Guy Leonard

Guy Leonard

Guy Leonard works with comparative genomics, phylogenomics and genome assembly with an interest in the evolutionary relationships of eukaryotes and the cellular & genomic innovations of the diversity of eukaryotic cells. This work has led him to specifically look at the prevalence of gene fusion & fission events across the eTOL. More recently he has been trying to understand the adaptations and evolutionary history of an oomycete-relative, Hyphochytrium catenoides and a fungal-eye complex present in chytrid fungi, specifically in Blastocladiella emersonii. He also supports other bioinformatics work within the group, providing advice on sequencing, genome and transcriptome assembly, genome annotation, phylogenomic tree reconstruction, 18S amplicon analysis with DADA2, all along with maintaining a set of web-based BLAST servers, this website, and an HPC environment for the group's use!

Selected Publications

  • De Novo Genome Sequence Assembly of the Algal Endosymbiont Micractinium conductrix Derived From Its Host Paramecium bursaria 186b. Guy Leonard, Irma Vitonytė, Fiona R Savory, Erika M Hansson, Duncan D Cameron, Michael A Brockhurst, Thomas A Richards. Genome Biology and Evolution 18 (9), evag194. https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evag194
  • De Novo Genome Sequence Assembly of the RNAi-Tractable Paramecium bursaria 186b: An Endosymbiotic Model System. Guy Leonard, Benjamin H Jenkins, Fiona R Savory, Estelle S Kilias, Finlay Maguire, David S Milner, Thomas A Richards. Genome Biology and Evolution 17 (10), evaf183. https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf183
  • A Genome Sequence Assembly of the Phototactic and Optogenetic Model Fungus Blastocladiella emersonii Reveals a Diversified Nucleotide-Cyclase Repertoire. Guy Leonard, Luis Javier Galindo, David S Milner, Gabriela Mol Avelar, André L Gomes-Vieira, Suely L Gomes, Thomas A Richards. Genome Biology and Evolution 14 (12), evac157. https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evac157
  • Controlled sampling of ribosomally active protistan diversity in sediment-surface layers identifies putative players in the marine carbon sink. Rodríguez-Martínez, Leonard, Milner, Sudek, Conway, Moore, Hudson, Mahé, Keeling, Santoro, Worden, Richards. 2020, ISME J, doi.org/10.1038/s41396-019-0581-y
  • Unexpected mitochondrial genome diversity revealed by targeted single-cell genomics of heterotrophic flagellated protists. Jeremy G Wideman, Adam Monier, Raquel Rodríguez-Martínez, Guy Leonard, Emily Cook, Camille Poirier, Finlay Maguire, David S Milner, Nicholas AT Irwin, Karen Moore, Alyson E Santoro, Patrick J Keeling, Alexandra Z Worden, Thomas A Richards. Nature Microbiology 5 (1), 154-165. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-019-0605-4
  • Sequenceserver: a modern graphical user interface for custom BLAST databases. Anurag Priyam, Ben J Woodcroft, Vivek Rai, Ismail Moghul, Alekhya Munagala, Filip Ter, Hiten Chowdhary, Iwo Pieniak, Lawrence J Maynard, Mark Anthony Gibbins, HongKee Moon, Austin Davis-Richardson, Mahmut Uludag, Nathan S Watson-Haigh, Richard Challis, Hiroyuki Nakamura, Emeline Favreau, Esteban A Gómez, Tomás Pluskal, Guy Leonard, Wolfgang Rumpf, Yannick Wurm. Molecular biology and evolution 36 (12), 2922-2924. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msz185
  • Comparative genomic analysis of the ‘pseudofungus’ Hyphochytrium catenoides. Guy Leonard, Aurélie Labarre, David S Milner, Adam Monier, Darren Soanes, Jeremy G Wideman, Finlay Maguire, Sam Stevens, Divya Sain, Xavier Grau-Bové, Arnau Sebé-Pedrós, Jason E Stajich, Konrad Paszkiewicz, Matthew W Brown, Neil Hall, Bill Wickstead, Thomas A Richards. Open biology 8 (1), 170184. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsob.170184

Hobbies & Interests!

Brewing Beer!