Genetic changes that enabled the evolution of eusociality have long captivated biologists. More recently, attention has focussed on the consequences of eusociality on genome evolution. Studies have reported higher molecular evolutionary rates in eusocial hymenopteran insects compared with their solitary relatives.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecombination is a key evolutionary driver in shaping novel viral populations and lineages. When unaccounted for, recombination can impact evolutionary estimations or complicate their interpretation. Therefore, identifying signals for recombination in sequencing data is a key prerequisite to further analyses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhen closely related species come into contact via range expansion, both may experience reduced fitness as a result of the interaction. Selection is expected to favour traits that minimize costly interspecies reproductive interactions (such as mismating) via a phenomenon called reproductive character displacement (RCD). Research on RCD frequently assumes secondary contact between species, but the geographical history of species interactions is often unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAfrican buffalo are the natural reservoirs of the SAT serotypes of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) in sub-Saharan Africa. Most buffalo are exposed to multiple FMDV serotypes early in life, and a proportion of them become persistently infected carriers. Understanding the genetic diversity and evolution of FMDV in carrier animals is critical to elucidate how FMDV persists in buffalo populations.
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