Evolution
- Genomics yields fresh insights on plant domesticationUnderstanding the process of domestication can help to guide breeding efforts in plants
Understanding the process of domestication can help to guide breeding efforts in plants
- Philip Hunter, Freelance journalist (ph{at}philiphunter.com)1
Millennia of domestication have left their traces in the genomes of domesticated plants. Understanding these changes could inform breeding and genomic engineering approaches to improve yield and resilience of crops and other plants.
EMBO Reports (2018) 19: e47153
- © 2018 The Author
- Do not poison thyselfMechanisms to avoid self‐toxicity could inspire novel compounds and pathways for synthetic biology and applications for agriculture
Mechanisms to avoid self‐toxicity could inspire novel compounds and pathways for synthetic biology and applications for agriculture
- Philip Hunter, Freelance journalist (ph{at}philiphunter.com)1
The mechanisms by which poisonous plants and animals protect themselves against their own toxins provide interesting leads for synthetic biology with potential applications in medicine and agriculture.
EMBO Reports (2018) 19: e46756
- © 2018 The Author
- The revival of the extended phenotypeAfter more than 30 years, Dawkins’ Extended Phenotype hypothesis is enriching evolutionary biology and inspiring potential applications
After more than 30 years, Dawkins’ Extended Phenotype hypothesis is enriching evolutionary biology and inspiring potential applications
- Philip Hunter (ph{at}philiphunter.com)1
When Richard Dawkins proposed the Extended Phenotype hypothesis, it was an interesting addition to explain beaver dams or termite nests. With new technologies and a renewed interest, it is now inspiring research to understand co‐evolution in ecosystems and applications in agriculture and conservation.
EMBO Reports (2018) 19: e46477
- © 2018 The Author
- Biology, a science of greys
- Jordi Casanova (jcrbmc{at}ibmb.csic.es)1
Models and categories are useful research tools in biology but they do not necessarily represent reality. To better understand life's complexity and avoid pointless controversies, we need to be more aware of their limitations.
EMBO Reports (2018) 19: e46332
- © 2018 The Author
- The genetics of domesticationResearch into the domestication of livestock and companion animals sheds light both on their “evolution” and human history
Research into the domestication of livestock and companion animals sheds light both on their “evolution” and human history
- Philip Hunter, Freelance journalist (ph{at}philiphunter.com)1
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
- We're on a road to nowhereCulture and adaptation to the environment are driving human evolution, but the destination of this journey is unpredictable
Culture and adaptation to the environment are driving human evolution, but the destination of this journey is unpredictable
- Andrea Rinaldi, Freelance science writer (rinaldi.ac{at}gmail.com)1
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
- Viral taxonomyThe effect of metagenomics on understanding the diversity and evolution of viruses
The effect of metagenomics on understanding the diversity and evolution of viruses
- Philip Hunter, Freelance journalist (ph{at}philiphunter.com)1
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
- The greatest kinetochore show on earth
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
- Loss of the canonical spindle orientation function in the Pins/LGN homolog AGS3
- Mehdi Saadaoui (mehdi.saadaoui{at}pasteur.fr)*,1,5,
- Daijiro Konno2,
- Karine Loulier3,
- Rosette Goiame1,
- Vaibhav Jadhav4,
- Marina Mapelli4,
- Fumio Matsuzaki2 and
- Xavier Morin (xavier.morin{at}ens.fr)*,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
- 2Laboratory for Cell Asymmetry, RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology, Chuo‐ku, Kobe, Japan
- 3UPMC Université Paris 06, Sorbonne Universités, CNRS, Inserm, Institut de la Vision, Paris, France
- 4Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy
- 5Present Address: Morphogenesis in Higher Vertebrates, Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
- ↵*
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.
EMBO Reports (2017) 18: 1509–1520
- Received July 12, 2016.
- Revision received May 14, 2017.
- Accepted May 19, 2017.
- © 2017 The Authors
- Evolutionary dynamics of the kinetochore network in eukaryotes as revealed by comparative genomics
- Jolien JE van Hooff1,2,3,
- Eelco Tromer1,2,
- Leny M van Wijk2,
- Berend Snel (b.snel{at}uu.nl)*,2,† and
- Geert JPL Kops (g.kops{at}hubrecht.eu)*,1,3,4,†
- 1Hubrecht Institute – KNAW (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences), Utrecht, The Netherlands
- 2Theoretical Biology and Bioinformatics, Department of Biology, Science Faculty, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- 3Molecular Cancer Research, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- 4Cancer Genomics Netherlands, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- ↵*
Corresponding author. Tel: +31 302538102; E‐mail: b.snel{at}uu.nl
Corresponding author. Tel: +31 302121907; E‐mail: g.kops{at}hubrecht.eu
↵† 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.
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.
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