Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Naoki Morimoto, Mikaze Kawada, Yuma Tomizawa, Akihisa Kaneko, Takeshi Nishimura
Summary: Human pelvic morphology shows sexual dimorphism that is most pronounced during peak fertility and becomes less marked during menopause. This study investigates pelvic development in Japanese macaques and finds that their pelvic morphology changes throughout adulthood, potentially adjusting to the higher obstetrical risks at advanced ages.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Joshua T. Bauld, Katharine A. Abernethy, Jason Newton, David Lehmann, Isabel L. Jones, Luc F. Bussiere
Summary: Classic evolutionary theory suggests that sexual dimorphism evolves primarily through sexual and fecundity selection. However, recent research indicates that resource competition may also contribute to the evolution of sexual dimorphism through ecological character displacement between sexes. This study conducted a meta-analysis to examine the association between isotopic divergence and body size dimorphism, and found modest but significant positive associations, particularly when there was a greater ecological opportunity for dietary divergence between sexes.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jeremy J. Midgley, Michael D. Cramer
Summary: This study found significant differences between female and male plants in terms of sexual reproduction and vegetative growth. Female plants tend to allocate more resources to sexual reproduction, while male plants prioritize vegetative growth. However, the sex ratios and basal stem areas are equal between the sexes. This suggests that plant traits are not only related to nutrition, but also to reproduction.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Biology
Angie S. Reyes, Amaury Bittar, Laura C. C. Avila, Catalina Botia, Natalia P. Esmeral, Natasha I. Bloch
Summary: This study investigates brain neuroanatomy in 18 wild guppy populations and finds extensive variation in brain size and brain region volumes across populations in different environments and with varying degrees of predation risk. Unlike laboratory studies, differences in allometric scaling of brain regions lead to variation in brain region proportions across populations. The study also reveals an association between sexual traits and brain size.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Mohammad Javad Afshari, Cang Li, Jianfeng Zeng, Jiabin Cui, Shuwang Wu, Mingyuan Gao
Summary: This study reports a biocompatible, self-illuminating probe with second near-infrared emission for improving the cytotoxicity concerns, penetration depth, and spatiotemporal resolution of bioluminescence imaging. It has been successfully applied for in vivo tumor imaging in mice.
Article
Biology
Linda H. Lidborg, Catharine Penelope Cross, Lynda G. Boothroyd
Summary: This study suggests that strength/muscularity may be sexually selected in humans, while other forms of masculinity do not show clear evidence of selection. Further research is needed to understand the evolutionary hypotheses in non-industrialized populations.
Article
Plant Sciences
Barbara Ramaldes, Renata Santos, Andre Rodrigo Rech, Michellia Soares
Summary: Diospyros sericea, a tree/shrub species considered dioecious, is widely distributed in Brazil. Despite its ecological importance, little is known about this species and its sexual system has not been studied. This study investigated dioecy expression in D. sericea through the analysis of sexual dimorphisms in phenology and floral biology. The findings suggest the existence of subdioecious populations with inconstant males in D. sericea.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alexander Anders, Remy Colin, Alvaro Banderas, Victor Sourjik
Summary: Studying yeast, it was found that different mating types exhibited asymmetrical responses in pheromone secretion, leading to enhanced mating efficiency and potential selective advantage.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Brittany R. Benlian, Pavel E. Z. Klier, Kayli N. Martinez, Marie K. Schwinn, Thomas A. Kirkland, Evan W. Miller
Summary: Q-BOLT is a small-molecule enzyme pair for optical voltage sensing that utilizes quenching of bioluminescence to visualize changes in membrane potential in live cells. It combines three distinct readouts - QRET, BRET, and the ratio between bioluminescence emission and BRET - to accurately report membrane potential oscillations in HEK 293T cells and hiPSCs, without the need for excitation light.
Article
Biology
Michael L. Yuan, Erin P. Westeen, Guinevere O. U. Wogan, Ian J. Wang
Summary: This study investigates the evolution of female ornamentation in Anolis lizards. The results show that female dewlaps are evolutionarily labile and species with larger females and reduced sexual size dimorphism are more likely to possess female dewlaps. Furthermore, the presence of female dewlaps influences diversification rates in anoles, but only as a secondary effect to a hidden state.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Evan Mitchell, Andrea L. Graham, Francisco Ubeda, Geoff Wild
Summary: Women generally exhibit stronger immune responses and pathogens tend to be more virulent in men, which current explanations cannot account for. This study proposes an alternative explanation based on the transmission of pathogens from mother to child, using a mathematical model of the co-evolution of host immunocompetence and pathogen virulence.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Tomohiko Sasaki, Sileshi Semaw, Michael J. Rogers, Scott W. Simpson, Yonas Beyene, Berhane Asfaw, Tim D. White, Gen Suwa
Summary: Accurate characterization of sexual dimorphism is essential in evolutionary biology. The new pdPeak method utilizes Bayesian inference to provide unbiased estimates and reliable interval estimates of dimorphism levels. Despite limitations, this method allows for more precise estimates at lower dimorphism levels, which is crucial for illuminating human evolution.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Niha Beig, Salendra Singh, Kaustav Bera, Prateek Prasanna, Gagandeep Singh, Jonathan Chen, Anas Saeed Bamashmos, Addison Barnett, Kyle Hunter, Volodymyr Statsevych, Virginia B. Hill, Vinay Varadan, Anant Madabhushi, Manmeet S. Ahluwalia, Pallavi Tiwari
Summary: This study identified sexually dimorphic radiogenomic models that could be used to help with personalized treatment decisions for GBM patients by revealing biological changes and prognostic differences between different genders.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Gillian C. Gibb, Lara D. Shepherd
Summary: The New Zealand wattlebirds, especially the extinct huia, exhibit extreme variation in bill morphology. Phylogenetic analyses based on genetic information reveal that saddleback and huia diverged around 5 million years ago, and the extreme sexual dimorphism in huia evolved within this time frame. This suggests that the expansion of huia in the wood-foraging niche and the resulting sexual dimorphism were the main factors contributing to the large variation in bill morphologies within this family.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nicholas W. Vankuren, Meredith M. Doellman, Sofia Sheikh, Daniela H. Palmer Droguett, Darli Massardo, Marcus R. Kronforst
Summary: Novel phenotypes can evolve by co-opting conserved genes into new developmental contexts, and in this study, the role of co-opted doublesex in butterfly wing color pattern development was characterized. The study revealed dynamic expression pattern differences between mimic and non-mimic butterflies throughout wing development, with a pulse of dsx expression causing differential gene expression particularly in Wnt and Hedgehog signaling pathways. Interestingly, Dsx co-option caused Engrailed, a primary target of Hedgehog signaling, to gain a novel expression domain early in wing development, resulting in the specification of novel mimic patterns.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)