Nicole King (born 1970) is an American biologist and faculty member at the University of California, Berkeley in molecular and cell biology and integrative biology.[1] She was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2005.[2] She has been an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) since 2013.
King studies the evolution of multicellularity and choanoflagellates. The goal of her work is to reconstruct how multicellular animals evolved from single-cell organisms.
King identified choanoflagellates as key organisms to answer questions about the origin of multicellularity. Prior to her work, it was unclear whether choanoflagellates or fungi were the closest outgroup to multicellular animals (also called "metazoans"). King's comparative genomics work in collaboration with Sean Carroll helped to elucidate the evolutionary "tree of life." In addition, work by King and colleagues showed that choanoflagellates possess several protein-coding genes that are highly related to protein-coding genes in animals at the base of the metazoan tree, such as sponges, cnidarians, and ctenophores.
More recent work by King demonstrates that molecules thought to underpin the transition to multicellarity also exist in choanoflagellates and therefore were present in the single-celled and colonial ancestors of animals. For example, one of the most abundant and important cell adhesion molecules in the animal kingdom, cadherin, exists in choanoflagellates. In animals, cadherins are required to keep cells attached to their neighbors, so it was a surprising to discover that cadherins predate the evolution of animals. In addition, King found that choanoflagellates possess genes that animal cells use to "talk" or signal to one another, such as Receptor tyrosine kinase.
King continues her studies on choanoflagellates and multicellularity as an associate professor at the University of California, Berkeley. King received her B.S. from Indiana University in 1992, in the lab of Thom Kaufman, working on the genetic workhorse, the fruitfly, also known as Drosophila melanogaster. She did her graduate work at Harvard (A.M., 1996, and PhD, 1999), studying the spore formation in Bacillus subtilis. After completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2003, she accepted the position of assistant professor of genetics and development at the University of California, Berkeley.
King's lab has developed and maintained , a genetic library about choanaflagellates.
Gill, Aman Singh. "," Berkeley Science Review #10 (2005).
King, N. "The unicellular ancestry of animal development." Developmental Cell volume 7, pp. 313–325 (2004).
King, N., Hittinger, C.T., and Carroll, S.B. "Evolution of key cell signaling and adhesion protein families predates the origin of animals." Science v. 301 (5631), pp. 361–363 (2003).
Whitehouse, D. "Ancient ancestor's legacy of life." BBC News 22 July 2003.
^. macfound.org. Archived from the original on 13 November 2006. Retrieved 24 October 2006.
^"Honorary degree recipients named". lehigh.edu. 23 March 2015.
^"2022 NAS Election". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
External links
Berkeley Profile
King Lab website
MacArthur Fellows
Tree of Life web project
January 07, 2023
nicole, king, born, 1970, american, biologist, faculty, member, university, california, berkeley, molecular, cell, biology, integrative, biology, awarded, macarthur, fellowship, 2005, been, investigator, with, howard, hughes, medical, institute, hhmi, since, 2. Nicole King born 1970 is an American biologist and faculty member at the University of California Berkeley in molecular and cell biology and integrative biology 1 She was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2005 2 She has been an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute HHMI since 2013 Nicole KingBorn1970NationalityAmericanAlma materIndiana University Harvard UniversityKnown forchoanoflagellatesAwardsMacArthur FellowshipScientific careerFieldsBiologyInstitutionsUniversity of California BerkeleyDoctoral advisorRichard LosickKing studies the evolution of multicellularity and choanoflagellates The goal of her work is to reconstruct how multicellular animals evolved from single cell organisms Contents 1 Professional contributions 2 Awards and recognitions 3 References 4 Notes 5 External linksProfessional contributions EditKing identified choanoflagellates as key organisms to answer questions about the origin of multicellularity Prior to her work it was unclear whether choanoflagellates or fungi were the closest outgroup to multicellular animals also called metazoans King s comparative genomics work in collaboration with Sean Carroll helped to elucidate the evolutionary tree of life In addition work by King and colleagues showed that choanoflagellates possess several protein coding genes that are highly related to protein coding genes in animals at the base of the metazoan tree such as sponges cnidarians and ctenophores More recent work by King demonstrates that molecules thought to underpin the transition to multicellarity also exist in choanoflagellates and therefore were present in the single celled and colonial ancestors of animals For example one of the most abundant and important cell adhesion molecules in the animal kingdom cadherin exists in choanoflagellates In animals cadherins are required to keep cells attached to their neighbors so it was a surprising to discover that cadherins predate the evolution of animals In addition King found that choanoflagellates possess genes that animal cells use to talk or signal to one another such as Receptor tyrosine kinase King continues her studies on choanoflagellates and multicellularity as an associate professor at the University of California Berkeley King received her B S from Indiana University in 1992 in the lab of Thom Kaufman working on the genetic workhorse the fruitfly also known as Drosophila melanogaster She did her graduate work at Harvard A M 1996 and PhD 1999 studying the spore formation in Bacillus subtilis After completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Wisconsin Madison in 2003 she accepted the position of assistant professor of genetics and development at the University of California Berkeley King s lab has developed and maintained ChoanoBase a genetic library about choanaflagellates Awards and recognitions EditNicole King received the MacArthur Foundation s genius award 2005 She received the Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences 2004 King also received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Lehigh University on 18 May 2015 at the commencement ceremony 3 In 2022 King was elected to the National Academy of Sciences 4 References EditGill Aman Singh United we stand The origins of multicellular animals Berkeley Science Review 10 2005 King N The unicellular ancestry of animal development Developmental Cell volume 7 pp 313 325 2004 King N Hittinger C T and Carroll S B Evolution of key cell signaling and adhesion protein families predates the origin of animals Science v 301 5631 pp 361 363 2003 Whitehouse D Ancient ancestor s legacy of life BBC News 22 July 2003 Notes Edit Faculty Research Page berkeley edu MacArthur Profile macfound org Archived from the original on 13 November 2006 Retrieved 24 October 2006 Honorary degree recipients named lehigh edu 23 March 2015 2022 NAS Election www nasonline org Retrieved 15 May 2022 External links EditBerkeley Profile King Lab website MacArthur Fellows Overview of King s work Tree of Life web project Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Nicole King amp oldid 1108138449, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
