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Lyme disease, spread by ticks infected with the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi, was first described in the 1970s, but its origins are obscure. Genomics of North American ticks points to an origin pre-dating the Last Glacial Maximum.
New genes can arise by several mechanisms involving mutation. Here, the authors show that an adaptive phenotype is caused by the emergence of a new gene by domain fusion and protein relocalization in Pseudomonas.
East German collective farms reduced biodiversity but raised profits, in contrast to smaller private farms in West Germany, with legacy effects that continue today.
The atmosphere and biosphere are intrinsically coupled systems. Here, the authors integrate multiple datasets from hourly to decadal timescales and show that a hydrometerological envelope constrains ecosystem variability through time.
Theoretical modelling and laboratory microcosm experiments reveal that catastrophic population extinctions can actually promote metapopulation persistence via the ‘spatial hydra effect’.
In evolutionary biology, ‘mother’s curse’ refers to the possibility of passing on harmful mutations through mitochondria. Here evidence is presented for the mother’s curse in action over 290 years in a human population.
Animals with complex life cycles experience different selection pressures across life stages. Here, the authors show drastically different morphologies and evolutionary histories of Australian frogs and their tadpoles, which suggest that they are evolving independently.
Thiamethoxam, a neonicotinoid pesticide, is shown to reduce the rate of colony initiation by bumblebee queens. Modelling shows that this effect could increase colony extinction rates.
Marine aquaculture has the potential to improve food security. A global analysis shows that space in coastal areas is unlikely to limit the potential for aquaculture.
The McMurdo Dry Valleys is the largest ice-free ecosystem in Antarctica. Here, the varied community responses to an anomalous melt season are documented.
Plasmids facilitate the evolution of antibiotic resistance but little is known about bacteria–plasmid evolution. Here, the authors show that when bacteria adapt to one plasmid, they become generally permissive to plasmid carriage.
The mechanisms underlying drought-induced tree mortality are not fully resolved. Here, the authors show that, across multiple tree species, loss of xylem conductivity above 60% is associated with mortality, while carbon starvation is not universal.
Analysing data from more than 1,000 sites globally, the authors show that palaeoclimatic legacies explain a greater amount of variation in bacterial community richness and composition than current climate.
Transfer of mobile genetic elements between bacteria is widespread, facilitating adaptation. Here, the authors show that horizontal gene transfer is inhibited in soil bacterial communities undergoing positive selection for mercury resistance.
Honeybees are used for crop pollination but also spill over into nearby natural habitats. Here, the detrimental effects of this spillover on wild plants and pollinators are documented.
The position of limbs varies across vertebrates. Here, the authors show that GDF11 is a key factor in the integration of sacral vertebrae and hindlimb positioning and underlies diversification of the hindlimb position in vertebrates.
Phylogenetic and biogeographic modelling show that high-latitude Antarctic nearshore habitats have been an evolutionary sink for species diversity of notothenioids, which dominate teleost fish diversity in the Southern Ocean.
Estimates of stomatal conductance are important for models of crop and ecosystem water and carbon flux. Here, data from temperate tree species show interspecific variation in stomatal function that can be accounted for to make models more accurate.
The use of genomic data to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships is powerful but challenging. Here, the authors develop a bioinformatics pipeline and use phylogenomic datasets to reconstruct the evolutionary relationships of jawed vertebrates.