Article
Biology
Warren Booth, Brenna A. Levine, Joel B. Corush, Mark A. Davis, Quetzal Dwyer, Roel De Plecker, Gordon W. Schuett
Summary: Over the past two decades, there has been a significant increase in documentation of facultative parthenogenesis (FP) in vertebrates. This reproductive mode has been observed in birds, lizards, snakes, and elasmobranch fishes. The discovery of FP in a crocodilian species, the American crocodile, suggests a common evolutionary origin of FP across reptiles, crocodilians, and birds.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Diego Hojsgaard, Manfred Schartl
Summary: The unusual occurrence and developmental diversity of asexual eukaryotes are still a puzzle, with lack of complementation of molecular changes in the sexual reproductive program being a main cause for their rarity. This lack of complementation can explain the developmental diversity and lability of developmental patterns in some asexuals.
Article
Biology
Ann Kathrin Huylmans, Ariana Macon, Francisco Hontoria, Beatriz Vicoso
Summary: The study found that only a few genes are consistently associated with asexual evolution, suggesting that extensive restructuring of the meiotic machinery may not be necessary. Sex-biased genes in Eurasian Artemia have high rates of expression divergence, but do not show unusual evolutionary patterns after the loss of sexuality.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Nicolas Olivier Rode, Roula Jabbour-Zahab, Lorelei Boyer, Elodie Flaven, Francisco Hontoria, Gilbert Van Stappen, France Dufresne, Christoph Haag, Thomas Lenormand
Summary: This study reveals the origin and reproduction mode of various asexual lineages of the brine shrimp Artemia parthenogenetica, showcasing the importance of considering scenarios of asexuality by transmission in understanding sex-asex transitions.
AMERICAN NATURALIST
(2022)
Article
Zoology
Giobbe Forni, Alexander S. Mikheyev, Andrea Luchetti, Barbara Mantovani
Summary: This study explores the molecular basis of automixis in a comparative framework, focusing on the gonads-biased genes in two automictic stick-insects and comparing their expression profiles and sequence evolution with a bisexual congeneric species. The study shows that the gonads transcriptional program in the parthenogens is largely assembled from pre-existing genes and different meiotic mechanisms of reproduction can be associated with a shared molecular ground plan.
ZOOLOGICAL LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Nathan W. Burke, Russell Bonduriansky
Summary: In facultatively parthenogenetic populations, the reproductive origin of females has an impact on their development, performance, and mating behavior. Parthenogenetically produced females tend to be smaller and more prone to deformities, receive fewer mating attempts, and avoid mating more often compared to sexually produced females. However, mating does not provide a net reproductive benefit for parthenogenetically produced females, suggesting physiological constraints that limit the fitness returns of sexual reproduction. These findings highlight the importance of female reproductive origin in determining the advantages of mating in this species.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Virology
Chelsea T. Barrett, Hadley E. Neal, Kearstin Edmonds, J. Lizbeth Reyes Zamora, Carole L. Moncman, Andreea Popa, Everett Clinton Smith, Stacy R. Webb, Rebecca Ellis Dutch
Summary: Hendra virus uses two surface glycoproteins to infect host cells, with the TM region of the F protein playing a key role in stability and fusion. Mutations at residues M491 and L492 have been shown to alter F protein function, indicating their involvement in the fusion process.
Editorial Material
Cell Biology
Lan Jiang, Tianyun Shen, Xinyuan Wang, Lunzhi Dai, Kefeng Lu, Huihui Li
Summary: Posttranslational modification plays a crucial role in regulating protein functions. The functions and mechanisms of N-terminal acetylation, which occurs on the first amino acids of proteins, in the field of macroautophagy/autophagy are not well understood. Recent studies have shown that the N-terminal acetyltransferase NatB is essential for autophagy and it modifies actin cytoskeleton constituent Act1 and dynamin-like GTPase Vps1, promoting the formation and fusion of autophagosomes.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Masakazu Hoshino, Shimpei F. Hiruta, Maria Emilia Croce, Mitsunobu Kamiya, Takahiro Jomori, Toshiyuki Wakimoto, Kazuhiro Kogame
Summary: Geographical parthenogenesis is an interesting topic in evolutionary biology, and a novel pattern of geographical parthenogenesis in the isogamous brown alga Scytosiphon lomentaria has been reported in Japan. The study found distinct distribution of sexual and parthenogenetic populations along different ocean currents, and suggested that parthenogens may have evolved at least twice independently in this species.
Article
Entomology
Nikoleta Eleftheriadou, Umar K. Lubanga, Greg K. Lefoe, M. Lukas Seehausen, Marc Kenis, Nickolas G. Kavallieratos, Dimitrios N. Avtzis
Summary: This study investigates the Marchalina hellenica populations in Greece and Turkey, revealing the presence of male individuals outside of their native range and highlighting a previously unknown role of males in the reproduction of this species. The populations in Greece and Turkey show strong genetic affinity, while human-aided dispersal has potentially affected their genetic pattern.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Saima Usman, Hebah Aldehlawi, Thuan Khanh Ngoc Nguyen, Muy-Teck Teh, Ahmad Waseem
Summary: This study systematically investigated the effects of different sized tags on the formation of vimentin filaments. The results showed that N-terminally tagged vimentin failed to form filaments and destabilized when integrated into a pre-existing network.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Lorelei Boyer, Roula Jabbour-Zahab, Marta Mosna, Christoph R. Haag, Thomas Lenormand
Summary: Research on the brine shrimp Artemia parthenogenetica reveals the presence of cryptic sex and hybridization in asexual lineages, leading to genetic differences between parents and offspring. While these differences are not easily observable in field-sampled asexuals, they suggest a need to reconsider the assumption of strictly clonal reproduction in asexual species and to consider rare sexual reproduction and consequences of nonclonal asexuality in models for the maintenance of sex and the persistence of asexual lineages.
Review
Biology
A. L. Sperling, D. M. Glover
Summary: Parthenogenesis is widely observed in animals, but remains understudied. In dipterans, it is of particular importance due to the presence of parthenogenetic species that are disease vectors and agricultural pests. This study presents a catalog of parthenogenetic dipterans, explores the genetic basis of parthenogenesis, and discusses the evolutionary significance of parthenogenesis in this order.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hyun Ju Oh, Byeong Chun Lee, Min Kyu Kim
Summary: In this study, the use of 6-DMAP treatment on canine oocyte activation was found to be more effective for in vivo development of parthenogenetic embryos, but not significantly different in the in vivo development of canine reconstructed SCNT embryos. The initiation of DNA synthesis during the first cell cycle was effectively induced by DMAP-2h treatment in both parthenogenesis and SCNT of canine embryos.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Baojian Chen, Lena Maas, Duarte Figueiredo, Yu Zhong, Ricardo Reis, Mengran Li, Anneke Horstman, Tjitske Riksen, Mieke Weemen, Hang Liu, Charlotte Siemons, Shaojiang Chen, Gerco C. Angenent, Kim Boutilier
Summary: The BBM transcription factor plays a major role in plant cell totipotency and seed development. This study reexamined the expression and function of BBM in Arabidopsis, and identified its crucial roles in the timing of embryo progression and the maintenance of zygotic embryo development. The study also demonstrated the engineering potential of BBM genes for asexual embryo development in dicot species.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
