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#Evolution

57 posts48 participants10 posts today

Scientific Data: TreeHub: a comprehensive dataset of phylogenetic trees . “In this study, we present a novel approach for automatically extracting phylogenetic data and integrating relevant species information from scientific papers and public databases. On this basis, we constructed a dataset TreeHub, including 135,502 corresponding phylogenetic trees from 7,879 phylogenetic research […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/06/04/treehub-a-comprehensive-dataset-of-phylogenetic-trees-scientific-data/

ResearchBuzz: Firehose | Individual posts from ResearchBuzz · TreeHub: a comprehensive dataset of phylogenetic trees (Scientific Data) | ResearchBuzz: Firehose
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📰 "Phenotypic plasticity as a function of genetic polymorphism: thermal dominance reversal in Drosophila species with contrasting melanism"
biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/20
#Evolution
#Drosophila

bioRxiv · Phenotypic plasticity as a function of genetic polymorphism: thermal dominance reversal in Drosophila species with contrasting melanismPhenotypic plasticity is often seen as an alternative adaptive strategy to genetic polymorphism, especially in response to rapid environmental changes. Indeed, a link between plasticity and heterozygosity, i.e. the basic measure of polymorphism, has previously been dismissed. Here, we investigate the thermal plasticity of abdominal pigmentation in eight Drosophila species, four belonging to the melanogaster species group and four to the montium group. Despite a conserved developmental pathway for melanin synthesis, the genetic architecture of its variation has significantly evolved, being polygenic in most species (like D. melanogaster) and Mendelian or invariable in others. By investigating the thermal plasticity of this trait in species with distinct architectures, we show the degree of plasticity to strongly associate with heterozygosity. Plasticity was resurrected in hybrids between species with no plastic responses but with contrasting melanism, and was higher in heterozygotes in species with simple Mendelian polymorphism. In plastic cases, pigmentation dominance is reversed depending on the developmental temperature. We propose simple genetic models with empirical molecular support to explain this link between phenotypic plasticity and genetic polymorphism. The relationship between these two phenomena, and the impact of each on the evolution of the other, may be more relevant than it is currently appreciated. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.

#science #animals #birds #evolution

Animals have the ability to change, adapt and evolve with their environment. Now cockatoos in Australia are learning a new skill- that of using water fountains. The birds need both feet to apply pressure to the fountain to be able to drink. They have already worked out how to open the bins to grab a snack from our leftovers. Clever birds!
popsci.com/environment/cockato

Popular Science · Wild cockatoos are learning how to use water fountainsNabbing a drink is just the latest skill for this innovative group of Australian birds.

@celineh2ooo.bsky.social and @stevensalzberg.bsky.social compared 3,493 vertebrate genomes to identify 342 gains of introns in human genes, tracing their origins and identifying cases of intronization as a mechanism of intron emergence.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf091

📰 "Deciphering the combinatorial expression pattern and genetic regulatory mechanisms of Beats and Sides in the olfactory circuits of Drosophila"
biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/20
#Drosophila #Evolution

bioRxiv · Deciphering the combinatorial expression pattern and genetic regulatory mechanisms of Beats and Sides in the olfactory circuits of DrosophilaOver the past decades, many critical molecular players have been uncovered to control distinct steps in olfactory circuit assembly in Drosophila. Among these, multi-member gene families of cell surface proteins are of interest because they can act as neuron-specific identification/recognition tags in combinations and contribute to circuit assembly in complex brains through their heterophilic or homophilic interactions. Recently, a multi-protein interactome has been described between the Beat and Side families of IgSF proteins. Here, we use the publicly available single-cell RNA-seq datasets and newly generated gene trap transgenic driver lines to probe the in vivo spatial expression pattern of the beat/side gene families in odorant receptor neurons (ORNs) and their synaptic target projection neurons (PNs). Our results revealed that each ORN and its synaptic target PN class expresses a class-specific combination of beat/side genes, hierarchically regulated by lineage-specific genetic programs. Though ORNs or PNs from closer lineages tend to possess more similar beat/side profiles, we also found many examples of divergence from this pattern among closely related ORNs and closely related PNs. To explore whether the class-specific combination of beats/sides defines ORN-PN matching specificity, we perturbed presynaptic beat-IIa and postsynaptic side-IV in two ORN-PN partners. However, disruption of Beat-IIa-Side-IV interaction did not produce any significant mistargeting in these two examined glomeruli. Though without affecting general glomerular targeting, knockdown of side in ORNs leads to the reduction of synaptic development. Interestingly, we found conserved expression patterns of beat/side orthologs across ORNs in ants and mosquitoes, indicating the shared regulatory strategies specifying the expression of these duplicated paralogs in insect evolution. Overall, this comprehensive analysis of expression patterns lays a foundation for in-depth functional investigations into how Beat/Side combinatorial expression contributes to olfactory circuit assembly. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. NSF IOS, 2006471 NIH NRSA, F32EY032750 NIH NEI, K99EY035757 NIH NINDS, NS070644

Proud to share our latest review on how transposable elements in plants have their preferred niches in the genome, be it the centromere, or the sex chromosome, for example:

researchgate.net/publication/3

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10

#plant #genome #evolution #ltr #transposon

One of the stories followed:

Some TE distributions among chromosomes can best be explained by TEs jumping in the male or female gametophyte.

Why do most bats fly only at night? Is it because they're afraid of birds of prey? If so, do they try to avoid owls?

Turns out the answers are not that clear cut, as @JKRevell explains in the latest article on #Synapsida

(I like that parts of the old internet like the Synapsida blog are still going strong, and I can subscribe to their RSS feeds and read interesting and ad-free and AI-free content. *Big thanks* go to those that are still adding quality content to the internet with the aim of informing us instead of making money or manipulating what we think.)

synapsida.blogspot.com/2025/06

synapsida.blogspot.comI Ain't Afraid of No Owls