evolutionary biology 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

Phylogeny and gene function integration uncovers multiple convergences in multicellular and terrestrial transitions

By integrating phylogenomics with functional annotations across 508 species, this study reveals that major evolutionary transitions to multicellularity and terrestrial life are characterized by widespread convergent enrichment of semantically similar biological functions, often achieved through both independent gene family expansions and the recruitment of ancient orthologous genes.

Diwan, G. D., Natsidis, P., Chung, M.-e., Gonzalez, J. C., Guigo, R., Colbourne, J., Telford, M. J., Russell, R. B.2026-01-26

📄 evolutionary biology

Ancient persistence and newfound diversity of CR1-group retrotransposons across chordates

This study leverages long-read sequencing to provide the first comprehensive chordate-wide analysis of CR1-group retrotransposons, revealing ancient origins, unprecedented diversity, novel elements, and frequent horizontal transfer events that reshape our understanding of their evolutionary history.

Stuart, A. J., Du, Z., Hassan, N. T., Adelson, D. L.2026-01-26

📄 evolutionary biology

Gene-Culture Coevolution Favours the Emergence of Traditions in Mate Choice through Conformist Social Learning

This study demonstrates that gene-culture coevolution in mate choice enables the emergence of persistent cultural traditions through simple social learning strategies, challenging the long-held assumption that sophisticated conformist transmission is strictly necessary for tradition formation.

Federico, D., Cosme, M., Dechaume-Moncharmont, F.-X., Ferdy, J.-B., Pocheville, A.2026-01-24

📄 evolutionary biology

A Statistical Framework to Infer the Mutation Model of Tandem Repeat Variants

The paper introduces TRAMA, a computational framework that leverages ancestral recombination graphs to accurately estimate mutation rates and select between Stepwise and Two-Phase mutation models for tandem repeat variants.

Luna, L. G. F., Iturbe, S., Adam, C., Pope, N. S., Ortega-Del Vecchyo, D., Rohlfs, R.2026-01-24

📄 evolutionary biology

Inference of germinal center evolutionary dynamics via simulation-based deep learning

This paper employs deep learning and simulation-based inference to determine the unknown relationship between B cell affinity and fecundity, termed the "affinity-fitness response function," by analyzing data from repeated germinal center experiments.

Ralph, D. K., Bakis, A. G., Galloway, J., Vora, A. A., Araki, T., Song, Y. S., DeWitt, W. S., Matsen, F. A.2026-01-22

📄 evolutionary biology

Deciphering chromosome fusion in D. miranda's neo-sex chromosome through single-copy and repetitive oligo probes

This study integrates OligoMiner and OligoY pipelines to design and validate novel single-copy and repetitive oligo probe libraries that enable comprehensive fluorescence in situ hybridization painting of *Drosophila miranda* neo-sex chromosomes, revealing complex evolutionary mechanisms such as translocations and inversions while providing a robust tool for studying chromosome dynamics across diverse genomic regions.

Bruno, H., Almeida, I., D. Vibranovski, M.2026-01-22

📄 evolutionary biology

Deconvolving Phylogenetic Distance Mixtures

This paper introduces the Phylogenetic Distance Deconvolution (PDD) problem and the DecoDiPhy algorithm, which improve metagenomic mixture analysis by simultaneously addressing evolutionary dependencies and data noise through a multi-placement approach that consolidates reads onto a reference phylogeny to enhance downstream accuracy.

Arasti, S., Sapci, A. O. B., Rachtman, E., El-Kebir, M., Mirarab, S.2026-01-21

📄 evolutionary biology

FastSpeciesTree: Fast and Scalable Species tree Inference

FastSpeciesTree is a fully automated, single-command tool that rapidly and accurately infers large-scale species trees from genomic data, outperforming existing methods in speed while maintaining high accuracy comparable to manual curation.

Holmes, J., Kelly, S.2026-01-21

📄 evolutionary biology

Successful strategies in the voluntarily repeated Prisoner's Dilemma

This paper demonstrates that in a repeated Prisoner's Dilemma environment characterized by frequent strategy introduction, behavioral errors, and the option to leave, cooperation is sustained at higher levels through partner-switching strategies that sanction cheaters by exiting, rather than through classical retaliatory strategies like Tit-for-Tat.

Izquierdo, L. R., Izquierdo, S. S., Boyd, R. T.2026-01-20

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