The thesis is about the study of shell evolution of the Hydrocenidae of the genus Georissa. This thesis started with a general overview on the evolutionary process of animals due to ecological... Show moreThe thesis is about the study of shell evolution of the Hydrocenidae of the genus Georissa. This thesis started with a general overview on the evolutionary process of animals due to ecological changes. This study has revealed that the Bornean Georissa are more diverse than previously anticipated. I did the taxonomic revision of the genus Georissa, and discussed the morphological features, phylogenetic relationships, and the biogeographic distribution of the genus in Malaysian Borneo. Also, I studied the shell character evolution of the Bornean Georissa in a phylogenetic framework. Based on the phylogeny, I found convergence in the formation of scales. Additionally, I discussed the differentiation of size and coloration of the Bornean Georissa in dependence on different habitats. Show less
Taxonomy as a science has accumulated data and knowledge for more than 250 years. The quality and usefulness of the facts recorded in taxonomic literature has greatly improved from the early... Show moreTaxonomy as a science has accumulated data and knowledge for more than 250 years. The quality and usefulness of the facts recorded in taxonomic literature has greatly improved from the early descriptive texts to the modern data-rich, hypothesis-driven works. Our work illustrates the application of some of the “e-taxonomic” tools and the “New Taxonomy” thinking explored in the introduction. Here, we analyzed specimen data contained in legacy taxonomic literature in Chapters 2 and 3—to observe species distribution of one spider group and genital evolution, respectively—and also explored an integrative perspective that involves describing new taxa and testing phylogenetic hypotheses using molecular and morphological data, as done in Chapter 4 and 5. Show less
Two pandemics of respiratory distress diseases associated with zoonotic introductions of the species Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus in the human population during 21st... Show moreTwo pandemics of respiratory distress diseases associated with zoonotic introductions of the species Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus in the human population during 21st century raised unprecedented interest in coronavirus research and assigned it unseen urgency. The two viruses responsible for the outbreaks, SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, respectively, are in the spotlight, and SARSCoV-2 is the focus of the current fast-paced research. Its foundation was laid down by studies of many coronaand related viruses that collectively form the vast order Nidovirales. Comparative genomics of nidoviruses played a key role in this advancement over more than 30 years. It facilitated the transfer of knowledge from characterized to newly identified viruses, including SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, as well as contributed to the dissection of the nidovirus proteome and identification of patterns of variations between different taxonomic groups, from species to families. This review revisits selected cases of protein conservation and variation that define nidoviruses, illustrates the remarkable plasticity of the proteome during nidovirus adaptation, and asks questions at the interface of the proteome and processes that are vital for nidovirus reproduction and could inform the ongoing research of SARS-CoV-2.(c) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Show less
Ahad, S.L.; Bahé, Y.M.; Hoekstra, H.; Burg, R.F.J. van der; Muzzin, A. 2021
