A. J. Alverson

The nitrogenase cofactor biogenesis enzyme NifB is essential for the viability of methanogens

This paper shows that NifB is essential for methanogen viability and functions beyond nitrogenase maturation, linking it to nitrogen fixation and methanogenesis.

Local adaptation of a marine diatom is governed by genome-wide changes in diverse metabolic processes

This study identifies genome-wide metabolic changes driving local adaptation of a marine diatom to the Baltic Sea's environmental gradients over 8,000 years.

Cooperative Motility, Force Generation and Mechanosensing in a Foraging Non-Photosynthetic Diatom

This study characterizes non-photosynthetic diatoms, revealing glucose-mediated catabolite repression, EPS deposition, and cooperative motility mechanisms linked to heterotrophy.

Resolving marine-freshwater transitions by diatoms through a fog of gene tree discordance

This study uses phylogenomic data to resolve freshwater transitions in diatoms, finding evidence of homoplasy over hemiplasy in adaptation to low salinity.

Genotype-specific transcriptional responses overshadow salinity effects in a marine diatom sampled along the Baltic Sea salinity cline

This study shows that genotype-specific transcriptional responses are more significant than salinity effects in a marine diatom adapting to low salinity in the Baltic Sea.

The dynamic trophic architecture of open-ocean protist communities revealed through machine- guided metatranscriptomics

This paper uses machine learning on metatranscriptomic data to predict the nutritional mode of oceanic protists and shows that mixotrophic populations adapt their nutrient acquisition strategies in response to environmental gradients.

Diatoms diversify and turn over faster in freshwater than marine environments

The paper finds freshwater diatom lineages diversify and turn over faster than marine lineages, regardless of habitat type, suggesting high system turnover drives diversification.

Phylogenomics reveals an extensive history of genome duplication in diatoms (Bacillariophyta)

This study identifies whole genome duplication events in diatoms using phylogenomic analysis, suggesting polyploidy is common and driven by allopolyploidy.