The genetic code evolved in two distinct phases. First, the 'canonical' code emerged before
the last universal ancestor; subsequently, this code diverged in numerous nuclear and …

The genetic code might be a historical accident that was fixed in the last common ancestor
of modern organisms. ‘Adaptive', ‘historical' and ‘chemical' arguments, however, challenge …

Ciliates are an ancient and diverse group of microbial eukaryotes that have emerged as
powerful models for RNA-mediated epigenetic inheritance. They possess extensive sets of both …

Background Correlations between genome composition (in terms of GC content) and usage
of particular codons and amino acids have been widely reported, but poorly explained. We …

We have expanded the field of “DNA computers” to RNA and present a general approach
for the solution of satisfiability problems. As an example, we consider a variant of the “Knight …

Genome-wide DNA rearrangements occur in many eukaryotes but are most exaggerated in
ciliates, making them ideal model systems for epigenetic phenomena. During development …

The evolutionary forces that produced the canonical genetic code before the last universal
ancestor remain obscure. One hypothesis is that the arrangement of amino acid/codon …

The macronuclear genome of the ciliate Oxytricha trifallax displays an extreme and unique
eukaryotic genome architecture with extensive genomic variation. During sexual genome …

Abstract Model organisms are widely used in research as accessible and convenient systems
to study a particular area or question in biology. Traditionally only a handful of organisms …

Programmed DNA rearrangements in the single-celled eukaryote Oxytricha trifallax completely
rewire its germline into a somatic nucleus during development. This elaborate, RNA-…