{"id":1896,"date":"2023-01-23T16:59:07","date_gmt":"2023-01-23T16:59:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/evolution\/?p=1896"},"modified":"2023-01-23T17:02:44","modified_gmt":"2023-01-23T17:02:44","slug":"vanderbilt-undergraduate-compares-nuclear-and-mitochondrial-genomic-evolution-of-the-fungi-aspergillus-section-flavi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/evolution\/vanderbilt-undergraduate-compares-nuclear-and-mitochondrial-genomic-evolution-of-the-fungi-aspergillus-section-flavi\/","title":{"rendered":"Vanderbilt undergraduate compares nuclear and mitochondrial genomic evolution of the fungi Aspergillus section Flavi"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Kelly Tingle, Evolutionary Studies communications assistant<\/em><\/p>\n

Former Vanderbilt University undergraduate student Miya Hugaboom provides insight into fungal mitochondrial genomic evolution in a paper she published recently as lead author, along with Biological Sciences<\/a> graduate student Annie Hatmaker and Professor Antonis Rokas<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The study focused on the mitochondrial genomes of 20 different Aspergillus <\/em>species, a type of fungi, to examine the relationships within section Flavi<\/em>, a group of closely related species within the genus Aspergillus<\/em>. The team found that while the genomic content of Flavi <\/em>nuclei is approximately 1000 times larger than that of the mitochondria, phylogenies (the relationships between organisms and their common ancestor) produced by mitochondrial genomes are consistent with those produces by nuclear genomes. This is significant because it shows that mitochondrial genomes may be underutilized in constructing phylogenies, as most previous studies have focused only on nuclear genomes.<\/p>\n

Hatmaker explained that mitochondria have separate genomes from the nucleus of the same cell. They are also inherited in cell reproduction in a different way than nuclei; therefore, they have a distinct evolutionary history.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Mitochondrial genomes] offer a unique phylogenetic perspective when compared to their nuclear counterparts,\u201d described Hugaboom.<\/p>\n

\u201cFungal mitochondria have been linked to diverse processes including energy metabolism, cell differentiation, drug resistance, biofilm and hyphal growth regulation, and virulence, among others, so an understanding of these organellar genomes is important to grasping the complete genomic profile of section\u00a0Flavi<\/em>,\u201d explained Hugaboom. \u201cThere is a dearth of genomic analyses of section Flavi<\/em> that are mitochondrial in focus, with most focusing exclusively on nuclear genomes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hatmaker explained that she helped Hugaboom with assembling and annotating mitochondrial genomes and constructing phylogenetic trees.<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>