Evolutionary Biology

Major patterns in the introgression history of Heliconius butterflies

1. Yuttapong Thawornwattana
2. Fernando Seixas
3. Ziheng Yang
4. James Mallet

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This important study revises the evolutionary history of Heliconius butterflies, a well-established model system for understanding speciation in the presence of gene flow between species. Using a convincing statistical phylogenetic approach that relies on the multispecies coalescent, the authors reconstruct the evolution of the lineage, including the timing of speciation events and the history of gene flow. The new phylogeny will be of interest to all researchers working on Heliconius butterflies, and the phylogenetic approach to investigators aiming to understand the history of lineages that have experienced extensive gene flow.

Reviewed by eLife

Striking parallels between dorsoventral patterning in Drosophila and Gryllus reveal a complex evolutionary history behind a model gene regulatory network

1. Matthias Pechmann
2. Nathan James Kenny
3. Laura Pott
4. Peter Heger
5. Yen-Ta Chen
6. Thomas Buchta
7. Orhan Özüak
8. Jeremy Lynch
9. Siegfried Roth

Reviewed by Review Commons

Colour polymorphism and conspicuousness do not increase speciation rates in Lacertids

1. Thomas de Solan
2. Barry Sinervo
3. Philippe Geniez
4. Patrice David
5. Pierre-André Crochet

Reviewed by Peer Community in Evolutionary Biology

Phylogenomics, biogeography, and trait evolution of the Boletaceae (Boletales, Agaricomycetes, Basidiomycota)

1. Keaton Tremble
2. Terry Henkel
3. Alexander Bradshaw
4. Colin Domnauer
5. Lyda Brown
6. Lê Xuân Thám
7. Guliana Furci
8. Cathie Aime
9. Jean-Marc Moncalvo
10. Bryn Dentinger

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

How hibernation in frogs drives brain and reproductive evolution in opposite directions

1. Wenbo Liao
2. Ying Jiang
3. Long Jin
4. Stefan Lüpold

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  In this important paper, the authors report a link between brumation (or "hibernation") and tissue size in frogs, summarizing convincing evidence that extended brumation is associated with smaller brain size and increased investment in reproduction-related tissues. The research is of broad interest to ecologists, evolutionary biologists, and those interested in global change biology, as the dataset involves significant field work and advanced statistical analyses for insights into how expensive tissues in these ectothermic animals respond to environmental seasonality.

Reviewed by eLife

OH 89: A newly described ~1.8-million-year-old hominid clavicle from Olduvai Gorge

1. Catherine E Taylor
2. Fidelis Masao
3. Jackson K Njau
4. Agustino Venance Songita
5. Leslea J Hlusko

Reviewed by Peer Community in Paleontology

Diverse signatures of convergent evolution in cacti-associated yeasts

1. Carla Gonçalves
2. Marie-Claire Harrison
3. Jacob L. Steenwyk
4. Dana A. Opulente
5. Abigail L. LaBella
6. John F. Wolters
7. Xiaofan Zhou
8. Xing-Xing Shen
9. Marizeth Groenewald
10. Chris Todd Hittinger
11. Antonis Rokas

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

The origin, evolution, and molecular diversity of the chemokine system

1. Alessandra Aleotti
2. Matthew Goulty
3. Clifton Lewis
4. Flaviano Giorgini
5. Roberto Feuda

Reviewed by Review Commons

Somatic mutation rates scale with time not growth rate in long-lived tropical trees

1. Akiko Satake
2. Ryosuke Imai
3. Takeshi Fujino
4. Sou Tomimoto
5. Kayoko Ohta
6. Mohammad Na'iem
7. Sapto Indrioko
8. Widiyatno Widiyatno
9. Susilo Purnomo
10. Almudena Molla Morales
11. Viktoria Nizhynska
12. Naoki Tani
13. Yoshihisa Suyama
14. Eriko Sasaki
15. Masahiro Kasahara

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  Satake and colleagues' important study elucidates somatic mutation processes in plants, demonstrating that in two tropical trees, mutation rates correlate with age, not growth rates. Their convincing evidence shows that many mutations do not align with cell divisions, suggesting many somatic mutations are generated in a replication-independent manner. This study represents a significant step towards advancing our understanding of plant development and the patterns and inheritance of mutations. This significant research is poised to engage a diverse array of scholars in plant evolution and development.

Reviewed by eLife

miR-252 targeting temperature receptor CcTRPM to mediate the transition from summer-form to winter-form of Cacopsylla chinensis

1. Songdou Zhang
2. Jianying Li
3. Dongyue Zhang
4. Zhixian Zhang
5. Shili Meng
6. Zhen Li
7. Xiaoxia Liu

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This is a valuable study of the molecular basis of summer-to-winter transition in the pear psyllid pest, Cacopsylla chinensis (hemiptera). The molecular and organismal experiments using current methodologies to evaluate the cold responsiveness of the target proteins are mostly convincing, but the structural and phylogenetic analyses remain inconclusive. The results of this study will be of interest to entomologists.

Reviewed by eLife