Transfection of quail primordial germ cells considerably expands the possibilities of genome modifications in birds, elevating the quail to the rank of genetic laboratory animal models of reference.
A conserved alternative splicing program is specific to planarian stem cells and is controlled by the highly conserved splicing factors CELF and MBNL; therefore, this mode of regulating stem cells is likely ancestral to all animals.
Reconstitution of DNA loop extrusion in cellular contexts using Xenopus egg extracts shows that condensin extrudes DNA loops non-symmetrically in metaphase, whereas cohesin extrudes DNA loops symmetrically in interphase.
Finch embryos are laid at an earlier stage than other avian embryos and contain cells with similar properties to pluripotent embryonic stem cells from mice.
Codon optimization through biased synonymous substitutions is a characteristic feature of the genomes of generalist fungal parasites and is associated with the colonization of multiple hosts.
Genomic data for the parasites that cause visceral leishmaniasis provides the first global picture of the diversity and evolution of the pathogen and the epidemiology of this fatal tropical disease.