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Topic Review
Distinguishing Evolutionary Conservation from Derivedness
While the concept of “evolutionary conservation” has enabled biologists to explain many ancestral features and traits, it has also frequently been misused to evaluate the degree of changes from a common ancestor, or “derivedness”. From a methodological aspect, “conservation” mainly considers genes or traits which species have in common, while “derivedness” additionally covers those that are not commonly shared, such as novel or lost traits and genes to evaluate changes from the time of divergence from a common ancestor. Due to these differences, while conservation-oriented methods are effective in identifying ancestral features, they may be prone to underestimating the overall changes accumulated during the evolution of certain lineages.
  • 990
  • 06 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Taming, Domestication and Exaptation
During evolution, several types of sequences pass through genomes. Along with mutations and internal genetic tinkering, they are a useful source of genetic variability for adaptation and evolution. Most of these sequences are acquired by horizontal transfers (HT), but some of them may come from the genomes themselves. If they are not lost or eliminated quickly, they can be tamed, domesticated, or even exapted.
  • 963
  • 06 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Layered Model of Evolution of Cellular Functionalities
As a phenomenon, cancer is a disease related to multicellular evolution, i.e., cancer in general is understood to be a failure of the multicellular systems and is considered a reversal to unicellularity. Cancer cells are like unicellular organisms that benefit from ancestral-like traits. As a disease, cancer can be interpreted as (a) a destruction of cooperative behaviors underlying multicellular evolution, (b) a disruption of molecular networks established during the emergence of multicellularity or (c) an atavistic state resulting from reactivation of primitive programs typical of the earliest unicellular species. From this point of view and in accordance with the layered model of evolution of cellular functionalities, cancer transformation can occur as a result of huge disturbances or the destruction of functionalities that are located in the multicellular layer.
  • 958
  • 20 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Metacaspases
Metacaspases, a family of cysteine proteases, play critical roles in programmed cell death during plant development and defense responses. Plant metacaspases are further subdivided into types I, II, and III. In the type I Arabidopsis MCs, AtMC1 and AtMC2 have similar structures, but antagonistically regulate hypersensitive response cell death upon immune receptor activation.
  • 958
  • 05 May 2022
Topic Review
Childhood Socioeconomic Status and Adult Food Preference
Early childhood socioeconomic status (SES) conditions can influence how an adult responds to stress, their food preferences, the volume of food consumed, the likelihood that one will desire to eat in the absence of an energy deficit, the development of eating disorders, and the likelihood that one will suffer from adult obesity.
  • 947
  • 07 Jul 2022
Biography
Manfred Milinski
Studied biology and mathematics at the University of Bielefeld, Germany, and the Ruhr-University Bochum. PhD (Dr. rer nat.) in Biology 1978. Habilitation ( venia legend) in 1985 from Ruhr-University Bochum. Guest Professor at the Department of Ecology, University of Bergen, Norway. Heisenberg Professor at the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford. From 1987 to 1999 Full Professor and Direc
  • 946
  • 26 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Omics Studies on Botanical Carnivory
Different high-throughput omics approaches, including genomics, transcriptomics, metagenomics, proteomics, and metabolomics have been implemented to study the molecular mechanisms of botanical carnivory. Extensive omics studies have been conducted to understand the molecular evolution of carnivory by studying the genomes and transcriptomes of Lentibulariaceae and Droseraceae family members. The candidate genes responsible for the development of the carnivory pitcher organ of Nepenthes species are revealed by transcriptomics studies. Another focus of the field is molecular physiology, in which the compositions of metabolites and proteins, especially the digestive enzymes and their dynamics in pitcher tissues and fluids, respectively, were investigated via metabolomics and proteomics informed by transcriptomics approaches.
  • 925
  • 05 May 2023
Topic Review
Encyclopedia in Phylogenomic and Biogeography of Toddalia asiatica
Toddalia is a monotypic genus consisting of sole species Toddalia asiatica (L.) Lam., widely distributed in Africa and Asia. It belongs to tribe Amyridoideae, family Rutaceae and order Sapindales. This genus together with genera Phellodendron Rupr., Tetradium Lour., and Zanthoxylum L. were found to produce alkaloids. The relationship of these chemical constituents has been hypothesized for the past years. The ancestor for Rutaceae has been linked to the several alkaloids recognized in these four genera, thus naming the group to date proto-Rutaceae. The four genera have attracted the attention of many scientists and they have been studied widely in previous studies. However, there is insufficient genomic resources in this genus. Additionally the origin and dispersal points of Toddalia species remains unclear. Here, researchers sequenced the two samples of Toddalia asiatica species, both collected from Kenya, and made comparison of their genome structures with T. asiatica species from China, available in the NCBI database. Phylogenomic analysis and impacts of climate change on Toddalia species were also conducted. The availability of the sequenced cp genomes will provide valuable genetic resources for further population genetics and biogeographic studies of these species by sampling them from a wider geographical range. 
  • 898
  • 28 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Zinc in Modern and Fossil Hominoid Teeth
Teeth begin to grow in the jaws before birth and continue to appear in an overlapping sequence until each is complete in length. Subsequently, the central pulp (nerve) chamber of each tooth slowly fills in with dentine and the root of the tooth continues to accumulate thin layers of cementum until the individual dies. Each of the tooth tissues, the hard enamel cap, the dentine core of the tooth and the root cementum grow incrementally and incorporate small quantities of blood-born trace elements ingested from our diet into their structure. A chronological record of zinc incorporation exists in each tooth tissue and can be visualised in thin sections, or slices, of teeth using a beam of synchrotron light. Zinc markings in teeth are especially useful and occur at birth in enamel and dentine and annually in the cementum layers. This work shows that zinc is consistently concentrated within surface enamel and in the dentine surrounding the central pulp chamber. Knowing where to sample Zn in modern and fossil teeth enables us to reconstruct a chronology of growth and to determine something about diet in the past from the remnants of different Zn isotopes contained in different foodstuffs.
  • 883
  • 12 Dec 2023
Topic Review
Transposable Elements during Sex Chromosome Differentiation
Transposable elements (TEs) comprise a substantial portion of eukaryotic genomes. They have the unique ability to integrate into new locations and serve as the main source of genomic novelties by mediating chromosomal rearrangements and regulating portions of functional genes. Recent studies have revealed that TEs are abundant in sex chromosomes.
  • 844
  • 23 May 2022
Topic Review
False Alarm Flight of Birds
Bird flocks often take flight suddenly, as though escaping from a predator, even though no predator is present. This is called “false alarm flighting”. 
  • 837
  • 14 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Influenza A (H7N9) Human Adaptation
Avian influenza virus A (H7N9), after circulating in avian hosts for decades, was identified as a human pathogen in 2013. Herein, we focus on the quantification of the virus diversity and the identification of amino acid substitutions that are possibly essential for human adaptation.
  • 833
  • 14 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Inter- and Intra-Individual Differences in Orang-Utan Drawings
Drawing has increasingly been proposed as an enrichment activity for captive primates in zoological parks and research institutes. The monkeys and apes are free to use the materials at their disposal and are not constrained or conditioned to show this behaviour. This provides a good opportunity to collect drawings by non-human primates and allows for comparative studies between hominids.
  • 829
  • 19 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Endogenous Retroviruses and Placental Diversity
In mammals, although size differences exist, most of organs consists of the same cells and exhibits the same structures. However, placentas are quite diverse in cell components, structures and the association between fetal membranes and maternal uteri. These differences have not been well characterized. Recently, endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) have been thought to have caused such diversity, which require both PEG type genes and syncytins. 
  • 817
  • 05 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Volvocine regA Gene Model for Cellular Differentiation Evolution
A group of green algae in the order of Volvocales provides an ideal model system for studying the transition from unicellular to differentiated multicellularity. This group—known as the volvocine algae—evolved multicellularity relatively recently (~240 million years ago) and contains extant relatives that span a range of complexities from unicellularity, to undifferentiated multicellularity, to differentiated multicellularity. The regA-like gene family within the volvocine algae serves as a model for the evolution of the genetic basis of cellular differentiation.
  • 802
  • 04 May 2023
Topic Review
Molecular Evolution of Tubulins in Diatoms
Microtubules (MTs) are major components of the eukaryotic cytoskeleton. Although MTs are involved in a variety of diverse processes ranging from intracellular transport to morphogenesis, their protein building blocks, called tubulins, are among the most well-conserved proteins. Tubulin is a subject of study in various fields of molecular science, from cell biology to evolution. Knowledge of the structure and function of tubulins has practical applications in the development of new drugs for medicine and agriculture. 
  • 789
  • 17 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Possible Evolution of the Genotypes of Stachybotrys chartarum
Stachybotrys chartarum is frequently isolated from damp building materials or improperly stored animal forage. Human and animal exposure to the secondary metabolites of this mold is linked to severe health effects. The mutually exclusive production of either satratoxins or atranones defines the chemotypes A and S. Based upon the genes (satratoxin cluster, SC1-3, sat or atranone cluster, AC1, atr) that are supposed to be essential for satratoxin and atranone production, S. chartarum can furthermore be divided into three genotypes: the S-type possessing all sat- but no atr-genes, the A-type lacking the sat- but harboring all atr-genes, and the H-type having only certain sat- and all atr-genes. 
  • 787
  • 19 Apr 2022
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
The Evolutionary System of the Biosphere and the Metameric Concept of Its Evolution: From the Past to the Future
We offer a detailed description of our previously published new concept of the evolution of the biosphere as an integral system of its states over time, united by development trends. The structure of the biosphere is considered as a hierarchical fractal system, and the elementary unit of the biosphere is an ecosystem. The fractal structure of the biosphere corresponds to the emergent principle: each lower level is an element of a more complex system and has its own properties. The proposed concept of biosphere evolution is based on the general categories of dialectics: states and interstates, continuity and discreteness, reproducibility and uniqueness. The evolutionary history of the biosphere is a metameric picture of changing states and interstates. The most important feature of the biosphere organization in space–time is a complex system of continua. The development of an integral biospheric system occurs in a time continuum: in the biosphere, the differences between the early and subsequent states are quite significant and obvious. Moreover, these differences are associated with fundamental complications, development, which is, in fact, evolution. The states of the biosphere in certain periods are linked by trends that form an evolutionary system. Continuing states, when the system remains self-identical for a long period, are replaced by new states through interstates. Based on the principle of actualism, the problems of the biosphere’s future and evolutionary trends of the biosphere under anthropogenic impact are considered.
  • 764
  • 28 May 2024
Topic Review
Reactive Oxygen and Sulfur Species
In particular, metabolic or “redox” signaling related to chemiosmosis may have had a major impact on the history of life. Consider the banding together of prokaryotes to form eukaryotes. While there are numerous models for this process, most models converge on several salient points. First, the initial association of lower-level units was based on some sort of syntrophy, i.e., “feeding together”, where the waste of one partner was the substrate for the other. Second, the partner that became the mitochondrion had a functional electron transport chain that it used to carry out chemiosmosis.
  • 761
  • 20 Oct 2022
Topic Review
TH Signalling in Human Evolution
Thyroid hormone (TH) signalling is a universally conserved pathway with pleiotropic actions that is able to control the development, metabolism, and homeostasis of organisms. TH signalling has likely played a critical role in human evolution by facilitating the adaptive responses of early hominids to unprecedently challenging and continuously changing environments.
  • 737
  • 30 Dec 2021
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