Linda Sperling

Breaking the species barrier: recurrent genomic introgressions from very distant lineages in a ciliate

This study shows that ciliates can break species barriers through recurrent horizontal gene transfer from highly divergent lineages, resulting in viable offspring.

The tiny germline chromosomes of Paramecium aurelia have anexceptionally high recombination rate and are capped by a new class of Helitrons

The paper reports the genome of Paramecium aurelia, revealing tiny germline chromosomes with an exceptionally high recombination rate and a new class of Helitrons at their ends.

Inter-generational nuclear crosstalk links the control of gene expression to programmed genome rearrangements during the Paramecium sexual cycle

GC content but not nucleosome positioning directly contributes to intron-splicing efficiency in Paramecium

Massive colonization of protein-coding exons by selfish genetic elements in Paramecium germline genomes

The paper investigates the evolutionary origin of Internal Eliminated Sequences (IESs) in Paramecium genomes, showing transposable elements drive their proliferation and diversification.