A fatty acyl reductase gene family expansion in the Hymenoptera crown group led to recruitment of novel pheromone-biosynthetic enzymes and is linked to evolution of pheromone marking behavior.
UV-reflective dragonfly wax is shown to consist of very long-chain methyl ketones and aldehydes, and a synthetic dragonfly wax spontaneously forms light-scattering fine structures with strong UV reflection.
There is a strand-based evolutionary mechanism for the diversification of outer membrane proteins, which has implications for how repeat proteins are created and for how outer membrane proteins fold.
Pathogens, particularly viruses, target the same genes over deep evolutionary time, resulting in shared signatures of positive selection and transcriptional responses at the same genes.
Morphological and fitness defects imposed on amoebae hosts by Burkholderia symbionts demonstrates symbiont species-specific effects and provides evidence of host adaptation to naturally acquired symbionts.
Parallel losses of short-wave light sensitivity in diverse bats occurred through independent changes at multiple steps in the conversion of genotype into functional phenotype, including pre-, during, and post-transcription.
Body color change of locusts reveals a new 'palette effect' mechanism by which the red βCBP–β-carotene pigment complex acts as a switch to coordinate between black and green coloration.
The turquoise killifish from ephemeral pools in African savannah combines extremely short lifespan with a standard vertebrate body plan – ideal attributes for a laboratory animal.
