Harvard researchers have discovered that cycads—one of the oldest living lineages of seed plants—heat up their reproductive organs to attract beetle pollinators and the insects possess infrared sensor...

The differential cyclization and rearrangement of 2,3-oxidosqualene controlled by oxidosqualene cyclases (OSCs) represents one of the most complex single enzyme transformations in nature and gives rise to a vast array of triterpenoid diversity in the plant kingdom. Here we systematically mine 599 plant genomes representing 387 species and investigate OSC diversity across different plant lineages. From the OSC sequences identified, 20 were selected for functional evaluation. Through analysis of these enzymes, we discover product profiles within clades previously believed to be functionally conserved and OSCs producing triterpenes for which no enzymatic source was known. We also discover OSCs with product profiles that yield mechanistic insights into the control of specific reaction pathways. Our study reveals lineage-specific blooms of OSC subgroups suggestive of adaptation to different environmental niches, opens up previously inaccessible chemistry and provides a framework for systema

Ancient dog genomes elucidate diversification and a complex genetic history relative to that of humans.

Abstract. Sociability, defined as individuals’ tendencies to affiliate with conspecifics, is widespread among animals, including species not traditionally

This online course taught by Andrew Heiss, Ph.D., teaches you how to use Quarto to build a variety of data-focused websites.

Abstract. Genetic relatedness is a central concept in genetics, underpinning studies of population and quantitative genetics in human, animal, and plant se

A combination of whole-genome NanoSeq with deep whole-exome and targeted NanoSeq is used to accurately characterize mutation rates and genes under positive selection in sperm cells.

Denisovans, an extinct sister group of Neandertals who lived in Eastern Eurasia during the Middle and Late Pleistocene, are known only from a handful of skeletal remains and limited genetic data, incl...

A long-standing goal in ecological, evolutionary, and conservation genetics is to identify genomic correlates of fitness and inbreeding depression. Over the past several years, a growing body of theor...

Phenotypes evolve under natural selection if, and only if, they are genetically variable. While evolutionary ecologists have long studied natural sele…

Samples of millions of genomes provide substantial information about recent demography and mutation, but standard population-genetic methods make assumptions not met in these data. We introduce DR EVI...

Postzygotic reproductive isolation is often thought to accumulate as a byproduct of neutral divergence. Yet, it frequently evolves rapidly, in line with non-neutral evolution. A major driver of intrin...