Nondegenerative Evolution in Ancient Heritable Bacterial Endosymbionts of Fungi
Bacterial endosymbionts are critical to the existence of many eukaryotes. Among them, vertically transmitted endobacteria are uniquely typified by reduced genomes and molecular evolution rate acceleration relative to free-living taxa. These patterns are attributable to genetic drift-dominated degenerative processes associated with reproductive dependence on the host. The degenerative evolution scenario is well supported in endobacteria with strict vertical transmission, such as essential mutualists of insects. In contrast, heritable endosymbionts that are nonessential to their hosts and engage occasionally in horizontal tr...
Source: Molecular Biology and Evolution - August 16, 2016 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Mondo, S. J., Salvioli, A., Bonfante, P., Morton, J. B., Pawlowska, T. E. Tags: Discoveries Source Type: research
Sex, Scavengers, and Chaperones: Transcriptome Secrets of Divergent Symbiodinium Thermal Tolerances
Corals rely on photosynthesis by their endosymbiotic dinoflagellates (Symbiodinium spp.) to form the basis of tropical coral reefs. High sea surface temperatures driven by climate change can trigger the loss of Symbiodinium from corals (coral bleaching), leading to declines in coral health. Different putative species (genetically distinct types) as well as conspecific populations of Symbiodinium can confer differing levels of thermal tolerance to their coral host, but the genes that govern dinoflagellate thermal tolerance are unknown. Here we show physiological and transcriptional responses to heat stress by a thermo-sensi...
Source: Molecular Biology and Evolution - August 16, 2016 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Levin, R. A., Beltran, V. H., Hill, R., Kjelleberg, S., McDougald, D., Steinberg, P. D., van Oppen, M. J. H. Tags: Fast Track Source Type: research
Coevolution of URAT1 and Uricase during Primate Evolution: Implications for Serum Urate Homeostasis and Gout
Uric acid is the highly insoluble end-product of purine metabolism in humans. Serum levels exceeding the solubility threshold can trigger formation of urate crystals resulting in gouty arthritis. Uric acid is primarily excreted through the kidneys with 90% reabsorbed back into the bloodstream through the uric acid transporter URAT1. This reabsorption process is essential for the high serum uric acid levels found in humans. We discovered that URAT1 proteins from humans and baboons have higher affinity for uric acid compared with transporters from rats and mice. This difference in transport kinetics of URAT1 orthologs, along...
Source: Molecular Biology and Evolution - August 16, 2016 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Tan, P. K., Farrar, J. E., Gaucher, E. A., Miner, J. N. Tags: Fast Track Source Type: research
Hundreds of Genes Experienced Convergent Shifts in Selective Pressure in Marine Mammals
We present evidence of widespread convergence at the gene level by identifying parallel shifts in evolutionary rate during three independent episodes of mammalian adaptation to the marine environment. Hundreds of genes accelerated their evolutionary rates in all three marine mammal lineages during their transition to aquatic life. These marine-accelerated genes are highly enriched for pathways that control recognized functional adaptations in marine mammals, including muscle physiology, lipid-metabolism, sensory systems, and skin and connective tissue. The accelerations resulted from both adaptive evolution as seen in skin...
Source: Molecular Biology and Evolution - August 16, 2016 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Chikina, M., Robinson, J. D., Clark, N. L. Tags: Fast Track Source Type: research
The Biology Complicated by Genetic Analysis
Genetics is used as a tool to study living systems because of a key assumption that the phenotypes of loss-of-function mutations on a gene indicate the gene’s normal/native functions. I propose that inactivation of a gene not only suppresses the gene’s native functions but may also create spurious functions that cause phenotypes irrelevant to the gene’s native functions. Such spurious functions represent the otherwise dormant physical/chemical potentials of a living system, do not follow the existing rules built by natural selection, and can hardly be integrated with other functions using empirical data. ...
Source: Molecular Biology and Evolution - August 16, 2016 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: He, X. Tags: Perspective Source Type: research
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(Source: Molecular Biology and Evolution)
Source: Molecular Biology and Evolution - August 16, 2016 Category: Molecular Biology Tags: Cover / standing material Source Type: research
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(Source: Molecular Biology and Evolution)
Source: Molecular Biology and Evolution - August 16, 2016 Category: Molecular Biology Tags: Cover / standing material Source Type: research
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Source: Molecular Biology and Evolution - August 16, 2016 Category: Molecular Biology Tags: Cover / standing material Source Type: research
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(Source: Molecular Biology and Evolution)
Source: Molecular Biology and Evolution - August 16, 2016 Category: Molecular Biology Tags: Cover / standing material Source Type: research
New "Forward Genomics" Approach to Identify Keys to Loss of Vision in Blind Mammals
(Source: Molecular Biology and Evolution)
Source: Molecular Biology and Evolution - July 17, 2016 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Caspermeyer, J. Tags: News Source Type: research
Understanding Epidemic Outbreaks through Cutting-edge Computational Tools
(Source: Molecular Biology and Evolution)
Source: Molecular Biology and Evolution - July 17, 2016 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Caspermeyer, J. Tags: News Source Type: research
Grindin' with Bindin: Evolution of a Key Protein Involved in Sea Star Sexual Selection
(Source: Molecular Biology and Evolution)
Source: Molecular Biology and Evolution - July 17, 2016 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Caspermeyer, J. Tags: News Source Type: research
A Symbiotic Microbes Life: Finding the Host with the Most Leads to Genomic Instability, Deletions
(Source: Molecular Biology and Evolution)
Source: Molecular Biology and Evolution - July 17, 2016 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Caspermeyer, J. Tags: News Source Type: research
Scorpion Toxin Insights May Lead to a New Class of Insecticides
(Source: Molecular Biology and Evolution)
Source: Molecular Biology and Evolution - July 17, 2016 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Caspermeyer, J. Tags: News Source Type: research
RiboDB Database: A Comprehensive Resource for Prokaryotic Systematics
Ribosomal proteins (r-proteins) are increasingly used as an alternative to ribosomal rRNA for prokaryotic systematics. However, their routine use is difficult because r-proteins are often not or wrongly annotated in complete genome sequences, and there is currently no dedicated exhaustive database of r-proteins. RiboDB aims at fulfilling this gap. This weekly updated comprehensive database allows the fast and easy retrieval of r-protein sequences from publicly available complete prokaryotic genome sequences. The current version of RiboDB contains 90 r-proteins from 3,750 prokaryotic complete genomes encompassing 38 phyla/m...
Source: Molecular Biology and Evolution - July 17, 2016 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Jauffrit, F., Penel, S., Delmotte, S., Rey, C., de Vienne, D. M., Gouy, M., Charrier, J.-P., Flandrois, J.-P., Brochier-Armanet, C. Tags: Resources Source Type: research
