Molecular evolution articles within Nature Communications

Featured

• Article
  29 October 2013 | Open Access

  Baiji genomes reveal low genetic variability and new insights into secondary aquatic adaptations

  Despite major conservation efforts, the Yangtze river dolphin, or baiji, is now recognised as functionally extinct. Here, Zhou et al. report a high quality draft baiji genome, as well as three re-sequenced genomes, and highlight evolutionary adaptations to aquatic life.

  • Xuming Zhou
  • , Fengming Sun
  •  & Guang Yang

• Article | 03 October 2013

  Darwinian evolution in a translation-coupled RNA replication system within a cell-like compartment

  Molecular evolution events are vital for the development of cellular complexity. Here the authors construct an evolvable artificial cell model, and observe that Darwinian evolution leads to more efficient RNA replication over time.

  • Norikazu Ichihashi
  • , Kimihito Usui
  •  & Tetsuya Yomo

• Article | 19 August 2013

  FLOWERING LOCUS C in monocots and the tandem origin of angiosperm-specific MADS-box genes

  MADS-box genes regulate flowering plant development, but their evolutionary origins are unclear. Here, Ruelens et al.show that three major, apparently flowering plant-specific, MADS-box gene clades are derived from a single ancestral tandem duplication, and identify FLOWERING LOCUS C-like genes in cereals.

  • Philip Ruelens
  • , Ruud A. de Maagd
  •  & Kerstin Kaufmann

• Article | 21 May 2013

  Taller plants have lower rates of molecular evolution

  Rates of molecular evolution vary significantly between species, but the reasons behind this variation remain unclear. Lanfear et al.show that height accounts for one-fifth of the rate variation measured in plant genomes, and suggest that is because taller plants copy their genomes less frequently.

  • Robert Lanfear
  • , Simon Y. W. Ho
  •  & Andrew P. Allen

• Article | 22 January 2013

  Evolution of the protein stoichiometry in the L12 stalk of bacterial and organellar ribosomes

  The ribosomal stalk L12 is the only multi-copy protein in the ribosome and is essential for translation. Here Davydov et al.use a bioinformatics and mass spectrometry approach to study the evolution of L12 in bacterial ribosomes and predict its stoichiometry in a wide range of species.

  • Iakov I. Davydov
  • , Ingo Wohlgemuth
  •  & Marina V. Rodnina

• Article | 08 January 2013

  Extensive diversification of IgH subclass-encoding genes and IgM subclass switching in crocodilians

  Different mechanisms for generating antibody diversity have evolved since the emergence of immunoglobulin genes in jawed vertebrates. By sequencing the crocodilian immunoglobulin heavy-chain locus, Chenget al. uncover new insights into the evolutionary origins of adaptive immunity.

  • Gang Cheng
  • , Yang Gao
  •  & Yaofeng Zhao

• Article | 04 December 2012

  Diminishing returns and tradeoffs constrain the laboratory optimization of an enzyme

  Enzymes are traditionally viewed as being highly specific for their substrates. Tokuriki et al.follow the accumulation of mutations during the laboratory evolution of a phosphotriesterase into an arylesterase, and postulate that many naturally occurring enzymes may not be optimal for their substrates.

  • Nobuhiko Tokuriki
  • , Colin J. Jackson
  •  & Dan S. Tawfik

• Article | 23 October 2012

  The convergent evolution of defensive polyacetylenic fatty acid biosynthesis genes in soldier beetles

  Soldier beetles use a polyacetylenic fatty acid to repel avian predators and protect their eggs. Haritoset al. find that three genes in soldier beetles convert oleic acid to a precursor of 8Z-dihydromatricaria acid—the first eukaryotic genes reported to produce conjugated polyacetylenic fatty acids.

  • Victoria S. Haritos
  • , Irene Horne
  •  & Mats Hamberg

• Article | 18 September 2012

  Dynamic evolution of venom proteins in squamate reptiles

  The evolution of venom toxins is an area of intense study but has been hampered by the lack of non-toxin protein homologues. Here, phylogenetic analyses of non-toxin genes sourced from transcriptomic studies are found placed within groups of venom toxins, revealing dynamic changes in the sites of toxin expression.

  • Nicholas R. Casewell
  • , Gavin A. Huttley
  •  & Wolfgang Wüster

• Article
  30 August 2011 | Open Access

  A segmental genomic duplication generates a functional intron

  The appearance of a new intron that splits an exon without disrupting the corresponding peptide sequence is a rare event in vertebrate genomes. Hellstenet al.demonstrate that, under certain circumstances, a functional intron can be produced in a single step by segmental genomic duplication.

  • Uffe Hellsten
  • , Julie L. Aspden
  •  & Daniel S. Rokhsar

• Article
  01 February 2011 | Open Access

  Regulation of the co-evolved HrpR and HrpS AAA+ proteins required for Pseudomonas syringae pathogenicity

  HrpR and HrpS enhancer-binding proteins ofPseudomonas syringae activate σ⁵⁴-dependent transcription of the HrpL promoter and are required for type-three secretion pathogenicity. Here, the authors demonstrate that, despite being co-regulated, HrpR and HrpS each have distinct functions for activating σ⁵⁴.

  • Milija Jovanovic
  • , Ellen H. James
  •  & Jörg Schumacher

• Article | 18 January 2011

  Asymmetric spermatocyte division as a mechanism for controlling sex ratios

  Some organisms produce unequal numbers of male and female progeny, but the mechanics of skewed of sex ratios are largely unknown. Here, the authors describe alterations in X-chromosome segregation and cytoplasmic partitioning during spermatogenesis that together explain the distorted sex ratio in a nematode species.

  • Diane C. Shakes
  • , Bryan J. Neva
  •  & Andre Pires-daSilva

• Article
  19 October 2010 | Open Access

  Dynamic evolution of precise regulatory encodings creates the clustered site signature of enhancers

  InDrosophila development, DNA enhancers drive gene expression in response to morphogen gradients. Here, Crocker et al. study the evolution of sequences that bind a Dorsal morphogen complex and demonstrate how evolutionary changes in threshold levels have resulted in complex site clustering of DNA elements.

  • Justin Crocker
  • , Nathan Potter
  •  & Albert Erives