Article
Biology
Shahar Avin, Adrian Currie, Stephen H. Montgomery
Summary: Vertebrate brain structure shows both consistent scaling between components and divergence from general trends. Different hypotheses explain these patterns, emphasizing external processes such as selection or internal processes like developmental coupling. The study introduces an agent-based model to simulate brain evolution and examines the relationships between variables shaping brain evolution.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Hina Ali, Mahreen Mahmood, Muhammad Adnan, Gulnaz Afzal, Shazia Perween, Rana Waseem Akhtar, Raheela Jabeen, Akhtar Rasool Asif, Sehrish Faryal, Abdur Rahman, Sayyed Aun Muhammad, Gulnaz Parveen, Shakeel Ahmed, Daoud Ali, Mohammed H. A. Almarzoug
Summary: This study analyzed the tyrosine protein across different mammalian species to understand its role and evolutionary mechanisms in adaptive evolution. The results suggest that changes in the tyrosine protein play a significant role in the evolution of antioxidant defense systems in mammals.
JOURNAL OF KING SAUD UNIVERSITY SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biology
Agneesh Barua, Ivan Koludarov, Alexander S. Mikheyev
Summary: Evolution can be predictably driven by ecological challenges, with oral venom serving as a tractable model of trait evolution. Studying the origins of kallikrein-like serine proteases in vertebrate venoms suggests that these toxins may have evolved from genes already present in saliva, blurring the line between venomous and non-venomous animals.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Akihiro Itoigawa, Takashi Hayakawa, Yang Zhou, Adrian D. Manning, Guojie Zhang, Frank Grutzner, Hiroo Imai
Summary: The molecular evolution of bitter taste receptors in egg-laying mammals, such as platypus and echidna, is associated with their feeding habits. The receptive ranges of TAS2Rs differ between the two species, reflecting their distinct diets. Furthermore, the ability to detect beta-glucosides and other substances might be shared and ancestral among mammals.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Alberto M. Rivera, Damien B. Wilburn, Willie J. Swanson
Summary: The rapid evolution of fertilization proteins has led to diversity in molecular structure and function. The study focuses on the ZP-N domains in vertebrate egg coat glycoproteins, which have diversified in structure and function. The modular ZP-N domains are associated with another domain type and have a stabilizing network absent in free domains.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Biology
Ion Udroiu
Summary: In the past century, authors have studied the allometry of haematological parameters in mammals and found that the correlation between mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and body mass is actually due to the correlation between MCV and basal metabolic rate. Small erythrocytes allowing fast oxygen release in tissues with high metabolic demand may explain this. Hypoxia-adapted species have bigger MCV, while Ruminantia have smaller MCV along with the highest and lowest hemoglobin affinity for oxygen.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Orsolya Vincze, Fernando Colchero, Jean-Francois Lemaitre, Dalia A. Conde, Samuel Pavard, Margaux Bieuville, Araxi O. Urrutia, Beata Ujvari, Amy M. Boddy, Carlo C. Maley, Frederic Thomas, Mathieu Giraudeau
Summary: The study analyzed data on adult zoo mammals and found that cancer is prevalent and has a high frequency in mammals, with significant differences in cancer mortality rates across different mammalian orders. The research also showed that diet is associated with cancer mortality, with carnivorous mammals facing the highest cancer-related mortality. Furthermore, the study provided unequivocal evidence that cancer mortality risk is largely independent of body mass and adult life expectancy across species.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Matthew A. Spence, Matthew D. Mortimer, Ashley M. Buckle, Bui Quang Minh, Colin J. Jackson
Summary: This study used a structural alignment of diverse serpins to generate a comprehensive 6,000-sequence phylogeny, showing extensive diversification of the superfamily into many novel functional clades. Analysis indicated that the hub proteins are ancient and similar due to convergent evolution, rather than horizontal gene transfer as previously speculated. This work clarifies longstanding questions in the evolution of serpins and provides new directions for research in the field of serpin biology.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Review
Entomology
Thomas Cade
Summary: Brain size is fascinating as a measure of intelligence and is associated with body size, but factors like individual experience and environmental influences play a role in brain size. The complexity of social behavior, the 'social brain hypothesis', and learning and memory capabilities also contribute to differences in brain size among species. Environmental effects on brain size, particularly in insects, are mediated through the relationship between olfaction and vision.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Yating Liu, Ying Jiang, Jiliang Xu, Wenbo Liao
Summary: Birds with larger eye sizes tend to reside in dense habitats, feed on invertebrates or vertebrates, and have larger brains. However, eye size does not seem to be influenced by migration behavior or foraging habitat. The primary factors shaping avian eye size evolution are habitat openness, food type, and cognitive ability.
Article
Cell Biology
Lucia Alvarez-Gonzalez, Cristina Arias-Sarda, Laia Montes-Espuna, Laia Marin-Gual, Covadonga Vara, Nicholas C. Lister, Yasmina Cuartero, Francisca Garcia, Janine Deakin, Marilyn B. Renfree, Terence J. Robinson, Marc A. Marti-Renom, Paul D. Waters, Marta Farre, Aurora Ruiz-Herrera
Summary: This article describes the principles of studying the similarities and differences in genomic interactions between species and presents the patterns of 3D genome folding in vertebrates and lineage-specific patterns of genome reshuffling. By identifying different patterns of chromosome folding, reconstructing ancestral genomes, detecting lineage-specific chromosome rearrangements, and analyzing the dynamics of genome reshuffling, the article explores the interplay between chromatin higher-order organization and therian genome evolution, and proposes a hypothesis to explain the influence of chromatin folding on evolutionary patterns of genome reshuffling.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Philip D. Gingerich
Summary: Fourteen studies of brain size evolution in Plio-Pleistocene hominins published over the past fifty years demonstrate substantial long-term increase in endocranial volume for the lineage leading to modern humans. Temporal scaling in 100 k.y. time bins identifies four successive phases of stasis and change that are significantly different from random. The tempo and mode of evolutionary time series are related to each other and the appropriate time scale for analysis.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Review
Neurosciences
Bernard Mulvey, Tomas Lagunas, Joseph D. Dougherty
Summary: Studies in neuropsychiatric genetics have shown that diseases may be influenced by numerous small-effect noncoding variants and/or rare but significant coding variants. Novel genetic technologies, particularly MPRAs, offer opportunities to experimentally identify these variants on a large scale. Researchers are exploring the use of MPRA to better understand the polygenic nature of psychiatric disorders.
BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY
(2021)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Guillaume Billet, Jeremie Bardin
Summary: Iterative segments such as teeth or limbs are common features of living organisms. Although the proportions of these segments in vertebrates may follow similar developmental rules, the relationship between their proportions and body size does not show a clear pattern. Placental mammals exhibit a wide range of body sizes and dietary habits, which are reflected in their teeth, especially molars. While variation in size plays a role in determining biological traits, few major allometric trends have been identified in placental molars. Researchers have studied molar proportions in relation to developmental models, but often on a small phylogenetic scale. Through a large sample analysis of placental species, it was revealed that the proportions of upper molars are influenced by the absolute size of the entire molar field, with larger species having relatively larger rear molars compared to smaller species. This unexpected allometric patterning highlights how variations in size can impact dental morphology in placental mammals.
SYSTEMATIC BIOLOGY
(2021)
Editorial Material
Biology
Matthew D. Dean
Summary: Scientists have used an approach to identify candidate genetic mechanisms that led to hairlessness in mammals.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Elisabetta Mereu, Atefeh Lafzi, Catia Moutinho, Christoph Ziegenhain, Davis J. McCarthy, Adrian Alvarez-Varela, Eduard Batlle, Sagar, Dominic Gruen, Julia K. Lau, Stephane C. Boutet, Chad Sanada, Aik Ooi, Robert C. Jones, Kelly Kaihara, Chris Brampton, Yasha Talaga, Yohei Sasagawa, Kaori Tanaka, Tetsutaro Hayashi, Caroline Braeuning, Cornelius Fischer, Sascha Sauers, Timo Trefzer, Christian Conrad, Xian Adiconis, Lan T. Nguyen, Aviv Regev, Joshua Z. Levin, Swati Parekh, Aleksandar Janjic, Lucas E. Wange, Johannes W. Bagnoli, Wolfgang Enard, Marta Gut, Rickard Sandberg, Itoshi Nikaido, Ivo Gut, Oliver Stegle, Holger Heyn
NATURE BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Johanna Geuder, Lucas E. Wange, Aleksandar Janjic, Jessica Radmer, Philipp Janssen, Johannes W. Bagnoli, Stefan Mueller, Artur Kaul, Mari Ohnuki, Wolfgang Enard
Summary: A novel and efficient approach has been developed to non-invasively generate iPSCs from primate urine, expanding the range of species available for comparative molecular and cellular phenotype studies. The study demonstrates that primate iPSCs are comparable to human iPSCs, highlighting the potential for further research in understanding human evolution and biology.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Julia M. Kempf, Sabrina Weser, Michael D. Bartoschek, Klaus H. Metzeler, Binje Vick, Tobias Herold, Kerstin Voelse, Raphael Mattes, Manuela Scholz, Lucas E. Wange, Moreno Festini, Enes Ugur, Maike Roas, Oliver Weigert, Sebastian Bultmann, Heinrich Leonhardt, Gunnar Schotta, Wolfgang Hiddemann, Irmela Jeremias, Karsten Spiekermann
Summary: Chemotherapy resistance in acute myeloid leukaemia is mainly hindered by loss-of-function mutations in EZH2, leading to upregulation of target genes providing selective growth advantage for cell survival and drug resistance.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Kazutoshi Takahashi, Michiko Nakamura, Chikako Okubo, Zane Kliesmete, Mari Ohnuki, Megumi Narita, Akira Watanabe, Mai Ueda, Yasuhiro Takashima, Ines Hellmann, Shinya Yamanaka
Summary: Research suggests that HERV-H type endogenous retroviruses expressed in PSCs play a crucial role in maintaining pluripotent stem cell identity. However, the study on ESRG reveals that it is dispensable for the maintenance and recapturing of human pluripotency, as it has minimal impact on the global gene expression of PSCs or their differentiation potential towards trilineage.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kami Pekayvaz, Alexander Leunig, Rainer Kaiser, Markus Joppich, Sophia Brambs, Aleksandar Janjic, Oliver Popp, Daniel Nixdorf, Valeria Fumagalli, Nora Schmidt, Vivien Polewka, Afra Anjum, Viktoria Knottenberg, Luke Eivers, Lucas E. Wange, Christoph Gold, Marieluise Kirchner, Maximilian Muenchhoff, Johannes C. Hellmuth, Clemens Scherer, Raquel Rubio-Acero, Tabea Eser, Flora Deak, Kerstin Puchinger, Niklas Kuhl, Andreas Linder, Kathrin Saar, Lukas Tomas, Christian Schulz, Andreas Wieser, Wolfgang Enard, Inge Kroidl, Christof Geldmacher, Michael von Bergwelt-Baildon, Oliver T. Keppler, Mathias Munschauer, Matteo Iannacone, Ralf Zimmer, Philipp Mertins, Norbert Hubner, Michael Hoelscher, Steffen Massberg, Konstantin Stark, Leo Nicolai
Summary: This study reveals protective immune signatures in patients with non-pneumonic SARS-CoV-2 infection and associates them with upper airway viral containment. The study finds a systemic immune state, reduced cytotoxic potential of immune cells, and an immune-modulatory monocyte phenotype associated with protective immunity in COVID-19.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Michael Mentz, William Keay, Carolin Dorothea Strobl, Martina Antoniolli, Louisa Adolph, Michael Heide, Axel Lechner, Sarah Haebe, Elisa Osterode, Robert Kridel, Christoph Ziegenhain, Lucas Esteban Wange, Johannes Adrian Hildebrand, Tanaya Shree, Elisabeth Silkenstedt, Annette M. Staiger, German Ott, Heike Horn, Monika Szczepanowski, Julia Richter, Ronald Levy, Andreas Rosenwald, Wolfgang Enard, Ursula Zimber-Strobl, Michael Von Bergwelt-Baildon, Wolfgang Hiddemann, Wolfram Klapper, Marc Schmidt-Supprian, Martina Rudelius, Deepak Bararia, Verena Passerini, Oliver Weigert
Summary: The clinical course of follicular lymphoma (FL) is influenced by the molecular heterogeneity of tumor cells and interactions within the tumor microenvironment (TME). In this study, we found STAT6 mutations in 13% of FL cases, which enhanced the response of FL cells to IL-4 and were associated with increased expression of target genes and nuclear accumulation of pSTAT6. We identified PARP14 as a potential therapeutic target in STAT6-mutated FL cells, as its expression was upregulated and it played a role in the regulatory circuit.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Paul Stolz, Angelo Salazar Mantero, Andrey Tvardovskiy, Enes Ugur, Lucas E. Wange, Christopher B. Mulholland, Yuying Cheng, Michael Wierer, Wolfgang Enard, Robert Schneider, Till Bartke, Heinrich Leonhardt, Simon J. Elsasser, Sebastian Bultmann
Summary: The catalytic activity of TET1 in DNA methylation regulation is unclear, so we investigated its non-catalytic functions in gene expression and silencing of endogenous retroviruses in murine embryonic stem cells (mESCs).
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sophie Beer, Lucas E. Wange, Xiang Zhang, Cornelia Kuklik-Roos, Wolfgang Enard, Wolfgang Hammerschmidt, Antonio Scialdone, Bettina Kempkes
Summary: EBV is a human tumor virus that preferentially infects resting human B cells. The viral protein EBNA2 plays a crucial role in B cell activation and immortalization by targeting and binding cellular DNA-binding protein CBF1. Our study found that EBNA2 also uses its N-terminal dimerization domain to bind pioneer transcription factor EBF1, supporting metabolic processes and cell cycle progression in infected B cells. These findings indicate the critical role of EBF1 in regulating the cell cycle of EBV-infected B cells.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Anna-Katharina Wirth, Lucas Wange, Sebastian Vosberg, Kai-Oliver Henrich, Christian Rausch, Erbey Oezdemir, Christina M. Zeller, Daniel Richter, Tobias Feuchtinger, Markus Kaller, Heiko Hermeking, Philipp A. Greif, Daniela Senft, Vindi Jurinovic, Ehsan Bahrami, Ashok Kumar Jayavelu, Frank Westermann, Matthias Mann, Wolfgang Enard, Tobias Herold, Irmela Jeremias
Summary: Resistance to cancer treatment is a major clinical obstacle. This study developed a model to understand acquired resistance to chemotherapy and identified potential targets to overcome resistance. Functional testing in preclinical models proved effective in identifying rescue treatments for polychemotherapy-resistant tumors.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Rafael E. Venado, Lucas E. Wange, Defeng Shen, Fabienne Pinnau, Tonni Grube Andersen, Wolfgang Enard, Macarena Marin
Summary: This study provides genetic evidence for the formation of the nodule oxygen diffusion barrier in legumes, which is crucial for nitrogen fixation in root nodules.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Aleksandar Janjic, Lucas E. Wange, Johannes W. Bagnoli, Johanna Geuder, Phong Nguyen, Daniel Richter, Beate Vieth, Binje Vick, Irmela Jeremias, Christoph Ziegenhain, Ines Hellmann, Wolfgang Enard
Summary: This study optimized and validated an early barcoding bulk RNA-seq method called prime-seq, showing comparable performance to the standard method TruSeq but with significantly lower costs. The study also validated a direct RNA isolation step, confirmed that intronic reads are derived from RNA, and compared the cost-efficiencies of different protocols. The conclusion is that prime-seq is currently one of the best options for early barcoding bulk RNA-seq, benefiting many laboratories.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Antoine Porquier, Constance Tisserant, Francisco Salinas, Carla Glassl, Lucas Wange, Wolfgang Enard, Andreas Hauser, Matthias Hahn, Arne Weiberg
Summary: The study reveals a previously unknown role of fungal retrotransposons as pathogenicity factors in Botrytis cinerea, manipulating host plant gene expression. This novel finding will have broad implications for studies of host-microbe interactions and pathology.