Evolutionary Biology

Phylogenomics of free-living neobodonids reveals they are a paraphyletic group from which all other metakinetoplastids are descended

1. Daryna Zavadska
2. Julia A. Packer
3. Daria Tashyreva
4. Ryoma Kamikawa
5. Alastair Simpson
6. Daniel J. Richter

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study substantially improves the phylogenetic framework for Kinetoplastea through greatly expanded sampling of free-living neobodonids; the phylogenomic analyses provide convincing evidence that neobodonids are paraphyletic and establish a substantially revised framework for deep relationships within Metakinetoplastina. The work forms the foundation for future comparative studies of kinetoplastid evolution and systematics, although its implications for the origins of parasitism should not be overstated. An 18S rRNA phylogeny documenting the placement of the newly sampled strains within previously recognized neobodonid lineages and/or confirmation of the principal topology using a well-documented phylogenomic set of marker genes would further strengthen the study. The work will be of particular interest to researchers studying protist evolution and the evolutionary context of trypanosomatids.

Reviewed by eLife

Insect metamorphosis is regulated differently between sexes by members of a microRNA cluster

1. Chade Li
2. Ki Kei Chan
3. Wenyan Nong
4. ShanShan Chen
5. Wai Lok So
6. Zhe Qu
7. Heidi YC Wu
8. Ho Yin Yip
9. Chi Bun Chan
10. Stephen S Tobe
11. William G Bendena
12. Zhen Peng Kai
13. Jerome HL Hui

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This study provides a useful inventory of genes that are up- or down-regulated during the early metamorphic development of male and female larvae and proposes that the microRNA cluster miR-277/34 is involved in the development of sexual differences during early metamorphosis of Drosophila melanogaster, although its precise role remains unclear. The strength of evidence, based on a combination of diverse methods including mRNA and small RNA sequencing, in silico analyses, in vitro assays, and loss-of-function experiments, is incomplete as it lacks a general model and an examination of the potential effects of the miR-277/34 mutations on phenotypes such as morphology or developmental time. This work will be of interest to developmental biologists interested in sexual dimorphism and in the interplay between hormones and microRNAs during development.

Reviewed by eLife

The geometry of gametic dispersal in a flying mammal, Rhinolophus hipposideros

1. Thomas Brazier
2. Diane Zarzoso-Lacoste
3. Lisa Lehnen
4. Pierre-Loup Jan
5. Sebastien J. Puechmaille
6. Eric J. Petit

Reviewed by Peer Community in Evolutionary Biology