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Analysis of genetic variation underlying an antipredator morphological defence in Daphnia pulex shows that stabilizing selection operates on this plastic trait.
This experimental study shows how the interplay between bacteria-phage coevolution and competition among bacterial genotypes results in increased diversity of bacterial CRISPR immunity.
Analyses of phenotypic variety in Fungi show that fungal body plans diversified episodically over time and appear distinct because of the extinction of intermediate forms, similar to what has been described in animals.
Biochemical identification of neuropeptides in Cnidaria and Ctenophora, followed by analyses of their expression, suggests that peptidergic neurons were present at early stages of nervous system evolution.
Examining drivers of the latitudinal biodiversity gradient in a global database of local tree species richness, the authors show that co-limitation by multiple environmental and anthropogenic factors causes steeper increases in richness with latitude in tropical versus temperate and boreal zones.
Eukaryotic phylogenies inferred from metabarcoding show that marine and non-marine microbial eukaryotes are in general phylogenetically distinct, but that transitions across the salt barrier have occurred hundreds of times, and in all lineages, and are particularly important for evolutionary diversification in fungi.
Analysis of the species richness and functional diversity among species across 72 lakes finds that both variables are positively associated with ecosystem multifunctionality, but that—for smaller organisms only—these positive relationships break down with increasing human pressure.
Analysing the energetic constraints on prokaryotic cell size, the energetic implications of eukaryotic genome architecture, and the presence of endosymbionts, the authors suggest that mitochondria were not required for the initial origin of eukaryotes, but did facilitate their subsequent diversification and expansion.
A NutNet experiment in 57 grasslands across six continents shows that when herbivores are excluded from grasslands with a long coevolutionary history of grazing plant diversity is reduced, while in grasslands without a long grazing history the evolutionary history of the plant species regulates the response of plant diversity.
A new fossil cnidarian, Auroralumina attenboroughi, from the Ediacaran of Charnwood Forest, UK, described as showing mosaic anthozoan and medusozoan characters, is the oldest yet-known crown-group cnidarian.
Studying the odorant receptor subfamily Or67a in Drosophila melanogaster and closely related species, the authors show that independent selection on co-expressed receptors has contributed to species-specific peripheral coding of olfactory information.
Using 46 years of individually monitored data for European red deer, the authors show that older individuals become less socially connected, with correlated changes to their spatial behaviour.
Populations of a bulb mite that were experimentally selected for a male weapon showed reduced diversity across the genome, indicating that strong sexual selection increases the strength of purifying selection.
Several cases of replicated radiations (in which sets of similar forms evolve repeatedly within different regions) have been described in animals. Here the authors provide a well-documented example in plants, specifically the Oreinotinus lineage within the angiosperm clade Viburnum in its spread from Mexico to Argentina through disjunct cloud forest environments.
Analysing whole-genome sequences from 68 rattlesnakes, the authors show a role of long-term balancing selection in maintaining diversity of multiple venom gene families and find reduced selective interference of venom genes with neighbouring loci.
Using a 30-year dataset of North American bird species, the authors show that species’ abundances and distributions have become more decoupled from climate over time and that this is associated with ecological traits; the effect is particularly strong in threatened species.
The authors construct a time-calibrated phylogeny spanning >90% of spiny-rayed fishes to explore patterns of body shape disparity within acanthomorphs. They find a trend of steady accumulation of lineages from the Cenozoic, with an increase in morphological disparity following the Cretaceous–Palaeogene event, facilitating the radiation of diverse morphotypes that characterize acanthomorphs’ widespread ecological success today.
Genome sequencing and haplotype assembly of two cyprinid teleosts, a sexual tetraploid and an unisexual hexaploid, reveal insights into the evolutionary mechanisms underpinning the reproductive success of unisexual polyploid vertebrates.
A ten-year dataset from the Tibetan Plateau shows a general increase in tree-ring growth that is largely explained by enhanced nitrogen recycling through increased litterfall under elevated atmospheric CO2.
Using estimation data on neuron numbers in 111 bird species across 24 families, the authors show that number of neurons is positively associated with innovation propensity and encephalization.