Researchers searching for environmental DNA from the critically endangered 'Pithecopus rusticus' frogs in Brazil found DNA from invasive American bullfrogs instead. Male zebra finches sing a single song to attract mates, with new research using machine learning to understand how females distinguish between them. Studies on male zebra finches suggest that mastering the performance of their courtship song, particularly the spread of syllables, influences mate choice. Genome analyses of Asian cornborer moths reveal genes subject to selective sweeps, with a focus on the iGABAR gene. Genetic studies on various species, including sea turtles and Alston's singing mice, provide insights into genetic diversity and communication evolution.
Researchers went looking for environmental DNA from a critically endangered frog species in Brazil. They turned up evidence of invasive American bullfrogs instead. https://t.co/kKeSU2xayw
The Boar (Sus scrofa) genome was compared to 16 other genomes, including several African Suidae (including warthogs) to identify genes that are unique or shared across species #2024MMM #RIP https://t.co/3Wu5Wljwi1 https://t.co/unbMg2VPtM
Mitochondrial DNA from wild boars (Sus scrofa) in Europe show extreme geographic separataion, which is surprising giving how much they are able to hybridize. #2024MMM https://t.co/VnzpdaXIrZ https://t.co/5xRHiOJYiF
N. rajah & related pitcher plants have hybridized a lot, so resolution of relationships is tricky (thus fuzzy tree shows diff genome regions w/ diff relationships). Nuclear data point to Portuguese sundew & Ancistrocladus vines as sister clades https://t.co/eOBj10dkV5 #2024MMM https://t.co/MmjOk3pRKt
Genomic analyses by Mikkelsen et al. (2023) show extensive hybridization among S. skua, S. antarcticus, S. chilensis & S. maccormicki + mtDNA introgression from S. skua -> S. pomarinus (leading to the age old debate: when is a species a species?) #2024MMM https://t.co/Oirbg8k0tb https://t.co/0WUGAgZWq1
A related batfly in the genus Trichobius has been shown to reveal fine-scale patterns of gene flow within their host, the Buffy Flower Bat (Erophylla sezekorni)-- incl evidence for a recent reduction in migration among islands in the Bahamas #2024MMM #RIP https://t.co/WiMg4v5DL6 https://t.co/ZnMgUodpN4
Crested porcupine shares its dens with Red Foxes and European Badgers. Genetics analysis of their poop reveals sharing doesn't stop there. Porcupine, fox and badger all carry the gastrointestinal parasite Giardia #2024MMM https://t.co/jBOGcQlaU9 https://t.co/wOawkPK8z7
The wolves of Isle Royale are a well-studied isolated population. Robinson et al found that morphological defects in these wolves are due to homozygosity of deleterious mutations. In the absence of recurring immigration the fate of a restored population is grim #RIP #2024MMM https://t.co/QtN3NaBlBs
In contrast to data from the Pyrenees, DNA collected from 413 fecal samples in China showed lots of mixing between stag (Cervus elaphus) populations #2024MMM #PoopScience https://t.co/ADnaYp1pM8 https://t.co/QCa9j5SzNq
Before 2017, wolf genomes were assembled by aligning to the dog reference genome. Once Gopalakrishnan et al assembled a wolf reference genome, it was used & gave better understanding of historic wolf population trajectories and admixture histories #2024MMM https://t.co/ATdk5oMjVM https://t.co/MMk9JDsktS
Chestnut-headed bee-eater quietly passes into #2024MMM history. We can’t even study its genome. Like most species, it’s never been sequenced. Science is working to include ALL of Earth’s biodiversity #RIP @NCBI @EBPGenome https://t.co/E5K0G9ada9 https://t.co/r5J0KcprHp
Bee-Eater has survived much. Genetic analysis on samples spanning Palearctic-African range show bee-eaters repeatedly retracted to warmer refugia and expanded northwards during warm periods, creating genetic panmixia that persists today. #2024MMM https://t.co/OyGq5uW3qO https://t.co/pTnt4rfUY7
DNA analysis of conserved mtDNA from 191 representative Corvus species, including the raven, and eight outgroup species, shows more variation of Corvus across the globe #2024MMM #RIP https://t.co/mUMyAk3MOY https://t.co/M9jzzuVw2Q
Comparative DNA in nine species of toothed whales, like sperm whale, showed that gene flow has largely stopped between all species, with extremely rare interspecies hybrids #2024MMM https://t.co/Ua1tImzE1Y https://t.co/F2DOWbAqNg
The giant squid is a global species, and yet there is almost no genetic structure according to Winkelmann et al. Using mitochondrial genomes, they found very little differentiation between squids from Australia, Spain, Florida, New Zealand and Japan #2024MMM https://t.co/FuMGpiuFln
A particular gene plays a critical role in visual preference for mate choice between closely related Heliconius butterflies, a new Science study finds. Learn more in this week's issue: https://t.co/eXvCJMgC8H https://t.co/x0rvKez9KC
'Pithecopus rusticus' (one shown) is a tree frog known from only a single small population in Brazil. It could be threatened by the presence of the invasive American bullfrog, detected in environmental DNA samples. https://t.co/kKeSU2xayw https://t.co/WN5q3c4heS
Video Of Male Pheasant Trying To Impress Partner With Mating Dance Goes Viral https://t.co/b5egYgBPKG
Mitochondrial genomes reveal that the African forest elephants diverged from savannah elephants🐘 between 4.26 and 7.24 Mya, when the world climate became much drier and African forests retreated. #RIP #2024MMM https://t.co/1FtDZukv73 https://t.co/9ls04f8qK8
Honey bees 🐝 are found worldwide, showing an amazing ability to adapt to diverse habitats. Comparing the DNA of bees from temperate vs tropical locations finds evidence of natural selection in genes controlling cell death and proliferation. #2024MMM https://t.co/YuB7sft23G https://t.co/mKRtF2Reym
The DNA sequence of 4 nuclear genes shows African forest elephant is not a subspecies of the "African elephant" but its own species 🐘. Genetic variation indicated that forest and savannah elephants did not interbreed. #2024MMM https://t.co/jkz2Afaoma https://t.co/dos3J5F1vj
Researchers have recently started to examine the genes that cause shifts in bat development (including Wrinklenosed bat). Early work studied changes in wings, but the next step is jaws! https://t.co/iR6f1yQDMr #RIP #2024MMM https://t.co/KLkpFQ1PIs
Genetic trees reveal major shifts during evolution. Wrinkle-nose bats are part of a clade of short-faced bats that are obligate frugivores. https://t.co/1lvm324Vk2 #2024MMM https://t.co/UhKMvVCR2x
Flame Bowerbird males have stunning coloration, but until recently it was unclear how many species were in the genus Sericulus. Genetic data strongly support 4 distinct species. https://t.co/MJRIcZAXil #2024MMM https://t.co/d07hJBjgNT
Is that REALLY Coral Snake? Using a genetic phylogeny, biologists showed that after multiple clades of snakes convergently evolved to mimic Coral Snake coloration to deter predators. #MMM2024 https://t.co/FkwxBfNV6U https://t.co/ZbnT4ici2c
Surprisingly little genetic work has been done on Hognose Snake populations. Although abundant in many areas, some populations show substantial genetic fragmentation. #MMM2024 #RIP https://t.co/3YnbkOXaCE https://t.co/LDPtsJZqHi
Elegant dancing frog may be out of the competition, but their genus is doing very well. DNA sequencing has revealed 14 new species in the last 10 years! Just imagine all the new dance moves. https://t.co/zWmojRyPZX #RIP #MMM2024 https://t.co/nkfRxxIiTT
DNA barcoding of Elegant Dancing Frog helped to identify burrowing larva and tadpoles from streambeds to better understand the early life of this amazing species. https://t.co/OrOGeH0e3u #MMM2024 https://t.co/hyjzP6D1RC
Great White Sharks are elusive in nature, but not beyond the reach of genetics. In 2019 we learned that their genome is 4.63 billion bases long, more than 50% larger than humans. https://t.co/6aCkph1QeZ #MMM2024 https://t.co/gsOCtBquoM
Despite ~3-5 million years of separation, some howler monkey species hybridize in the wild! Limited genetic data suggest that in a hybrid zone in Mexico, hybridization is biased in one direction and may come with fertility costs #RIP #MMM2024 https://t.co/oAtA9yUl7v https://t.co/XsOPoOuxQm
Alston's Singing Mouse is a great model to understand the genetics and evolution of communication 🐭🎶. Scientists last year performed single-cell sequencing on their orofacial motor cortex and successfully distinguished 12 cell types. #RIP #2024MMM https://t.co/sL9p44WU2A https://t.co/a2jdwoxQDI
Alston's singing mice produce incredibly elaborate songs to communicate 🐭🎶. Recent DNA analysis showed a correlation between genetic relatedness and the morphology of these songs, suggesting that songs are mostly inherited and not learned. #2024MMM https://t.co/EpmvbTzhe8 https://t.co/PZUxw5QCIh
Sea turtles are endangered species, but some are worse off than others. Genome sequencing of leatherbacks shows that they have the lowest genetic diversity of any known reptile, suggesting their population sizes are VERY small. https://t.co/TarAbpE9pX #MMM2024 https://t.co/iG90kFzQ20
Genome analyses by Peng et al. (2023) of Asian cornborer moths show 749 genes that appear to be subject to selective sweeps with the greatest signal in the iGABAR gene involved in circadian clock & environmental temperature-induced diapause https://t.co/ZGAinnHzbx #2024MMM #RIP https://t.co/HPFITym5A3
Abadía-Cardoso et al. (2017) investigated microsatellite diversity in northern elephant seals across their range finding some variation (& suggests that some variation predates the 19th century bottleneck) #2024MMM https://t.co/iJpdYIQeqG https://t.co/9QwwH8djw7
Peng et al. (2023) sequenced the genomes of 423 Asian cornborer moths & showed 2 major ancestries (blue & yellow) that diverged ~500 kya https://t.co/ZGAinnHzbx #2024MMM https://t.co/2ERG5YScoa
Research in Nature suggests that male zebra finches need to master the performance of their courtship song to get a mate. For these songbirds, it is the spread of syllables (individual sounds) in the song that influences females when choosing a mate. https://t.co/9T3nsp4ybJ https://t.co/gTbipytqvi
Male zebra finches sing only one song to attract their mates. New research uses machine learning to find out how females distinguish between them. https://t.co/uEXGkjJsbs
A search for environmental DNA from critically endangered 'Pithecopus rusticus' frogs turned up DNA from invasive American bullfrogs instead. https://t.co/kKeSU2xayw