Iain Duggin (@iduggin) Bsky

One of biggest mysteries in biology: how did complex eukaryotic cells evolve from simple microbes? ~1.8 billion years ago, an archaeal cell likely merged with a bacterium to form the first eukaryotic cell, but can we ever find direct evidence of this transformative event? 🦠 🚶‍♂️

1 week ago 106 39 3 6

An Asgard archaeon from a modern analog of ancient microbial mats (Current Biology)

Beautiful microscopy of an Asgard archaeon, in the same family as Lokiarchaea, in syntrophy with a sulfate-reducing bacteria

Very very nice paper we saw in preprint form:
www.cell.com/current-biol...

1 week ago 70 21 4 0

From Asgard to Earth: Tiny tubes may reveal the moment complex life began Stromatolites—and their close relatives, microbial mats—could be mistaken for what seems like a bunch of old dark rocks. But instead, they are dense, layered communities of microbes. Long before compl...

Our paper is out today! See this news article on it. Asgard archea have some cool proteins. If you are interested in protein evolution it’s a really exciting space. I’m lucky to be a structural biologist in the age of DL🧬🧶 @brendanburns999.bsky.social @iduggin.bsky.social @debnathghosal.bsky.social

1 week ago 49 18 1 1

Unusual protein found in a Loki Asgard Archaea.

Check out this weird protein we found in a Loki Asgard archaea.🧬🧶Only found relatives in other Lokis. 🤔

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

8 months ago 60 10 4 1

More incredible glimpses of Asgard archaea architecture and lifestyle.. 👏

8 months ago 8 1 0 0

An Asgard archaeon from a modern analog of ancient microbial mats It has been proposed that eukaryotic cells evolved via symbiosis between sulfate-reducing bacteria and hydrogen-producing archaea. Here we describe a highly enriched culture of a novel Asgard archaeon...

Our new preprint with a new #Asgard from stromatolites (and its Desulfobacterota companion). Complete circularised genomes of both, cool #cryoem images, protein modelling, etc

Big group effort with a lot of people involved
#archaeasky #archaea
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

8 months ago 51 20 5 4

What a missed opportunity... 🤔 We should have declared an official "Archaeal Week" at Nature Communications! 😆

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#Archaea #ArchaeaSky 🦠

10 months ago 48 16 3 0

Diagram showing archaeal cells containing two chromosomes bound by proteins prior to cell division.

📢 Interested in chromosomes and microbes thriving at the edge of life?PhD project in York-UK on chromosome segregation in #Archaea.

Supervised by me, @Steve Quinn & @georgerheath.bsky.social

www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Open to Applicants Worldwide!

📅 January 6, 2025

#microsky #archaeasky