Laura Katz

Baldwin-Brown et al. confined pigeon lice to color-mismatched hosts for ca. 60 generations, and tracked genomic changes, revealing parallel phenotypic adaptation in color via largely non-overlapping loci.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf083

#genome #pigeon #lice

The June cover of Genome Biology and Evolution features the work of @mirimerenciano.bsky.social @sianalarue.bsky.social et al., who explore the relationships between transposable elements and aging in a new Review article.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf088

🖌️ Merenciano et al.

#genome #TEsky

@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

#genome #evolution #introns

Our structural core gene pipeline Unicode is now published at GBE
📄 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/...

Please also check out @dongwookkim.bsky.social’s
🧵 bsky.app/profile/dong...

Highlight: More Than Meets the Eye—Nonvisual Opsins Are Crucial for Light-Sensing in Vertebrates The evolution of eyes, through the co-option of photosensitive proteins known as opsins, represents a major innovation that expanded the ecological and com

Very excited that Pedro Andrade has joined the Genome Biology and Evolution team, publishing this nice highlight on nonvisual opsins: academic.oup.com/gbe/article/...

Follow his work
@genomebiolevol.bsky.social

Population Genomics of Aspergillus sojae is Shaped by the Food Environment Abstract. Traditional fermented foods often contain specialized microorganisms adapted to their unique environments. For example, the filamentous mold Aspe

Genome and phenotypic analyses support domestication of Aspergillus sojae from A. parasiticus for soy production. A. sojae shows reduced diversity, loss of aflatoxin genes, and traits suited to miso-like salt conditions.

Link: doi.org/10.1093/gbe/...

#soy #fungi #domestication

Horizontal Transfer of Bacterial Operons into Eukaryote Genomes #protists #protistsonsky academic.oup.com/gbe/article/...

Demographic History, Genetic Load, and the Efficacy of Selection in the Globally Invasive Mosquito Aedes aegypti Abstract. Aedes aegypti is the main vector species of yellow fever, dengue, Zika, and chikungunya. The species is originally from Africa but has experience

New research by
@tylervkent.bsky.social @samurscicop.bsky.social & D. Matute analysed 131 genomes of the globally invasive Aedes aegypti, and found high genomic resilience despite historical eradication attempts for this globally invasive vector.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/...

#genome #mosquitoes

Genomic Exploration of Climate-driven Evolution and Evolutionary Convergence in Forest Pathogens Abstract. Climate significantly influences the distribution, composition, and diversity of fungal communities, impacting the growth, spread, and virulence

@phessenauer.bsky.social et al. find that moisture drives adaptation in the pathogens that cause Dutch elm disease, dothistroma needle blight, and Swiss needle cast, revealing convergent evolution in response to precipitation and humidity.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf069

#genome #evolution #fungi

The May cover of Genome Biology and Evolution features the work of Romero & de Souza, who compared the genomes of lizards and the tuatara to study the evolution of non-visual opsin genes.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf058

🖌️ Eugenia Amado

#genome #opsins #vision #lizards #evolution

📖 SMBE journals on Bluesky

Interested in learning the latest advances in evolutionary biology, genomics, and molecular biology? Follow the SMBE sister journals MBE and GBE here on Bluesky and get updates on new articles coming out.

MBE: @molbioevol.bsky.social
GBE: @genomebiolevol.bsky.social

Sexual Size Dimorphism Correlates With the Number of Androgen Response Elements in Mammals, But Only in Small-Bodied Species Abstract. Sexual size dimorphism is common throughout the animal kingdom, but its evolution and development remain difficult to explain given most of the g

Research by Ghione & Dean uses 268 mammal genomes to test if the number of androgen/estrogen response elements scales with sexual size dimorphism, finding this relationship for small-bodied taxa (Chiroptera and Rodentia) but not larger groups.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/...

#genome #mammals

Demographic history, genetic load, and the efficacy of selection in the globally invasive mosquito Aedes aegypti Abstract. Aedes aegypti is the main vector species of yellow fever, dengue, Zika and chikungunya. The species is originally from Africa but has experienced

Excited to see the final version of this paper with @samurscicop.bsky.social and Daniel Matute out in @genomebiolevol.bsky.social!

We took a dive into the complicated demographic history of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and its impact on the distribution of genetic diversity
doi.org/10.1093/gbe/...

Horizontal Transfer of Bacterial Operons into Eukaryote Genomes Abstract. In prokaryotes, functionally linked genes are typically clustered into operons, which are transcribed into a single mRNA, providing for the coreg

Bacterial operons may persist in eukaryotes (e.g. fungi) after horizontal gene transfer, according to Kogay et al. Operon-derived gene pairs suggest initial neutral retention and later functional integration or degeneration.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/...

#NewPaperAlert #genome #evolution #fungi

Buso et al. studied parallel selection in two domestic lineages of Atlantic salmon. Shared sweeps in MHC genes suggest combined long-term balancing selection and recent domestication selection.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/...

✏️ P. Buso @marie-saitou.bsky.social

#evobio #molbio

Evolutionary Dynamics of Transposable Element Activity and Regulation in the Apennine Yellow-Bellied Toad (Bombina pachypus) Abstract. Transposable elements (TEs) expansion and accumulation represent one of the main drivers of genomic gigantism. Different host genome silencing me

Ancona et al. investigated transposable elements in the Apennine Yellow-Bellied Toad: TEs are more active in male gonads, while TE-silencing pathways increase in ovaries. These findings challenge a simple "genomic arms race" model of host-TE evolution.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/...

#evobio #genomics

🤝 At GBE, we are committed to simplifying the initial submission of manuscripts.

Check our Instructions for Authors page to learn more: academic.oup.com/gbe/pages/Ge...

Repeated Evolution of Transcript Dosage Compensation of Independently Formed Nematode Neo-X Chromosomes Abstract. Ohno proposed that, during the origin of X/Y sex chromosomes from a pair of autosomes, X-linked genes must double their per-allele expressions to

Comparative transcriptomics of nematodes C. elegans and Brugia malayi supports Ohno’s hypothesis of X-linked genes showing upregulation following Y degeneration, which depends on the dosage-sensitive gene content of proto-X.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/...

#NewPaperAlert #genome #evolution #celegans

Population History Across Timescales in an Urban Archipelago Abstract. Contemporary patterns of genetic variation reflect the cumulative history of a population. Population splitting, migration, and changes in popula

New paper by Howell et al. infers the demographic history of Boston Harbor’s white-footed mice, demonstrating that integrating multiple summaries of genome-wide variation enhances the temporal resolution of population history.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/...

#NewPaperAlert #genome #mice #demography

Genes Encoding Intracellular Signaling Proteins in Animals Originated Along with Metazoa and Chordata: Chance or Necessity? Abstract. In this work, we investigate whether the construction of signaling pathways during evolution follows a deterministic law through a study of the e

Do signaling pathways evolve in a predictable order? Picolo et al. studied 47 pathways across 315 animal species, finding little evidence for a universal link between gene age and pathway position - this suggests stochastic pathway evolution.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/...

#NewPaperAlert #evolution

Transcriptomic Temperature Stress Responses Show Differentiation Between Biomes for Diverse Plants Abstract. Plants are foundational to terrestrial ecosystems, and because they are sessile, they are particularly reliant on physiological plasticity to res

How do plants from different environments handle temperature extremes? Andrew et al. studied 20 Australian species and found conserved gene expression responses to heat and cold (with biome-specific differences).

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/...

#NewPaperAlert #plants #stress

Analyses of Transposable Elements in Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Support Evolutionary Parallels With Filamentous Plant Pathogens Abstract. Transposable elements are repetitive DNA sequences that excise or create copies that are inserted elsewhere in the genome. Their expansion shapes

Happy to share that our paper "Analyses of Transposable Elements in Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Support Evolutionary Parallels With Filamentous Plant Pathogens" is out.

academic.oup.com/gbe/article/...

Now published in @genomebiolevol.bsky.social 🥳

academic.oup.com/gbe/advance-...

📝 The early bird deadline for registration in SMBE 2025 in Beijing is TOMORROW, April 20th! Make sure to register for our annual meeting, where we will discuss the latest advances and emerging themes in molecular biology and evolution.

More info: smbe2025.scimeeting.cn

#SMBE2025 #evobio #molbio

Genome Biology and Evolution April 2025 cover

Our April cover features the work of Teterina et al., who compared the genomes of various Caenorhabditis nematode species, including the hyper polymorphic C. brenneri.

Link: doi.org/10.1093/gbe/...

📷 Teterina et al.

#evolution #genetics

Penn, bracing for federal funding cuts, orders a hiring freeze and other changes In an email to Penn staff, officials said the full impact of federal funding cuts and policy changes will not be known for several months.

Penn announces hiring freeze. Pitt has done the same thing. Harvard also announced one today. This will devastate departments and future missions www.inquirer.com/education/up...

Thank you @nature.com for this piece based on the 2024 Patrusky Lecture, given by Joe Graves at #SciWri24.

Watch the video of his talk on CASW's YouTube channel.

Amino Acid Properties, Substitution Rates, and the Nearly Neutral Theory Abstract. Do the properties of amino acids affect their rates of substitution? The neutral theory predicts that greater selective constraint leads to slowe

March issue: Amino acids that are more different do have lower rates of exchange over evolutionary time, and this result is general to different taxonomic groups.
doi.org/10.1093/gbe/...
#MolecularEvolution #AminoAcids #OpenAccess

The financial shackling of historically Black universities in the United States Evolutionary biologist Joseph L. Graves Jr argues that — now more than ever — the United States should honour its commitments to Black higher education to diversify the science workforce.

This week in @nature.com, Joe Graves published a thunderous column "The financial shackling of historically Black universities in the United States."
🚨Despite underfunding, HBCUs graduate disproportionately high numbers of Black students in STEM.
Screenshots follow:
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

📢📢📢 Announcement: SMBE Faculty Award Nominations 2025 are due by April 15, 2025

www.smbe.org/smbe/FEATURE...