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Covariance of maximum likelihood evolutionary distances between sequences aligned pairwise
(2008)BMC Evolutionary BiologyBackground The estimation of a distance between two biological sequences is a fundamental process in molecular evolution. It is usually performed by maximum likelihood (ML) on characters aligned either pairwise or jointly in a multiple sequence alignment (MSA). Estimators for the covariance of pairs from an MSA are known, but we are not aware of any solution for cases of pairs aligned independently. In large-scale analyses, it may be too ...Journal Article -
The genetic architecture of susceptibility to parasites
(2008)BMC Evolutionary BiologyBackground. The antagonistic co-evolution of hosts and their parasites is considered to be a potential driving force in maintaining host genetic variation including sexual reproduction and recombination. The examination of this hypothesis calls for information about the genetic basis of host-parasite interactions - such as how many genes are involved, how big an effect these genes have and whether there is epistasis between loci. We here ...Journal Article -
Evolutionary pareto-optimization of stably folding peptides
(2008)BMC BioinformaticsBackground As a rule, peptides are more flexible and unstructured than proteins with their substantial stabilizing hydrophobic cores. Nevertheless, a few stably folding peptides have been discovered. This raises the question whether there may be more such peptides that are unknown as yet. These molecules could be helpful in basic research and medicine. Results As a method to explore the space of conformationally stable peptides, we ...Journal Article -
Mortality selection during the 2003 European heat wave in three-spined sticklebacks: effects of parasites and MHC genotype
(2008)BMC Evolutionary BiologyBackground Ecological interaction strength may increase under environmental stress including temperature. How such stress enhances and interacts with parasite selection is almost unknown. We studied the importance of resistance genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II in 14 families of three-spined sticklebacks Gasterosteus aculeatus exposed to their natural macroparasites in field enclosures in the extreme summer of ...Journal Article -
Biosynthesis of the proteasome inhibitor syringolin A: The ureido group joining two amino acids originates from bicarbonate
(2009)BMC BiochemistryBackground Syringolin A, an important virulence factor in the interaction of the phytopathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae B728a with its host plant Phaseolus vulgaris (bean), was recently shown to irreversibly inhibit eukaryotic proteasomes by a novel mechanism. Syringolin A is synthesized by a mixed non-ribosomal peptide synthetase/polyketide synthetase and consists of a tripeptide part including a twelve-membered ...Journal Article