Evolutionary biologists have long known that DNA, the molecule that carries the genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of all organisms, contains a record of ancestry. Indeed, the theory of common descent, a central pillar of modern evolutionary biology, holds that all life on Earth is related through an unbroken chain of genetic inheritance stretching back to a single ancestral organism in the distant past.
Making sense of that web of evolutionary relationships relies increasingly on computation. Lila Kari, a Professor at the Cheriton School of Computer Science, uses mathematical and computational techniques to analyze DNA sequences, classify organisms and understand how they are related.
But is ancestry the only story DNA tells? Could genomes also bear an imprint of the environments in which organisms evolved? According to a recent study, the answer, at least for some life forms and for some extreme environments, is an unexpected yes.
The focus of the study is an unusual group of organisms known as microbial extremophiles, microscopic species that thrive at the edges of biological tolerance, in environments that by human standards are inhospitable if not outright lethal.
Read the full story from Computer Science to learn more.