Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Ayushi Gupta, Suresh Nair
Summary: The study investigates the diversity of transposable elements in insects and their impact on insect evolution and speciation. Specifically, it focuses on the dynamics of Tf2 retrotransposons in the brown planthopper (BPH) and the role of methylation in modulating transposition under stress. The findings highlight the importance of screening juvenile life-stages in understanding adaptive-stress-responses in insects and enhance our understanding of the role of transposons in influencing the evolutionary trajectory and survival strategies of BPH across generations.
Article
Ecology
Alexander Lalejini, Austin J. Ferguson, Nkrumah A. Grant, Charles Ofria
Summary: Populations with adaptive phenotypic plasticity undergo less evolutionary change than non-plastic populations, making it easier for them to retain new adaptive traits. Adaptive phenotypic plasticity helps stabilize populations against environmental fluctuations.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Biology
C. -E. Schaum, A. Buckling, N. Smirnoff, G. Yvon-Durocher
Summary: This study examines the evolution of trait and tolerance curves in marine ecosystem foundation organisms using a globally distributed phytoplankton species. The results demonstrate that fluctuations in temperature rapidly lead to enhanced trait plasticity and elevated thermal tolerance in the populations. Furthermore, long-term temperature fluctuations result in the formation of two distinct populations, one evolving high trait plasticity and enhanced thermal tolerance, and the other resembling samples evolved under constant warming conditions.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Zoology
Nathan E. Swanson, Andrew G. Gluesenkamp, Alexandra E. Donny, Suzanne E. McGaugh
Summary: Recent colonization of extreme environments provides unique opportunities to study the early steps of adaptation and the potential for rapid convergent evolution. However, phenotypic shifts during recent colonization may also be due to plasticity in response to changes in the rearing environment. This study analyzes the morphological and behavioral traits of Mexican tetras from recent introductions in different watersheds and finds that most trait differences are due to plasticity, but there is evidence of genetic control in some traits. Wall following behavior shows rapid divergence between subterranean and surface populations, suggesting potential rapid behavioral evolution.
ZOOLOGICAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alexander B. Chase, Claudia Weihe, Jennifer B. H. Martiny
Summary: The study found that microbial community responses to environmental change are closely related to ecological processes and evolutionary processes. Ecotypes adapted to local conditions and contemporary evolution were identified, showing how both demographic shifts of previously adapted ecotypes and contemporary evolution can alter the diversity of a soil microbiome on the same timescale.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Carl-Johan Rubin, Erik D. Enbody, Mariya P. Dobreva, Arhat Abzhanov, Brian W. Davis, Sangeet Lamichhaney, Mats Pettersson, Ashley T. Sendell-Price, C. Grace Sprehn, Carlos A. Valle, Karla Vasco, Ola Wallerman, B. Rosemary Grant, Peter R. Grant, Leif Andersson
Summary: Through studying Darwin's finches, it was found that ancestral haplotype blocks play a crucial role in phenotypic evolution and speciation, serving as key determinants of the unusual phenotypic diversity exhibited by these birds.
Article
Zoology
Fabrizia Ronco, Walter Salzburger
Summary: Adaptive radiation is a major source of biodiversity. Recent integrative examination of the cichlid adaptive radiation in African Lake Tanganyika provided new insights into the process of explosive diversification. The study revealed that the evolution occurred in a non-gradual manner, with time-shifted bursts of accelerated evolution.
Article
Microbiology
Kathryn E. Kistler, John Huddleston, Trevor Bedford
Summary: This study quantifies the impact of adaptive evolution on the accumulation of mutations in the genome of SARS-CoV-2 and identifies spike S1 protein as the focus of adaptive evolution. The study also reveals positively selected mutations in other proteins that are shaping the evolutionary trajectory of SARS-CoV-2.
CELL HOST & MICROBE
(2022)
Article
Mathematics, Applied
Gianni Dal Maso, Rodica Toader
Summary: The properties of crack length in pressure-sensitive elasto-plastic materials in the planar case are studied, and it is proven that under suitable technical assumptions, the length is a pure jump function on the crack path.
NONLINEAR ANALYSIS-THEORY METHODS & APPLICATIONS
(2022)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Bovern Suchart Arromrak, Zhenzhen Li, Juan Diego Gaitan-Espitia
Summary: Environmental variability affects the structure and functional properties of marine microbial organisms, with implications for biochemical cycles and ecosystem services. Understanding the impact of environmental changes on phenotypic adjustments and evolutionary trajectories of microbial populations is crucial.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Review
Oncology
Sumit Mukherjee, Henry H. Heng, Milana Frenkel-Morgenstern
Summary: Chimeric RNAs play a crucial role in cancer, generating phenotypic diversity and potentially impacting cancer cell survival and proliferation. Due to their association with oncogenic processes, chimeric RNAs are considered biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and could contribute to the development of drug resistance in cancer cells. Understanding the functional impact of chimeric RNAs in cancer cells from an evolutionary perspective could offer new insights for developing more effective and personalized therapies for cancer patients.
Article
Ecology
Stephen E. Johnson, Elena Hamann, Steven J. Franks
Summary: Climate change is driving evolutionary responses in populations, with studies showing rapid evolution in populations exposed to experimental drought conditions. The evolutionary shifts followed the direction of selection and increased fitness under drought, indicating adaptive evolution. Evolution to drought also occurred largely in parallel among replicate populations, suggesting predictability in response to strong, consistent selection.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Shane C. Campbell-Staton, Jonathan P. Velotta, Kristin M. Winchell
Summary: The rapid adaptive response of urban lizards to heat islands is mainly due to reduced and/or reversed heat-induced plasticity selected against. Urban lizards show decreased gene expression plasticity and increased adaptive gene expression changes after heat challenge compared to forest lizards in common garden conditions.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Purboja Purkayastha, Kavya Pendyala, Ayush S. Saxena, Hesamedin Hakimjavadi, Srikar Chamala, Purushottam Dixit, Charles F. Baer, Tanmay P. Lele
Summary: The study investigated the effects of substrate stiffness on the growth and phenotypic plasticity of mouse fibroblasts, revealing that soft-selected lines showed reverse plasticity compared to the ancestral pattern. The changes were driven by genetic evolution and not phenotypic plasticity alone, with distinct transcriptional architectures related to mechanotransduction and proliferation contributing to the phenotypic outcomes in the selected populations.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Review
Plant Sciences
J. Grey Monroe
Summary: Genetic mutations provide heritable material for plant adaptation, but the environment can influence mutation rates in plant genomes. The extent to which environmental plasticity in mutation rates affects adaptation is still unclear. Discoveries of mechanisms affecting mutation rate variability suggest the possibility of adaptive mutation rate plasticity, but other factors may limit its impact on adaptive evolution. The uncertainty about the significance of mutation rate plasticity motivates new research to understand how plants respond to changing environments.
Article
Zoology
Kim L. Hoke, Sara L. Zimmer, Adam B. Roddy, Mary Jo Ondrechen, Craig E. Williamson, Nicole R. Buan
Summary: This article discusses the fundamental properties of biological organization, including information, energy, and matter, and explores their interconnections. By quantitatively describing the complex interconversions between these elements, insights into phenomena at different levels of biological organization can be gained, and a common currency is provided to link these phenomena.
INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Kim L. Hoke, Jakob Christensen-Dalsgaard, Molly C. Womack
Summary: This study shows that different populations of frogs exhibit differences in auditory sensitivity and spectral properties of their mating calls, contradicting the matched filter hypothesis.
BRAIN BEHAVIOR AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Cory T. Miller, David Gire, Kim Hoke, Alexander C. Huk, Darcy Kelley, David A. Leopold, Matthew C. Smear, Frederic Theunissen, Michael Yartsev, Cristopher M. Niell
Summary: The breadth and complexity of natural behaviors have always fascinated researchers in understanding how our perceptions, actions, and internal thoughts are generated by the brain. However, the traditional approach of studying stereotyped behaviors in model species has limited the exploration of the full range of natural behaviors. With emerging technologies and analytical tools, a new mode of neuroscience focused on natural behaviors is possible, allowing for a comprehensive understanding of the link between behaviors and neural activity.
Article
Zoology
Alexander A. Mauro, Alisha A. Shah, Paul R. Martin, Cameron K. Ghalambor
Summary: The outcome of species interactions depends on the environmental context. Climate change leads to species interactions occurring in new contexts. Predicting how the environment will alter the outcome requires an integrative biology approach, focusing on traits, mechanisms, and processes across disciplines.
INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Rebecca G. Cheek, Brenna R. Forester, Patricia E. Salerno, Daryl R. Trumbo, Kathryn M. Langin, Nancy Chen, T. Scott Sillett, Scott A. Morrison, Cameron K. Ghalambor, W. Chris Funk
Summary: This study investigated the genetic divergence mechanism of a bird species endemic to a small island. The island scrub-jay on Santa Cruz Island showed genetic differentiation related to habitat type and bill length. Neutral landscape genomic analyses revealed that the genetic differentiation was primarily influenced by geographic distance and habitat composition. Putatively adaptive loci associated with habitat type were identified using multivariate redundancy analysis. Genome-wide association analyses revealed the polygenic basis of bill length variation. These findings support the hypothesis that divergent selection can lead to adaptive divergence at microgeographic scales in the presence of ongoing gene flow.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Kristen S. Ellis, Randy T. Larsen, Cameron K. Ghalambor, David N. Koons
Summary: How nesting birds balance trade-offs between the needs of their offspring and themselves when facing different predator risks? Our study shows that snowy plovers vary their incubation behaviors in response to different risks of nest predation by different predator species. Individual breeding pairs exhibit variation in incubation behaviors, and risks of nest predation differentially influence behavioral responses of snowy plovers depending on the predator species.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Laura R. Stein, Kim Hoke
Summary: This study investigates how parental environment and juvenile experience jointly modify offspring phenotypes in the Trinidadian guppy. The results show that parental effects and offspring experience have different effects on males and females, which last into adulthood and highlight the complex interactions between intergenerational and developmental plasticity.
Review
Biodiversity Conservation
Ben J. Kefford, Cameron K. Ghalambor, Beatrice Dewenter, N. LeRoy Poff, Jane Hughes, Jollene Reich, Ross Thompson
Summary: Global warming is altering temperature variability at multiple temporal scales, which has important consequences for ectotherms. Understanding the responses of organisms within and across generations to different time scales of thermal variation is crucial in predicting the impacts of climate change on ectotherms.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Sarah C. Hays, Rebecca G. Cheek, James C. Mouton, T. Scott Sillett, Cameron K. Ghalambor
Summary: Orange-crowned warblers on the California Channel Islands show remarkable variation in nest structure and placement. Nest construction is influenced by nest height, with higher nests being more successful. However, individual nest construction varies greatly and is not strongly correlated with nest success after controlling for nest height. This behavioral plasticity is likely a response to the absence of avian predators.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Sarah E. Westrick, Jeanette B. Moss, Eva K. Fischer
Summary: Natural selection fine-tunes behavior expression across scales and plasticity plays a role in behavior evolution. However, studies on plasticity rarely integrate patterns across biological levels and timescales, limiting our understanding of how individual behavioral variation translates into evolutionary diversification.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jeanette B. Moss, James P. Tumulty, Eva K. Fischer
Summary: The emergence of complex social interactions plays a vital role in the diversification of communication systems. Parental care is an important social context to study the evolution of novel signals, and anuran amphibians provide a classic model for understanding acoustic communication. In this study, the egg-feeding calls of the biparental poison frog were characterized and compared to advertisement and courtship calls. The results showed that egg-feeding calls had both similarities and unique properties compared to other calls, suggesting they involve a context-dependent parenting response.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Eric A. Riddell, Marko Mutanen, Cameron K. Ghalambor
Summary: Species' thermal tolerances are influenced by the hydric environment. As environments become hotter and drier, reducing water loss may lead to lower thermal tolerances. The correlation between water loss rate and CTmax suggests the need for a whole-organism perspective in studying thermal tolerances. Rating: 8 out of 10.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Biology
Eva K. Fischer
Summary: Amphibians, particularly anuran amphibians, exhibit a diverse range of nesting behaviors and strategies, which are closely linked to their amphibious lifestyle. The transition to terrestrial living has driven the evolution of nests and nesting in anurans. This review provides an overview of nesting behavior in anurans, highlighting the importance of studying the evolutionary ecology of nests and their contents.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Meeting Abstract
Zoology
K. R. Zeller, A. Mauro, C. K. Ghalambor
INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Meeting Abstract
Zoology
A. S. Cicchino, A. A. Shah, B. R. Forester, J. B. Dunham, E. L. Landguth, N. L. R. Poff, C. K. Ghalambor, W. C. Funk
INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY
(2023)
