Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Weihao Song, Yuheng Xie, Minmin Sun, Xuemei Li, Cristin K. Fitzpatrick, Felix Vaux, Kathleen G. O'Malley, Quanqi Zhang, Jie Qi, Yan He
Summary: Teleost fish exhibit a male-specific duplication of the anti-Mullerian hormone gene amh, which plays a crucial role in sex determination. Functional analysis shows that amhy triggers female-to-male sex reversal in Sebastes schlegelii, highlighting its fundamental role in testis differentiation. The study also demonstrates the convergent evolution of amh duplication as a driving force of sex determination in different fish taxa.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Ricardo Shohei Hattori, Keiichiro Kumazawa, Masatoshi Nakamoto, Yuki Nakano, Toshiya Yamaguchi, Takeshi Kitano, Eiichi Yamamoto, Kanako Fuji, Takashi Sakamoto
Summary: This study on the Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) identified amhy as the sex-determining gene in this species. The gene is completely linked to males and is expressed early in XY gonads before testicular differentiation. Loss of function mutation in amhy leads to male-to-female sex reversal.
FRONTIERS IN GENETICS
(2022)
Editorial Material
Environmental Sciences
John P. Dunne
Summary: This article suggests that the vertical migration of tiny phytoplankton provides an unrecognized resiliency to climate warming, which is critical for carbon storage and living marine resources.
NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE
(2022)
Review
Reproductive Biology
Humphrey Hung-Chang Yao, Karina F. Rodriguez
Summary: Sertoli cells, first discovered in the adult testis in the mid-nineteenth century, play a crucial role in male germ cell differentiation and sperm production. Recent research has revealed that Sertoli cells also serve as a master regulator in testis formation and male development. They are involved in various processes, including establishment of seminiferous cords, induction of Leydig cells, and regression of the female reproductive tracts. Sertoli cells demonstrate plasticity and can transdifferentiate into granulosa cells in the ovary. Further studies are needed to fully understand the complexity of this cell type and its contribution to maleness.
BIOLOGY OF REPRODUCTION
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Joao Pedro Fernandes Queiroz, Nicholas Costa Barroso Lima, Bruno Anderson Matias Rocha
Summary: The globin gene repertoire in amphibians is determined by both retention and loss of paralogous genes, as well as the emergence of a new globin gene through co-option of an alpha-globin.
COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY D-GENOMICS & PROTEOMICS
(2021)
Review
Biology
Mateus Contar Adolfi, Amaury Herpin, Manfred Schartl
Summary: Different groups of vertebrates and invertebrates exhibit a remarkable diversity in gene regulation for sex determination, with the possibility of evolution from the bottom to the top of the genetic network. The operation of the sex determination network is primarily through dynamic opposing male and female pathways, with a persistent need to maintain sexual identity in gonadal cells. New sex-promoting genes may arise through allelic diversification or gene duplication, acting specifically during the sex determination period without fully integrating into the network.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Agneesh Barua, Alexander S. Mikheyev
Summary: Research has found that the gene expression pattern of venom glands in snakes is surprisingly well conserved compared to the salivary glands of other amniotes. A network called the metavenom network, consisting of around 3,000 nonsecreted housekeeping genes, is strongly coexpressed with toxins and primarily involved in protein folding and modification. This network, conserved across amniotes, was coopted for venom evolution by utilizing existing members and recruiting new toxin genes.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jason T. T. Magnuson, Mark B. B. Sandheinrich
Summary: This study examined the relationship between selenium (Se), methylmercury (MeHg), inorganic mercury (IHg), total mercury (THg), and the expression of biomarkers of oxidative stress and metal regulation in northern pike livers. The results showed a positive correlation between THg and Se concentrations, with a mercury:selenium molar ratio less than one. There was no significant relationship between biomarker expression and mercury:selenium molar ratios, except for catalase and superoxide dismutase, which were significantly related to the increase in MeHg concentration relative to THg.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Marten Scheffer, Ingrid van de Leemput, Els Weinans, Johan Bollen
Summary: The research suggests that there has been a gradual increase in the use of words associated with rationality in books since 1850, while words related to human experience have decreased. In recent decades, this pattern has reversed, accompanied by a shift from collectivism to individualism and changes in the ratio between sentiment and rationality flag words. Overall, there has been a marked shift in public interest from collective to individual, and from rationality towards emotion in recent decades.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Dominic McAfee, Sean D. Connell
Summary: This article discusses the expansion of non-native Pacific oysters into the former distribution areas of native oyster species worldwide, and the challenges and opportunities they bring to society and ecosystems.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Guillermo Benitez, Marco Leonti, Barbara Bock, Simon Vulfsons, Amots Dafni
Summary: Mandrake, a famous medicinal plant, has a long history of medical use and is still used in popular medicine today. Although its role in popular medicine has diminished, mandrake-derived natural products such as atropine and scopolamine, as well as their semi-synthetic derivatives, continue to play an important role in medicine. This study aims to trace the historical and scientific events that led to the abandonment of mandrake as a medicine. The findings suggest a decrease in versatility and a more consolidated use pattern over time, possibly due to the reproduction of classic textual sources and reduced popularity of mandrake in medicine, while atropine gained importance in surgical interventions.
JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Development Studies
Douglas A. Irwin
Summary: Import substitution, once believed to be the best trade strategy to promote industrialization and economic growth in developing countries in the 1950s, faced widespread disenchantment by the mid-1960s. Early advocates of import substitution were cautious in their support and among the first to question its effectiveness based on country experiences.
Article
Microbiology
Jacqueline L. Gill, Jessica Hedge, Daniel J. Wilson, R. Craig MacLean
Summary: Our research shows that the MRSA strain Staphylococcus aureus ST239 originated from a large-scale recombination between ST8 and ST30 before 1945. Despite being primarily influenced by purifying selection, ST239 has undergone parallel evolution in genes related to antibiotic resistance and virulence. However, ST239 exhibits lower competitive fitness compared to other strains of S. aureus, which may explain its rapid decline in prevalence worldwide.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Dominique Thepot
Summary: The study of reptilian sex chromosomes, which have been less explored compared to birds and mammals, has started to bridge the gap in recent years. By comparing male and female gene content through various research methods, new insights and hypotheses about reptilian sex chromosomes are gradually being revealed.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Homa Papoli Yazdi, Colin Olito, Takeshi Kawakami, Per Unneberg, Mads F. Schou, Schalk W. P. Cloete, Bengt Hansson, Charlie K. Cornwallis
Summary: Sex chromosomes have often evolved with extreme size differences due to degeneration, but in some lineages, ancient sex chromosomes have not degenerated. In ostriches, the W chromosome remains large despite being ancient. By analyzing the ostrich genome, researchers found that recombination rate in the pseudoautosomal region (PAR) is higher than autosomes in females, which slows down degeneration. Genetic variation in the sex-linked region (SLR) is lower than in the PAR, while variation in the PAR is similar to autosomes, suggesting high recombination near the boundaries of the PAR prevents linkage with the SLR. The potential for sexually antagonistic alleles to drive degeneration is limited in ostriches.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Chris J. Brauer, Jonathan Sandoval-Castillo, Katie Gates, Michael P. Hammer, Peter J. Unmack, Louis Bernatchez, Luciano B. Beheregaray
Summary: Under climate change, species without the ability to shift their range rely on genetic variation for adaptation. Genomic vulnerability studies often overlook hybridization as a source of adaptive variation. This study found that hybrid populations of rainbowfish showed reduced vulnerability to climate change compared to pure narrow endemics, highlighting the importance of hybrid populations and adaptive introgression in the evolutionary rescue of species with narrow environmental ranges.
NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Andrey N. Reshetnikov, Marina G. Zibrova, Dincer Ayaz, Santosh Bhattarai, Oleg Borodin, Amael Borzee, Jindrich Brejcha, Kerim Cicek, Maria Dimaki, Igor Doronin, Sergey M. Drobenkov, Uzlipat A. Gichikhanova, Anastasia Y. Gladkova, Dmitriy A. Gordeev, Yiannis Ioannidis, Mikhail P. Ilyukh, Elena A. Interesova, Trupti D. Jadhav, Dmitry P. Karabanov, Viner F. Khabibullin, Tolibjon K. Khabilov, M. Monirul H. Khan, Artem A. Kidov, Alexandr S. Klimov, Denis N. Kochetkov, Vladimir G. Kolbintsev, Sergius L. Kuzmin, Konstantin Y. Lotiev, Nora E. Louppova, Vladimir D. Lvov, Sergey M. Lyapkov, Igor M. Martynenko, Irina Maslova, Rafaqat Masroor, Liudmila F. Mazanaeva, Dmitriy A. Milko, Konstantin D. Milto, Omid Mozaffari, Truong Q. Nguyen, Ruslan Novitsky, Andrey B. Petrovskiy, Vladimir A. Prelovskiy, Valentin V. Serbin, Hai-tao Shi, Nikolay Skalon, Richard P. J. H. Struijk, Mari Taniguchi, David Tarkhnishvili, Vladimir F. Tsurkan, Oleg Y. Tyutenkov, Mikhail Ushakov, Dmitriy A. Vekhov, Fanrong Xiao, Andrey Yakimov, Tatyana I. Yakovleva, Peimin Yang, Dmitriy F. Zeleev, Varos G. Petrosyan
Summary: Through analyzing the ecological data of the red-eared slider, a globally recognized invasive species, we found that it has expanded widely in Eurasia, covering 68 countries including eight newly reported ones. The red-eared slider shows higher invasion success in Europe, West Asia, and East Asia, with higher occupancy rate in natural water bodies, larger population size, successful overwintering, occurrence of juveniles, and successful reproduction. Therefore, a cost-effective population control strategy should consider both the potential reproduction range and the geographical area of successful wintering.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Artem Lisachov, Alexander Rumyantsev, Dmitry Prokopov, Malcolm Ferguson-Smith, Vladimir Trifonov
Summary: In this study, we describe the satellite DNA families found in two snake species from different families. Contrary to common belief, we found high conservation of these satellites in terms of nucleotide sequences and chromosomal localizations. Satellite DNA sequences make up a large portion of animal genomes, and they are typically located in heterochromatin clusters near centromeres or telomeres. The function of these clusters is to maintain chromosome and nuclear structure, and regulate chromosome behavior during cell division. Understanding satellite DNA diversity is important for studying sex chromosome evolution, hybridization, and speciation. Through our research, we identified four satellite DNA families in two snake species and determined their chromosomal localization. We found that one family is localized in the centromeres of both species, while the others form clusters on specific chromosomes or subsets of chromosomes. Our results demonstrate the high conservation of satellite DNA in snakes and support the library model of satellite DNA evolution.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Konrad Ocalewicz
Summary: The development of haploid embryos with only paternal or maternal chromosomes requires irradiation or activation of eggs with irradiated spermatozoa. To obtain doubled haploids, androgenetic and gynogenetic haploid zygotes need to undergo thermal or high hydrostatic pressure shock. The use of doubled haploids has been important in breeding programs and studying genetic phenotypes. However, the reduced survival rate of doubled haploids limits their application. Recent studies have provided insights into the characteristics of fish eggs with high and low competence for androgenesis and mito-gynogenesis.
FISH PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Fisheries
Pieterjan Verhelst, Hugo Verreycken
Summary: In November 2022, two marbled gobies were caught in the Gent-Terneuzen shipping canal in Belgium, marking the first record of this species in Europe. The shimofuri goby, originally from Japan, China, and South Korea, has only been observed on the West Coast of the USA where established populations exist. The introduction vector is likely to be ballast water exchange.
JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Parasitology
Chloe Suzanne Berger, Berenice Bougas, Guillaume Cote, Jean-Francois Dumont, Louis Bernatchez
Summary: The ability to systematically detect parasitic infection, even without visible signs, is crucial for accurate conservation policies. In particular, the nematode Anguillicola crassus poses a potential threat to eel populations. The authors present a real-time PCR-based method to detect A. crassus infection in both final and intermediate hosts. By using this method, they were able to detect the DNA of A. crassus in both zooplankton and individual swim bladders. This method allows for early detection of A. crassus infection in nature, going beyond previous protocols.
PARASITOLOGY RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Eric B. Rondeau, Kris A. Christensen, David R. Minkley, Jong S. Leong, Michelle T. T. Chan, Cody A. Despins, Anita Mueller, Dionne Sakhrani, Carlo A. Biagi, Quentin Rougemont, Eric Normandeau, Steven J. M. Jones, Robert H. Devlin, Ruth E. Withler, Terry D. Beacham, Kerry A. Naish, Jose M. Yanez, Roberto Neira, Louis Bernatchez, William S. Davidson, Ben F. Koop
Summary: The coho salmon populations in North America have significantly declined, and analysis of genomic data suggests bottleneck events after glacial retreat as a possible cause. A chromosome-level genome assembly and genome resequencing of 83 coho salmon were performed to aid in stock management and conservation efforts.
G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Marcin Kucinski, Magdalena Jakubowska-Lehrmann, Agnieszka Gora, Zuzanna Mirny, Katarzyna Nadolna-Altyn, Joanna Szlinder-Richert, Konrad Ocalewicz
Summary: The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic diversity and population structure of the European flounder and determine if the Baltic flounder is present in the southern Baltic Sea. Additionally, the study aimed to determine if the decline in body condition indices of the species in the Baltic Sea is due to adaptive changes in its gene pool caused by increased fishing pressure. The results showed that the European flounder had a high level of genetic diversity and represented a single genetic cluster. No presence of the Baltic flounder was detected, and there were no signs of directional selection or density-dependent adaptive changes in the gene pool.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yulia A. Frank, Elena A. Interesova, Mikhail M. Solovyev, Jiayi Xu, Danil S. Vorobiev
Summary: This study analyzed the alterations in enzyme activities in larvae of peled (Northern whitefish) exposed to fluorescent polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs). The results showed that peled larvae can ingest 2 μm PS microspheres and the ingestion of MPs caused alterations in digestive enzyme activity and antioxidant responses. These findings highlight the potential impact of environmental MPs on northern commercial fish and their importance for estimating fish stocks and the sustainability of freshwater ecosystems.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Genetics & Heredity
Louis Bernatchez, Anne-Laure Ferchaud, Chloe Suzanne Berger, Clare J. Venney, Amanda Xuereb
Summary: With global climate change causing drastic changes in environmental conditions, it is crucial to understand how organisms respond and adapt to these changes. Recent advancements in genomic, transcriptomic, and epigenomic technologies provide unprecedented insights into the evolutionary processes and molecular mechanisms of adaptation. This review summarizes the methods that utilize omics tools to investigate, monitor, and predict the responses of species and communities to global climate change, highlighting the need for holistic, multi-omics approaches.
NATURE REVIEWS GENETICS
(2023)
Article
Biology
Swantje Enge, Claire Merot, Raimondas Mozuraitis, Violeta Apsegaite, Louis Bernatchez, Gerrit A. Martens, Sandra Radziute, Henrik Pavia, Emma L. Berdan
Summary: In this study, researchers found that a overdominant supergene in seaweed flies strongly modulates male traits but only weakly affects female traits. Gas chromatography-electroantennographic detection revealed that females can sense male traits and there may be differential perception between genotypes. Gene expression analysis showed that candidate genes for trait biosynthesis primarily showed differential expression in males, while odorant detection genes were differentially expressed in both sexes but showed high levels of divergence between supergene haplotypes. The reduced recombination between supergene haplotypes may have led to rapid divergence in mate preferences and increasing linkage between male traits and overdominant loci, helping to maintain the polymorphism despite deleterious effects in homozygotes.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Phillip J. Haubrock, Francesca Pilotto, Ismael Soto, Ingolf Kuehn, Hugo Verreycken, Hanno Seebens, Ross N. Cuthbert, Peter Haase
Summary: Rates of biological invasion have increased over recent centuries and are expected to increase in the future. Trends in abundances within these contexts have lacked analysis due to a paucity of long-term data. Our study analysed 180 biological time series mainly from Long-Term Ecological Research sites in Europe and found that local abundance trends of non-native species are highly variable, with declines in marine and freshwater sites despite increasing reports of non-native species. Our results indicate that trends in biological invasions are context-dependent and require robust local data to understand long-term trends.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Eric B. Rondeau, Kris A. Christensen, Hollie A. Johnson, Dionne Sakhrani, Carlo A. Biagi, Mike Wetklo, Cody A. Despins, Rosalind A. Leggatt, David R. Minkley, Ruth E. Withler, Terry D. Beacham, Ben F. Koop, Robert H. Devlin
Summary: Chum salmon genome was sequenced and assembled using Oxford Nanopore and Flye software. Genome assembly was characterized by resequencing 59 chum salmon from hatchery sources. Genes involved in immune system and toxin response were found to be enriched in regions collapsed due to duplicated chromosomes from ancient genome duplication.
G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS
(2023)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Anne-Marie Flores, Kris A. Christensen, Briony Campbell, Ben F. Koop, John S. Taylor
Summary: Sablefish, a type of cod, is found in coastal regions of the Pacific Ocean and has been subjected to a declining trend in stock biomass and landings since 2010. The genetic variation in growth rate, disease resistance, and survival among sablefish individuals and cohorts is not well understood. This study provides a comprehensive genome assembly of sablefish, which can be utilized for SNP-based surveys and management of both aquaculture and wild fishery.
G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Nico Nouwen, Marjorie Pervent, Franck El M'Chirgui, Frederique Tellier, Maelle Rios, Natasha Horta Araujo, Christophe Klopp, Frederic Gressent, Jean-Francois Arrighi
Summary: This study reveals the essential role of AeORM1 in nodulation, as well as lateral root development, in legume species. AeORM1 regulates sphingolipid homeostasis, which is crucial for rhizobial infection and nodule organogenesis.
