Article
Biology
Vinicius Marques Lopez, Thaina Aparecida Azevedo Tosta, Guilherme Gonzaga da Silva, Pedro Reck Bartholomay, Kevin Andrew Williams, Rhainer Guillermo-Ferreira
Summary: This study found that the color lightness of velvet ants is influenced by ecological and climatic factors. Species with darker coloration prefer habitats with more vegetation, higher humidity, and stronger UV-B radiation. Contrary to the Thermal melanism hypothesis, the study did not find a correlation between mutillids and this hypothesis.
JOURNAL OF THERMAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Caitlin M. Baker, Rebecca S. Buckman-Young, Cristiano S. Costa, Gonzalo Giribet
Summary: RNA sequencing and phylogenomic analysis were used to reconstruct the evolutionary relationships within the phylum Onychophora, revealing a well-supported phylogeny for the family Peripatopsidae with signals of Gondwanan vicariance. However, the family Peripatidae in the Neotropical region showed unstable relationships largely due to amino acid-translated sequence data. Discordant phylogenetic signal between genes may indicate a rapid, mid-Cretaceous radiation in the group.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Timo Jensen, Andrew A. Walker, Son H. Nguyen, Ai-Hua Jin, Jennifer R. Deuis, Irina Vetter, Glenn F. King, Justin O. Schmidt, Samuel D. Robinson
Summary: This study investigates the composition and function of the venom of mutillid wasps in the genus Dasymutilla, revealing that their venom is primarily composed of peptides. These peptides play a key role in causing the painful effects of envenomation and defending against invertebrates. The defensive venom peptides of Dasymutilla share structural and functional similarities with those of the ant Myrmecia gulosa, suggesting either retention of ancestral toxins or convergence due to similar life histories and defensive selection pressures.
CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR LIFE SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ying Wen, Gaosen Zhang, Wei Zhang, Guangxiu Liu
Summary: Deserts are extreme environments with multiple environmental stresses. Bacteria in desert ecosystems have diverse functions and play important roles.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Editorial Material
Neurosciences
Wolfgang Roessler
Summary: This article provides a brief overview of the skills of Cataglyphis desert ants in multisensory learning and neuronal plasticity, focusing on their transition from the dark nest interior to performing first foraging trips. It highlights desert ants as experimental models for studying the neuronal mechanisms underlying behavioral development into successful navigators.
TRENDS IN NEUROSCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
George C. C. Waldren, Emily A. A. Sadler, Elizabeth A. A. Murray, Silas Bossert, Bryan N. N. Danforth, James P. P. Pitts
Summary: A phylogenomic study using ultraconserved elements (UCEs) was conducted to investigate the higher-level classification of Mutillidae. The results showed congruence between morphology-based and morphology-genomics-based classification at the subfamily level, but poor support for tribal classification. Several new lineages outside of Mutillidae and Sphaeropthalminae were discovered, and they were named accordingly. Additionally, dating analyses were performed to estimate the ages of different families and subfamilies within Pompiloidea.
SYSTEMATIC ENTOMOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biology
Felicien Degueldre, Serge Aron
Summary: Sperm competition is positively correlated with sperm production and viability but unrelated to sperm DNA integrity in Cataglyphis desert ants, highlighting the important role of sperm competition in shaping reproductive performance in eusocial Hymenoptera.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biology
Adi Bar, Chen Marom, Nikol Zorin, Tomer Gilad, Aziz Subach, Susanne Foitzik, Inon Scharf
Summary: This study investigates how experience affects the behavior of ant workers towards pitfall traps. The study finds that ants improve their ability to detect and avoid traps after accumulating experience, and they can quickly adjust their behavior in response to changes in the environment.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Marilia Freire, Antonio Bollig, Markus Knaden
Summary: The elements in the drawings are recyclable and reusable materials, which can be used by artificial intelligence to generate new drawing designs.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ignacio Quintero, Michael J. Landis, Walter Jetz, Helene Morlon
Summary: The difference in species abundance between the tropics and the extra tropics is a major pattern in biogeography. Understanding the processes that regulate this diversity gradient is a challenge. By using spatiotemporal phylogenetic and paleontological models, we found that both extinctions in the extra tropics and outflow of tropical species contribute to shaping biodiversity. These dynamics accurately predict present-day levels of species richness across latitudes.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Anna Hakobyan, Stefanie Velte, Wiebke Sickel, Dietmar Quandt, Alexandra Stoll, Claudia Knief
Summary: This study found that Tillandsia landbeckii plants in hyperarid deserts host specific bacterial communities, providing another refuge for microbial life.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Cheng-long Zhang, Chunjie Liu, Jihu Zhang, Langman Zheng, Qianqian Chang, Zilong Cui, Shudong Liu
Summary: This study explores the molecular basis of livestock adaptability in the Taklimakan Desert by analyzing the population genetic structure and linkage imbalance of five sheep breeds. The results reveal candidate genes associated with perennial estrus and stable reproduction in sheep breeds from the Taklimakan Desert. This research provides a theoretical basis for the conservation and exploitation of genetic resources of indigenous sheep breeds in extreme desert environments.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Steven M. Grodsky, Karl A. Roeder, Joshua W. Campbell
Summary: Land-use change from solar energy development may have negative effects on desert ants, but less intensive site preparation and increased spatial heterogeneity can reduce these effects. However, solar energy infrastructure may negatively affect some species of high ecological value.
Article
Neurosciences
Robin Grob, Clara Tritscher, Kornelia Gruebel, Christian Stigloher, Claudia Groh, Pauline N. Fleischmann, Wolfgang Roessler
Summary: The study found that the Johnston's organ (JO) in the desert ant Cataglyphis workers has a similar anatomy and central projection pattern to bees and fruit flies, exhibiting a multisensory nature that likely serves synchronization and calibration of different sensory modalities during navigation ontogeny.
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE NEUROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Steven M. Grodsky, Karl A. Roeder, Joshua W. Campbell
Summary: This study examined the impacts of solar energy development on desert ant communities and found that ant abundance, species richness, diversity index, and functional richness were lower in areas with intense site preparation. However, less intensive site preparation and increased spatial heterogeneity could reduce the negative effects of solar energy development on ants. Ants may serve as useful bioindicators to assess the severity of anthropogenic disturbance from solar energy development and the negative effects on certain species of high ecological value. These negative effects can have significant implications for desert ecosystem function and integrity, but conservation-minded solar facility design and construction can help mitigate these ecological ramifications.
Article
Paleontology
Juanita Rodriguez, Cecilia Waichert, Carol D. Von Dohlen, George Poinar, James P. Pitts
ACTA PALAEONTOLOGICA POLONICA
(2016)
Article
Ecology
Nate B. Hardy, Daniel A. Peterson, Carol D. von Dohlen
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Juanita Rodriguez, James P. Pitts, Jaime A. Florez, Jason E. Bond, Carol D. von Dohlen
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2016)
Article
Entomology
Angela M. Mech, Sherilyn J. Harper, Nathan P. Havill, Carol D. von Dohlen, Gaelen R. Burke
Article
Microbiology
Carol D. von Dohlen, Usha Spaulding, Kistie B. Patch, Kathryn M. Weglarz, Robert G. Foottit, Nathan P. Havill, Gaelen R. Burke
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2017)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Kathryn M. Weglarz, Nathan P. Havill, Gaelen R. Burke, Carol D. von Dohlen
GENOME BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2018)
Article
Entomology
Juanita Rodriguez, Carol D. Von Dohlen, James P. Pitts
ANNALS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
(2014)
Article
Ecology
Juanita Rodriguez, James P. Pitts, Carol D. von Dohlen
JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2015)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zhumei Ren, Yang Zhong, Utako Kurosu, Shigeyuki Aoki, Enbo Ma, Carol D. von Dohlen, Jun Wen
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2013)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Juanita Rodriguez, James P. Pitts, Carol D. von Dohlen, Joseph S. Wilson
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Juanita Rodriguez, Cecilia Waichert, Carol D. von Dohlen, James P. Pitts
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Cecilia Waichert, Carol D. Von Dohlen, James P. Pitts
SYSTEMATIC ENTOMOLOGY
(2015)
Article
Ecology
Dustin T. Dial, Kathryn M. Weglarz, Akintunde O. Aremu, Nathan P. Havill, Taylor A. Pearson, Gaelen R. Burke, Carol D. von Dohlen
Summary: Plant-sap-feeding insects often maintain a single obligate symbiont over their evolutionary history, with additional symbionts compensating for functional gaps. Adelgids, which feed on conifer trees, have experienced multiple replacements of senior and junior symbionts. Genomic analysis of adelgids reveals diverse bacterial lineage origins and varying degrees of genome degradation in the nutritional partners. The turnover of symbionts may be driven by fluctuating selection for nutrition provisioning related to the complex life cycles of their hosts.
Article
Zoology
Jaime Ortego, Megan A. Licht, M. Pilar Mier Durante, Carol D. von Dohlen, Juan M. Nieto Nafria
Summary: This study examined morphology and DNA sequences of Blanchardaphis specimens from Argentina and Chile, and conducted a phylogenetic analysis to determine their relationship with Uroleucon. Minor morphological and genetic differences were found between Blanchardaphis samples, which appear to be population-level variation. Based on current evidence, it is concluded that B. poikila is synonymous with B. capitophoroides, and that Blanchardaphis is synonymous with Lambersius (a subgenus of Uroleucon) or alternatively with the subgenus Uroleucon.
Article
Zoology
Ashley E. Dederich, Susan E. Halbert, Carol D. von Dohlen
Summary: Hamamelistes and Hormaphis aphids are distributed in eastern North America and Eurasia. Host-alternating species have life cycles on witch-hazel and birch. In this study, a new undescribed species of Hamamelistes was discovered in Alabama, USA. The morphology and DNA sequence confirmed its classification. The authors recommend restricting the tribe Hormaphidini to Hamamelistes and Hormaphis.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Markus Osaland Fjelde, Einar Timdal, Reidar Haugan, Mika Bendiksby
Summary: This study investigated the taxonomy of the crustose lichen genus Calvitimela using molecular phylogenetics and morphological observations. The results revealed evolutionarily old and deeply divergent lineages within Calvitimela, with overlapping morphological characters between different subgenera. Chemical characters were informative at the level of subgenera but often homoplastic at the species level. A practical taxonomy of Calvitimela was proposed based on these findings.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2024)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Bo-Yang Shi, Da Pan, Kang-Qin Zhang, Tian-Yu Gu, Darren C. J. Yeo, Peter K. L. Ng, Neil Cumberlidge, Hong-Ying Sun
Summary: This study investigates the evolutionary history and speciation mechanisms of montane potamids in the Hengduan Mountains Region. The results suggest that the vicariance events of these crabs are correlated with the emergence of sky islands due to the uplift of the mountains. The mountain ridges provided corridors for their dispersal and past climatic conditions played a crucial role in their evolutionary history. The mechanisms isolating sky islands are reinforced by the climatic features of dry-hot valleys and continue to affect local diversification.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2024)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Attila Nemeth, Edvard Mizsei, Levente Laczko, David Czaban, Zsolt Hegyeli, Szabolcs Lengyel, Gabor Csorba, Gabor Sramko
Summary: Species delimitation of European blind mole rats is challenging due to their small morphological differences and complex chromosomal evolution. This study provides a comprehensive framework to improve understanding of their evolutionary history and revise their taxonomy. The results reveal the presence of multiple superspecies and species, with distinct geographic patterns and rapid chromosomal evolution.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2024)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ying Qi, Zhaoyan Zhong, Xu Liu, Xing He, Yadong Zhou, Lili Zhang, Chong Chen, Katrin Linse, Jian-Wen Qiu, Jin Sun
Summary: This study investigates the phylogenetic relationships among patellogastropod families using mitochondrial and phylogenomic data. The results show that the mitochondrial phylogeny recovers monophyly of most families, but the relationships among families are still contentious. However, a more robust family-level topology consistent with morphology is achieved by phylogenomics. Additionally, the mainly deep-water families are found to be monophyletic, suggesting a single colonization of the deep water during the Jurassic.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2024)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yu-Jie Shi, Jin -Liang Huang, Jia-Xuan Mi, Jing Li, Fan-Yu Meng, Yu Zhong, Fang He, Fei -Fei Tian, Fan Zhang, Liang-Hua Chen, Han-Bo Yang, Hong-Lin Hu, Xue-Qin Wan
Summary: Despite numerous studies on hybrid speciation, our understanding of this process remains limited. In this study, we conducted an 18-year systematic investigation on Populus taxa on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and discovered three new taxa that originated from distant hybridization between two different sections. These hybrid taxa demonstrate greater ecological adaptability than their ancestral species due to heterosis. We propose a hybrid speciation process model that can explain important evolutionary concerns.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2024)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Anna Cho, Denis Tikhonenkov, Gordon Lax, Kristina I. Prokina, Patrick J. Keeling
Summary: Unlike conspicuous ochrophytes, many small and overlooked flagellates belonging to basally branching stramenopiles remain poorly characterized at the cellular or genomic level. This study describes four new species, including two new genera, of sediment-dwelling MAST-6 and provides updated phylogenomic tree of stramenopiles. The characterization of these flagellates is important due to their phylogenetic diversity and abundance in various environments.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2024)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Tian-Tian Xue, Steven B. Janssens, Bin-Bin Liu, Sheng-Xiang Yu
Summary: Phylogenomic conflicts are widespread among genomic data, with most previous studies primarily focusing on nuclear datasets instead of organellar genomes. In this study, we investigated the phylogenetic conflicts within and between plastid and mitochondrial genomes using Potentilla as a case study. We found that both plastid and mitochondrial genomes divided Potentilla into eight highly supported clades, with two newly identified clades. Our results demonstrate that mitochondrial genes can fully resolve phylogenetic relationships among major clades of Potentilla and are not always linked with plastomes in evolutionary history.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2024)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Alexandra A. Grossi, Chunpo Tian, Mengjiao Ren, Fasheng Zou, Daniel R. Gustafsson
Summary: This study suggests that the coevolutionary relationships between chewing lice, endosymbiotic bacteria, and birds are not independent, but the patterns vary depending on the analysis method used. Additionally, louse host-switching does not seem to affect bacterial strains.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2024)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ingrid Olivares, Sergio Tusso, Maria Jose Sanin, Marylaure de La Harpe, Oriane Loiseau, Jonathan Rolland, Nicolas Salamin, Michael Kessler, Kentaro K. Shimizu, Margot Paris
Summary: Traditionally, differences between species have been associated with morphological variation. However, the discovery of cryptic diversity suggests that the evolution of distinct lineages can occur without morphological differences. Through genetic analysis, we found that a tropical montane plant lineage is composed of numerous unrecognized genetic groups that are not morphologically distinct. Geographic distance and topography play a crucial role in determining the genetic divergence of these groups.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2024)