Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sally C. Y. Lau, Jan M. Strugnell, Chester J. Sands, Catarina N. S. Silva, Nerida G. Wilson
Summary: Understanding the drivers of evolutionary innovation is crucial for understanding how evolutionary processes unfold. This study examined the Southern Ocean brittle stars and found that the species Ophionotus victoriae and O. hexactis are closely related with interspecific gene flow. Different refugia were identified for each species during the late Pleistocene, and gene flow was observed between different oceanic currents and local oceanographic regimes. A strong association was detected between outlier loci and salinity in O. hexactis, suggesting adaptation related to evolutionary innovations. These findings provide valuable insights into the drivers of innovation in the Southern Ocean fauna.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
William R. Shoemaker, Stuart E. Jones, Mario E. Muscarella, Megan G. Behringer, Brent K. Lehmkuhl, Jay T. Lennon
Summary: Research shows that under limited resources, most bacterial taxa can survive, with a wide range of extinction times. Despite the lack of exogenous resources, bacterial populations continue to evolve and acquire numerous mutations. While adapting to environmental pressures, bacterial lifespan is extended through scavenging dead cells.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Daniel P. Longman, Eimear Dolan, Jonathan C. K. Wells, Jay T. Stock
Summary: Exercise physiologists and evolutionary biologists are interested in studying energy allocation patterns during times of energy scarcity. This research has implications for athlete health and performance, as well as shedding light on our adaptive capabilities as a species. Using ultra-endurance events as a model for studying energy allocation during conditions of elevated energy demand and deficit, evolutionary biologists have found trade-offs in energy allocation between physiological processes, prioritizing those that confer immediate survival advantage. This aligns with evolutionary perspectives and can provide insights into the body's response to energetic stress.
COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY A-MOLECULAR & INTEGRATIVE PHYSIOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Ecology
Barbara Taborsky, Sinead English, Tim W. Fawcett, Bram Kuijper, Olof Leimar, John M. McNamara, Suvi Ruuskanen, Carmen Sandi
Summary: All organisms have different stress response systems to cope with environmental threats, with environmental predictability and physiological constraints being key factors shaping stress response evolution. An integrated research programme combining theory, experimental evolution, and comparative analysis is needed to advance scientific understanding of how this core physiological system has evolved.
TRENDS IN ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Janne Swaegers, Rosa A. Sanchez-Guillen, Jose A. Carbonell, Robby Stoks
Summary: This study investigates the plasticity and evolution of trait changes in damselflies during their range expansion into a warmer region. The results suggest that the populations have evolved adaptive changes in terms of a faster pace-of-life, smaller body size, higher energy budget, and increased expression levels of the heat shock gene DnaJ. However, there is incomplete convergence towards the native sister species for thermal plasticity in traits associated with anaerobic metabolism and melanization.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Review
Genetics & Heredity
Jianzhi Zhang
Summary: Genomics, a interdisciplinary field of biology, has revolutionized various subdisciplines of life sciences by providing large amount of data, introducing high-throughput technologies, and offering new approaches to biology. In this review, the author describes what they have learned from genomics, mainly focusing on variation, interaction, and selection, which are central topics in evolutionary biology. The author expects that the most important contributions of genomics to evolutionary biology in the future will include providing genome sequences of almost all known species on Earth, facilitating high-throughput phenotyping of natural variants and mutants, and assisting in the determination of causality in evolutionary processes using experimental evolution.
GENOMICS PROTEOMICS & BIOINFORMATICS
(2023)
Article
Biology
Sanja M. Hakala, Marie-Pierre Meurville, Michael Stumpe, Adria C. LeBoeuf
Summary: Division of labor is crucial for cooperation in nature, where individuals specialize in different tasks to achieve more together. This is evident in both cellular organisms and ant colonies, where individuals work together to ensure the survival of the collective unit rather than competing against each other. By sharing fluids containing proteins, ants divide the labor of metabolism, work, and reproduction among different units within the colony. Understanding the exchange of materials through sharing fluids could provide insights into metabolic division of labor in other organisms at different scales.
Editorial Material
Biology
Susan E. E. Johnston, Nancy Chen, Emily B. B. Josephs
Summary: This editorial provides an overview of the history of wild quantitative genetic and genomic studies, discusses the main themes in the papers published in this special issue, and highlights the future outlook of this dynamic field.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Eirik R. Asheim, Jenni M. Prokkola, Sergey Morozov, Tutku Aykanat, Craig R. Primmer
Summary: The maturation timing of Atlantic salmon is influenced by the vgll3 gene, but the effect of vgll3 genotype on metabolic rate in juvenile salmon is minimal. This suggests that body condition and maturation are not strongly related to maintenance energy expenditure in this life stage.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Review
Virology
Xuan Xu, Qing-Ye Zhang, Xin-Yi Chu, Yuan Quan, Bo-Min Lv, Hong-Yu Zhang
Summary: The article summarizes the genetic, subcellular location, and evolutionary features of human genes that have been successfully used as antiviral targets. These features are then used to screen novel druggable antiviral targets and find potential antiviral drugs, aiming to promote the discovery of new antiviral drugs.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Phillip L. Davidson, Maria Byrne, Gregory A. Wray
Summary: Chromatin configuration plays a crucial role in transcriptional regulation during embryonic development in animals. However, there is limited knowledge about the impact of evolutionary changes in chromatin configuration on gene expression and organismal traits. In this study, a comparative analysis of regulatory element sequences and accessibility was conducted in three sea urchin species with different life histories. The results revealed distinct epigenetic and mutational signatures associated with evolutionary modifications in Heliocidaris erythrogramma, suggesting that selection is responsible for these changes. Furthermore, the changes in regulatory elements correlated with divergent expression patterns of genes involved in cell type specification, morphogenesis, and development of other derived traits, indicating the consequential role of these evolutionary modifications for phenotypic evolution in H. erythrogramma. Overall, the findings demonstrate that changes in developmental life history rapidly reshape the cis-regulatory landscape of core developmental genes, resulting in the generation of novel traits and embryonic programs.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Review
Oncology
Fabio Marongiu, James DeGregori
Summary: Aging is a major risk factor for cancer and other diseases. Recent studies have shown that aging leads to the accumulation of cancer-associated mutations in normal tissues, causing the formation of expanded clones. Additionally, aged tissue microenvironments promote the initiation and progression of malignancies.
MOLECULAR ONCOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Robert L. Wallace, Rick Hochberg, Elizabeth J. Walsh
Summary: Rotifer research has progressed beyond description and population dynamics, and now focuses on neurobiological connectomes, genomic architecture and control systems, physiology, life history, ecological responses, biogeography, morphospace analysis, evolution within Gnathifera, educational opportunities, and international collaboration.
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Aaron Pfennig, Lindsay N. Petersen, Paidamoyo Kachambwa, Joseph Lachance
Summary: Africa, as the ancestral homeland of our species, exhibits high levels of genetic diversity and significant population structure. African genomes are heterogeneous, containing multiple ancestries with different evolutionary histories. This review focuses on the role of admixture in shaping African genomes, highlighting historical events of population divergence and secondary contact. It discusses genetic variation within Africa, including ancient introgression, recent admixture events, and the impact of natural selection on genetic patterns. The review also emphasizes the need for ethically conducted studies on genetic variation in Africa and its implications for health and disease.
GENOME BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Editorial Material
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alejandro Lomniczi
Summary: Variants of the melanocortin 3 receptor are linked to delayed puberty and reduced growth, suggesting that this receptor may integrate metabolic signals that impact body growth and sexual maturation.