Article
Genetics & Heredity
M. Fernandez-Meirama, E. Rolan-Alvarez, A. Carvajal-Rodriguez
Summary: In recent years, there has been increasing interest in evolutionary divergence and speciation caused by ecologically based divergent natural selection at small spatial scales. Through individual-based simulations, the evolution of choice values can be observed to match empirical data, and it is found that speciation is influenced by the strength of selection.
FRONTIERS IN GENETICS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Marina Rafajlovic, Jordi Rambla, Jeffrey L. Feder, Arcadi Navarro, Rui Faria
Summary: Finite population sizes can counteract the homogenizing consequences of gene flux, especially when fitness-related loci reside within chromosomal inversions. In these cases, population differentiation can persist after secondary contact for up to 100,000 generations, allowing new incompatibilities and local adaptations to accumulate and facilitate progress towards speciation. The frequency of these conditions in nature is still to be determined.
Review
Biology
Anja M. Westram, Rui Faria, Kerstin Johannesson, Roger Butlin, Nick Barton
Summary: Local adaptation and parallel evolution are major topics in evolutionary genomics. Genetic structures that reduce recombination, such as chromosomal inversions, play an important role in local adaptation. However, the contribution of inversions to parallel evolution is still not well understood.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Biological
Michael J. Pauers, Jacob A. Grudnowski
Summary: This study examines behavioral reproductive isolation in a pair of rock-dwelling cichlids from Lake Malawi and confirms that females prefer conspecific males, providing further evidence for the role of sexual selection in speciation of cichlid fishes from Lake Malawi.
Article
Plant Sciences
Inna Osmolovsky, Mariana Shifrin, Inbal Gamliel, Jonathan Belmaker, Yuval Sapir
Summary: The continuous process of speciation results in different species at different stages of reproductive isolation. Studying the royal irises, a young group of species in the process of speciation, provides insight into the early steps of speciation. Pre-pollination barriers, such as eco-geographic divergence and phenological differentiation, were found to be the major contributors to reproductive isolation among the Iris species. Post-pollination barriers had negligible contributions to reproductive isolation. The study suggests that pre-zygotic barriers play a crucial role in speciation.
Article
Ecology
Emma L. Berdan, Rebecca C. Fuller, Genevieve M. Kozak
Summary: The study on bluefin killifish and rainwater killifish found that salinity adaptation contributes to habitat isolation but not to behavioral and intrinsic isolation. The sex chromosome possibly plays a role in intrinsic isolation, and chromosomal rearrangements may be involved in this process. This indicates that reinforcement may have contributed to the evolution of behavioral isolation in the species.
JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Marco A. Coelho, Giuseppe Ianiri, Marcia David-Palma, Bart Theelen, Rohit Goyal, Aswathy Narayanan, Jeffrey M. Lorch, Kaustuv Sanyal, Teun Boekhout, Joseph Heitman
Summary: Fungi in the genus Malassezia, which are commonly found on the skin of humans and other warm-blooded animals, have been linked to skin diseases and systemic disorders. Analysis of Malassezia genomes suggests that their ability to adapt to the skin microenvironment is directly influenced by their genetic makeup. Despite the absence of observed sexual reproduction, the presence of mating/meiotic genes suggests a potential for sexual reproduction in Malassezia. The arrangement of mating type loci in Malassezia has been found to be different from other basidiomycetes, indicating an ancestral state of the genus.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Xiaofen Yu, Mengyun Qin, Minghao Qu, Quan Jiang, Sumin Guo, Zhenghai Chen, Yufang Shen, Guodong Fu, Zhangjun Fei, Hongwen Huang, Lei Gao, Xiaohong Yao
Summary: Despite a lack of documented homoploid hybridization events in plants, this study provides insights into the evolutionary consequence of homoploid hybridization in kiwifruit species. Through genome sequencing and population genomic analyses, the study reveals that A. zhejiangensis is mainly composed of F-1 hybrids of A. hemsleyana and A. eriantha, with gene flow initiating about 0.98 million years ago. The study also identifies five inversions containing genes related to pollen germination and pollen tube growth that may account for the fertility breakdown in hybrids. Despite distinct morphological traits, A. zhejiangensis does not initiate speciation.
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Kate L. Ostevik, Joanna L. Rifkin, Hanhan Xia, Mark D. Rausher
Summary: Hybridization between two different morning glory species can affect the strength of reproductive barriers, with asymmetric effects on barrier strength and potential changes to within-species compatibility. The study found that changes in compatibility between sympatric populations of the morning glory species may be due to introgression of alleles from one species into the other. This suggests that hybridization can influence not only isolation between species, but also contribute to isolation within a species.
Article
Biology
Kristof Domonkos Kiraly, Marta Ladanyi, Jozsef Fail
Summary: This study investigated the mating behavior of different lineages of the onion thrips and found that at least two lineages cannot mate with each other, indicating that they belong to different species. The mating status of females affected the attractiveness to males, and the behavioral differences between lineages only became evident after contact. These findings have important implications for agriculture and insect behavioral research.
Article
Entomology
Xue-Yuan Di, Bin Yan, Cheng-Xu Wu, Xiao-Fei Yu, Jian-Feng Liu, Mao-Fa Yang
Summary: The study compared the life performance and mating choice of Spodoptera litura reared on different diets, showing significant effects on developmental stages, fecundity, and mate choice. Artificial diet may promote behavioral isolation, impacting mating outcomes. Host plant preference during the larval stage may shape phenotypic plasticity and behavioral isolation in S. litura populations.
Letter
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Wei-Ping Zhang, Lei Cao, Xin-Rui Lin, Ya-Mei Ding, Yu Liang, Da-Yong Zhang, Er-Li Pang, Susanne S. Renner, Wei-Ning Bai
Summary: The Chinese walnut, Juglans hopeiensis, is a first-generation hybrid resulting from the hybridization between Persian walnut and Asian butternuts. Despite the presence of strong postzygotic barriers preventing sexual reproduction in hybrids and unique traits, Juglans hopeiensis does not appear to be on the path to speciation.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Darren Irwin, Dolph Schluter
Summary: This study simulated the coexistence outcomes of two sympatric species that are ecologically differentiated but have incomplete reproductive isolation. The study found that the fitness of hybrid offspring plays a crucial role in species coexistence. High hybrid fitness can lead to species collapse into one, while low hybrid fitness can cause population declines and increase the risk of species extinction. High intrinsic growth rates can reduce the probability of extinction and increase the likelihood of stable coexistence at moderate levels of assortative mating and hybrid fitness. Very strong but incomplete assortative mating can induce low hybrid fitness via a mating disadvantage to rare genotypes, stabilizing the coexistence of two species at high but incomplete levels of assortative mating.
AMERICAN NATURALIST
(2022)
Article
Biology
Dusica Brisevac, Carolina M. Peralta, Tobias S. Kaiser
Summary: This study reveals the genetic basis for the reproductive timing difference in closely related species, which is controlled by a gene involved in both circadian and lunar timing. The genetic differentiation in reproductive timing is attributed to four quantitative trait loci on three different chromosomes, suggesting the involvement of complex structural variations.
Article
Ecology
Dirk Metzler, Ulrich Knief, Joshua Penalba, Jochen B. W. Wolf
Summary: This study used a mathematical model to investigate the effects of assortative mating on hybrid-zone dynamics, finding that assortative mating can maintain steep clines in mating-trait loci without generalizing to genome-wide reproductive isolation.
Article
Ecology
Emma L. Berdan, Rebecca C. Fuller, Genevieve M. Kozak
Summary: The study on bluefin killifish and rainwater killifish found that salinity adaptation contributes to habitat isolation but not to behavioral and intrinsic isolation. The sex chromosome possibly plays a role in intrinsic isolation, and chromosomal rearrangements may be involved in this process. This indicates that reinforcement may have contributed to the evolution of behavioral isolation in the species.
JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Melanie Unbehend, Genevieve M. Kozak, Fotini Koutroumpa, Brad S. Coates, Teun Dekker, Astrid T. Groot, David G. Heckel, Erik B. Dopman
Summary: The sex pheromone system is crucial for attracting conspecific mates, and in the European corn borer moth, variations in pheromone blend and male preference are controlled by pgFAR and bab genes, respectively. The linkage disequilibrium between bab and pgFAR genes validates their interaction in contributing to assortative mating. Lack of physical linkage does not constrain the coevolutionary divergence of female pheromone production and male behavioral response genes.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Arielle N. Enos, Genevieve M. Kozak
Summary: Research suggests that elevated temperature influences mating behavior in European corn borer moths, increasing investment in matings with genetically distinct mates from different populations.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Agronomy
Ivair Valmorbida, Brad S. Coates, Erin W. Hodgson, Molly Ryan, Matthew E. O'Neal
Summary: This study analyzed the relationship between vgsc gene mutations and fitness costs in soybean aphids. The results showed that there was no negative pleotropic effect associated with pyrethroid resistance in the tested clones, and discussed the potential impact on insecticide resistance management and integrated pest management plans.
PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Virology
Sijun Liu, Thomas W. Sappington, Brad S. Coates, Bryony C. Bonning
Summary: A novel toursvirus was identified from pooled genomic data of southern and northern corn rootworm populations in the U.S., with most viral sequences coming from the southern corn rootworm dataset. The study successfully recovered most of the viral genome, with evidence of transposon insertion in viral sequences in the two host species, suggesting potential differences in transmission mechanisms.
Article
Ecology
Henry D. Kunerth, Steven M. Bogdanowicz, Jeremy B. Searle, Richard G. Harrison, Brad S. Coates, Genevieve M. Kozak, Erik B. Dopman
Summary: The joint effects of coincident barriers to gene flow lead to higher levels of genomic differentiation than individual barriers alone, with the coincidence of barriers causing an increase in gene flow restriction.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Dimpal Lata, Brad S. Coates, Kimberly K. O. Walden, Hugh M. Robertson, Nicholas J. Miller
Summary: This study estimated the genome sizes of Diabrotica corn rootworms using flow cytometry and found that the differences in genome size between different subgroups were mainly attributed to variations in the content of transposable elements, providing insights for studying insect-plant interactions.
G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS
(2022)
Editorial Material
Biology
Emma L. Berdan, Thomas Flatt, Genevieve M. Kozak, Katie E. Lotterhos, Ben Wielstra
Summary: This article introduces the concept of supergenes and the limited understanding of their evolution. The genetic architecture of supergenes plays a crucial role in their evolutionary fate, and recent advances in sequencing technology and computer simulations offer new opportunities for studying supergenes. The theme issue brings together various theoretical and empirical studies, highlighting the architectural diversity of supergenes and their connection to critical evolutionary processes.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jin Hee Yoo, Shoshanna C. Kahne, K. Heran Darwin
Summary: Mycobacteria utilize a proteasome system that is similar to eukaryotes but does not use ubiquitin. Instead, it employs a prokaryotic ubiquitin-like protein (Pup) for posttranslational modification of proteins to mark them for degradation. This modification occurs on lysines of target proteins and can be reversed by a specific depupylase. Certain conserved amino acids in this depupylase play a role in substrate selectivity, as demonstrated by mutant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yue Yu, Li-Li Huang, Fang-Sen Xue, Erik B. B. Dopman
Summary: Understanding the molecular basis of repeated evolution improves our ability to predict evolution across the tree of life. High-throughput sequencing has enabled comparative genome scans to examine the repeatability of genetic changes driving phenotypic evolution. Asian corn borer and European corn borer show repeatable phenological adaptation to different climates, and circadian rhythm genes play a role in this repeated adaptation. Independent mutational paths and adaptive introgression may contribute to the repeated phenological evolution.
Article
Cell Biology
Thomas J. Firneno Jr, Georgy Semenov, Erik B. Dopman, Scott A. Taylor, Erica L. Larson, Zachariah Gompert
Summary: This study characterizes the relationship between the coupling coefficient and genetic loci across hybrid zones, showing a smooth continuum from high variance and weak coupling to low variance and strong coupling. The results suggest low hybridization rates and a strong genome-wide barrier to gene flow when the coupling coefficient is much greater than 1.
COLD SPRING HARBOR PERSPECTIVES IN BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
James P. Michielini, Erik B. Dopman, Elizabeth E. Crone
Summary: The study used 27 years of citizen science monitoring data to quantify trends in butterfly phenology and relative abundance, finding that elongated activity periods within a year may be a key factor in increasing abundance. Some species appear to be adding a late-season generation, while others appear to be adding a spring generation, indicating a possible shift from vagrant to resident.