To leverage the tools, resources and knowledge that exist for C. elegans so that we can study ecology, evolution and other aspects of biology, we need to understand the natural history of this important model organism.
A better understanding of the natural history of model organisms will increase their value as model systems and also keep them at the forefront of research.
The zebrafish is a premier model organism for biomedical research, with a rich array of tools and genomic resources, and combining these with a fuller appreciation of wild zebrafish ecology could greatly extend its utility in biological research.
Drosophila has almost all transcription factor binding specificities available to humans; and human transcription factors with divergent specificities operate in cell types that are not found in fruit flies.
Vladislav Susoy, Erik J Ragsdale ... Ralf J Sommer
Evolutionary novelty is promoted by a macroevolutionary pulse of developmental plasticity, but is enhanced by secondary fixation, which permits developmental character release and further morphological exploration.
RNA sequencing of individuals within a wild baboon population reveals extensive power to detect functional regulatory variation, and suggests that the set of genes affected by such variation may be conserved across species.
Chia-Hung Wu, Maja Bialecka-Fornal, Dianne K Newman
Methylation specifically enhances the ability of hopanoids to rigidify membranes under physiologically relevant conditions, which impacts the current interpretation of the 2-methylhopane fossil record.
Genes associated with age-based division of labor in ants exist in distinct regulatory and evolutionary contexts; genes up-regulated in young nurses are loosely connected and rapidly evolving while genes up-regulated in old foragers are highly connected and conserved.
Natasha M O'Brown, Brian R Summers ... David M Kingsley
An identical DNA base pair change has occurred in divergent sticklebacks to alter the expression of a major developmental gene controlling armor plates, thus providing a molecular link between particular enhancer changes, cell signaling, and repeated skeletal evolution in natural populations.
