Cosy Science

A set of internal compartments, together called the 'endomembrane system', move building block material within, into, and out of the cell. These compartments are crucial for normal function in healthy plants and animals, and their dysfunction in humans can cause neurodegenerative disease or cancer. The presence of internal compartments is a major difference in cellular structure between bacteria and ourselves, and yet the evolutionary origins of endomembrane compartments remain poorly understood. Using computational tools to analyze and compare genome sequence data from algae, parasites, plants, animals and more, it has been possible to tease out a new model for the evolution of compartments and of cellular complexity, working back to events that took place over 2 billion years ago. These studies have shed light not only on cellular evolution, but also on unexpected human cell biology, and disease.