Article
Ecology
Katharina Wittmann, Alexandra-Maria Klein, Michael Staab
Summary: This study examined the effects of resource availability on population sex ratio, sex allocation preference, and resource allocation in cavity-nesting Hymenoptera. The results showed that population sex ratio was unrelated to habitat properties, while sex allocation preference varied among species depending on cavity size and seasonal progression. Male larvae received less provisions than female larvae in terms of individual resource provisioning. The study highlights the importance of sex determination and resource allocation in sexually reproducing organisms.
BASIC AND APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Arash Rasekh, Mohammad Ameri, Hodjat Atashdar
Summary: This study investigates the non-genetic paternal effects in a parasitoid wasp and finds that paternal body size influences the egg load of the offspring, revealing indirect selection by males on offspring phenotypes.
EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Biology
Ceri Weber, Blanche Capel
Summary: Sex determination is a synthesis of many molecular events that drives a community of cells towards a coordinated tissue fate, even without inherited genetic determinants. Recent studies suggest that epigenetic regulation and temperature can play a significant role in initiating and stabilizing the sex determination pathway. Investigations should focus on cellular processes that can synthesize multiple inputs and drive a coordinated response, rather than a singular regulator of sex determination.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Physiology
Su-Fang Ning, Liang-Xiao Huo, Lin Lv, Ying Wang, Li-Sheng Zhang, Wu-Nan Che, Hui Dong, Jin-Cheng Zhou
Summary: In this study, the sex determination genes and sex-specific gene splicing were identified for the first time in Trichogramma wasps. It was found that these genes exhibit sex-specific expression during the early embryo and larval stages of the wasps. These findings provide a foundation for further research on the sex determination mechanisms of Trichogramma and other wasps, and also facilitate the application of these important egg parasitoids in biological insect pest control programs.
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2023)
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Deborah Charlesworth
Summary: A recent genome sequencing study has shed light on the unusual sex chromosomes found in some mouse and vole species, furthering our understanding of these puzzling genetic systems.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Edina Nemeshazi, Veronika Bokony
Summary: Wildlife exhibits various sex-determination systems, with both sex chromosomes and environmental temperatures playing a role in individual sexual development. Amphibians and reptiles are becoming important for studying the causes and consequences of this variability, and we have created a comprehensive database called HerpSexDet, featuring data on genetic and temperature-dependent sex determination, as well as reports on sex reversal for 192 amphibian and 697 reptile species. This database enables comparative studies on the evolution of sex determination and its effects on species traits and conservation status, and aids in identifying species for future research on environmentally driven sex reversal.
Article
Biology
Ruoxu Chen, Steven M. Sanders, Zhiwei Ma, Justin Paschall, E. Sally Chang, Brooke M. Riscoe, Christine E. Schnitzler, Andreas D. Baxevanis, Matthew L. Nicotra
Summary: This study establishes Hydractinia as a reliable non-bilaterian model system for the study of sex determination and the evolution of sex chromosomes. By generating a linkage map and utilizing deep sequencing, the researchers found pseudoautosomal and non-recombining regions on the X and Y chromosomes of Hydractinia. They also identified genes in the non-recombining region that are specifically expressed in the male gonad. Additionally, the study observed enhanced recombination rates in the female genome and determined that Hydractinia has a haploid chromosome number of n = 15.
Article
Entomology
Fangying Chen, Martijn Schenkel, Elzemiek Geuverink, Louis van de Zande, Leo W. Beukeboom
Summary: Complementary sex determination (CSD) is a common sex determination mechanism in haplodiploid Hymenoptera, while endosymbiont-induced thelytoky may be incompatible with CSD due to gamete duplication leading to complete homozygosity. The rejection of CSD in two cynipid wasp species, Leptopilina heterotoma and Leptopilina clavipes, sheds light on the sex determination mechanism and presumed incompatibility between CSD and endosymbiont-induced thelytoky in Hymenoptera.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Gianluigi Paolillo, Maria Grazia De Iorio, Joel F. Soares Filipe, Federica Riva, Alessandra Stella, Gustavo Gandini, Giulio Pagnacco, Barbara Lazzari, Giulietta Minozzi
Summary: This study investigates csd variability in the genomic sequence of the hypervariable region (HVR) of the csd gene in honeybee subspecies sampled in Italy. High csd allelic diversity is found in these subspecies, which is crucial for colony survival.
Editorial Material
Biology
Susanne S. Renner, Niels A. Mueller
Summary: This theme issue presents a series of articles that synthesize and challenge the current understanding of how plants achieve dioecy. The articles discuss a wide range of taxa and overarching topics, providing a comprehensive and thought-provoking exploration of the fascinating phenomenon of dioecy in plants.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ryoji Shinya, Simo Sun, Mehmet Dayi, Isheng Jason Tsai, Atsushi Miyama, Anthony Fu Chen, Koichi Hasegawa, Igor Antoshechkin, Taisei Kikuchi, Paul W. Sternberg
Summary: The authors demonstrate that sex determination in Bursaphelenchus nematodes is likely regulated by a random, epigenetic mechanism, rather than the more well-known mechanisms of chromosomal or environmental sex determination.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Emily C. Moore, Patrick J. Ciccotto, Erin N. Peterson, Melissa S. Lamm, R. Craig Albertson, Reade B. Roberts
Summary: For many vertebrates, a single genetic locus initiates a cascade of developmental sex differences, resulting in adults with two phenotypically distinct sexes. However, species with polygenic sex determination have multiple interacting sex determination alleles, allowing for more than two genotypic sexes. In the cichlid fish Metriaclima mbenjii, polygenic sex determination produces modular variation in morphological and behavioral traits, and the evolution or introgression of a newly acquired sex determiner creates additional axes of phenotypic variation.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Florence Ngo Ngwe, Sonja Siljak-Yakovlev
Summary: We studied the sex chromosomes of Dioscorea dumetorum in Cameroon and found that one pair of chromosomes is sex chromosomes. This research contributes to our understanding of the sex determination mechanism in D. dumetorum (standard sex-determining XX/XY system).
Review
Biology
Xi-Yin Li, Jie Mei, Chu-Tian Ge, Xiao-Li Liu, Jian-Fang Gui
Summary: Aquaculture plays a crucial role in global food security, and understanding the sex determination and control mechanisms in aquaculture animals is essential for sustainable development.
SCIENCE CHINA-LIFE SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Chase H. Smith, Raquel Mejia-Trujillo, Sophie Breton, Brendan J. Pinto, Mark Kirkpatrick, Justin C. Havird
Summary: Mitochondrial and nuclear genes play important roles in sex determination in DUI bivalves. The study found that M mtDNA releases sncRNA that targets a pathway related to female development and mitophagy, and is directly involved in gene silencing. Additionally, genome-wide patterns of genetic differentiation and heterozygosity do not support the presence of a nuclear sex-determining region.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Casper J. van der Kooi, Johannes Spaethe
Article
Ecology
Sarah Catherine Paul, Pragya Singh, Alice B. Dennis, Caroline Mueller
Summary: This study investigated the intergenerational effects of parental larval starvation and adult reproductive environment on the offspring traits of the turnip sawfly. The results showed that parental larval starvation had trait-dependent effects on both life history and consumption traits of the offspring larvae, in interaction with offspring conditions. However, there was no significant effect of parental adult reproductive environment. In addition, offspring larval starvation led to numerous gene- and pathway-level expression differences, while parental larval starvation impacted fewer genes and only the ribosomal pathway.
AMERICAN NATURALIST
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Natalie Sieber, Hanna Hartikainen, Raphael Krieg, Armin Zenker, Christoph Vorburger
Summary: Invasive species can facilitate pathogen spread by carrying and driving disease outbreaks in native populations, presenting challenges in detecting pathogens in carrier populations. Combining monitoring methods may improve detection reliability.
BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Karthik Sankar Narayan, Christoph Vorburger, Nina Hafer-Hahmann
Summary: Protective symbionts can provide effective and specific protection to their hosts, but the consistency of this protection varies between different symbiont strains. Symbiont diversity does not enhance the diversity of colonizing parasitoids under natural field conditions.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Heidi Kaech, Stephanie Jud, Christoph Vorburger
Summary: Endosymbiont-conferred resistance to parasitoids in aphids comes at a cost to the host. Introducing protective symbiont Hamiltonella defensa into uninfected aphid clones reduced lifespan and lifetime reproduction. Transfer of H. defensa isolates into a common genetic background did not result in overestimation of realized costs, suggesting this method is reliable for estimating costs of endosymbionts.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kamil S. Jaron, Darren J. Parker, Yoann Anselmetti, Patrick Tran Van, Jens Bast, Zoe Dumas, Emeric Figuet, Clementine M. Francois, Keith Hayward, Victor Rossier, Paul Simion, Marc Robinson-Rechavi, Nicolas Galtier, Tanja Schwander
Summary: This study investigated the genome evolution of parthenogenetic species in the stick insect genus Timema and found that parthenogenesis leads to a significant reduction in heterozygosity and often results in genetically uniform populations. Additionally, the study revealed that parthenogenetic species experience less effective positive selection, indicating that sex is prevalent in natural populations due to its facilitation of rapid adaptation. The study also observed no increased accumulation of transposable elements in parthenogenetic species, likely due to the low TE activity in the genus. Overall, these findings provide empirical support for the negative consequences of parthenogenesis as predicted by theory.
Article
Ecology
Darren J. Parker, Kamil S. Jaron, Zoe Dumas, Marc Robinson-Rechavi, Tanja Schwander
Summary: Sex chromosomes have evolved repeatedly across different species, with similar consequences such as accelerated evolution and increased accumulation of sexually antagonistic alleles. In Timema stick insects, the X chromosome has remained consistent in size and gene content over 30 million years of evolution, showing limited association with sexually biased genes.
JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Frida Feijen, Natalia Zajac, Christoph Vorburger, Isabel Blasco-Costa, Jukka Jokela
Summary: The phylogeographic patterns of many taxa on New Zealand's South Island show disjunct distributions, which may be attributed to Pleistocene climatic cycles and the formation of the Southern Alps. Through studying the parasitic trematode of the aquatic snail, it was found that there is evidence of a barrier to gene-flow in sympatry, and these species may have diverged during the Pleistocene. In the central part of the South Island, a boundary between these disjunct distributions was found, and it is reinforced by low cross-alpine migration. Nuclear and mitochondrial population differentiation patterns are concordant, except for populations in a potential secondary contact zone.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Agnieszka Sendek, Marco Baity-Jesi, Florian Altermatt, Martin K. -F Bader, Andrew M. Liebhold, Rebecca M. Turner, Alain Roques, Hanno Seebens, Piet Spaak, Christoph Vorburger, Eckehard G. Brockerhoff
Summary: Non-native insect species are under-represented in freshwater habitats compared to terrestrial habitats. This pattern is consistent across different regions. Our study contributes to understanding the drivers and impacts of biological invasions.
DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Ian R. McFadden, Agnieszka Sendek, Morgane Brosse, Peter M. Bach, Marco Baity-Jesi, Janine Bolliger, Kurt Bollmann, Eckehard G. Brockerhoff, Giulia Donati, Friederike Gebert, Shyamolina Ghosh, Hsi-Cheng Ho, Imran Khaliq, J. Jelle Lever, Ivana Logar, Helen Moor, Daniel Odermatt, Loiec Pellissier, Luiz Jardim de Queiroz, Christian Rixen, Nele Schuwirth, J. Ryan Shipley, Cornelia W. Twining, Yann Vitasse, Christoph Vorburger, Mark K. L. Wong, Niklaus E. Zimmermann, Ole Seehausen, Martin M. Gossner, Blake Matthews, Catherine H. Graham, Florian Altermatt, Anita Narwani
Summary: Human impacts such as habitat loss, climate change, and biological invasions are drastically changing biodiversity. We propose an integrative approach to explain the differences in impacts between terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems by linking them to four fundamental processes that structure communities. Through this approach, we aim to provide insights into why human impacts and responses to them may differ across ecosystem types, using a mechanistic, eco-evolutionary framework.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Feng Cheng, Alice B. Dennis, Josephine Ijeoma Osuoha, Julia Canitz, Frank Kirschbaum, Ralph Tiedemann
Summary: This study assembled the genome of the weakly electric fish Campylomormyrus and compared gene family evolution among other osteoglossomorphs and electric fish. The results show that osteoglossomorphs have a faster evolution rate with more expanded gene families. The KCNA7a gene in the C. compressirostris genome is tandemly duplicated, which may contribute to the diverse electric organ discharges observed in Campylomormyrus species.
Editorial Material
Plant Sciences
Casper J. van der Kooi, Rowan F. Sage
Article
Biology
Susana Freitas, Darren J. Parker, Marjorie Labedan, Zoe Dumas, Tanja Schwander
Summary: In this study, evidence for cryptic sex was found in two populations of Timema stick insects, which could help explain the success of parthenogenesis in this genus and raises questions about the persistence of old parthenogens in nature.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Genetics & Heredity
Kathrin Theissinger, Carlos Fernandes, Giulio Formenti, Iliana Bista, Paul R. Berg, Christoph Bleidorn, Aureliano Bombarely, Angelica Crottini, Guido R. Gallo, Jose A. Godoy, Sissel Jentoft, Joanna Malukiewicz, Alice Mouton, Rebekah A. Oomen, Sadye Paez, Per J. Palsboll, Christophe Pampoulie, Maria J. Ruiz-Lopez, Simona Secomandi, Hannes Svardal, Constantina Theofanopoulou, Jan de Vries, Ann-Marie Waldvogel, Guojie Zhang, Erich D. Jarvis, Miklos Balint, Claudio Ciofi, Robert M. Waterhouse, Camila J. Mazzoni, Jacob Hoglund
Summary: The availability of public genomic resources can greatly assist biodiversity assessment, conservation, and restoration efforts. Reference genomes play a key role in facilitating biodiversity research and conservation. Integrating the use of reference genomes as a best practice in conservation genomics is essential.
TRENDS IN GENETICS
(2023)
Review
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Casper J. van der Kooi, Lora Reuvers, Johannes Spaethe
Summary: Plants use attractive flowers to advertise their presence and attract pollinators. Understanding the relationship between floral traits and reward status is crucial in pollination biology. However, the use of different terms and concepts in studies on plant phenotype-reward associations hinders broader synthesis.