Andrew M. Schurko, Ph.D.  Assistant Research Scientist (Logsdon Lab) Department of Biology Roy J. Carver Center for Comparative Genomics University of Iowa Iowa City, Iowa 52242 Ph: 319-335-1083 e-mail: andrew-schurko_at_uiowa.edu

Education:

Ph.D. (Microbiology) 2003, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

B.Sc (Hons) 1997, University of Manitoba

My Research:

I use degenerate PCR and database-mining to survey genomes for genes involved in meiosis and other cellular processes. Currently, my research focuses on three main projects:

1) Meiotic genes and ancient asexuals.

Bdelloid rotifers (microscopic animals) are the best-studied "ancient asexuals"; evidence suggests that they have survived and flourished for at least 100 million years without having sex!

I use degenerate PCR to amplify meiosis-specific genes from bdelloid and sexual monogonont  genomes. The absence of meiotic genes is consistent with ancient asexuality; the presence of meiotic genes would suggest the capacity for meiosis and possibly sex!

2) Cohesin protein evolution.

Cohesin is a multi-subunit complex involved in sister-chromatid cohesion during mitosis and meiosis. Using database-mining and degenerate PCR, I am studying the evolution of meiosis-specific components of cohesin (e.g. Rec8, Scc3) in protists and insects.

3) Assembling the Tree of Life

As part of the ATOL project, our lab is involved in reconstructing the phylogeny of the Tree of Life, with a focus on protists and the root of the tree (see Eu-Tree link for more info). My main interest is in the opisthokonts and relationships among animals, fungi, and protist lineages within.

Publications:

Schurko, A.M., Logsdon, J.M. Jr. and Eads, B.D. 2009. Meiosis genes in Daphnia pulex and the role of parthenogenesis in genome evolution. BMC Evolutionary Biology 9:78.

Schurko, A.M., Neiman, M. and Logsdon, J.M. Jr. 2009. Signs of sex: what we know and how we know it. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 24:208-217.

Mendoza, L., Schurko, A.M. and Newton, J.C. 2009. Are strains of Lagenidium sp. from dogs actually cryptic isolates of Pythium insidiosum? American Journal of Veterinary Research 70:163.

Malik S.-B., Pightling A.W., Stefaniak L.M., Schurko A.M., Logsdon J.M. Jr. 2008. An expanded inventory of conserved meiotic genes provides evidence for sex in Trichomonas vaginalis. PLoS One 3:8:e2879.

Schurko, A.M. and Logsdon, Jr., J.M. 2008. Using a meiosis detection toolkit to investigate ancient asexual “scandals” and the evolution of sex. BioEssays 30:579-589.

Bedard, J.E.J., Schurko, A.M., de Cock, A.W.A.M. and Klassen, G.R. 2006. Diversity and evolution of 5S rRNA gene family organization in Pythium. Mycological Research 110:86-95.

Fernando, W.G.G., Zhang, J.X., Chen, C.Q., Remphrey, W.R., Schurko, A.M. and Klassen, G.R. 2005. Molecular and morphological characteristics of Apiosporina morbosa, the causal agent of black knot in Prunus spp. Canadian Journal of Plant Pathology 27:364-375.

Li, Y., Kelly, W. G., Logsdon, Jr., J.M., Schurko, A.M., Harfe, B. D., Hill-Harfe, K. L. and Kahn, R. A. 2004. Functional genomic analysis of the ADP-ribosylation factor family of GTPases: phylogeny among diverse eukaryotes and function in C. elegans. FASEB Journal, 18:1834-1850. [PDF]

Iranpour, M., Schurko, A.M., Klassen, G.R., and Galloway, T.D. 2004. DNA fingerprinting of adult tabanids (Diptera: Tabanidae) and their respective egg masses using PCR-restriction fragment profiling. The Canadian Entomologist 136:605-619.

Schurko, A.M., Mendoza, L., de Cock, A.W.A.M., Bedard, J.E.J., and Klassen, G.R. 2004. Development of a species-specific probe for Pythium insidiosum and the diagnosis of pythiosis. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 42:2411-2418.

Schurko, A.M., Mendoza L., Lévesque, C.A., Désaulniers, N.L., de Cock, A.W.A.M., and Klassen G.R. 2003. A molecular phylogeny of Pythium insidiosum. Mycological Research 107: 537-544.

Schurko, A.M., Mendoza, L., de Cock, A.W.A.M., and Klassen, G.R. 2003. Evidence for geographic clusters: Molecular genetic differences among strains of Pythium insidiosum from Asia, Australia, and the Americas are explored. Mycologia 95:200-208.

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