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.
This genomic investigation reveals that *Clonostachys rosea* comprises both ancestral heterothallic and derived homothallic lineages, with the latter originating in South America and exhibiting distinct patterns of nucleotide diversity and linkage disequilibrium that reflect their self-fertile reproductive strategy.
Using a highly replicated *Drosophila* experimental evolution system, this study demonstrates that selection for postponed reproduction drives convergent, polygenic adaptations that extend lifespan and enhance immune defense through allele frequency shifts in genes primarily associated with neural development and morphogenesis rather than canonical aging pathways.
Through an integrative analysis of genomic, allelic, and morphological data, this study resolves the complex systematics of the rapidly radiating Asiatic white-eye group, revealing deep phylogenetic splits and distinct morphological evolution while concluding that many observed population differences, such as the paraphyletic *Z. montanus*, likely do not yet represent fully independent species lineages.
Phylogenomic analyses using targeted capture data reveal that the New Zealand alpine conifer *Podocarpus nivalis* originated as a hybrid between the New Zealand species *P. laetus* and the Australian *P. lawrencei*, highlighting the significance of reticulate evolution in Southern Hemisphere conifers.
This study reveals that while early SARS-CoV-variant evolution was driven by increasing infectivity, subsequent selective sweeps were primarily fueled by the additive accumulation of mutations enhancing immune escape, allowing successful strains to maintain high infectivity while continuously evolving antigenicity.
By comparing single-cell transcriptomes of the calcareous sponge *Sycon capricorn* with those of demosponges and cnidarians, this study validates Haeckel's hypothesis that sponge body layers (choanoderm and pinacoderm) are homologous to eumetazoan germ layers (endoderm and ectoderm), positioning sponges as an intermediate evolutionary step between protists and complex animals.
This study provides a detailed morphological characterization of the moulting process in the Atlantic horseshoe crab (*Limulus polyphemus*), establishing a non-invasive method for staging development while revealing that its ecdysis patterns reflect both phylogenetic conservation with other chelicerates and evolutionary convergence across arthropods.
Using a mathematical model based on *Drosophila melanogaster*, this study demonstrates that while seminal fluid proteins initially appear to drive sexual conflict by delaying female remating, they ultimately mitigate this conflict by providing females with a flexible range of remating intervals that enhances reproductive resilience and selectivity.
This study reveals that in the polygynous greater spear-nosed bat, males and older individuals mount stronger inflammatory responses with males exhibiting accelerated immunosenescence linked to their higher mortality, while social status appears to have little impact on immune variation.
This study reveals that transposable element diversity in polychaetes is significantly lower in thermally unstable environments like hydrothermal vents, suggesting that natural selection balances thermal stress-induced transposition against the accumulation of deleterious mutations to maintain sustainable genome-wide mutation rates.