Article
Biology
Victor Shamanskiy, Alina A. Mikhailova, Evgenii O. Tretiakov, Kristina Ushakova, Alina G. Mikhailova, Sergei Oreshkov, Dmitry A. Knorre, Natalia Ree, Jonathan B. Overdevest, Samuel W. Lukowski, Irina Gostimskaya, Valerian Yurov, Chia-Wei Liou, Tsu-Kung Lin, Wolfram S. Kunz, Alexandre Reymond, Ilya Mazunin, Georgii A. Bazykin, Jacques Fellay, Masashi Tanaka, Konstantin Khrapko, Konstantin Gunbin, Konstantin Popadin
Summary: This study reveals that the contact zone between two direct repeats on mitochondrial DNA is a hot spot for deletions, which may be associated with human aging. The direct repeats within the contact zone are more likely to cause mutations compared to repeats outside the zone. These findings have important implications for predicting mutation burden and maximum lifespan in human populations and mammalian species.
Article
Biology
Josefin Stiller, Nerida G. G. Wilson, Greg W. W. Rouse
Summary: The common seadragon is a single species with strong geographic structure and genetic diversity. The eastern and western populations of seadragons have low genetic diversity, which is concerning given the fast climate change in these areas. These findings provide important insights into the historical determinants of species diversity in the Great Southern Reef.
Article
Biology
Jiaming Hu, Michael V. Westbury, Junxia Yuan, Zhen Zhang, Shungang Chen, Bo Xiao, Xindong Hou, Hailong Ji, Xulong Lai, Michael Hofreiter, Guilian Sheng
Summary: Cave hyenas, extinct bone-cracking carnivores from the family Hyaenidae, were widespread across Eurasia during the Pleistocene and became extinct at the end of the Late Pleistocene. A study of two cave hyena fossils from northeastern China suggests a split of the Asian cave hyena mitochondrial lineage from their European and African relatives around 1.85 million years ago, in line with the earliest Crocuta fossil dating to approximately 2 million years ago. Comparisons of genetic diversity indicate cave hyenas had higher diversity than extant species, likely due to non-monophyletic lineages. The joint female effective population size of Crocuta experienced declines during the Late Pleistocene.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Connor M. French, Laura D. Bertola, Ana C. Carnaval, Evan P. Economo, Jamie M. Kass, David J. Lohman, Katharine A. Marske, Rudolf Meier, Isaac Overcast, Andrew J. Rominger, Phillip P. A. Staniczenko, Michael J. Hickerson
Summary: Understanding global patterns of genetic diversity is crucial for studying and preserving biodiversity. This study creates a global map of predicted insect mitochondrial genetic diversity and identifies the environmental factors associated with genetic diversity. The findings contribute to our understanding of global biodiversity patterns in the most diverse animal group and have important implications for conservation efforts.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Review
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alexandre Antonelli, Rhian J. Smith, Allison L. Perrigo, Angelica Crottini, Jan Hackel, Weston Testo, Harith Farooq, Maria F. Torres Jimenez, Niels Andela, Tobias Andermann, Andotiana M. Andriamanohera, Sylvie Andriambololonera, Steven P. Bachman, Christine D. Bacon, William J. Baker, Francesco Belluardo, Chris Birkinshaw, James S. Borrell, Stuart Cable, Nataly A. Canales, Juan D. Carrillo, Rosie Clegg, Colin Clubbe, Robert S. C. Cooke, Gabriel Damasco, Sonia Dhanda, Daniel Edler, Soren Faurby, Paola de Lima Ferreira, Brian L. Fisher, Felix Forest, Lauren M. Gardiner, Steven M. Goodman, Olwen M. Grace, Thais B. Guedes, Marie C. Henniges, Rowena Hill, Caroline E. R. Lehmann, Porter P. Lowry, Lovanomenjanahary Marline, Pavel Matos-Maravi, Justin Moat, Beatriz Neves, Matheus G. C. Nogueira, Renske E. Onstein, Alexander S. T. Papadopulos, Oscar A. Perez-Escobar, Leanne N. Phelps, Peter B. Phillipson, Samuel Pironon, Natalia A. S. Przelomska, Marina Rabarimanarivo, David Rabehevitra, Jeannie Raharimampionona, Mamy Tiana Rajaonah, Fano Rajaonary, Landy R. Rajaovelona, Mijoro Rakotoarinivo, Amedee A. Rakotoarisoa, Solofo E. Rakotoarisoa, Herizo N. Rakotomalala, Franck Rakotonasolo, Berthe A. Ralaiveloarisoa, Myriam Ramirez-Herranz, Jean Emmanuel N. Randriamamonjy, Tianjanahary Randriamboavonjy, Vonona Randrianasolo, Andriambolantsoa Rasolohery, Anitry N. Ratsifandrihamanana, Noro Ravololomanana, Velosoa Razafiniary, Henintsoa Razanajatovo, Estelle Razanatsoa, Malin Rivers, Ferran Sayol, Daniele Silvestro, Maria S. Vorontsova, Kim Walker, Barnaby E. Walker, Paul Wilkin, Jenny Williams, Thomas Ziegler, Alexander Zizka, Helene Ralimanana
Summary: Madagascar has a rich biota with high levels of endemicity, but the diversity and evolution of many groups remain unknown. Humid forests are centers of diversity and endemism, while other areas also have biologically important endemism with potential for new traits useful for food, medicine, and climate mitigation.
Article
Geography, Physical
Emil Karpinski, Chris Widga, Andrew R. Boehm, Brandon R. Peecook, Melanie Kuch, Tyler J. Murchie, Hendrik N. Poinar
Summary: Paleogenetics is a powerful method for studying the evolutionary relationships between and within taxonomic groups. By analyzing mitochondrial genomes, we can learn about the distribution dynamics and southward dispersal of mastodons in response to glacial/interglacial cycles. Further research is needed to comprehensively examine the morphological variation in Mammut.
QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Article
Zoology
Nikolaos Psonis, Despoina Vassou, Loucas Nicolaou, Socrates Roussiakis, George Iliopoulos, Nikos Poulakakis, Spyros Sfenthourakis
Summary: The Cypriot pygmy hippopotamus, an extinct Mediterranean species, has been studied using ancient DNA analysis. The results reveal its close phylogenetic affinity to the common hippopotamus and suggest a divergence of around 1.36 to 1.58 million years ago.
ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Christopher Jakubke, Rodaria Roussou, Andreas Maiser, Christina Schug, Felix Thoma, David Bunk, David Horl, Heinrich Leonhardt, Peter Walter, Till Klecker, Christof Osman
Summary: The study shows that yeast can distinguish between functional and defective mtDNA, promoting the generation of healthier daughter cells. Purifying selection for functional mtDNA occurs in a continuous mitochondrial network, depending on intact cristae morphology.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yani Peng, Xiaoping Liu, Xinhua Liu, Xiao Cheng, Lu Xia, Leyi Qin, Sudun Guan, Yue Wang, Xiaodi Wu, Jiajing Wu, Dong Yan, Jianying Liu, Yu Zhang, Luyang Sun, Jing Liang, Yongfeng Shang
Summary: RCCD1, known as a regulator of chromosome condensation, is found to be localized in mitochondria and plays important roles in regulating mitochondrial function. Its dysregulation is associated with the development and survival of breast cancer. Overexpression of RCCD1 is observed in breast carcinomas and correlated with aggressive breast cancer phenotypes and poor patient survival.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Sara C. Zapico, Krizia Crucet, Aleksandra Antevska, Rosalina Fernandez-Paradas, Christina Burns, Cassandra DeGaglia, Douglas H. Ubelaker
Summary: Analyzing the efficiency of isolating human nuclear and mitochondrial DNA from contact lenses, the study demonstrates the potential of recovering, isolating, amplifying, and characterizing DNA from unusual items left at crime scenes. These findings highlight the importance of recovering unusual items as a potential source of DNA to identify victims and suspects.
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Paul A. M. Michels, Michael L. Ginger
Summary: A recent study found that a protein complex, which is responsible for mitochondrial cristae formation, also drives the formation of intracytoplasmic membranes in alphaproteobacteria, indicating a bacterial origin for the biogenesis of mitochondrial cristae.
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Stephen J. Gaughran, Bridgett vonHoldt
Summary: The distribution and movement of species, known as biogeography, is a fundamental field in ecology and evolutionary biology. Recent genetic studies of ancient specimens have revealed important evidence on the migrations of brown bears and lions into North America during the late Pleistocene, highlighting the long-lasting impact of sea level changes on the dispersal of terrestrial carnivores.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Megan L. Smith, Jessica Wallace, David C. Tank, Jack Sullivan, Bryan C. Carstens
Summary: This study examines the impact of Pleistocene glacial cycles on the distribution and genetic structure of endemic invertebrate species in the Pacific Northwest. The results show that glacial periods reduced habitat suitability and increased habitat fragmentation, leading to intraspecific divergence and secondary contact between populations. The findings suggest that refugial dynamics played a significant role in driving population structure and gene flow in these species.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Selma Cetin-Ferra, Sharon C. Francis, Anthonya T. Cooper, Kit Neikirk, Andrea G. Marshall, Antentor Hinton Jr, Sandra A. A. Murray
Summary: Mitochondria contain connexins that form gap junction channels, playing a role in cell-cell communication. However, connexins in mitochondria have also been found to assemble into hemichannels and may be involved in regulating mitochondrial functions such as potassium fluxes and respiration. However, the presence and function of mitochondrial connexins are still poorly understood. Understanding the significance of mitochondrial connexins and their contact sites is crucial for developing therapeutic interventions in mitochondria-related diseases.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Paulina H. Wanrooij, Andrei Chabes
Summary: Mitochondria depend on the import and salvage of nucleotides for their own genetic material synthesis; NME6 plays a crucial role in converting pyrimidine ribonucleotide diphosphates into triphosphates; The absence of NME6 leads to mitochondrial transcript depletion and destabilization of the electron transport chain.
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)