scholarly journals Role of diversification rates and evolutionary history as a driver of plant naturalization success

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernd Lenzner ◽  
Susana Magallón ◽  
Wayne Dawson ◽  
Holger Kreft ◽  
Christian König ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Diversification Rates

Elaborating the role of reflection and individual differences in the study of folk-economic beliefs

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Arceneaux
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
History Of ◽  
Economic Beliefs

AbstractIntuitions guide decision-making, and looking to the evolutionary history of humans illuminates why some behavioral responses are more intuitive than others. Yet a place remains for cognitive processes to second-guess intuitive responses – that is, to be reflective – and individual differences abound in automatic, intuitive processing as well.

scholarly journals Gut bacteria are essential for normal cuticle development in herbivorous turtle ants

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christophe Duplais ◽  
Vincent Sarou-Kanian ◽  
Dominique Massiot ◽  
Alia Hassan ◽  
Barbara Perrone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Nitrogen Assimilation ◽  
Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Gut Bacteria ◽  
Resonance Spectroscopy ◽  
Nitrogen Flow ◽  
Isotopic Enrichment ◽  
History Of ◽  
Cuticle Development

AbstractAcross the evolutionary history of insects, the shift from nitrogen-rich carnivore/omnivore diets to nitrogen-poor herbivorous diets was made possible through symbiosis with microbes. The herbivorous turtle ants Cephalotes possess a conserved gut microbiome which enriches the nutrient composition by recycling nitrogen-rich metabolic waste to increase the production of amino acids. This enrichment is assumed to benefit the host, but we do not know to what extent. To gain insights into nitrogen assimilation in the ant cuticle we use gut bacterial manipulation, 15N isotopic enrichment, isotope-ratio mass spectrometry, and 15N nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to demonstrate that gut bacteria contribute to the formation of proteins, catecholamine cross-linkers, and chitin in the cuticle. This study identifies the cuticular components which are nitrogen-enriched by gut bacteria, highlighting the role of symbionts in insect evolution, and provides a framework for understanding the nitrogen flow from nutrients through bacteria into the insect cuticle.

Early origin of sweet perception in the songbird radiation

Science ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 373 (6551) ◽  
pp. 226-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasuka Toda ◽  
Meng-Ching Ko ◽  
Qiaoyi Liang ◽  
Eliot T. Miller ◽  
Alejandro Rico-Guevara ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Sensory Biology ◽  
Avian Evolution ◽  
Nectar Feeding ◽  
Evolutionary Radiation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Sensory Convergence ◽  
Early Origin

Early events in the evolutionary history of a clade can shape the sensory systems of descendant lineages. Although the avian ancestor may not have had a sweet receptor, the widespread incidence of nectar-feeding birds suggests multiple acquisitions of sugar detection. In this study, we identify a single early sensory shift of the umami receptor (the T1R1-T1R3 heterodimer) that conferred sweet-sensing abilities in songbirds, a large evolutionary radiation containing nearly half of all living birds. We demonstrate sugar responses across species with diverse diets, uncover critical sites underlying carbohydrate detection, and identify the molecular basis of sensory convergence between songbirds and nectar-specialist hummingbirds. This early shift shaped the sensory biology of an entire radiation, emphasizing the role of contingency and providing an example of the genetic basis of convergence in avian evolution.

Adaptive convergent evolution of genome proofreading in SARS-CoV2: insights into the Eigen’s paradox

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keerthic Aswin ◽  
Srinivasan Ramachandran ◽  
Vivek T Natarajan
Keyword(s):  
Convergent Evolution ◽  
Genome Stability ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Rna Binding ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Comparative Genome Analysis ◽  
The Family ◽  
History Of ◽  
Key Residues

AbstractEvolutionary history of coronaviruses holds the key to understand mutational behavior and prepare for possible future outbreaks. By performing comparative genome analysis of nidovirales that contain the family of coronaviruses, we traced the origin of proofreading, surprisingly to the eukaryotic antiviral component ZNFX1. This common recent ancestor contributes two zinc finger (ZnF) motifs that are unique to viral exonuclease, segregating them from DNA proof-readers. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that following acquisition, genomes of coronaviruses retained and further fine-tuned proofreading exonuclease, whereas related families harbor substitution of key residues in ZnF1 motif concomitant to a reduction in their genome sizes. Structural modelling followed by simulation suggests the role of ZnF in RNA binding. Key ZnF residues strongly coevolve with replicase, and the helicase involved in duplex RNA unwinding. Hence, fidelity of replication in coronaviruses is a result of convergent evolution, that enables maintenance of genome stability akin to cellular proofreading systems.

Love, the Brain, and Becoming Human

2019 ◽  
pp. 44-71
Author(s):  
Riane Eisler
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Human Development ◽  
Human Evolution ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
The Brain ◽  
The Continuum

This chapter introduces a new perspective on the role of love in human evolution and human development. The bonds of love, whether between parent and child, lovers, or close friends, may all have a common biological root, activating neurochemicals that make us feel good. Like other human capacities, such as consciousness, learning, and creativity, love has a long and fascinating evolutionary history. Indeed, the evolution of love appears to be integral to the development of our human brain and hence to much that distinguishes us from other species. Moreover, love plays a vital, though still largely unrecognized, role in human development, with evidence accumulating about the negative effects of love deprivation as well as the benefits of love. But whether or not our needs for meaning and love are met, and whether or not our capacities for creativity and love are expressed, are largely determined by the interaction of biology and culture—specifically, the degree to which a culture or subculture orients to the partnership or domination end of the continuum.

scholarly journals Morphological stasis in the first myxomycete from the Mesozoic, and the likely role of cryptobiosis

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jouko Rikkinen ◽  
David A. Grimaldi ◽  
Alexander R. Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Fruiting Bodies ◽  
Ecological Adaptations ◽  
Environmental Selection ◽  
Morphological Stasis ◽  
Ancient Lineage ◽  
History Of ◽  
Spore Mass

AbstractMyxomycetes constitute a group within the Amoebozoa well known for their motile plasmodia and morphologically complex fruiting bodies. One obstacle hindering studies of myxomycete evolution is that their fossils are exceedingly rare, so evolutionary analyses of this supposedly ancient lineage of amoebozoans are restricted to extant taxa. Molecular data have significantly advanced myxomycete systematics, but the evolutionary history of individual lineages and their ecological adaptations remain unknown. Here, we report exquisitely preserved myxomycete sporocarps in amber from Myanmar, ca. 100 million years old, one of the few fossil myxomycetes, and the only definitive Mesozoic one. Six densely-arranged stalked sporocarps were engulfed in tree resin while young, with almost the entire spore mass still inside the sporotheca. All morphological features are indistinguishable from those of the modern, cosmopolitan genus Stemonitis, demonstrating that sporocarp morphology has been static since at least the mid-Cretaceous. The ability of myxomycetes to develop into dormant stages, which can last years, may account for the phenotypic stasis between living Stemonitis species and this fossil one, similar to the situation found in other organisms that have cryptobiosis. We also interpret Stemonitis morphological stasis as evidence of strong environmental selection favouring the maintenance of adaptations that promote wind dispersal.

On the role of enemies in divergence and diversification of prey: a review and synthesis

2005 ◽  
Vol 83 (7) ◽  
pp. 894-910 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven M Vamosi
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cues ◽  
Phenotypic Diversity ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Ecological Interactions ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
Diversification Rates ◽  
Extinction Rates ◽  
Phenotypic Divergence ◽  
Experimental Approaches

Understanding the contribution of ecological interactions to the origin and maintenance of diversity is a fundamental challenge for ecologists and evolutionary biologists, and one that is currently receiving a great deal of attention. Natural enemies (e.g., predators, parasites, and herbivores) are ubiquitous in food webs and are predicted to have significant impacts on phenotypic diversity and on speciation, and extinction rates of their prey. Spurred by the development of a theoretical framework beginning in the late 1970s, there is now a growing body of literature that addresses the effects of enemy–prey interactions on the evolution of prey. A number of theoretical models predict that enemies can produce phenotypic divergence between closely related species, even in the absence of interspecific competition for resources. Effects on diversification of prey are more variable, and enemies may either enhance or depress speciation and extinction rates of their prey. Empirical evidences from a number of study systems, notably those involving predators and prey in aquatic environments and interactions between insects and flowering plants, confirm both predictions. There is now considerable evidence for the role of enemies, especially those that are size-selective or use visual cues when identifying suitable prey, on phenotypic divergence of sympatric and allopatric taxa. Enemies may spur diversification rates in certain groups under some circumstances, and hinder diversification rates in other cases. I suggest that further research should focus on the role of enemies in diversification of prey, with significant insights likely to be the product of applying traditional experimental approaches and emerging comparative phylogenetic methods.

scholarly journals Culicidae evolutionary history focusing on the Culicinae subfamily based on mitochondrial phylogenomics

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Freitas da Silva ◽  
Laís Ceschini Machado ◽  
Marcia Bicudo de Paula ◽  
Carla Júlia da Silva Pessoa Vieira ◽  
Roberta Vieira de Morais Bronzoni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Mining ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Mosquito Species ◽  
Whole Genome ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
Fundamental Information ◽  
History Of ◽  
Medical Importance ◽  
Low Coverage

Abstract Mosquitoes are insects of medical importance due their role as vectors of different pathogens to humans. There is a lack of information about the evolutionary history and phylogenetic positioning of the majority of mosquito species. Here we characterized the mitogenomes of mosquito species through low-coverage whole genome sequencing and data mining. A total of 37 draft mitogenomes of different species were assembled from which 16 are newly-sequenced species. We datamined additional 49 mosquito mitogenomes, and together with our 37 mitogenomes, we reconstructed the evolutionary history of 86 species including representatives from 15 genera and 7 tribes. Our results showed that most of the species clustered in clades with other members of their own genus with exception of Aedes genus which was paraphyletic. We confirmed the monophyletic status of the Mansoniini tribe including both Coquillettidia and Mansonia genus. The Aedeomyiini and Uranotaeniini were consistently recovered as basal to other tribes in the subfamily Culicinae, although the exact relationships among these tribes differed between analyses. These results demonstrate that low-coverage sequencing is effective to recover mitogenomes, establish phylogenetic knowledge and hence generate basic fundamental information that will help in the understanding of the role of these species as pathogen vectors.

scholarly journals Epitranscriptomics of Mammalian Mitochondrial Ribosomal RNA

Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 2181
Author(s):  
Ivan Laptev ◽  
Olga Dontsova ◽  
Petr Sergiev
Keyword(s):  
Ribosomal Rna ◽  
Functional Role ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Assembly Process ◽  
Modified Nucleotides ◽  
Rna Molecules ◽  
Mitochondrial Ribosomes ◽  
Mitochondrial Rrna ◽  
Peptidyltransferase Center

Modified nucleotides are present in all ribosomal RNA molecules. Mitochondrial ribosomes are unique to have a set of methylated residues that includes universally conserved ones, those that could be found either in bacterial or in archaeal/eukaryotic cytosolic ribosomes and those that are present exclusively in mitochondria. A single pseudouridine within the mt-rRNA is located in the peptidyltransferase center at a position similar to that in bacteria. After recent completion of the list of enzymes responsible for the modification of mammalian mitochondrial rRNA it became possible to summarize an evolutionary history, functional role of mt-rRNA modification enzymes and an interplay of the mt-rRNA modification and mitoribosome assembly process, which is a goal of this review.

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