Biology subjects

Spence, D. W.

Publications and source records attributed to Spence, D. W..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

Unraveling the Mysteries of Sleep: Exploring Phylogenomic Sleep Signals in the Recently Characterized Archaeal Phylum Lokiarchaeota near Loki's Castle

Sleep is a universally conserved behavior with an elusive origin and an uncertain evolutionary purpose. Leveraging phylogenomics, we investigate the evolutionary foundations of sleep by identifying orthologs of Human sleep-related genes in the Lokiarchaeota of the Asgard superphylum. Our findings indicate a conserved suite of genes associated with energy metabolism and cellular repair, suggesting a primordial role of sleep in cellular maintenance. This data lends credence to the idea that sleep improves organismal fitness across evolutionary time by acting as a restorative process. Notably, our approach demonstrates that phylogenomics is more useful than standard phylogenetics for clarifying common evolutionary traits. By offering insight into the evolutionary history of sleep and putting forth a novel model framework for sleep research across taxa, these findings contribute to our growing understanding of the molecular foundation of sleep. This study lays the groundwork for further investigations into the importance of sleep in various organisms, which could have consequences for human health and a deeper comprehension related to the fundamental processes of life. Graphical Abstract O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=139 SRC="FIGDIR/small/621620v2_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (41K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@4dd502org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1db82c5org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@6662d3org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1e2268b_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

bioinformatics↗

bioRxiv2024

Cross-Kingdom Genomic Conservation of Human Sleep-Related Gene Orthologs: Phylogenomic Evidence from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Sleep is a widespread and evolutionarily conserved process observed in diverse organisms, from jellyfish to mammals, hinting at its origin as a life-supporting mechanism over 500 million years ago. Although its fundamental purpose and mechanisms remain unclear, the evolution and adaptive significance of sleep continue to be debated. This study explores the evolutionary origins of sleep using Chlamydomonas reinhardtii as a model organism, identifying 145 orthologs analogous to known sleep-related genes across species, highlighting the evolutionary conservation of sleep-regulating pathways. Additionally, discovering uncharacterized proteins with high sequence similarity and significant e-values suggests unexplored roles in sleep regulation, underscoring the potential of C. reinhardtii to reveal new insights into the molecular basis of sleep. This work provides a foundation for identifying previously unknown sleep-associated proteins, particularly within single-celled organisms, which may offer novel perspectives on the biological role of sleep. The study demonstrates that phylogenomic analysis of diverse model organisms can expand our understanding of the evolutionary trajectory of sleep and its fundamental function, paving the way for further research in sleep biology and its health implications. Overall, the fundamental functions of sleep observed in higher animal phyla originated from its primordial activities, demonstrating an evolutionary continuum wherein more specialized tasks were integrated with sleeps essential restorative properties.

bioinformatics↗