FLEXIBILITY IN GENE COEXPRESSION AT DEVELOPMENTAL AND EVOLUTIONARY TIMESCALES.

The explosion of next-generation sequencing technologies has allowed researchers to move from studying single genes, to thousands of genes, and thereby to also consider the relationships within gene networks. Like others, we are interested in understanding how developmental and evolutionary forces shape the expression of individual genes, as well as the interactions among genes. To this end, we characterized the effects of genetic background and developmental environment on brain gene coexpression in two parallel, independent evolutionary lineages of Trinidadian guppies ().

Mycobacteroides abscessus outbreak and mitigation in a cardiothoracic transplant population: the problem with tap water.

Background: Hospital outbreaks caused by Mycobacteroides abscessus complex are a major cause for concern in vulnerable patients such as the cardiothoracic transplant population.

Aim: To describe the outbreak investigation and mitigation steps undertaken to address an increase in healthcare-associated M. abscessus complex cases in an inpatient cardiothoracic transplant population.

In your CORT: Corticosterone and its receptors in the brain underlie mate choosiness in female Cope's gray treefrogs (Hyla chrysoscelis).

Selecting an attractive mate can involve trade-offs related to investment in sampling effort. Glucocorticoids like corticosterone (CORT) are involved in resolving energetic trade-offs. However, CORT is rarely studied in the context of mate choice, despite its elevated levels during reproductive readiness and the energetic transitions that characterize reproduction.

Convergent Anuran Middle Ear Loss Lacks a Universal, Adaptive Explanation.

Introduction: Shared selection pressures often explain convergent trait loss, yet anurans (frogs and toads) have lost their middle ears at least 38 times with no obvious shared selection pressures unifying "earless" taxa. Anuran tympanic middle ear loss is especially perplexing because acoustic communication is dominant within Anura and tympanic middle ears enhance airborne hearing in most tetrapods.

Methods: Here, we use phylogenetic comparative methods to examine whether particular geographic ranges, microhabitats, activity patterns, or aspects of acoustic communication are associated with anuran tympanic middle ear loss.