 |
Dr. Robert
W. Lee ADJUNCT PROFESSOR BSc & MA (University of Massachussets) PhD (Stony Brook University) |
| Teaching & Research
Evolution of organelle genetic systems in green algae. Following my retirement on June 30, 2007, from a full time faculty position in the Department of Biology, I have been appointed Adjunct Professor for the period July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2012, which will enable me to maintain research work and supervise Honours and Graduate students. The main focus of our research is to study the evolution of organelle (mitochondrial and plastid) genetic systems in green algae (Chlorophyta). In particular, we are interested in identifying the factors and mechanisms contributing to the five-fold variation in gene content and the apparent structural diversity of the mitochondrial genome (circular, linear, fragmented linear) in different lineages from this group. Related to the former topic we are examining rates of sequence evolution in mitochondrial and nuclear genomes in selected green algal lineages with the hope of gaining some insight into the greater transfer of genes from the mitochondrial to the nuclear genome in certain green algal lineages. Also, using nucleus-encoded gene sequence (expressed sequence tag or EST) data we are deducing the functions of plastids from the Chlorophyta that have over evolutionary time lost a capacity for photosynthesis and become colorless. |
|
Examples of Recent Students'
Research Topics
Recent Honours BSc Students
Recent Graduate Students
|
||
Selected Publications Hua, J. and Lee, R.W. (2012) Factors affecting codon bias in the mitochondrial genomes of the streptophyte Mesostigma viride and the chlorophyte Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. J. Euk. Microbiol. (in press). Hua, J., Smith, D.R., Borza T., and Lee R.W. (2012) Similar relative mutation rates in the three genetic compartments of Mesostigma and Chlamydomonas. Protist 163:105-115. Smith D.R., Hua, J. and Lee, R.W. (2010) Evolution of linear mitochondrial DNA in three known lineages of Polytomella. Curr. Genet.56:427-438. Pub Med Link http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20574726. Smith, D.R. and Lee, R.W. (2010) Low nucleotide diversity for the expanded organelle and nuclear genomes of Volvox carteri supports the mutational-hazard hypothesis. Mol. Biol. Evol. 27:2244-2256. [PubMed] Smith, D.R., Lee, R.W., Cushman, J.C., Magnuson, J.K., Tran, D., and Polle J.E.W. (2010) The Dunaliella salina organelle genomes: large sequences, inflated with intronic and intergenic DNA. BMC Plant Biol. 10:83. [PubMed] Smith D.R. (2009) Unparalleled GC content in the plastid DNA of Selaginella. Plant Mol. Biol. 71:627-639. This work was conducted in the laboratory of R.W. Lee and supported by his NSERC grant. [PubMed] Borza,T., Redmond, E.K., Laflamme, M. and Lee, R.W. (2009) Mitochondrial DNA in the Oogamochlamys-clade (Chlorophyceae): high GC content and unique genome architecture for green algae. J. Phycol. 45:1323-1334. Link Smith, D.R. and Lee, R.W. (2009) Nucleotide diversity of the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii plastid genome: addressing the mutational-hazard hypothesis. BMC Evol. Biology 9:120. [PubMed]Smith, D.R. and Lee, R.W. (2009) The mitochondrial and plastid genomes of Volvox carteri: bloated molecules rich in repetitive DNA. BMC Genomics 10:132. [PubMed] Smith, D.R. and Lee, R.W. (2008) Nucleotide diversity in the mitochondrial and nuclear compartments of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii: investigating the origins of genome architecture. BMC Evol. Biology 8:156.[PubMed] Smith, D.R. and Lee, R.W. (2008) Mitochondrial Genome of the Colorless Green Alga Polytomella capuana: a Linear Molecule with an Unprecedented GC Content. Mol. Biol. Evol. 25: 487-496. [PubMed] Koziol, A.G., Borza, T., Ishida, K.-I., Keeling, P., Lee, R.W. and D.G. Durnford (2007) Tracing the evolution of the light-harvesting antennae in chlorophyll a/b-containing organisms. Plant Physiology 143:1-15. [PubMed] Popescu, C.E and Lee, R.W. (2007) Mitochondrial genome sequence evolution
in Chlamydomonas. Genetics 175:819-826. [PubMed]
|
||
