📄 Category

evolutionary biology

389 papers

Evolutionary biology explores the dynamic history of life on Earth, tracing how species change, adapt, and diversify over time. This field investigates the mechanisms driving everything from the development of antibiotic resistance in bacteria to the complex social behaviors of primates, revealing the deep connections that bind all living organisms together.

On Gist.Science, we ensure these groundbreaking discoveries remain accessible by processing every new preprint uploaded to bioRxiv in this category. Our team generates both plain-language overviews and detailed technical summaries for each paper, bridging the gap between raw research and public understanding without requiring a specialized background.

Below are the latest studies in evolutionary biology, offering fresh insights into the ongoing story of life.

📄 evolutionary biology

Rare variants drive high variance in human ancestral fitness at mutation-selection-drift balance

By correcting empirical estimates of deleterious mutation rates to include slightly deleterious variants, this study demonstrates that rare and ultra-rare mutations drive substantial variance in human ancestral fitness, potentially explaining the "missing heritability" in complex diseases and highlighting the need to assess unique mutations rather than relying solely on polygenic risk scores.

Hernandez, U., Mawass, W., Matheson, J., Masel, J.2026-07-31
📄 evolutionary biology

Biogeography and cryptic diversity of the ancient centipede genus Digitipes (Scolopendromorpha) in South and Southeast Asia

This study integrates phylogenetics, species delimitation, and biogeographic modeling to reveal that the ancient centipede genus *Digitipes* originated in Gondwana around 126 million years ago, subsequently diversified through a combination of vicariance and dispersal events (including an Out-of-India migration to Southeast Asia), and harbors significantly higher cryptic diversity than previously recognized.

Dash, P., Roy, P., Joshi, J.2026-07-30
📄 evolutionary biology

The highly heterozygous European amphioxus (Branchiostoma lanceolatum) at the edge of panmixia

This study reveals that the European amphioxus (*Branchiostoma lanceolatum*) possesses exceptionally high genomic diversity driven by a large effective population size and extensive gene flow via long-distance larval dispersal, resulting in a near-panmictic population structure despite the limited mobility of adults.

Braso-Vives, M., Hartasanchez, D. A., Pulido, A., Bertrand, S., Escriva, H., Robinson-Rechavi, M.2026-07-28
📄 evolutionary biology

338 coleopteran genomes reveal exceptional rearrangement variation compared to other insect orders

An analysis of 338 beetle genomes reveals that Coleoptera exhibit exceptionally high rates of chromosomal rearrangement compared to other insect orders, characterized by the complete loss of ancestral linkage groups, frequent X-autosome fusions, and a strong association between rapid karyotype evolution and major species radiations.

Maulana, A., Bliznina, A., Ebdon, S., Thorpe, J. T., Gries, J., Nasvall, K., McKenna, D. D., Krasheninnikova, K., Santos (…)2026-07-22
📄 evolutionary biology

Relaxed selection and convergent loss erode the retained plant-cell-wall-degrading enzymes of ectomycorrhizal fungi

By analyzing 182 fungal genomes, this study reveals that the reduced plant-cell-wall-degrading enzyme repertoire in ectomycorrhizal fungi results from both convergent gene loss and the relaxation of selective constraints on retained dedicated enzymes, indicating that gene counts and residue integrity significantly overstate their actual lignocellulolytic capacity.

MinSeo, K., Shin, J.-H.2026-07-22
📄 evolutionary biology

From diet to defense: serpin duplication and gene-expression evolution as putative contributors to poison-frog alkaloid sequestration

This study reveals that the evolution of alkaloid sequestration in poison frogs is driven by the diversification of ligand-binding serpin genes and coordinated changes in the expression of transport and metabolic genes.

Coleman, J. L., Le, V. S., Yagudayeva Rozenberg, G., Siddique, M. A. B., Paez-Vacas, M. I., Salazar-Valenzuela, D., Dixo (…)2026-07-18