Evolutionary Biology

Epistasis facilitates functional evolution in an ancient transcription factor

1. Brian PH Metzger
2. Yeonwoo Park
3. Tyler N Starr
4. Joseph W Thornton

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This study includes fundamental findings on protein evolution, namely that changes in function are largely attributable to pairwise rather than higher-order interactions, and that epistasis potentiates rather than constrains evolutionary paths. Compelling evidence supporting the conclusions is provided by applying a new model to a previously generated experimental dataset on deep mutational scanning of the DNA-binding domain (DBD) of steroid hormone receptor. The implications of this work are of considerable interest to protein biochemistry, evolutionary biology, and numerous other fields.

Reviewed by eLife

Evolution of tandem repeats in putative CSP to enhance its function: A recent and exclusive event in Plasmodium vivax in India

1. Manoswini Dash
2. Veena Pande
3. Aparup Das
4. Abhinav Sinha

Reviewed by preLights

Cross-species analysis of ARPP19 phosphorylation during oocyte meiotic maturation charts the emergence of a new cAMP-dependent role in vertebrates

1. Ferdinand Meneau
2. Pascal Lapébie
3. Enrico Maria Daldello
4. Tran Le
5. Sandra Chevalier
6. Evelyn Houliston
7. Catherine Jessus
8. Marika Miot

Reviewed by Review Commons

Evolutionary history of calcium-sensing receptors unveils hyper/hypocalcemia-causing mutations

1. Aylin Bircan
2. Nurdan Kuru
3. Onur Dereli
4. Berkay Selçuk
5. Ogün Adebali

Reviewed by Review Commons

Evolution and diversity of biomineralized columnar architecture in early Cambrian phosphatic-shelled brachiopods

1. Zhiliang Zhang
2. Zhifei Zhang
3. Lars Holmer
4. Timothy P Topper
5. Bing Pan
6. Guoxiang Li

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This valuable study examines the evolution of the pillars in the shell architecture of organo-phosphatic brachiopods. The phylogenetic implications of this shell structure in relation to other early Cambrian brachiopod families are interpreted based on solid evidence. As such, this paper with interesting ideas regarding the evolution of brachiopod shell structure contributes to our understanding of the ecology and evolution of brachiopods as a whole.

Reviewed by eLife

Emergence of catalytic function in prebiotic information-coding polymers

1. Alexei V Tkachenko
2. Sergei Maslov

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This valuable study uses a model to determine when catalytic self-replication of polymers can emerge from a random pool of replicating polymers. The model accounts for the folding and function of polymers in addition to abstract evolutionary dynamics, providing solid evidence for the claims of the authors. The work will be of relevance to those interested in the origin of life, artificial cells, and evolutionary dynamics.

Reviewed by eLife

The last days of Aporia crataegi (L.) in Britain: Evaluating genomic erosion in an extirpated butterfly

1. Rebecca Whitla
2. Korneel Hens
3. James Hogan
4. Geoff Martin
5. Casper Breuker
6. Timothy G. Shreeve
7. Saad Arif

Reviewed by PREreview

Interplay between fecundity, sexual and growth selection on the spring phenology of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.).

1. Sylvie Oddou-Muratorio
2. Aurore Bontemps
3. Julie Gauzere
4. Etienne K Klein

Reviewed by Peer Community in Evolutionary Biology

The evolution of reduced facilitation in a four-species bacterial community

1. Philippe Piccardi
2. Eric Ulrich
3. Marc Garcia-Garcerà
4. Rita Di Martino
5. Samuele E A Testa
6. Sara Mitri

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

Rapid life-history evolution reinforces competitive asymmetry between invasive and resident species

1. Elodie Chapuis
2. Philippe Jarne
3. Patrice David

Reviewed by Peer Community in Evolutionary Biology