary trajectories that they have taken. This includes understanding how ancestral features such as the photosynthetic chloroplast organelles have been repurposed, and determining which parts of these cells are currently under strongest selection for change in response to the environments that they currently interact with.