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The independent and repeated adaptation of populations to similar environments often results in the evolution of similar forms. This phenomenon creates a strong correlation between phenotype and environment and is referred to as parallel evolution. However, we are still largely unaware of the dynamics of parallel evolution, as well as the interplay between phenotype and genotype within natural systems. Here, we examined phenotypic and genotypic parallel evolution in multiple parapatric Dune-Headland coastal ecotypes of an Australian wildflower, Senecio lautus. We observed a clear trait-environment association in the system, with all replicate populations having evolved along the same phenotypic evolutionary trajectory. Similar phenotypes have arisen via mutational changes occurring in different genes, although many share the same biological functions. Our results shed light on how replicated adaptation manifests at the phenotypic and genotypic levels within populations, and highlight S. lautus as one of the most striking cases of phenotypic parallel evolution in nature.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/evo.14387 | DOI Listing |
Acc Chem Res
September 2025
Department of Chemistry, FRQNT Centre for Green Chemistry and Catalysis, McGill University, 801 Sherbrooke Street W, Montréal, Québec H3A 0B8, Canada.
ConspectusMolecular photochemistry, by harnessing the excited states of organic molecules, provides a platform fundamentally distinct from thermochemistry for generating reactive open-shell or spin-active species under mild conditions. Among its diverse applications, the resurgence of the Minisci-type reaction, a transformation historically reliant on thermally initiated radical conditions, has been fueled by modern photochemical strategies with improved efficiency and selectivity. Consequently, the photochemical Minisci-type reaction ranks among the most enabling methods for C()-H functionalizations of heteroarenes, which are of particular significance in medicinal chemistry for the rapid diversification of bioactive scaffolds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEvol Anthropol
September 2025
Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, USA.
Language is central to the cognitive and sociocultural traits that distinguish humans, yet the evolutionary emergence of this capacity is far from fully understood. This review explores how the study of the brains of language-trained apes (LTAs) offers a unique and valuable opportunity to tease apart the relative contribution of evolved species differences, behavior, and environment in the emergence of complex communication abilities. For example, when raised in sociolinguistically rich and interactive environments, LTAs show communicative competencies that parallel aspects of early human language acquisition and exhibit altered neuroanatomy, including increased connectivity and laterization in regions associated with language.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFElife
September 2025
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Paleontology and Geobiology, Ludwig Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany.
The rapid emergence of mineralized structures in diverse animal groups during the late Ediacaran and early Cambrian periods likely resulted from modifications of pre-adapted biomineralization genes inherited from a common ancestor. As the oldest extant phylum with mineralized structures, sponges are key to understanding animal biomineralization. Yet, the biomineralization process in sponges, particularly in forming spicules, is not well understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNew Phytol
September 2025
Department of Ecology & Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA.
Understanding the rate and nature of adaptation is crucial for managing biodiversity across our changing landscapes. This perspective synthesizes insights from resistance evolution - a case of rapid, repeated adaptation to extreme human-mediated selection - to reveal how adaptive genetic architectures determine and feedback with evolutionary dynamics. Recent population genomic and quantitative genetic approaches have demonstrated that the extent of genetic parallelism and reliance on de novo vs standing genetic variation can vary with the complexity of genetic architectures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFACS Omega
September 2025
School of Civil Engineering, Liaoning Technical University, Fuxin, Liaoning Province 123000, China.
The presence of internal cracks in rocks within underground engineering environments has significantly compromised their stability, and groundwater has substantially influenced the mechanical properties and fracture evolution of rock masses. In this study, sandstone specimens containing three parallel cracks under saturated water conditions were investigated. Using uniaxial compression tests and digital image correlation (DIC) technology, the influence of the inclination angles of the three parallel cracks on the mechanical properties and fracture evolution of rocks under saturated water conditions was examined.
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