Preprints

Filtering by Subject: Genetics

Simple maternal effect animal models provide biased estimates of additive genetic and maternal variation

Joel L Pick, Craig A Walling, Loeske E. B. Kruuk

Published: 2024-12-16
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Zoology

Maternal effects (the consistent effect of a mother on her offspring) can inflate estimates of additive genetic variation (V_A) if not properly accounted for. As they are typically assumed to cause similarities only among maternal siblings, they are often accounted for by modelling maternal identity effects. However, if maternal effects have a genetic basis, they create additional similarities [...]

Evolutionary rescue by aneuploidy in tumors exposed to anti-cancer drugs

Remus Stana, Uri Ben-David, Daniel B Weissman, et al.

Published: 2024-07-31
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Genetics, Life Sciences

Evolutionary rescue happens when a population survives a sudden environmental change that initially causes the population to decline toward extinction. A prime example of evolutionary rescue is the ability of cancer to survive exposure to treatment. One evolutionary mechanism by which a population of cancer cells can adapt to chemotherapy is aneuploidy. Aneuploid cancer cells can be fitter in an [...]

Hijackers, hitchhikers, or co-drivers? The mysteries of microbial mobilizable genetic elements

Eduardo Rocha, Jorge Moura de Sousa, Manuel Ares Arroyo, et al.

Published: 2024-04-27
Subjects: Bacteriology, Evolution, Genetics, Life Sciences, Molecular Biology

Mobile genetic elements shape microbial gene repertoires and population dynamics, but their mechanisms of horizontal transmission are often unknown. Recent results reveal that many, possibly most, bacterial mobile genetic elements require helper elements to transfer between (or within) genomes. We refer to these non-autonomous, albeit mobile, elements as Hitcher Genetic Elements (hitchers or [...]

Evolution and maintenance of mtDNA gene content across eukaryotes

Shibani Veeraragavan, Maria Johansen, Iain Johnston

Published: 2024-04-22
Subjects: Evolution, Genetics, Genomics

Across eukaryotes, most genes required for mitochondrial function have been transferred to, or otherwise acquired by, the nucleus. Encoding genes in the nucleus has many advantages. So why do mitochondria retain any genes at all? Why does the set of mtDNA genes vary so much across different species? And how do species maintain functionality in the mtDNA genes they do retain? In this review we [...]

Why there are so many definitions of fitness in models

Daniel Jefferson Smith, Guilhem Doulcier, Pierrick Bourrat, et al.

Published: 2024-04-12
Subjects: Biology, Computational Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Genetics, Genetics and Genomics, Life Sciences, Population Biology

“Fitness” quantifies the ability to survive and reproduce, but is operationalized in many different ways. Generally, short-term fitness (e.g., expected number of surviving offspring) is assigned to genotypes or phenotypes, and used to non-trivially derive longer-term operationalizations of fitness (e.g. fixation probability or sojourn time), providing insight as to which organismal strategies [...]

Datathons: fostering equitability in data reuse in ecology

Stephanie Jurburg, Maria J. Alvarez Blanco, Antonis Chatzinotas, et al.

Published: 2024-04-05
Subjects: Biodiversity, Biology, Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology Life Sciences, Genetics, Genetics and Genomics, Genomics, Life Sciences, Microbiology

Approaches to rapidly collect global biodiversity data are increasingly important, but biodiversity blindspots persist. We organized a three-day Datathon event to improve the openness of local biodiversity data, and facilitate data reuse by local researchers. The first Datathon, organized among microbial ecologists in Uruguay and Argentina assembled the largest microbiome dataset in the region to [...]

Covariance reaction norms: A flexible method for estimating complex environmental effects on trait (co)variances

Jordan Scott Martin

Published: 2023-11-21
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Genetics, Integrative Biology, Life Sciences, Population Biology, Research Methods in Life Sciences, Zoology

Estimating quantitative genetic and phenotypic (co)variances is crucial for investigating evolutionary ecological phenomena such as developmental integration, life history tradeoffs, and niche specialization, as well as for describing selection and predicting multivariate evolution in the wild. While most studies assume (co)variances are fixed over short timescales, environmental heterogeneity [...]

Uneven genetic data limits biodiversity assessments in protected areas globally

Ivan Paz-Vinas, Amy Vandergast, Chloe Schmidt, et al.

Published: 2023-10-26
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Policy, Genetics, Life Sciences

Increasing the extent of protected areas (PA) through 30x30 and other area-based conservation initiatives can help to achieve global biodiversity conservation goals across all biodiversity levels. However, intraspecific genetic variation, the foundational level of biodiversity, is rarely explicitly considered in PA design or quality performance assessments. Repurposing existing genetic data could [...]

Withdrawn: Datathons: fostering equitability in data reuse in ecology

Stephanie Jurburg, Maria J. Alvarez Blanco, Antonis Chatzinotas, et al.

Published: 2023-10-06
Subjects: Biodiversity, Biology, Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology Life Sciences, Genetics, Genetics and Genomics, Genomics, Life Sciences, Microbiology

Duplicate of https://doi.org/10.32942/X2389Q

How does dispersal shape the genetic patterns of animal populations in European cities? A simulation approach

Paul Savary, Cécile Tannier, Jean-Christophe Foltête, et al.

Published: 2023-07-25
Subjects: Biodiversity, Genetics, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Population Biology, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology

Context and objectives Although urbanization is a major driver of biodiversity erosion, it does not affect all species equally. The neutral genetic structure of populations in a given species is affected by both genetic drift and gene flow processes. In cities, the size of animal populations determines drift and can depend on multiple processes whereas gene flow essentially depends on the [...]

Too simple, too complex, or just right? Advantages, challenges and resolutions for indicators of genetic diversity

Sean Hoban, Jessica da Silva, Alice Hughes, et al.

Published: 2023-06-24
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Policy, Genetics, Life Sciences

Measuring genetic diversity of wild species using DNA-based data remains resource intensive and time-consuming for nearly all species. Yet, genetic assessments are needed for global conservation commitments including the Convention on Biological Diversity and for governments and managers to evaluate conservation progress and to prioritize species and populations to preserve and recover genetic [...]

Improving species conservation plans under IUCN’s One Plan Approach using quantitative genetic methods

Drew Sauve, Jane Spero, Jessica Steiner, et al.

Published: 2022-02-19
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Genetics and Genomics, Life Sciences

Human activities are resulting in altered environmental conditions that are impacting the demography and evolution of species globally. If we wish to prevent anthropogenic extinction and extirpation, we need to improve our ability to restore wild populations. Ex situ populations can be an important tool for species conservation. However, it is difficult to prevent deviations from an optimal [...]

Learning from your mistakes: a novel method to predict the response to directional selection

Lisandro Milocco, Isaac Salazar-Ciudad

Published: 2021-09-28
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Computational Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Genetics, Genetics and Genomics, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Population Biology

Predicting how populations respond to selection is a key goal of evolutionary biology. The field of quantitative genetics provides predictions for the response to directional selection through the breeder’s equation. However, differences between the observed responses to selection and those predicted by the breeder’s equation occur. The sources of these errors include omission of traits under [...]

Impact of Infectious Disease on Humans and Our Origins

Petar Gabrić

Published: 2021-06-19
Subjects: Anthropology, Archaeological Anthropology, Arts and Humanities, Bacteriology, Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology, Biological and Physical Anthropology, Biological Phenomena, Cell Phenomena, and Immunity, Cell and Developmental Biology, Cell Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Genetic Phenomena, Genetics, Genetics and Genomics, History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology, Life Sciences, Medical Biochemistry, Medical Cell Biology, Medical Genetics, Medical Immunology, Medical Microbiology, Medical Molecular Biology, Medical Pathology, Medical Sciences, Medicine and Health Sciences, Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Molecular Genetics, Pathogenic Microbiology, Pharmacology, Pharmacology, Toxicology and Environmental Health, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Virology

On May 16, 2020, the Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny organized the symposium “Impact of Infectious Disease on Humans and Our Origins”. The symposium aimed to gather experts on infectious diseases in one place and discuss the interrelationship between different pathogens and humans in an evolutionary context. The talks discussed topics including SARS-CoV-2, dengue and [...]

Maturation in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar, Salmonidae): a synthesis of ecological, genetic, and molecular processes

Kenyon Mobley, Tutku Aykanat, Yann Czorlich, et al.

Published: 2020-11-10
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Genetics, Genetics and Genomics, Genomics, Life Sciences, Physiology, Population Biology

Over the past decades, Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar, Salmonidae) has emerged as a model system for sexual maturation research, owing to the high diversity of life history strategies, knowledge of trait genetic architecture, and their high economic value. The aim of this synthesis is to summarize the current state of knowledge concerning maturation in Atlantic salmon, outline knowledge gaps, and [...]

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