About

Work in the Katzlab aims to elucidate principles of eukaryotic evolution through phylogenetic reconstruction, community sampling and analyses of genome evolution. The bulk of eukaryotic diversity is microbial, with plants, animals and fungi representing only three of some 60-200 lineages of eukaryotes. Many of these microbial lineages are understudied, yet the limited data available suggest the eukaryotic microbes challenge established principles in biology. To date, our focus has been on ciliates, testate (shell-building) amoebae and now foraminifera.