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Evolution

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    The genetics of domesticationResearch into the domestication of livestock and companion animals sheds light both on their “evolution” and human history
    The genetics of domestication

    Research into the domestication of livestock and companion animals sheds light both on their “evolution” and human history

    1. Philip Hunter, Freelance journalist (ph{at}philiphunter.com)1
    1. 1 London, UK

    Genetic, archeological and historical studies of the evolution of livestock and companion animals yields new insights into the history of both animal domestication and the rise of human civilizations.

    • © 2018 The Author
    Philip Hunter
    Published online 01.02.2018
    • Evolution
    • S&S: History & Philosophy of Science
  • You have access
    We're on a road to nowhereCulture and adaptation to the environment are driving human evolution, but the destination of this journey is unpredictable
    We're on a road to nowhere

    Culture and adaptation to the environment are driving human evolution, but the destination of this journey is unpredictable

    1. Andrea Rinaldi, Freelance science writer (rinaldi.ac{at}gmail.com)1
    1. 1Cagliari, Italy

    The invention of culture allowed mankind to create its own ecological niches. But does it mean that humans have stopped evolving biologically or are we still adapting to our artificial environment?

    • © 2017 The Author
    Andrea Rinaldi
    Published online 01.12.2017
    • Evolution
    • Microbiology, Virology & Host Pathogen Interaction
    • S&S: Ecosystems & Environment
  • You have access
    Viral taxonomyThe effect of metagenomics on understanding the diversity and evolution of viruses
    Viral taxonomy

    The effect of metagenomics on understanding the diversity and evolution of viruses

    1. Philip Hunter, Freelance journalist (ph{at}philiphunter.com)1
    1. 1 London, UK

    The advent of next‐generation sequencing and metagenomics is challenging viral taxonomy to define and characterize viruses along with providing novel insights into the vast diversity of viruses and their evolution.

    • © 2017 The Author
    Philip Hunter
    Published online 01.10.2017
    • Evolution
    • Microbiology, Virology & Host Pathogen Interaction
    • S&S: Ecosystems & Environment
  • You have access
    The greatest kinetochore show on earth
    The greatest kinetochore show on earth
    1. Gerben Vader (gerben.vader{at}mpi-dortmund.mpg.de)1 and
    2. Andrea Musacchio1,2
    1. 1Department of Mechanistic Cell Biology, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology, Dortmund, Germany
    2. 2Centre for Medical Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology, University Duisburg‐Essen, Essen, Germany

    Coordinated chromosome duplication and segregation is key to the existence of every organism on our planet. In eukaryotes, sophisticated protein assemblies called kinetochores are universally required for chromosome segregation, but their protein composition can diverge across the eukaryotic tree of life. In this issue of EMBO Reports, van Hooff et al [1] shed light on kinetochore evolution with a comprehensive study of kinetochore composition across 90 phylogenetically diverse eukaryotes. They show that certain kinetochore complexes have taken distinct evolutionary paths to arrive at a strikingly broad compositional array in present‐day eukaryotes, providing exciting new insights into the origins, function, and flexibility of eukaryotic kinetochores.

    See also: JJE van Hooff et al (September 2017)

    A study in this issue provides a comprehensive evolutionary analysis of kinetochore composition across phylogenetically diverse eukaryotes using comparative genomics, providing new insights into the origins, function, and flexibility of eukaryotic kinetochores.

    • © 2017 The Authors
    Gerben Vader, Andrea Musacchio
    Published online 01.09.2017
    • Cell Cycle
    • Evolution
    • Systems & Computational Biology
  • You have access
    Loss of the canonical spindle orientation function in the Pins/LGN homolog AGS3
    Loss of the canonical spindle orientation function in the Pins/LGN homolog AGS3
    1. Mehdi Saadaoui (mehdi.saadaoui{at}pasteur.fr)*,1,5,
    2. Daijiro Konno2,
    3. Karine Loulier3,
    4. Rosette Goiame1,
    5. Vaibhav Jadhav4,
    6. Marina Mapelli4,
    7. Fumio Matsuzaki2 and
    8. Xavier Morin (xavier.morin{at}ens.fr)*,1
    1. 1Cell Division and Neurogenesis Group, Ecole Normale Supérieure, CNRS, Inserm, Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS), PSL Research University, Paris, France
    2. 2Laboratory for Cell Asymmetry, RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology, Chuo‐ku, Kobe, Japan
    3. 3UPMC Université Paris 06, Sorbonne Universités, CNRS, Inserm, Institut de la Vision, Paris, France
    4. 4Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy
    5. 5Present Address: Morphogenesis in Higher Vertebrates, Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
    1. ↵* Corresponding author. Tel: +33 1 45 68 81 54; E‐mail: mehdi.saadaoui{at}pasteur.fr
      Corresponding author. Tel: +33 1 44 32 37 29; E‐mail: xavier.morin{at}ens.fr

    Using planar divisions in the vertebrate neuroepithelium as a model, the authors uncover multiple differences that contribute to the functional divergence of AGS3 and LGN, the two vertebrate homologs of Drosophila Pins.

    Synopsis

    Using planar divisions in the vertebrate neuroepithelium as a model, the authors explore the proposed conservation of a “spindle orientation” function between LGN and AGS3, two homologs of the Drosophila G‐protein regulator Pins. The study uncovers multiple differences that contribute to the functional divergence of AGS3.

    • LGN localizes at the cell cortex in different cell types where spindle orientation relies on its function, while AGS3 remains cytoplasmic.

    • A systematic dissection shows that despite extensive sequence and structure conservation, each of the three TPR, Linker and GPR modules has diverged functionally between LGN and AGS3.

    • Despite their shared role in spindle orientation in fly and vertebrates, Pins and LGN are not functionally interchangeable in vivo.

    • AGS3
    • LGN
    • Pins
    • spindle orientation
    • vertebrate neuroepithelium

    EMBO Reports (2017) 18: 1509–1520

    • Received July 12, 2016.
    • Revision received May 14, 2017.
    • Accepted May 19, 2017.
    • © 2017 The Authors
    Mehdi Saadaoui, Daijiro Konno, Karine Loulier, Rosette Goiame, Vaibhav Jadhav, Marina Mapelli, Fumio Matsuzaki, Xavier Morin
    Published online 01.09.2017
    • Cell Adhesion, Polarity & Cytoskeleton
    • Cell Cycle
    • Evolution
  • Open Access
    Evolutionary dynamics of the kinetochore network in eukaryotes as revealed by comparative genomics
    Evolutionary dynamics of the kinetochore network in eukaryotes as revealed by comparative genomics
    1. Jolien JE van Hooff1,2,3,
    2. Eelco Tromer1,2,
    3. Leny M van Wijk2,
    4. Berend Snel (b.snel{at}uu.nl)*,2,† and
    5. Geert JPL Kops (g.kops{at}hubrecht.eu)*,1,3,4,†
    1. 1Hubrecht Institute – KNAW (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences), Utrecht, The Netherlands
    2. 2Theoretical Biology and Bioinformatics, Department of Biology, Science Faculty, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
    3. 3Molecular Cancer Research, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
    4. 4Cancer Genomics Netherlands, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
    1. ↵* Corresponding author. Tel: +31 302538102; E‐mail: b.snel{at}uu.nl
      Corresponding author. Tel: +31 302121907; E‐mail: g.kops{at}hubrecht.eu
    1. ↵† These authors contributed equally to this work as senior authors

    During cell division, the kinetochore connects centromeric DNA to spindle microtubules, which is essential for eukaryotic chromosome segregation. This study uncovers and describes the evolution and diversity of eukaryotic kinetochores by comparative genomics.

    Synopsis

    During cell division, the kinetochore connects centromeric DNA to spindle microtubules, which is essential for eukaryotic chromosome segregation. This study uncovers and describes the evolution and diversity of eukaryotic kinetochores by comparative genomics.

    • The majority of kinetochore proteins were present in the last eukaryotic common ancestor (LECA).

    • Divergent kinetochores emerged post‐LECA through gene loss, duplication, displacement, sequence divergence and innovations.

    • The diverse functions of various kinetochore proteins is elucidated by examining their co‐evolution.

    • co‐evolution
    • eukaryotic diversity
    • evolutionary cell biology
    • gene loss
    • kinetochore

    EMBO Reports (2017) 18: 1559–1571

    • Received February 18, 2017.
    • Revision received May 12, 2017.
    • Accepted May 17, 2017.
    • © 2017 The Authors. Published under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license

    This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

    Jolien JE van Hooff, Eelco Tromer, Leny M van Wijk, Berend Snel, Geert JPL Kops
    Published online 01.09.2017
    • Cell Cycle
    • Evolution
    • Systems & Computational Biology
  • You have access
    Enzyme sub‐functionalization driven by regulation
    Enzyme sub‐functionalization driven by regulation
    1. Bert van Loo (b.vanloo{at}wwu.de)1 and
    2. Erich Bornberg‐Bauer1
    1. 1Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, Münster, Germany

    The emergence of functional novelties during protein evolution has puzzled scientists for many years. Most proposed models focus on repeated duplication‐divergence cycles, but the entanglement of selection pressures acting on the control of transcriptional and enzymatic activity, for example, by metabolites, has not been addressed so far. In this issue of EMBO Reports, Noda‐Garcia et al [1] describe two glutamate dehydrogenase paralogs from Bacillus subtilis with very similar sequences and under two distinct modes of activity control. The functional divergence of these two enzymes during evolution is driven by an interlinked combination of differences between their enzymatic properties and their transcriptional regulation. This article thus illuminates another level of complexity in molecular evolution that may help understand the hitherto unexplained co‐existence of paralogous genes that at first sight appear to be functionally redundant.

    See also: L Noda‐Garcia et al (July 2017)

    A study in this issue shows how the co‐evolution of transcriptional and enzyme activity regulation contributes to the functional divergence of two Bacilli glutamate dehydrogenase paralogs.

    • © 2017 The Authors
    Bert van Loo, Erich Bornberg‐Bauer
    Published online 01.07.2017
    • Evolution
    • Metabolism
    • Microbiology, Virology & Host Pathogen Interaction
  • You have access
    Bacilli glutamate dehydrogenases diverged via coevolution of transcription and enzyme regulation
    <em>Bacilli</em> glutamate dehydrogenases diverged via coevolution of transcription and enzyme regulation
    1. Lianet Noda‐Garcia1,
    2. Maria Luisa Romero Romero1,
    3. Liam M Longo1,
    4. Ilana Kolodkin‐Gal2 and
    5. Dan S Tawfik (dan.tawfik{at}weizmann.ac.il)*,1
    1. 1Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
    2. 2Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
    1. ↵*Corresponding author. Tel: +972 8 934 3637; E‐mail: dan.tawfik{at}weizmann.ac.il

    Bacilli have two glutamate dehydrogenase paralogues. Regulation has diverged from transcriptional control in one paralogue (RocG) to enzyme control in the other (GudB), thus creating incompatibility upon swaps of enzymes and regulatory regions.

    Synopsis

    Bacilli have two glutamate dehydrogenase paralogues. Regulation has diverged from transcriptional control in one paralogue (RocG) to enzyme control in the other (GudB), thus creating incompatibility upon swaps of enzymes and regulatory regions (promoter/terminator).

    • Swapping enzymes and regulatory regions of the Bacilli glutamate dehydrogenase paralogues reveals coevolution of transcription and enzyme regulation.

    • Coevolution of transcriptional and enzymatic regulation underlies paralogue‐specific spatio‐temporal control.

    • The Bacilli glutamate dehydrogenases are regulated via oligomer assembly.

    • Bacillus subtilis
    • enzyme evolution
    • glutamate dehydrogenases
    • paralogue specialization

    EMBO Reports (2017) 18: 1139–1149

    • Received January 25, 2017.
    • Revision received March 23, 2017.
    • Accepted March 27, 2017.
    • © 2017 The Authors
    Lianet Noda‐Garcia, Maria Luisa Romero Romero, Liam M Longo, Ilana Kolodkin‐Gal, Dan S Tawfik
    Published online 01.07.2017
    • Evolution
    • Metabolism
    • Microbiology, Virology & Host Pathogen Interaction
  • You have access
    Feel the beatMusic exploits our brain's ability to predict and the dopamine‐reward system to instill pleasure
    Feel the beat

    Music exploits our brain's ability to predict and the dopamine‐reward system to instill pleasure

    1. Katrin Weigmann, Freelance journalist (mail{at}k-weigmann.de)1
    1. 1Oldenburg, Germany

    Music unfolds over time and music perception has much to do with making temporal predictions. But how does the brain interpret upcoming auditory events, and why are humans better at it than most other animals?

    • © 2017 The Author
    Katrin Weigmann
    Published online 01.03.2017
    • Evolution
    • Neuroscience
  • You have access
    An incoherent feed‐forward loop mediates robustness and tunability in a plant immune network
    An incoherent feed‐forward loop mediates robustness and tunability in a plant immune network
    1. Akira Mine1,2,
    2. Tatsuya Nobori1,†,
    3. Maria C Salazar‐Rondon1,†,
    4. Thomas M Winkelmüller1,
    5. Shajahan Anver1,
    6. Dieter Becker1 and
    7. Kenichi Tsuda (tsuda{at}mpipz.mpg.de)*,1
    1. 1Department of Plant Microbe Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Cologne, Germany
    2. 2Center for Gene Research, Nagoya University, Chikusa‐Ku Nagoya, Japan
    1. ↵*Corresponding author. Tel: +49 221 5062 302; E‐mail: tsuda{at}mpipz.mpg.de
    1. ↵† These authors contributed equally to this work

    This study identifies an incoherent type‐4 feed‐forward loop (I4‐FFL) consisting of jasmonate, PAD4, and EDS5 in Arabidopsis. This I4‐FFL ensures robust and tunable accumulation of salicylic acid during immune activation through flagellin sensing.

    Synopsis

    This study identifies an incoherent type‐4 feed‐forward loop (I4‐FFL) consisting of jasmonate, PAD4, and EDS5 in Arabidopsis. This I4‐FFL ensures robust and tunable accumulation of salicylic acid during immune activation through flagellin sensing.

    • Jasmonate (JA) induces EDS5 expression while repressing the positive EDS5 regulator PAD4.

    • MYC transcription factors mediate gene regulation by JA.

    • JA mitigates salicylic acid (SA) accumulation and bacterial resistance through PAD4 inhibition.

    • Upon perturbation of PAD4, JA supports SA accumulation and bacterial resistance via the regulation of EDS5.

    • incoherent feed‐forward loop
    • jasmonate
    • plant immunity
    • salicylic acid
    • signaling perturbation

    EMBO Reports (2017) 18: 464–476

    • Received July 13, 2016.
    • Revision received November 9, 2016.
    • Accepted December 8, 2016.
    • © 2017 The Authors
    Akira Mine, Tatsuya Nobori, Maria C Salazar‐Rondon, Thomas M Winkelmüller, Shajahan Anver, Dieter Becker, Kenichi Tsuda
    Published online 01.03.2017
    • Evolution
    • Immunology
    • Plant Biology

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