Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Michal Polak, Jorge L. Hurtado-Gonzales, Joshua B. Benoit, Kassie J. Hooker, Frances Tyler
Summary: This study demonstrated the existence of positive genetic covariance between a male secondary sexual trait, such as ornament size, and competitive fertilization success. The findings suggest that indirect postcopulatory sexual selection may magnify net selection on ornamental trait expression under certain conditions.
Article
Biology
Caihong Han, Qionglin Peng, Xiangbin Su, Limin Xing, Xiaoxiao Ji, Yufeng Pan
Summary: A new ancestral male-specific doublesex isoform, dsxM2, was identified and the splicing-based mechanism underlying sex-specific Dmrt function was explored. The study reveals the evolutionary pathway from sexually monomorphic to sex-specific doublesex.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Crystal M. Vincent, Marc S. Dionne
Summary: Male and female animals show differences in infection outcomes, with potential sources of sexually dimorphic immunity being the sex-specific costs of immune activity or pathology. This study found that males and females exhibit differential immune activity but similar bacteria-derived metabolic pathology, with females having a female-specific immune-inducible expression of PGRP-LB which plays a critical role in reducing immune activity in response to bacterial reductions.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Caitlin E. McDonough-Goldstein, Scott Pitnick, Steve Dorus
Summary: The study found significant differences in protein composition of mature oocytes between mated and unmated female fruit flies, indicating a strong influence of mating on oocyte composition. Proteomic changes in mated female oocytes may have implications for offspring fitness, suggesting the importance of oocyte protein composition in maternal-to-zygotic transition and early embryogenesis.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Alison H. Nguyen, Weixiang Wang, Emily Chong, Kamalakar Chatla, Doris Bachtrog
Summary: By studying the Y chromosomes in fruit flies, it was found that the differences between Y chromosomes are mainly caused by a few active transposable elements, which have recently expanded on the largest Y chromosome. Different elements are responsible for the expansion of Y on differently sized chromosomes.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sreesankar Easwaran, Matthew Van Ligten, Mackenzie Kui, Denise J. Montell
Summary: This study reveals that Drosophila enter adult reproductive diapause under specific environmental conditions, which leads to ovarian arrest but preserves fertility. Germline stem cells (GSCs) in diapause incur DNA damage and division reduction, yet they are able to recover. Mimicking reduced juvenile hormone production during diapause enhances GSC longevity in non-diapausing flies.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Biology
Claire Burny, Viola Nolte, Marlies Dolezal, Christian Schloetterer
Summary: Experimental evolution combined with whole-genome sequencing is a powerful method to study the adaptive architecture of selected traits. This study shows that the presence of a second stressor affects the genomic selection response, and the combination of temperature and laboratory adaptation results in widespread synergistic effects.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biology
Yang Joon Kim, Kaitlin Rhee, Jonathan Liu, Selene Jeammet, Meghan A. Turner, Stephen J. Small, Hernan G. Garcia
Summary: A challenge in quantitative biology is to predict gene expression patterns using knowledge of transcription factor patterns and binding sites on regulatory DNA. By studying transcriptional repression in early fruit fly embryos, researchers found that higher-order cooperativity between multiple molecular players is required, which cannot be determined from simpler regulatory architectures. This highlights the challenges in understanding transcriptional regulation in eukaryotes and calls for quantitative approaches to dissect their molecular nature.
Article
Biology
Matthew W. Parker, Jonchee A. Kao, Alvin Huang, James M. Berger, Michael R. Botchan
Summary: Researchers demonstrate that phase separation is driven by a synergy between electrostatic DNA-bridging interactions and hydrophobic inter-IDR contacts, dependent on sequence composition but not order. These interactions are resistant to 1,6-hexanediol and independent of aromaticity, revealing distinct mechanisms underlying condensate formation and specificity in different phase-separating systems.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Andrea Lukacs, Andreas W. Thomae, Peter Krueger, Tamas Schauer, Anuroop V. Venkatasubramani, Natalia Y. Kochanova, Wasim Aftab, Rupam Choudhury, Ignasi Forne, Axel Imhof
Summary: This study investigated the molecular mechanisms of hybrid lethality using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model system, identifying a six subunit protein complex that plays a role in hybrid male lethality. Elevated levels of this complex in hybrid males lead to mitotic defects and misregulation of transposable elements.
Article
Biology
Julie M. Collet, Sabine Nidelet, Simon Fellous
Summary: This study compared the gene expression in larvae and adult stages of Drosophila melanogaster and found that only 30% of genes showed significant genetic correlations between the two stages, indicating a large portion of the transcriptome can evolve independently at different life stages.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Tadeusz J. Kawecki, Berra Erkosar, Cindy Dupuis, Brian Hollis, R. Craig Stillwell, Martin Kapun
Summary: The study revealed genomic adaptations in fruit flies to chronic juvenile malnutrition, with candidate genes enriched in hormone, carbohydrate, and lipid metabolism. Adaptation to larval malnutrition was associated with reduced tolerance to acute adult starvation, indicating an evolutionary trade-off between tolerances to these two forms of nutritional stress.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Xiao-Yong Zhan, Gao-Feng Zha, Yulong He
Summary: The ongoing outbreak of human monkeypox (hMPX) in 2022 is a serious global threat. Understanding the evolution of the monkeypox virus (MPXV) at the gene level may provide insights into the unique aspects of the current outbreak, including human-to-human transmission. Analysis of MPXV coding genes revealed that while most genes were subjected to negative selection, there were a few genes that showed evidence of positive Darwinian selection, which may play a crucial role in viral adaptation, virulence, and transmission.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Yali Hou, Shilei Zhao, Qi Liu, Xiaolong Zhang, Tong Sha, Yankai Su, Wenming Zhao, Yiming Bao, Yongbiao Xue, Hua Chen
Summary: SARS-CoV-2 is a new RNA virus that has been spreading extensively since its first outbreak in December, 2019. The evolution of the virus and its impact on transmission and pathogenicity in humans are still under debate. Understanding the evolutionary mechanism is essential for predicting the epidemic trend and guiding disease control and treatments.
GENOMICS PROTEOMICS & BIOINFORMATICS
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Frank Macabenta, Hsuan-Te Sun, Angelike Stathopoulos
Summary: Through regulating the FGF and BMP signaling pathways, collectively migrating Drosophila muscle precursors promote cell homeostasis and prevent anoikis. The BMP signaling pathway drives cell-cycle regulation and apoptosis to maintain tissue homeostasis.
DEVELOPMENTAL CELL
(2022)