Direct estimation of the spontaneous mutation rate by short-term mutation accumulation lines in .

Mutations are the ultimate basis of evolution, yet their occurrence rate is known only for few species. We directly estimated the spontaneous mutation rate and the mutational spectrum in the nonbiting midge with a new approach. Individuals from ten mutation accumulation lines over five generations were deep genome sequenced to count de novo mutations that were not present in a pool of F1 individuals, representing parental genotypes.

Cold tolerance of the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus and its response to epigenetic alterations.

Phenotypic plasticity is considered as one of the key traits responsible for the establishment of populations of the invasive mosquito Aedes albopictus, an important vector of viral and parasitic pathogens. The successful spread of this species to higher altitudes and latitudes may be explained by its ability to rapidly induce a heritable low-temperature phenotype (cold hardiness in eggs). As a result of the low genetic diversity of founder populations, an epigenetic short-term mechanism has been suggested as the driver of this diversification.

Chironomus riparius (Diptera) genome sequencing reveals the impact of minisatellite transposable elements on population divergence.

Active transposable elements (TEs) may result in divergent genomic insertion and abundance patterns among conspecific populations. Upon secondary contact, such divergent genetic backgrounds can theoretically give rise to classical Dobzhansky-Muller incompatibilities (DMI), thus contributing to the evolution of endogenous genetic barriers and eventually causing population divergence. We investigated differential TE abundance among conspecific populations of the nonbiting midge Chironomus riparius and evaluated their potential role in causing endogenous genetic incompatibilities between these populations.

Support for the evolutionary speed hypothesis from intraspecific population genetic data in the non-biting midge Chironomus riparius.

The evolutionary speed hypothesis (ESH) proposes a causal mechanism for the latitudinal diversity gradient. The central idea of the ESH is that warmer temperatures lead to shorter generation times and increased mutation rates. On an absolute time scale, both should lead to an acceleration of selection and drift.