Article
Microbiology
Bharath Reddy Boya, Prasun Kumar, Jin-Hyung Lee, Jintae Lee
Summary: Tryptophanase encoded by the gene tnaA is a pyridoxal phosphate-dependent enzyme that catalyses the conversion of tryptophan to indole, commonly used as a signalling molecule by microbes. While tnaA is commonly found in various Gram-negative bacteria, it is rare in Gram-positive bacteria and archaea. Its presence in eukaryotes, particularly protozoans and marine organisms, highlights its importance in the animal kingdom. This study documents the distribution and acquisition of tnaA among different taxonomic groups, providing insights into its role among various organisms.
Article
Plant Sciences
Xia Liu, Zhaoshan Wang, Wei Wang, Qinqin Huang, Yanfei Zeng, Yu Jin, Honglei Li, Shuhui Du, Jianguo Zhang
Summary: This study examines the origin and biogeography of the Populus genus using phylogenetic analysis of chloroplast fragments. The results suggest that the early divergences of the Salicaceae family occurred in Eurasia after the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction, with subsequent spread to other regions. Modern Populus species began to diversify during the early Oligocene, potentially facilitated by climate changes. Populus species from Eurasia colonized North America via the Bering Land Bridges. The present-day distribution of Populus can be explained by differences in extinction rates in different regions. Further research is needed to test these hypotheses. This study highlights the importance of combining phylogenetic analysis and biogeographic interpretations to understand the origin and distribution of biodiversity in temperate plant floras.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Marcin Kadej, Krzysztof Zajac, Jerzy M. Gutowski, Tomasz Jaworski, Radoslaw Plewa, Rafal Ruta, Katarzyna Sikora, Adrian Smolis, Giulia Magoga, Matteo Montagna, Andreas Eckelt, Tone Birkemoe, Teresa Bonacci, Pietro Brandmayr, Christoph Heibl, Lukas Cizek, Sigitas Algis Davenis, Ludovic Fuchs, Jakub Horak, Andrej Kapla, Dejan Kulijer, Otto Merkl, Jorg Mueller, Jinze Noordijk, Sergey Saluk, Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson, Al Al Vrezec, Lukasz Kajtoch
Summary: Recent progress in the taxonomy of flat bark beetles (Cucujidae), specifically, in the genus Cucujus, has revealed great diversity in subtropical Asia, but the seemingly well-known temperate and boreal taxa need further attention because of their conservation status. An integrative approach using morphology, DNA, and species distribution modelling was used to investigate the phylogenetic relations and historical biogeography of flat bark beetles. The study found that the C. haematodes species group consists of separate lineages within its Palearctic range, and there are distinct lineages within C. cinnaberinus as well. The research also identified glacial refugia in different regions, which shaped the present distribution of the beetles.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Wan Chen, Weiya Qian, Keer Miao, Ruen Qian, Sijia Yuan, Wei Liu, Jianhua Dai, Chaochao Hu, Qing Chang
Summary: The true frogs of the genus Rana are a complex and diverse group. This study provides mitochondrial genetic information, improving our understanding of mitogenomic structure and evolution, and recognizes the phylogenetic relationship and taxonomy among Rana.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Guang-Hui Xu
Summary: This study reports the discovery of a new species of Peltoperleidus in Yunnan, China, extending the genus's geological range by approximately two million years and marking its first record in Asia. The new species is proposed to be a small-sized durophagous predator and a new family, Peltoperleididae, is suggested for the genus. Comparative studies with European relatives provide new insights into the origin and distribution of this taxon.
Article
Entomology
Zi-Wei Yin, Erik Tihelka, Jesus Lozano-Fernandez, Chen-Yang Cai
Summary: The study describes the first fossil representative of the Hybocephalini tribe and provides new insights into the evolutionary history of the tribe through anatomical, morphological, and phylogenetic analyses.
ARTHROPOD SYSTEMATICS & PHYLOGENY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Rui Zhang, Xiao-fei Shi, Pei-gui Liu, Andrew W. Wilson, Gregory M. Mueller
Summary: This study resolves the phylogenetic relationships of Suillus fungi and explores their ancestral host associations and biogeographic distributions. Host shift speciation is found to explain the diversification of Suillus major clades, and dispersals between Eurasia and North America explain the prevalence of disjunct Suillus taxa.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sudhir Kumar, Qiqing Tao, Steven Weaver, Maxwell Sanderford, Marcos A. Caraballo-Ortiz, Sudip Sharma, Sergei L. K. Pond, Sayaka Miura, Meredith Yeager
Summary: Global sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 genomes has uncovered the genetic variants that contribute to its early evolutionary history and global spread. A likely common ancestor of SARS-CoV-2 was identified, showing that the virus had spread worldwide months before the first reported cases in China. The same coronavirus lineage dominated North America in 2020, while Europe and Asia saw multiple replacements of predominant strains.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Hui Dai, Chao Tan, Can Xiong, Qingyu Ma, Ning Li, Haidong Yu, Zhaoying Wei, Ping Wang, Jian Yi, Guangbiao Wei, Hailu You, Xinxin Ren
Summary: This study reports a new species of macronarian sauropod, Yuzhoulong qurenensis, from the Middle Jurassic. It exhibits unique features and phylogenetic analysis reveals it to be one of the earliest-diverging macronarians. This discovery enhances our understanding of the early diversity and dispersal of Neosauropoda during the Middle Jurassic.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Lu-Liang Huang, Shu-Feng Li, Wei-Ye Huang, Jian-Hua Jin, Alexei A. Oskolski
Summary: The anatomical structure of mummified wood from the Upper Pleistocene of Maoming, South China belonging to the Cryptocarya genus was examined, along with the woods of 15 extant Cryptocarya species from China and Malaysia. It was determined that the fossil wood belonged to the extant species Cryptocarya chinensis, marking the first reliable fossil record of Cryptocarya in Asia. The study suggests that the range of C. chinensis in the Late Pleistocene was limited due to environmental changes, and the modern populations in Maoming can be considered as glacial relicts. Additionally, larval tunnels produced by flies from the genus Phytobia were observed in the fossil wood, which had not been previously reported in Cryptocarya.
Article
Zoology
Ya-Lian Wang, Jin-Ming Lu, Yuan Zhang, Hong-Wei Chen
Summary: This study investigates the molecular phylogeny of the Stegana (Steganina) shirozui species group, confirming its monophyly and the correlation between species affinities and structural homogeneity in male genitalia. It identifies four new species and a new synonym in the group, suggesting the origin of the S. shirozui group in south-west China.
ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Linlin Chen, Weiyudong Deng, Tao Su, Shufeng Li, Zhekun Zhou
Summary: The sclerophyllous evergreen broad-leaved forests in the Hengduan Mountains are mainly composed of sclerophyllous oak trees from the Quercus section Heterobalanus. The distribution and development of these forests are closely associated with the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Research has shown that the origin of these oak trees may be much older than previously believed, dating back to the late Eocene period. The expansion of cooler and drier habitats, along with stabilizing selection, has contributed to the spread and development of this oak tree section through time, contrary to previous hypotheses.
SCIENCE CHINA-EARTH SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Aline Wittlake, Simone Proemel, Torsten Schoeneberg
Summary: The study provides new insights into the classification and evolutionary relationships of aGPCRs in vertebrates, indicating the appearance of new family members after the fish-tetrapod split. Through ortholog sequence alignments, different selection pressures were identified on aGPCR families during tetrapod evolution.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biology
Lucie A. Bergeron, Soren Besenbacher, Jaco Bakker, Jiao Zheng, Panyi Li, George Pacheco, Mikkel-Holger S. Sinding, Maria Kamilari, M. Thomas P. Gilbert, Mikkel H. Schierup, Guojie Zhang
Summary: The study revealed that the rate of de novo mutations in rhesus macaques is positively correlated with paternal age, with the paternal lineage contributing most of the mutations. Approximately 3.5% of de novo mutations were shared between siblings, likely arising from early developmental stages. The estimated yearly mutation rate in rhesus macaques also provided insights into primate evolution when compared to traditional molecular clock methods.
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Yi Gao, Ai Song, Wei-Yu-Dong Deng, Lin-Lin Chen, Jia Liu, Wei-Cheng Li, Gaurav Srivastava, Robert A. Spicer, Zhe-Kun Zhou, Tao Su
Summary: This study reports the earliest fossil record of Bauhinia s.s., a large genus in the family Fabaceae, and provides new insights into its evolutionary and biogeographical history. The research suggests that Bauhinia s.s. originated in the Afrotropical realm and dispersed to the Neotropical and Indomalayan realms. The discovery of the oldest Bauhinia s.s. fossils in the southern Tibetan region updates our understanding of the genus' biogeographical history.
JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC PALAEONTOLOGY
(2023)
