Evolutionary Biology

No evidence for a trade-off between reproduction and survival in a meta-analysis across birds

1. Lucy A Winder
2. Mirre JP Simons
3. Terry Burke

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study challenges conventional life-history theory by demonstrating that reproductive-survival trade-offs are minimal in birds, except when reproductive effort is experimentally exaggerated. The evidence is solid, drawing from a meta-analysis of over 30 bird species, and effectively separates the effects of individual quality from reproductive costs. The findings will be of broad interest to evolutionary biologists and ecologists studying life-history trade-offs and reproductive strategies.

Reviewed by eLife

The adaptive landscapes of three global Escherichia coli transcriptional regulators

1. Cauã Antunes Westmann
2. Leander Goldbach
3. Andreas Wagner

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study maps the genotype-phenotype landscapes of three E. coli transcription factors and the topographical features of these landscapes. It shows that ruggedness and epistasis do not hinder the evolution of strong transcription factor binding sites. These convincing findings contribute valuable insights into fitness landscape theories and highlight the role of chance, contingency, and evolutionary biases in gene regulation. The authors then study the topographical features of these landscapes, especially the number and distribution of local maxima, as well as the statistical properties of evolutionary paths on these landscapes.

Reviewed by eLife

Seasonally migratory songbirds have different historic population size characteristics than resident relatives

1. Kevin Winker
2. Kira Delmore

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This is a valuable study of the role that life history differences might play in determining population size and demography. While concerns about generation times and population structure leave the evidence for the claims in parts incomplete, the work is of considerable interest to anyone who tries to understand evolutionary consequences of life history changes.

Reviewed by eLife

Reconstructing the phylogeny and evolutionary history of freshwater fishes (Nemacheilidae) across Eurasia since early Eocene

1. Vendula Bohlen Šlechtová
2. Tomáš Dvořák
3. Jörg Freyhof
4. Maurice Kottelat
5. Boris Levin
6. Alexander Golubtsov
7. Vlastimil Šlechta
8. Joerg Bohlen

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  In this important study, the authors reconstruct the evolutionary history of a large and widespread group of freshwater fishes (Nemacheilidae) across Eurasia since the early Eocene, based on molecular phylogenetic analysis with very comprehensive samplings including 471 specimens belonging to 250 living species. The authors convincingly infer that range expansions of the family were facilitated by tectonic connections, favorable climatic conditions, and orogenic processes, adding to our understanding of the effects of climatic change on biodiversity during the Cenozoic. This work is of interest to evolutionary biologists, ichthyologists, paleontologists, and general readers.

Reviewed by eLife

Brain size dependent speciation and extinction rates in birds and the cognitive buffer hypothesis

1. Jack W. Oyston
2. Michael R. May
3. Ryan N Felice

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

Discordant population structure inferred from male- and female-type mtDNAs from Macoma balthica, a bivalve species characterized by doubly uniparental inheritance of mitochondria

1. Sabrina Le Cam
2. Julie Brémaud
3. Vanessa Becquet
4. Valérie Huet
5. Emmanuel Dubillot
6. Pascale Garcia
7. Amélia Viricel
8. Sophie Breton
9. Eric Pante

Reviewed by Peer Community in Evolutionary Biology

The potential of inversions to accumulate balanced sexual antagonism is supported by simulations and Drosophila experiments

1. Christopher S McAllester
2. John E Pool

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study proposes a new model that could solve some long-standing puzzles about inversion polymorphisms in Drosophila melanogaster by invoking sexually antagonism and negative frequency-dependent selection. While the idea developed here is a valuable contribution to the field, the experiment only addresses one element of the hypothesis, so that the empirical evidence in support of the model remains incomplete.

Reviewed by eLife

Fluctuations and the limit of predictability in protein evolution

1. Saverio Rossi
2. Leonardo Di Bari
3. Martin Weigt
4. Francesco Zamponi

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

The population genetics of convergent adaptation in maize and teosinte is not locally restricted

1. Silas Tittes
2. Anne Lorant
3. Sean P McGinty
4. James B Holland
5. Jose de Jesus Sánchez-González
6. Arun Seetharam
7. Maud Tenaillon
8. Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This useful study examines patterns of diversity and divergence in two closely related sub-species of Zea mays, patterns that have bearings on local adaptation in maize and teosinte at intermediate geographic scales. The authors suggest that convergent evolution has been facilitated by both standing variation and gene flow, with independent selective sweeps in the two species. While the data themselves are solid, there are limitations concerning population sampling, false positive rates in sweep detection and integration of phenotypic data, which make it difficult to draw definitive conclusions. The work should in principle be of broad interest to colleagues studying the relationship between domesticated species and their progenitors, as well as those studying instances of parallel evolution.

Reviewed by eLife

Ectopic Gene Conversion Causing Quantitative Trait Variation

1. Marina Pfalz
2. Seïf-Eddine Naadja
3. Jacqui Anne Shykoff
4. Juergen Kroymann

Reviewed by Arcadia Science