Evolutionary Biology

In silico evolution of globular protein folds from random sequences

1. Harutyun Sahakyan
2. Sanasar G. Babajanyan
3. Yuri I. Wolf
4. Eugene V. Koonin

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

First evidence for the evolution of host manipulation by tumors during the long-term vertical transmission of tumor cells in Hydra oligactis

1. Justine Boutry
2. Océane Rieu
3. Lena Guimard
4. Jordan Meliani
5. Aurora M Nedelcu
6. Sophie Tissot
7. Nikita Stepanskyy
8. Beata Ujvari
9. Rodrigo Hamede
10. Antoine M Dujon
11. Jácint Tökölyi
12. Fréderic Thomas

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This interesting study explores whether tumor cells can manipulate their Hydra hosts, and includes important findings on the consequences for the fitness of the host Hydra. The evidence supporting these findings is convincing. The work will be of broad interest to many fields including development biology, evolutionary biology and tumor biology.

Reviewed by eLife

Most Beefalo cattle have no detectable bison genetic ancestry

1. Beth Shapiro
2. Jonas Oppenheimer
3. Michael P Heaton
4. Kristen L Kuhn
5. Richard E Green
6. Harvey D Blackburn
7. Timothy PL Smith

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study used whole genome data to investigate Beefalo ancestry for the first time. It provides insight into the genetics of Beefalo cattle, definitively challenging the long-held claim of 37.5% buffalo ancestry reported by the American Beefalo Association. This results are convincing, with a comprehensive range of well-established population genomics methods being used to estimate ancestry in these animals. This work will be of significant interest to evolutionary biologists, population geneticists, animal breeders, and those involved in the conservation genetics of bovine species.

Reviewed by eLife

The proteotranscriptomic characterization of venom in the white seafan Eunicella singularis elucidates the evolution of Octocorallia arsenal

1. Maria Vittoria Modica
2. Serena Leone
3. Marco Gerdol
4. Samuele Greco
5. Didier Aurelle
6. Marco Oliverio
7. Giulia Fassio
8. Khadija El Koulali
9. Célia Barrachina
10. Sebastien Dutertre

Reviewed by Review Commons

Single-cell sequencing provides clues about the developmental genetic basis of evolutionary adaptations in syngnathid fishes

1. Hope M Healey
2. Hayden B Penn
3. Clayton M Small
4. Susan Bassham
5. Vithika Goyal
6. Micah A Woods
7. William A Cresko

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study provides a valuable new resource to investigate the molecular basis of the particular features characterizing the pipefish embryo. The authors found both unique and shared gene expression patterns in pipefish organs compared with other teleost fishes. The solid data collected in this unconventional model organism will give new insights into understanding the extraordinary adaptations of the Syngnathidae family and will be of interest in the domain of evolution of fish development.

Reviewed by eLife

Whole-genome re-sequencing of the Baikal seal and other phocid seals for a glimpse into their genetic diversity, demographic history, and phylogeny

1. Marcel Nebenführ
2. Ulfur Arnason
3. Axel Janke

• Curated by GigaByte

  Editors Assessment:

  Due to them being found in the landlocked, isolated habitat of Lake Baikal makes the Baikal Seal (Pusa sibirica) unique among all pinnipeds as the only freshwater seal. This paper presents reference-based assemblies of six newly sequenced Baikal seal individuals, one individual of the ringed seal, as well as the first short-read data of the harbor seal and the Caspian seal . This data aiding the study of the genomic diversity of the Baikal seal and to contribute baseline data to the limited genomic data available for seals. Peer review extended the description of the used tools and parameters in the revised manuscript, and provided some more information on the methods..This newly generated sequencing data hopefully now helps to extend the phylogeny of the Phoca/Pusa group on genome-wide data and can also broaden the view into the genetic structure and diversity of the Baikal seal

  This evaluation refers to version 1 of the preprint

Reviewed by GigaByte

Passive accumulation of alkaloids in inconspicuously colored frogs refines the evolutionary paradigm of acquired chemical defenses

1. Rebecca D Tarvin
2. Jeffrey L Coleman
3. David A Donoso
4. Mileidy Betancourth-Cundar
5. Karem López-Hervas
6. Kimberly S Gleason
7. J Ryan Sanders
8. Jacqueline M Smith
9. Santiago R Ron
10. Juan C Santos
11. Brian E Sedio
12. David C Cannatella
13. Richard W Fitch

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study is important, with the potential to greatly impact future research on the evolution of chemical defense mechanisms in animals. The authors present compelling evidence for the presence of low quantities of alkaloids in amphibians previously thought to lack these toxins. They then integrate these findings with existing literature to propose a four-phase scenario for the evolution of chemical defense in alkaloid-containing poison frogs, emphasizing the role of passive accumulation mechanisms.

Reviewed by eLife

A genomic duplication spanning multiple P450s contributes to insecticide resistance in the dengue mosquito Aedes aegypti

1. Tiphaine Bacot
2. Chloe Haberkorn
3. Joseph Guilliet
4. Julien Cattel
5. Mary Kefi
6. Louis Nadalin
7. Jonathan Filee
8. Frederic Boyer
9. Thierry Gaude
10. Frederic Laporte
11. Jordan Tutagata
12. John Vontas
13. Isabelle Dusfour
14. Jean-Marc Bonneville
15. Jean-Philippe David

Reviewed by Peer Community in Evolutionary Biology

RETRACTED: Biases of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) in Physical Anthropology Studies Require a Reevaluation of Evolutionary Insights

1. Nima Mohseni
2. Eran Elhaik

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The authors present a critique of current usage of principal component analysis in geometric morphometrics, making a compelling case with benchmark data that standard techniques perform poorly. The work is an important contribution to the field and will hopefully lead to a reassessment of the methodology most scientists in morphometrics currently use. This work challenges a very commonly used analytical approach and is bound to raise some controversy in the community, but the authors' critique is based on a well-founded and well-thought out analysis.

Reviewed by eLife

A generalist microbial predator shows innate attraction to more profitable prey, but does not learn from experience

1. P. M. Shreenidhi
2. Rachel I. McCabe
3. Heng Liang
4. Margaret I. Steele
5. David C. Queller
6. Joan E. Strassmann

Reviewed by Arcadia Science