Surprising organisms!
Kazeem — Dinoflagellate chromosomes – chromosomes are permanently condensed. No histones, large amount of DNA. 200pg per cell fluorometric measurement, arranged in liquid crystalline rods.
Jessica – spoonworms — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonellia_viridis
Males live inside the females! Offspring are either absorbed and become male, or remain female themselves. Not dissimilar to anglerfish setup…
Robert — Stramenopiles (SAR). Glycolysis partly done in the mitochondria? https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6198282/
Leila – Gila monsters – [from Wikipedia] The constituents of H. suspectum venom that have received the most attention from researchers are the bioactive peptides, including helodermin, helospectin, exendin-3, and exendin-4.[42] Exendin-4, which is specific for H. suspectum, has formed the basis of a class of medications for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity/metabolic syndrome, known as the GLP-1 receptor agonists.
In 2005, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the drug exenatide (marketed as Byetta) for the management of type 2 diabetes. It is a synthetic modification of the protein exendin-4, that was originally isolated from the Gila monster’s venom.[43][44] In a 3-year study with people with type 2 diabetes, exenatide showed healthy sustained glucose levels. The effectiveness is because the lizard protein is 53% identical to glucagon-like peptide-1 analog (GLP-1), a hormone released from the human digestive tract that helps to regulate insulin and glucagon.
Iain — Euplotes – a single-cell protist that “walks” with leg-like behaviour
Departures from the universal genetic code, e.g. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Utils/wprintgc.cgi#SG1
Kinetoplast DNA – a chainmail of encrypted material
How can these intuitively low-fitness arrangements persist in biology? Perhaps a collection of slightly negative changes being ratcheted through drift in small effective populations. Like the vagus nerve?
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