The IGBB logo features a stylized "pinwheel" to the left of the letters IGBB in caps in a modified Bank Gothic Pro font.
The six-part "pinwheel" in the IGBB logo is:
- A symbol of lab unity as it shows "parts" coming together to make a "whole."
- A flower or three-leaf clover representing (a) plants, important subjects of our research, (b) life in general, and (c) the life sciences (biology).
- A set of chromosomes being moved towards the center of a cell.
- The Sun - another symbol of life.
- A protein composed of six subunits (e.g., a protein pore).
- Three foxes putting their heads together. The fox is a symbol of cleverness in Western folklore. Since the IGBB is organized into three service groups (Genomics, Proteomics/Metabolomics, and Biocomputing/Computational Biology), the foxes could represent the three disciplines working together.
- A scientist jumping for joy after making an important discovery.
- A windmill, the primary symbol associated with Cervantes' famous character Don Quixote - Like Don Quixote, scientists must be willing to attack 'wicked giants' (e.g., ignorance, racism, sexism, intolerance, use of the term 'science' in the promotion of non-scientific causes), champion worthy causes (e.g., education, intellectual freedom, human rights, environmental responsibility), and remain optimistic in the face of defeat (e.g., most days in the lab). Hopefully, however, the average scientist can accomplish these tasks without becoming delusional (a problem that squashed Quixote's dreams of becoming a plant molecular biologist).
- A DNA double-helix or protein in cross section.
- Antibodies binding to a protein.
- Whatever you want it to be.
Dr. Mohit VermaPostdoctoral Associate
BIOCOMPUTING
emailPace 101
Gene duplication, genome duplication, and the functional diversification of vertebrate globins
IGBB Authors:
Federico G. HoffmannPUBLICATION YEAR:
2013IMPACT FACTOR:
4.409CITATION COUNT:
100Storz JF, Opazo JC, Hoffmann FG (2013) Gene duplication, genome duplication, and the functional diversification of vertebrate globins.
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 66(2): 469-478.
DOI:
10.1016/j.ympev.2012.07.013EID:
2-s2.0-84873096226PMID: 22846683
DOWNLOAD PDFABSTRACTThe functional diversification of the vertebrate globin gene superfamily provides an especially vivid illustration of the role of gene duplication and whole-genome duplication in promoting evolutionary innovation. For example, key globin proteins that evolved specialized functions in various aspects of oxidative metabolism and oxygen signaling pathways (hemoglobin [Hb], myoglobin [Mb], and cytoglobin [Cygb]) trace their origins to two whole-genome duplication events in the stem lineage of vertebrates. The retention of the proto-Hb and Mb genes in the ancestor of jawed vertebrates permitted a physiological division of labor between the oxygen-carrier function of Hb and the oxygen-storage function of Mb. In the Hb gene lineage, a subsequent tandem gene duplication gave rise to the proto alpha- and beta-globin genes, which permitted the formation of multimeric Hbs composed of unlike subunits (alpha(2)beta(2)). The evolution of this heteromeric quaternary structure was central to the emergence of Hb as a specialized oxygen-transport protein because it provided a mechanism for cooperative oxygen-binding and allosteric regulatory control. Subsequent rounds of duplication and divergence have produced diverse repertoires of alpha- and beta-like globin genes that are ontogenetically regulated such that functionally distinct Hb isoforms are expressed during different stages of prenatal development and postnatal life. In the ancestor of jawless fishes, the proto Mb and Hb genes appear to have been secondarily lost, and the Cygb homolog evolved a specialized respiratory function in blood-oxygen transport. Phylogenetic and comparative genomic analyses of the vertebrate globin gene superfamily have revealed numerous instances in which paralogous globins have convergently evolved similar expression patterns and/or similar functional specializations in different organismal lineages.
The IGBB is supported, in part, by the following units:
The IGBB is an HPC² member center.
