Food webs: Where is the uniqueness?
Curr Biol. 2024 Mar 11;34(5):R197-R199. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.005.ABSTRACTConservation planning relies on mapping areas of unique biological diversity and high vulnerability. A new study has found that unique trophic networks are threatened by warming climate in the Arctic and high human footprint in southern Europe.PMID:38471447 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.005 (Source: Current Biology)
Source: Current Biology - March 12, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Emma-Liina Marjakangas Source Type: research
Conservation: Different seasonal hotspots for migrating birds
Curr Biol. 2024 Mar 11;34(5):R199-R201. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.006.ABSTRACTMigrating species are particularly vulnerable to habitat loss. A new study shows that migrating birds use seasonally different stopover hotspots, which need to be protected better.PMID:38471448 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.006 (Source: Current Biology)
Source: Current Biology - March 12, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Scott K Robinson Source Type: research
Isochronous rhythms: Facilitating song coordination across taxa?
Curr Biol. 2024 Mar 11;34(5):R201-R203. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.020.ABSTRACTThe biological expression of isochronous rhythms - rhythms like those produced by a metronome - was once thought to be unique to humans. A new study reports that faster and more isochronous rhythms lead to more successful duets in singing gibbons: isochronous rhythms might be an important component of song coordination across taxa.PMID:38471449 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.020 (Source: Current Biology)
Source: Current Biology - March 12, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Dena Jane Clink Source Type: research
Plant physiology: RAF kinases claim a conserved role in rapid auxin responses
Curr Biol. 2024 Mar 11;34(5):R204-R206. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.024.ABSTRACTA recent study spotlights B-RAF kinases as central mediators of rapid auxin responses across diverse plant species. Coupled with other current studies, this discovery illuminates the essential role of B-RAF kinases in orchestrating growth, stress responses, and various other biological processes in plants.PMID:38471450 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.024 (Source: Current Biology)
Source: Current Biology - March 12, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Pengcheng Wang Source Type: research
Insect genomics: A lousy fly
Curr Biol. 2024 Mar 11;34(5):R206-R209. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.038.ABSTRACTThe bee louse (Braula coeca) is a honeybee inquiline and a long-standing taxonomic mystery. A new study unravels their genomic architecture and shows that these enigmatic flies have evolved from scale insect-exploiting drosophilid ancestors and share genetic similarities with their honeybee hosts.PMID:38471451 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.038 (Source: Current Biology)
Source: Current Biology - March 12, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Marcus C Stensmyr Source Type: research
Seasonal biology: Tanycytes give the hypothalamus a spring makeover
Curr Biol. 2024 Mar 11;34(5):R209-R211. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.055.ABSTRACTIn many species, metabolic and reproductive functions are coupled to the seasons. Tanycytes, specialized glial cells in the hypothalamus, play an important function in these physiological changes. A new study now shows that light exposure drastically alters the formation of sensory cilia on tanycytes.PMID:38471452 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.055 (Source: Current Biology)
Source: Current Biology - March 12, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Manon Rivagorda Vincent Prevot Markus Schwaninger Source Type: research
Meiosis: The silk moth and the elephant
Curr Biol. 2024 Mar 11;34(5):R211-R213. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.046.ABSTRACTIn most eukaryotes, balanced chromosome segregation at meiosis requires crossovers, but female Bombyx mori lack these structures. Instead, the synaptonemal complex is repurposed to compensate for this absence of crossovers, a remarkable example of exaptation.PMID:38471453 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.046 (Source: Current Biology)
Source: Current Biology - March 12, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Hern án López Raphael Mercier Source Type: research
Sleep: Giving it up to get it on
Curr Biol. 2024 Mar 11;34(5):R213-R216. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.061.ABSTRACTA new study presents evidence of sex-related sleep reduction in males of two marsupial mice species but not in females. The growing experimental data suggest that seasonal sleep reduction, linked to migrations and reproductive periods, is common among animals.PMID:38471454 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.061 (Source: Current Biology)
Source: Current Biology - March 12, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Oleg I Lyamin Jerome M Siegel Source Type: research
C. elegans males optimize mate-preference decisions via sex-specific responses to multimodal sensory cues
Curr Biol. 2024 Mar 7:S0960-9822(24)00178-7. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.02.036. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTFor sexually reproducing animals, selecting optimal mates is important for maximizing reproductive fitness. In the nematode C. elegans, populations reproduce largely by hermaphrodite self-fertilization, but the cross-fertilization of hermaphrodites by males also occurs. Males' ability to recognize hermaphrodites involves several sensory cues, but an integrated view of the ways males use these cues in their native context to assess characteristics of potential mates has been elusive. Here, we examine the mate-preferenc...
Source: Current Biology - March 12, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Jintao Luo Chance Bainbridge Renee M Miller Arantza Barrios Douglas S Portman Source Type: research
Coral restoration can drive rapid reef carbonate budget recovery
Curr Biol. 2024 Feb 19:S0960-9822(24)00151-9. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.02.009. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTRestoration is increasingly seen as a necessary tool to reverse ecological decline across terrestrial and marine ecosystems.1,2 Considering the unprecedented loss of coral cover and associated reef ecosystem services, active coral restoration is gaining traction in local management strategies and has recently seen major increases in scale. However, the extent to which coral restoration may restore key reef functions is poorly understood.3,4 Carbonate budgets, defined as the balance between calcium carbonate productio...
Source: Current Biology - March 9, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Ines D Lange Tries B Razak Chris T Perry Permas B Maulana Mochyudho E Prasetya None Irwan Timothy Ac Lamont Source Type: research
Spatial heterogeneity of neo- and paleo-endemism for plants in Madagascar
Curr Biol. 2024 Mar 5:S0960-9822(24)00165-9. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.02.023. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTMadagascar is a biogeographically unique island with a remarkably high level of endemism. However, endemic taxa in Madagascar are massively threatened due to unprecedented pressures from anthropogenic habitat modification and climate change. A comprehensive phylogeny-based biodiversity evaluation of the island remains lacking. Here, we identify hotspots of taxonomic and phylogenetic plant diversity and neo- and paleo-endemism by generating a novel dated tree of life for the island. The tree is based on unprecedented s...
Source: Current Biology - March 9, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Wyckliffe Omondi Omollo Romer Narindra Rabarijaona Rindra Manasoa Ranaivoson Mijoro Rakotoarinivo Russell L Barrett Qiang Zhang Yang-Jun Lai Jian-Fei Ye Chi Toan Le Alexandre Antonelli Zhi-Duan Chen Bing Liu Li-Min Lu Source Type: research
Parallel gene size and isoform expansion of ancient neuronal genes
Curr Biol. 2024 Mar 5:S0960-9822(24)00163-5. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.02.021. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTHow nervous systems evolved is a central question in biology. A diversity of synaptic proteins is thought to play a central role in the formation of specific synapses leading to nervous system complexity. The largest animal genes, often spanning hundreds of thousands of base pairs, are known to be enriched for expression in neurons at synapses and are frequently mutated or misregulated in neurological disorders and diseases. Although many of these genes have been studied independently in the context of nervous system ...
Source: Current Biology - March 9, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Matthew J McCoy Andrew Z Fire Source Type: research
Trade-offs, trade-ups, and high mutational parallelism underlie microbial adaptation during extreme cycles of feast and famine
Curr Biol. 2024 Mar 5:S0960-9822(24)00215-X. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.02.040. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTMicrobes are evolutionarily robust organisms capable of rapid adaptation to complex stress, which enables them to colonize harsh environments. In nature, microbes are regularly challenged by starvation, which is a particularly complex stress because resource limitation often co-occurs with changes in pH, osmolarity, and toxin accumulation created by metabolic waste. Often overlooked are the additional complications introduced by eventual resource replenishment, as successful microbes must withstand rapid environmental...
Source: Current Biology - March 9, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Megan G Behringer Wei-Chin Ho Samuel F Miller Sarah B Worthan Zeer Cen Ryan Stikeleather Michael Lynch Source Type: research
Coral restoration can drive rapid reef carbonate budget recovery
Curr Biol. 2024 Feb 19:S0960-9822(24)00151-9. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.02.009. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTRestoration is increasingly seen as a necessary tool to reverse ecological decline across terrestrial and marine ecosystems.1,2 Considering the unprecedented loss of coral cover and associated reef ecosystem services, active coral restoration is gaining traction in local management strategies and has recently seen major increases in scale. However, the extent to which coral restoration may restore key reef functions is poorly understood.3,4 Carbonate budgets, defined as the balance between calcium carbonate productio...
Source: Current Biology - March 9, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Ines D Lange Tries B Razak Chris T Perry Permas B Maulana Mochyudho E Prasetya None Irwan Timothy Ac Lamont Source Type: research
Spatial heterogeneity of neo- and paleo-endemism for plants in Madagascar
Curr Biol. 2024 Mar 5:S0960-9822(24)00165-9. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.02.023. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTMadagascar is a biogeographically unique island with a remarkably high level of endemism. However, endemic taxa in Madagascar are massively threatened due to unprecedented pressures from anthropogenic habitat modification and climate change. A comprehensive phylogeny-based biodiversity evaluation of the island remains lacking. Here, we identify hotspots of taxonomic and phylogenetic plant diversity and neo- and paleo-endemism by generating a novel dated tree of life for the island. The tree is based on unprecedented s...
Source: Current Biology - March 9, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Wyckliffe Omondi Omollo Romer Narindra Rabarijaona Rindra Manasoa Ranaivoson Mijoro Rakotoarinivo Russell L Barrett Qiang Zhang Yang-Jun Lai Jian-Fei Ye Chi Toan Le Alexandre Antonelli Zhi-Duan Chen Bing Liu Li-Min Lu Source Type: research
