Minimal changes allow an ancestral, unfolded peptide to adopt a known fold by repetition, illuminating a possible path for the emergence of folded proteins at the origin of life.
Evolutionary reconstruction of the ecdysis pathway shows that its major elements are present in the majority of metazoans, providing evidence that they originated much earlier than currently assumed.
Analysis of the endogenous function of deeply conserved neuropeptides in sea anemones sheds light on a primitive role of nervous systems in modulating developmental timing.
mille-pattes micropeptides have conserved function in insect embryonic patterning together with transcription factor Shaven-baby and ubiquitin ligase Ubr3, except in flies wherein restoring broad embryonic Svb expression restores patterning potency.
Ancient hepatitis B virus (HBV) genomes were reconstructed from up to 7000-year-old Stone Age human skeletons, suggesting a long-time complex co-evolution with human populations.
A small brain-derived lipid prevents bristle worms from entering maturation and death, challenging current views of hormone evolution and pesticide specificity.
Discovery of a novel neuropeptide signalling system in a deuterostome invertebrate reveals the evolutionary origin of prolactin-releasing peptide and its relationship with neuropeptides in protostome invertebrates.
