Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Julianna M. Lincoln, Megan L. Barlowe, Holly R. Rucker, M. Rockwell Parker
Summary: Sex steroid hormones are powerful regulators of reproductive behavior and physiology in vertebrates, with distinct patterns dictated by the expression of key enzymes. Most studies focus on circulating levels of sex steroids, but the red-sided garter snake exhibits a dissociated reproductive pattern, with maximal sex behavior decoupled from maximal sex steroid production. Our results suggest a reevaluation of the binary reproductive pattern due to its lack of fit for many vertebrate species with seasonal, mixed patterns of hormone-reproductive behavior synchrony.
FRONTIERS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Hannah Froy, Sarah L. Underwood, Jennifer Dorrens, Luise A. Seeker, Kathryn Watt, Rachael V. Wilbourn, Jill G. Pilkington, Lea Harrington, Josephine M. Pemberton, Daniel H. Nussey
Summary: The study found that in wild Soay sheep, there was no significant association between telomere length and subsequent survival, suggesting that telomere length is not an important marker of biological aging or exposure to environmental stress in this study system. Instead, individual differences in average telomere length were associated with increased lifespan, indicating a genetic basis for this correlation.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Joshua M. Hallas, Thomas L. Parchman, Chris R. Feldman
Summary: The study examined the genetic diversity of Western terrestrial garter snakes and how historical biogeography and current environmental variation impact their genetic patterns. The research revealed distinct evolutionary lineages within the species, each with its own geographic range and history of diversification. The patterns of differentiation in snake populations were influenced by historical events, landscape features, and environmental variation.
JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2021)
Review
Ecology
Yuval Sapir, Kate Gallagher, Esther Senden
Summary: Natural selection acts on phenotypic trait variation, with flower color being one of the most conspicuous and diverse traits. Variation can be maintained through balancing selection, frequency-dependent selection, or other mechanisms. Investigating these mechanisms can provide important insights into the evolutionary drivers of trait variation.
TRENDS IN ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Pierre-Antoine Dugue, Chenglong Yu, Timothy McKay, Ee Ming Wong, Jihoon Eric Joo, Helen Tsimiklis, Fleur Hammet, Maryam Mahmoodi, Derrick Theys, John L. Hopper, Graham G. Giles, Roger L. Milne, Jason A. Steen, James G. Dowty, Tu Nguyen-Dumont, Melissa C. Southey
Summary: Genetic factors and adult lifestyle play a minimal role in explaining methylation variability at the heritable VTRNA2-1 cluster.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Holly L. Nichols, Elliott B. Goldstein, Omid Saleh Ziabari, Benjamin J. Parker
Summary: Host genetic variation plays a crucial role in the structure and function of heritable microbial communities. Insects use immune mechanisms to regulate heritable symbionts and variation in symbiont density among hosts is linked to intraspecific differences in the immune response. The study on pea aphids shows that immune gene expression is downregulated in the presence of certain symbionts, leading to increased symbiont densities. Additionally, different host biotypes exhibit varying immune gene expression patterns and density of symbiont infections.
Article
Forestry
Laura Morales, Kelly Swarts
Summary: In this study, publicly available data on juvenile tree height of Central European Norway spruce populations were analyzed. The results showed that tree height is highly heritable and climatic similarity is highly predictive of population x environment estimates for tree height.
Review
Genetics & Heredity
Kholoud Shaban, Safia Mahabub Sauty, Krassimir Yankulov
Summary: Phenotypic heterogeneity provides growth advantages for a population in response to environmental changes. This variability can be mediated by heritable chromatin structures, mitotic transmission of transcription factors, or protein partitioning. While the mechanisms generating such diversity are not well understood, sharing of limiting factors can contribute to variations in gene expression between cells.
FRONTIERS IN GENETICS
(2021)
Article
Biology
Andy Fenton, M. Florencia Camus, Gregory D. D. Hurst
Summary: Research has shown that positive selection on mitochondrial DNA can drive facultative heritable symbionts out of populations and remove symbiont variations. This finding suggests that the evolution of symbionts and mitochondria should be reevaluated in light of positive selection on mitochondrial DNA.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Chen-Yang Tang, Xiaohu Zhang, Xiao Xu, Shijie Sun, Changjun Peng, Meng-Huan Song, Chaochao Yan, Huaqin Sun, Mingfeng Liu, Liang Xie, Shu-Jin Luo, Jia-Tang Li
Summary: This study investigates the color variation in Asian vine snakes and identifies chromatophore morphology as the main basis for differences in skin color. Additionally, a high-quality chromosome-anchored genome is assembled, and a conservative amino acid substitution in SMARCE1 is discovered. The study also reveals the interactions among SMARCE1, chromatophores, and tfec, which may determine the color variations in Asian vine snakes.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Mark A. Phillips, Ian C. Kutch, Kaitlin M. McHugh, Savannah K. Taggard, Molly K. Burke
Summary: Synthetic recombinant populations are useful for dissecting the genetics of complex traits, with different construction methods affecting genetic variation and adaptive potential in the populations.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Stuart Willis, D. Katharine Coykendall, Matthew R. Campbell, Shawn Narum
Summary: This study investigates the evolution of allele frequencies at major effect loci in steelhead populations that have declined due to human impacts. The researchers found that these loci showed variation influenced by evolutionary processes and human activities, highlighting the importance of understanding and conserving genetic diversity in protected species.
EVOLUTIONARY APPLICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Kimberley D. Lemmen, Koen J. F. Verhoeven, Steven A. J. Declerck
Summary: The study found that even in the absence of initial genetic diversity and recombination, small populations can rapidly exhibit adaptive genetic changes, indicating that de novo genetic variation or alternative sources of phenotypic variation may help in the establishment and persistence of low-diversity populations.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Lucia L. Combrink, Anne M. Bronikowski, David A. W. Miller, Amanda M. Sparkman
Summary: Changing environments can impact biological organizations at all levels, from genetics to demography. The study shows that climate can influence wild populations through effects on physiological processes, particularly immune function being affected by precipitation levels.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kara Fikrig, Noah Rose, Nathan Burkett-Cadena, Basile Kamgang, Paul T. T. Leisnham, Jamie Mangan, Alongkot Ponlawat, Sarah E. E. Rothman, Tanise Stenn, Carolyn S. S. McBride, Laura C. C. Harrington
Summary: Laboratory and field studies reveal that the invasive mosquito Aedes albopictus can transmit over twenty different pathogens, but its vectorial capacity remains unclear due to gaps in knowledge about its feeding behavior. To address this, researchers compared the innate host preference of Ae. albopictus to that of Ae. aegypti. The study found that differences in feeding patterns of Ae. albopictus are likely not driven by innate host preference, but rather by differences in host availability. This research provides insights into the differential vectorial capacity and human feeding risk of Ae. albopictus.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Loretta C. Johnson, Jacob T. Olsen, Hannah Tetreault, Angel DeLaCruz, Johnny Bryant, Theodore J. Morgan, Mary Knapp, Nora M. Bello, Sara G. Baer, Brian R. Maricle
EVOLUTIONARY APPLICATIONS
(2015)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alison R. Gerken, Olivia C. Eller, Daniel A. Hahn, Theodore J. Morgan
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2015)
Article
Zoology
Caroline M. Williams, Andre Szejner-Sigal, Theodore J. Morgan, Arthur S. Edison, David B. Allison, Daniel A. Hahn
INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY
(2016)
Article
Biology
Alison R. Gerken, Trudy F. C. Mackay, Theodore J. Morgan
JOURNAL OF THERMAL BIOLOGY
(2016)
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Adrien Marck, Geoffroy Berthelot, Vincent Foulonneau, Andy Marc, Juliana Antero-Jacquemin, Philippe Noirez, Anne M. Bronikowski, Theodore J. Morgan, Theodore Garland, Patrick A. Carter, Pascal Hersen, Jean-Marc Di Meglio, Jean-Francois Toussaint
JOURNALS OF GERONTOLOGY SERIES A-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
(2017)
Article
Zoology
Philip J. Freda, Jackson T. Alex, Theodore J. Morgan, Gregory J. Ragland
INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY
(2017)
Article
Ecology
Suegene Noh, Elizabeth R. Everman, Christopher M. Berger, Theodore J. Morgan
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2017)
Article
Ecology
Elizabeth R. Everman, Theodore J. Morgan
Editorial Material
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Theodore J. Morgan, Michael A. Herman, Loretta C. Johnson, Bradley J. C. S. Olson, Mark C. Ungerer
Article
Zoology
Caroline M. Williams, James R. Rocca, Arthur S. Edison, David B. Allison, Theodore J. Morgan, Daniel A. Hahn
INTEGRATIVE ZOOLOGY
(2018)
Article
Biology
Alison R. Gerken, Olivia C. Eller-Smith, Theodore J. Morgan
JOURNAL OF THERMAL BIOLOGY
(2018)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Elizabeth R. Everman, Jennifer L. Delzeit, F. Kate Hunter, Jennifer M. Gleason, Theodore J. Morgan
Article
Ecology
Caroline M. Williams, Miki Watanabe, Mario R. Guarracino, Maria B. Ferraro, Arthur S. Edison, Theodore J. Morgan, Arezue F. B. Boroujerdi, Daniel A. Hahn
Article
Ecology
Philip J. Freda, Zainab M. Ali, Nicholas Heter, Gregory J. Ragland, Theodore J. Morgan
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jennifer M. Gleason, Paula R. Roy, Elizabeth R. Everman, Terry C. Gleason, Theodore J. Morgan