The genome sequence of the Dusky Meadow Brown, (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae).

We present a genome assembly from a female specimen of (Dusky Meadow Brown; Arthropoda; Insecta; Lepidoptera; Nymphalidae). The assembly contains two haplotypes with total lengths of 601.00 megabases and 548.

Phylogeographic and Genomic Insights Unveil the Evolutionary History and Post-Glacial Recolonization Routes of the Palmate Newt () Into Europe.

Quaternary glacial cycles have been key drivers of diversification for Holarctic species, promoting divergence, isolation, and extinction processes in numerous taxa. These cycles facilitated evolutionary radiations in some groups but also erased much of the evolutionary history of species with northern origins. Here, we investigate the evolutionary and phylogeographic history of the Palmate Newt (), a widespread species in post-glacial ecosystems in Western Europe.

Towards a trait-based framework for protist ecology and evolution.

Protists comprise the vast majority of eukaryotic genetic and functional diversity. While they have traditionally been difficult to study due to their small size and varied phenotypes, environmental sequencing studies have revealed the stunning diversity and abundance of protists in all ecosystems. Protists are key primary and secondary producers across many biomes, with ecological specializations that range from mutualism to parasitism, complex predation behaviors, mixotrophy, detritivory, and saprotrophy.

Microbiome Composition in a Common Mediterranean Bryozoan Following an Unprecedented Marine Heatwave.

Marine heatwaves are intensifying due to global warming and increasingly drive mass mortality events in shallow benthic ecosystems. Marine invertebrates host diverse microbial communities that contribute to their health and resilience, yet microbiome responses under thermal stress remain poorly characterised across most taxa. Here, we characterise the microbiome composition in colonies of the common Mediterranean bryozoan Myriapora truncata at two depths (13 and 17 m) following the extreme 2022 marine heatwave.

Genomic insights from a final Bronze Age community buried in a collective tumulus in an Urnfield settlement in Northeastern Iberia.

The transition from the Bronze Age (BA) to the Iron Age (IA) on the Northeastern Iberian Peninsula is characterized by the emergence of cremation as the main funerary practice. Cultural attributes of a group, known as the Urnfield Culture, expanded from Central Europe to Northeastern Iberia during the Final Bronze Age (FBA), from ~1300 to ~850 cal BCE. Various hypotheses on the group's emergence exist, but cremations hinder DNA preservation.

How Did Evolution Halve Genome Size During an Oceanic Island Colonization?

Red devil spiders of the genus Dysdera colonized the Canary Islands and underwent an extraordinary diversification. Notably, their genomes are nearly half the size of their mainland counterparts (∼1.7 vs.

An insulin-like peptide specific for a cockroach male reproductive gland.

The insulin-IGF-signalling (IIS) pathway plays crucial roles in animal physiology. In insects, this pathway uses multiple ligands, insulin-like peptides (ILPs), and a smaller number of insulin receptors (InRs). Consequently, much of the regulation of IIS pathway activity is driven by the expression of ILPs, its timing, tissue specific expression, and mode of action: endocrine, paracrine, or autocrine.

The genetic history of Portugal over the past 5,000 years.

Background: Recent ancient DNA studies uncovering large-scale demographic events in Iberia have presented very limited data for Portugal, a country located at the westernmost edge of continental Eurasia. Here, we present the most comprehensive collection of Portuguese ancient genome-wide data, from 67 individuals spanning 5000 years of human history, from the Neolithic to the nineteenth century.

Results: We identify early admixture between local hunter-gatherers and Anatolian-related farmers in Neolithic Portugal, with a northeastern-southwestern gradient of increasing Magdalenian-associated ancestry persistence in Iberia.

Interactive effects of ocean acidification and warming disrupt calcification and microbiome composition in bryozoans.

Marine habitat-forming species provide crucial ecosystem functions and services worldwide. Still, the individual and combined long-term effects of ocean acidification and warming on bryozoan populations, structures, and microbiomes remain unexplored. Here, we investigate the skeletal properties, microbiome shifts, and population trends of two bryozoan species living inside and outside a volcanic CO vent, a natural analog to future ocean acidification conditions.

Global climate cooling spurred skipper butterfly diversification.

Characterizing drivers governing the diversification of species-rich lineages is challenging. Although butterflies are one of the most well-studied groups of insects, there are few comprehensive studies investigating their diversification dynamics. Here, we reconstruct a phylogenomic tree for ca.

Unmasking the Denisovans.

The Harbin cranium, linked to Denisovans via mitochondrial DNA, broadens their known range and provides the first insights into Denisovan morphology. This discovery highlights the potential of biomolecular analysis from nontraditional sources, enhancing understanding of archaic human evolution in Asia and filling gaps in the scarce Denisovan fossil record.

CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing in ,a key species for understanding animal origins.

Microbial holozoans are the closest unicellular relatives of animals. They share a substantial gene repertoire with animals and exhibit complex life cycles. Studying these organisms is crucial for understanding the evolution of multicellularity, and significant progress has been made in uncovering key aspects of the biology of the four microbial holozoans lineages: choanoflagellates, filastereans, ichthyosporeans and corallochytreans.

Unveiling the Evolutionary History of European Vipers and Their Venoms From a Multi-Omic Approach.

Snake genomes attract significant attention from multiple disciplines, including medicine, drug bioprospection, and evolutionary biology. However, genomic research within the Viperidae family has mostly focused on the subfamily Crotalinae, while the true vipers (Viperinae) have largely been overlooked. European vipers (Vipera) have been the subject of extensive research due to their phylogeographic and ecological diversification, as well as their venoms.

Phylogeny and systematics of Arabian lacertids from the Mesalina guttulata species complex (Squamata, Lacertidae), with the description of a new species.

Background: The lacertid genus Mesalina has been the subject of several phylogenetic and biogeographic studies as well as taxonomic revisions within the last decade. The genus is partitioned into seven main clades, some of which represent species complexes of morphologically very similar species. The Mesalina guttulata species complex is one such case.

Mitochondrial haplogroup A2 is associated with increased COVID-19 mortality in an admixed Brazilian population.

Mitochondria play a crucial role in cellular respiration and immune responses. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups and variants have been associated with various diseases, including COVID-19. This study analyzed complete mtDNA sequences from 467 Brazilian patients with COVID-19 to investigate associations between mtDNA ancestry and mortality risk.

Newly Developed Structure-Based Methods Do Not Outperform Standard Sequence-Based Methods for Large-Scale Phylogenomics.

Recent developments in protein structure prediction have allowed the use of this previously limited source of information at genome-wide scales. It has been proposed that the use of structural information may offer advantages over sequences in phylogenetic reconstruction, due to their slower rate of evolution and direct correlation to function. Here, we examined how recently developed methods for structure-based homology search and tree reconstruction compare with current state-of-the-art sequence-based methods in reconstructing genome-wide collections of gene phylogenies (i.

Multicellularity: Red algal genomic expansion fine-tuned with transposable elements.

Red algae are one of the most genomically under-sampled lineages of complex multicellularity in eukaryotes. A new study provides a chromosome-level genome of the red alga Bostrychia moritziana and reveals a surprisingly large genome driven by transposable element expansions.

Genetic variability in microbial eukaryotes reshapes marine biodiversity assessment in the age of amplicon sequencing.

Rapidly improving DNA sequencing technology has revolutionized our ability to efficiently survey the biodiversity of microbial life. We are now equipped to investigate protistan richness and community dynamics on scales that would not have been imaginable with traditional observational methods. However, for most taxa the relationship between DNA sequences and morphologically-defined species is poorly understood, and morphology has remained the cornerstone of taxonomy for centuries.

Protist genomics: key to understanding eukaryotic evolution.

All eukaryotes other than animals, plants, and fungi are protists. Protists are highly diverse and found in nearly all environments, with key roles in planetary health and biogeochemical cycles. They represent the majority of eukaryotic diversity, making them essential for understanding eukaryotic evolution.

Chromosome-level reference genome for the medically important Arabian horned viper (Cerastes gasperettii).

Venoms have traditionally been studied from a proteomic and/or transcriptomic perspective, often overlooking the true genetic complexity underlying venom production. The recent surge in genome-based venom research (sometimes called "venomics") has proven to be instrumental in deepening our understanding of venom evolution at the molecular level, particularly through the identification and mapping of toxin-coding loci across the broader chromosomal architecture. Although venomous snakes are a model system in venom research, the number of high-quality reference genomes in the group remains limited.

A close unicellular relative reveals aggregative multicellularity was key to the evolution of animals.

How animals evolved complex multicellularity from their unicellular ancestors remains unanswered. Unicellular relatives of animals exhibit simple multicellularity through clonal division, formation of multinucleate coenocytes, or aggregation. Therefore, animal multicellularity may have evolved from one (or a combination) of these behaviours.

Co-opted and canonical glycerol channels play a major role during anhydrobiosis of an extremophile crustacean.

Background: Extremophiles evolved capacities to survive extended exposure to harsh environmental conditions such as complete desiccation (anhydrobiosis) and freezing (cryobiosis). Accumulation of the three-carbon polyhydric alcohol glycerol is commonly observed in anhydrobiotic organisms, although it is considered to preferentially enhance cryobiosis rather than anhydrobiosis.

Results: Here, using dormant stages of the halophilic extremophile crustacean Artemia franciscana, we show that this role is reversed.

The Sea Cucumber-Infecting Parasite Apostichocystis gudetama gen. nov. sp. nov. Expands Marine-Host-Specific Clade of Apicomplexans.

Unknown ellipsoid bodies, later classified as apicomplexan cysts, are prevalent in the ovaries of Japanese sea cucumbers (Apostichopus japonicus), where they can lead to lower fecundity in infected individuals and adverse effects on wild populations as well as aquaculture efforts for this endangered species. Apicomplexans are widespread and essential to marine environments, where they can affect the health and fitness of host populations. We performed genomic sequencing of recovered cysts to gain more ecological and evolutionary information on this parasite.

Admixture's impact on Brazilian population evolution and health.

Brazil, the largest Latin American country, is underrepresented in genomic research despite boasting the world's largest recently admixed population. In this study, we generated 2723 high-coverage whole-genome sequences from the Brazilian population, including urban, rural, and riverine communities representing diverse ethnic backgrounds. We reveal the impressive genomic diversity of Brazilians, identifying >8 million previously unknown variants, including 36,637 predicted deleterious and potentially affecting population health.