March TSS
The Scientist Speaks

Genomes Across the Tree of Life

Researchers turn to unique eukaryotes to better understand how DNA is organized in 3D space.

Share

Scientists often refer to DNA as the blueprint of a cell. Whether the genetic material is single stranded or double stranded, linear or circular, organisms across the tree of life rely on their genomic blueprint for instructions on living, growing, and reproducing. Due to the amount of information carried by this blueprint, the size of the genome poses a biological dilemma; from humans to single-celled aquatic organisms, all eukaryotes must find a solution for organizing their DNA into a tiny nuclear space. 

Photographs of cyan-colored bioluminescence from dinoflagellates on a beach coastline at night, and closeup of coral polyps in symbiosis with the dinoflagellate Symbiodinium visible as multiple brown spheres and red fluorescent spheres in the coral tissue.
Photo credit: Chuya Shinzato, OIST and Christine Farrar, Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, for A. digitifera (left) and P. damicornis (right) images, respectively. Repurposed from Technau and Weis, 2013 under CC BY 2.0.

In the quest for better tools to understand the 3D genomic architecture and the biological challenge of chromosome folding, a team of biochemistry and systems biology researchers investigated the unique genomic organization of unicellular marine plankton, dinoflagellates.


In this episode, Deanna MacNeil from The Scientist’s Creative Services Team spoke with Job Dekker, a systems biology professor at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, to learn more.

More on this topic

The Scientist Speaks is a podcast produced by The Scientist’s Creative Services Team. Our podcast is by scientists and for scientists. Once a month, we bring you the stories behind news-worthy molecular biology research. This month's episode is sponsored by Arima Genomics.

Speaker:

Dekker

Job Dekker, PhD
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Joseph J. Byrne Chair in Biomedical Research
Professor, Systems Biology
University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School




Arima Genomics, Inc. is advancing human health and the life sciences by revealing comprehensive genomic insights. Researchers and clinicians use Arima Genomics' innovative products and services to gain unparalleled access to the genome's sequence, structure, and regulatory landscape. This advanced technology is enabling improved human health through identifying biomarkers, expanding understanding of disease mechanisms, developing novel therapeutic approaches, and aiding in patient management.

Top Image Credit:

A greyscale image of cells dividing.
March 2025, Issue 1

How Do Embryos Know How Fast to Develop

In mammals, intracellular clocks begin to tick within days of fertilization.

View this Issue
Discover the history, mechanics, and potential of PCR.

Become a PCR Pro

Integra Logo
3D rendered cross section of influenza viruses, showing surface proteins on the outside and single stranded RNA inside the virus

Genetic Insights Break Infectious Pathogen Barriers

Thermo Fisher Logo
A photo of sample storage boxes in an ultra-low temperature freezer.

Navigating Cold Storage Solutions

PHCbi logo 
The Immunology of the Brain

The Immunology of the Brain

Products

Sapio Sciences

Sapio Sciences Makes AI-Native Drug Discovery Seamless with NVIDIA BioNeMo

DeNovix Logo

New DeNovix Helium Nano Volume Spectrophotometer

Olink Logo

Olink® Reveal: Accessible NGS-based proteomics for every lab

Olink logo
Zymo Logo

Zymo Research Launches the Quick-16S™ Full-Length Library Prep Kit