Historical and ongoing hybridisation in Southern South American grassland species.

Natural hybridisation in plants can impact genetic and morphological diversity, including the emergence of better-adapted new populations and the potential extinction of some lineages involved in this intricate process. Under progressive global warming, species often need to migrate to newly suitable areas, which may be an additional challenge for species with low dispersal ability. Throughout the search for new environments, previously allopatric lineages can come into secondary contact and eventually hybridise if reproductive isolation is incomplete.

Incomplete lineage sorting and hybridization underlie tree discordance in Petunia and related genera (Petunieae, Solanaceae).

Despite the overarching history of species divergence, phylogenetic studies often reveal distinct topologies across regions of the genome. The sources of these gene tree discordances are variable, but incomplete lineage sorting (ILS) and hybridization are among those with the most biological importance. Petunia serves as a classic system for studying hybridization in the wild.

Evolution and diversification of the O-methyltransferase (OMT) gene family in Solanaceae.

O-methyltransferases (OMTs) are a group of enzymes involved in several fundamental biological processes in plants, including lignin biosynthesis, pigmentation, and aroma production. Despite the intensive investigation of the role of OMTs in plant secondary metabolism, the evolution and diversification of this gene family in Solanaceae remain poorly understood. Here, we conducted a genome-wide survey of OMT genes in six Solanaceae species, reconstructing gene phylogenetic trees, predicting the potential involvement in biological processes, and investigating the exon/intron structure and chromosomal location.

Four new stink bug mitogenomes corroborate the internal inconsistencies in the classification of Pentatomidae (Hemiptera).

Stink bugs (Pentatomidae) are a speciose group of insects that feed mostly on plants. Many species are considered agricultural pests of economically important crops around the globe. Mitochondrial genomes are valuable for evolutionary and phylogenetic studies, but have been little explored for Pentatomidae.

Transcription Factors Evolve Faster Than Their Structural Gene Targets in the Flavonoid Pigment Pathway.

Dissecting the relationship between gene function and substitution rates is key to understanding genome-wide patterns of molecular evolution. Biochemical pathways provide powerful systems for investigating this relationship because the functional role of each gene is often well characterized. Here, we investigate the evolution of the flavonoid pigment pathway in the colorful Petunieae clade of the tomato family (Solanaceae).

Supergroup F in terrestrial isopods: Horizontal transmission from termites?

Unlabelled: Horizontal transmission between distantly related species has been used to explain how infect multiple species at astonishing rates despite the selection for resistance. Recently, a terrestrial isopod species was found to be infected by an unusual strain of supergroup F . However, only of supergroup B is typically found in isopods.