Browse our latest Evolutionary Biology articles

Evidence suggests that the oskar gene, a critical germ line determinant in insects, was formed by fusion of bacterial and eukaryotic sequences at least 450 million years ago.

Unexpected structural diversity of nematode small molecules, as revealed by high-resolution phylogenetic analysis, suggests recurrent biochemical innovation, a pattern that is probably typical across animals.

In the ancestor of mammals, a multifunctional innate immune protein evolved when a mutation enhanced the protein’s pro-inflammatory activity and proteolytic regulation without disrupting the protein’s antimicrobial activity.

Spizellomycespunctatusis a genetically tractable chytrid and model organism for comparative cell biology for understanding evolution of the cell cycle, actin dynamics, and cellularization in fungi and early eukaryotes.

The house sparrow, one of the most ubiquitous birds in the world, is now used extensively in studies across disciplines in the life sciences.

Deep mining of GT-A fold sequences provides an evolutionary framework for investigating complex relationships connecting GT-A fold sequence, structure, function and regulation.

CNGA3 is a cold-potentiated ion channel that confers cold sensitivity to mouse hypothalamic neurons, whereas CNGA3 from hibernating ground squirrels is cold-insensitive.

The nature and extent of developmental variation seen between mouse strains and genetically identical individuals explain why the first upper molar evolves along preferred path in murine rodents.

A gain-of-function in a new chemical defense resulted in no trade-offs and and independent evolution between novel and ancestral defenses, suggesting low redundancy among different defensive chemicals.

Variation in migration can evolve rapidly and traits that comprise this behaviour may be determined by standing variation at a few regulatory regions that are not common across taxonomic groups.