Environmental Variation Influences Genome Evolution in Hispaniolan Trunk Anoles (Anolis distichus).

Environmental variation often drives evolutionary processes like population differentiation, local adaptation and speciation. We used genome-scale data to investigate the contribution of environmental variation to evolution of the North Caribbean bark anole (Anolis distichus), a widespread common lizard that exhibits impressive phenotypic variation across varying habitats on the island of Hispaniola. We obtained new double-digest restriction-associated DNA sequence data (ddRADseq) from nearly 200 individuals and used 53 GIS data layers representing a range of environmental variables.

Exploring the plant-growth promoting bacterium Herbaspirillum seropedicae as catalyst of microbiome remodeling and metabolic changes in wheat plants.

Inoculation with the PGPB Herbaspirillum seropedicae shapes both the structure and putative functions of the wheat microbiome and causes changes in the levels of various plant metabolites described to be involved in plant growth and health. Plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) can establish metabolic imprints in their hosts, contributing to the improvement of plant health in different ways. However, while PGPB imprints on plant metabolism have been extensively characterized, much less is known regarding those affecting plant indigenous microbiomes, and hence it remains unknown whether both processes occur simultaneously.

Parallel genetic adaptation amid a background of changing effective population sizes in divergent yellow perch () populations.

Aquatic ecosystems are highly dynamic environments vulnerable to natural and anthropogenic disturbances. High-economic-value fisheries are one of many ecosystem services affected by these disturbances, and it is critical to accurately characterize the genetic diversity and effective population sizes of valuable fish stocks through time. We used genome-wide data to reconstruct the demographic histories of economically important yellow perch () populations.

Strong legacies of emerging trends in winter precipitation on the carbon-climate feedback from Arctic tundra.

Changes in winter precipitation accompanying emerging climate trends lead to a major carbon-climate feedback from Arctic tundra. However, the mechanisms driving the direction, magnitude, and form (CO and CH) of C fluxes and derived climate forcing (i.e.

Are Department Heads Ready for Change? Leveraging a Leadership Action Team to Advance Teaching Evaluation Practices.

Teaching evaluation at many institutions is insufficient to support, recognize, and reward effective teaching. We developed a long-term intervention to support science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) department heads in advancing teaching evaluation practices. We describe the intervention and systematically investigate its impact on departmental practices within a research-intensive university.

Estimating realized relatedness in free-ranging macaques by inferring identity-by-descent segments.

Biological relatedness is a key consideration in studies of behavior, population structure, and trait evolution. Except for parent-offspring dyads, pedigrees capture relatedness imperfectly. The number and length of identical-by-descent DNA segments (IBD) yield the most precise relatedness estimates.

Epidemiology of gastrointestinal parasites of dogs in four districts of central Ethiopia: Prevalence and risk factors.

From February 2022 to April 2023, a cross-sectional study on dog gastrointestinal parasites was conducted in Bishoftu, Dukem, Addis Ababa, and Sheno, Central Ethiopia, with the aim of estimating the prevalence and evaluating risk factors. A total of 701 faecal samples were collected and processed using floatation and McMaster techniques. In dogs that were investigated, the overall prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites was 53.

Epigenetics in the modern era of crop improvements.

Epigenetic mechanisms are integral to plant growth, development, and adaptation to environmental stimuli. Over the past two decades, our comprehension of these complex regulatory processes has expanded remarkably, producing a substantial body of knowledge on both locus-specific mechanisms and genome-wide regulatory patterns. Studies initially grounded in the model plant Arabidopsis have been broadened to encompass a diverse array of crop species, revealing the multifaceted roles of epigenetics in physiological and agronomic traits.

Comparative effects of Serendipita indica and a mix of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on the growth, photosynthetic capacity, and proteomics of Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi.

Both, Serendipita indica and AMF, show promise as sustainable biofertilizers for reforestation, improving nutrient uptake and stress tolerance, despite contrasting effects on photosynthetic capacity and biomass allocation. Reclaiming degraded areas is essential for biodiversity conservation and enhancing ecosystem services enhancement, especially when using native species. This study investigated Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi, a native Brazilian species, and its compatibility with plant growth-promoting microorganisms (PGPM), including an endophytic fungus (Serendipita indica) and a consortium of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), to identify effective strategies for reforestation in nutrient-poor environments.

The cognitive and evolutionary science of behavioural modernity goes beyond material chronology.

Stibbard-Hawkes' taphonomic findings are valuable, and his call for caution warranted, but the hazards he raises are being mitigated by a multi-pronged approach; current research on behavioural/cognitive modernity is not based solely on material chronology. Theories synthesize data from archaeology, anthropology, psychology, neuroscience, and genetics, and predictions arising from these theories are tested with mathematical and agent-based models.

Chickpea displays a temporal growth response to Mesorhizobium strains under well-watered and drought conditions.

The relative performance of rhizobial strains could depend on their resource allocation, environmental conditions, and host genotype. Here, we used a high-throughput shoot phenotyping to investigate the effects of Mesorhizobium strain on the growth dynamics, nodulation and bacteroid traits with four chickpea (Cicer arietinum) varieties grown under different water regimes in an experiment including four nitrogen sources (two Mesorhizobium strains, and two uninoculated controls: nitrogen fertilised and unfertilised) under well-watered and drought conditions. We asked three questions.

ESKAPE pathogens rapidly develop resistance against antibiotics in development in vitro.

Despite ongoing antibiotic development, evolution of resistance may render candidate antibiotics ineffective. Here we studied in vitro emergence of resistance to 13 antibiotics introduced after 2017 or currently in development, compared with in-use antibiotics. Laboratory evolution showed that clinically relevant resistance arises within 60 days of antibiotic exposure in Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, priority Gram-negative ESKAPE pathogens.

Chemical signatures of social information in Barbary macaques.

Primates are well-known for their complex social lives and intricate social relationships, which requires them to obtain and update social knowledge about conspecifics. The sense of smell may provide access to social information that is unavailable in other sensory domains or enhance the precision and reliability of other sensory cues. However, the cognition of social information in catarrhine primates has been studied primarily in the visual and auditory domain.

Diversification and recurrent adaptation of the synaptonemal complex in Drosophila.

The synaptonemal complex (SC) is a protein-rich structure essential for meiotic recombination and faithful chromosome segregation. Acting like a zipper to paired homologous chromosomes during early prophase I, the complex is a symmetrical structure where central elements are connected on two sides by the transverse filaments to the chromatin-anchoring lateral elements. Despite being found in most major eukaryotic taxa implying a deeply conserved evolutionary origin, several components of the complex exhibit unusually high rates of sequence turnover.

Short INDELs and SNPs as markers of evolutionary processes in hybrid zones.

Polymorphic short insertions and deletions (INDELs ≤ 50 bp) are abundant, although less common than single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Evidence from model organisms shows INDELs to be more strongly influenced by purifying selection than SNPs. Partly for this reason, INDELs are rarely used as markers for demographic processes or to detect divergent selection.

Complex species structure of (Digenea: Lecithasteridae), a fish parasite in the Arctic and Pacific Northwest.

Studying complexes of cryptic or pseudocryptic species opens new horizons for the understanding of speciation processes, an important yet vague issue for the digeneans. We investigated a hemiuroidean trematode across a wide geographic range including the northern European seas (White, Barents, and Pechora), East Siberian Sea, and the Pacific Northwest (Sea of Okhotsk and Sea of Japan). The goals were to explore the genetic diversity within through mitochondrial ( and genes) and ribosomal (ITS1, ITS2, 28S rDNA) marker sequences, to study morphometry of maritae, and to revise the life cycle data.

Comparative Investigation of the Nutritional Profiling and Antipyretic Activity of Leaves, Bark, and Root From Different Sites of Punjab, Pakistan.

The utilization of various plant sections as a medicinal and nutritional source for humans and animals has been the subject of significant research in recent years. This study aimed to investigate the nutritional profiling through proximate analysis and the antipyretic activity of leaves, bark, and root in methanolic extract from different sites of Punjab, Pakistan. Methanolic extract of leaves, bark, and root from sites i to e of Southern Punjab, Central Punjab, and Northwest Punjab as S1, S2, and S3, respectively, at doses of 50, 100, and 150 mg/kg bw showed statistically significant results as compared to the positive and negative controls.

Therapeutic Potential of Microgreens Extract in Alleviating Symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes in Wistar Rats.

Microgreens of Brassica plants have attracted increasing research interest in the management of the prevailing epidemic of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) because of their high nutritional value. This study evaluated the antidiabetic effects of Microgreens Ethanolic Extract (BMEE) in type-2 diabetic rats. For the normoglycemic assay, rats were divided into five groups and received a single oral dose of 100, 250, and 500 mg/kg of BMEE while the control groups received distilled water and Glibenclamide.

Combining Individual-Based Radio-Tracking With Whole-Genome Sequencing Data Reveals Candidate for Genetic Basis of Partial Migration in a Songbird.

Partial migration is a phenomenon where migratory and resident individuals of the same species co-exist within a population, and has been linked to both intrinsic (e.g., genetic) as well as environmental factors.

Molecular epidemiology, evolution, and transmission dynamics of raccoon rabies virus in Connecticut.

In North America, raccoon rabies virus (RRV) is a public health concern due to its potential for rapid spread, maintenance in wildlife, and impact on human and domesticated animal health. RRV is an endemic zoonotic pathogen throughout the eastern USA. In 1991, an outbreak of RRV in Fairfield County, Connecticut, spread through the state and eventually throughout the Northeast and into Canada.

gscramble: Simulation of Admixed Individuals Without Reuse of Genetic Material.

While a best practice for evaluating the behaviour of genetic clustering algorithms on empirical data is to conduct parallel analyses on simulated data, these types of simulation techniques often involve sampling genetic data with replacement. In this paper we demonstrate that sampling with replacement, especially with large marker sets, inflates the perceived statistical power to correctly assign individuals (or the alleles that they carry) back to source populations-a phenomenon we refer to as resampling-induced, spurious power inflation (RISPI). To address this issue, we present gscramble, a simulation approach in R for creating biologically informed individual genotypes from empirical data that: (1) samples alleles from populations without replacement and (2) segregates alleles based on species-specific recombination rates.

Empowering Regional Conservation: Genetic Diversity Assessments as a Tool for Eelgrass Management.

To halt the loss of biodiversity, collaboration among scientists, managers and decision-makers is vital. Although biodiversity loss is a global problem, management actions influencing diversity are often on a local to regional scale. Our study is an example of a regional conservation genomic assessment developed in collaboration between scientists and managers.

The evolution of preferred male traits, female preference and the G matrix: "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore".

Female preference exerts selection on male traits. How such preferences affect male traits, how female preferences change and the genetic correlation between male traits and female preference were examined by an experiment in which females were either mated to males they preferred (S lines) or to males chosen at random from the population (R lines). Female preference was predicted to increase the time spent calling by males.

Deformed wing virus coopts the host arginine kinase to enhance its fitness in honey bees (Apis mellifera).

Background: Deformed wing virus (DWV) is a major honey bee pathogen that is actively transmitted by the parasitic mite Varroa destructor and plays a primary role in Apis mellifera winter colony losses. Despite intense investigation on this pollinator, which has a unique environmental and economic importance, the mechanisms underlying the molecular interactions between DWV and honey bees are still poorly understood. Here, we report on a group of honey bee proteins, identified by mass spectrometry, that specifically co-immunoprecipitate with DWV virus particles.

Gibberellin-3 induced dormancy and suppression of flower bud formation in pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus).

Background: Flowering is a complex, finely regulated process involving multiple phytohormones and transcription factors. However, flowering regulation in pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus) remains largely unexamined. This study addresses this gap by investigating gibberellin-3 (GA3) effects on flower bud (FB) development in pitaya.