Comparing Neanderthal Introgression Maps Reveals Core Agreement But Substantial Heterogeneity Abstract. Statistical methods to identify Neanderthal ancestry in modern human genomes rest on varying assumptions and inputs. Nonetheless, most studies of

@yaenc.bsky.social Velazquez-Arcelay & Capra compared 14 Neanderthal introgression maps, highlighting a core set of regions predicted by nearly all methods, as well as substantial heterogeneity in commonly used introgression maps.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag064

#evobio #molbio #humanevolution

MBE | Highlight: Ancient oceans, New skeletons—innovations in silicon transport shaped sponge skeletal evolution

This month's article on skeleton evolution in sponges is the focus of a new Highlight by SMBE Fellow Ioanna Kotari @janekay27.bsky.social

Highlight: Ancient oceans, New skeletons—innovations in silicon transport shaped sponge skeletal evolution
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag054

#evobio #molbio

MBE | Evolutionary genomic basis of mimicry diversity of Epicopeiidae moths

Li et al. studied the genomic basis of mimicry in Epicopeiidae moths, finding that TE-driven regulatory innovation rewired developmental gene networks, facilitating the emergence of multiple mimetic forms.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag060

#evobio #molbio #mimicry

MBE | From Adam's rib: the Siberian moth's female W chromosome is derived from its Z counterpart Dendrolimus laying eggs on the needles of a conifer. Author: V. V. Remorov

Shipova et al. show that the female W chromosome of the Siberian moth pest is derived from the male Z, proposing that this mechanism may be common in lepidopteran evolution to counteract non-recombining chromosome degeneration.

📷 V. V. Remorov

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag055

#evobio #molbio

An enzyme's metal preference evolves through redox modulation driven by the cofactor's secondary coordination sphere Abstract. Changes in protein properties and functions are central to the evolution of life. Metalloproteins can evolve by changing their preference from on

Mackenzie, @waldronlab.bsky.social et al. argue that differing superoxide dismutase metal preferences observed across the tree of life evolved through tuning of their redox properties by the secondary coordination sphere.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag040

#evobio #molbio

Displacement-Optimized Tanglegrams for Trees and Networks Abstract. Phylogenetic trees and networks play a central role in biology, bioinformatics, and mathematical biology, and producing clear, informative visual

Daniel Huson introduces displacement-optimized tanglegrams (DO-tanglegrams), a new approach that applies equally to trees and rooted phylogenetic networks, performing better than cophylo on trees and then NN-tanglegram on networks.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag066

#evobio #molbio #compbio

piqtree: a python package for seamless phylogenetic inference with IQ-TREE Abstract. piqtree (pronounced pie-cue-tree) is an easy to use, open-source Python package that provides Python script based control of IQ-TREE’s phylogenet

McArthur et al. present piqtree, an easy to use, open-source Python package that provides Python script based control of IQ-TREE’s phylogenetic inference engine.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag061

#evobio #molbio #compbio

MBE | Stoichiometry-induced differential selection on codon optimization among ribosomal protein genes in bacterial species

@xuhuaxia.bsky.social shows that codon usage in bacteria is more optimized in long ribosomal protein genes; results demonstrate that translation optimization reflects functional stoichiometry and protein length constraints.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag062

#evobio #molbio

#quotes #books #booksky #excerpts #citations #howtogrowahuman #ball #gene #genome #genenetwork #complexity #interaction #molbio #genes #blackbox

MBE | Innovations in Silicon Transport Shaped the Rise of Biosilicification and Skeletal Evolution in Sponges

Leria and Maldonado show sponge's skeletons likely arose as an adaptive response in early askeletal sponges to the damaging, silicic acid-rich Precambrian oceans; this adaptation evolved independently four times within Porifera.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag047

#evobio #molbio #sponge

OrthoGarden: a pipeline for propagating phylogenetic trees for nonmodel organisms from short reads and de novo genome assemblies Abstract. Phylogenomics pipelines are designed to reconstruct evolutionary relationships among groups of organisms. Existing pipelines are dependent upon r

Turner et al. introduce OrthoGarden, an automated and containerized de novo assembly-based phylogenomics pipeline aimed at recovering accurate and reproducible phylogenies from any combination of short reads and assemblies.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag053

#evobio #molbio #compbio

Escape from X inactivation drives sex differences in gene expression Abstract. X chromosome inactivation (XCI) partially balances gene dosage between sexes; yet, many genes are expressed from the inactive X (Xi) to a variabl

@carriezhu.bsky.social , @xliaoyi.bsky.social & @arbelharpak.bsky.social find that inactive X expression levels are a strong linear predictor of female-male expression differences.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molb...

#evobio #molbio

📢 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬: 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 🧪

Submit your research, reviews, or letters on significant advances in cell biology and integrative science. 🧬

📌 Editor-in-Chief: Masayoshi Yamaguchi
🔗 Submit here: https://bit.ly/4blRwOR

#CellBiology #MolBio #Bioscience #ScienceSky #AcademicSky

HaploThread: a scalable desktop tool for efficient haplotype network inference and interactive visualization Abstract. This note introduces HaploThread, a user-friendly desktop software with a graphical user interface designed for constructing and visualizing hapl

Xu et al. introduce HaploThread, a user-friendly desktop software with a graphical user interface designed for constructing and visualizing haplotype networks.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molb...

#evobio #molbio #compbio

MBE | Holostean genomes reveal evolutionary novelty in the vertebrate immunoproteasome that have implications for MHCI function

Barker et al. investigate the evolution of PSMB8, a core component of the immunoproteasome, suggesting that the unique PSMB8 types in holosteans contribute to a molecular basis of immune surveillance that is unlike that of other vertebrates.

🔗 academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...

#evobio #molbio

The Genetic Architecture of Venom Resistance: A Novel Approach to Target Identification and Coevolutionary Discovery Abstract. All species evolve under selective pressures that emerge from their interactions, often antagonistic, with other species. Phenotypes mediating sp

Ward, @drokyta.bsky.social et al. investigated the genetics of venom resistance using venom of the Florida blue centipede and Drosophila melanogaster as model prey, revealing a stark contrast in the nature of venom resistance between prey sexes.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag048

#evobio #molbio

MBE | Large-scale genomic phylogeography provides insights into evolutionary history and conservation priorities of the white-bellied pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis)

Gu et al. leveraged hundreds of genomes and mitogenomes of the African white-bellied pangolin, uncovering the evolutionary history of this species and indicating the need for urgent attention and priority conservation action.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag049

#evobio #molbio

Intraspecific genome size variation is attributed to adaptive silencing of transposable elements in Hordeum species Abstract. A substantial variation in genome size has been observed among individuals of the same species. Theory predicts that increased genome size may co

Potapenko et al. studied two species of barley, finding that TE silencing is central to genome size regulation, with selection maintaining smaller genomes among individuals with higher fitness in favorable habitats.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag051

#evobio #molbio #TEsky #PlantSky

Molecular Biology and Evolution | March 2026 cover

The March cover of Molecular Biology and Evolution features the work of Leria and Maldonado, who investigated biosilicification and skeletal evolution in sponges.

Follow the link for this month's articles:
🔗 academic.oup.com/mbe/issue/43/3

#evobio #molbio #societyjournal

Molecular clock dating using complex mixture models: applied to ancient symbionts Abstract. Molecular clocks are a fundamental technique in evolutionary biology for establishing the timing and tempo of organismal divergence. However, cur

@sishuowang.bsky.social & Meade introduce phyloHessian, using complex mixture substitution models in molecular dating. Empirical analysis of ancient symbiont lineages leads to a revised understanding of their host association origins.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag039

#evobio #molbio #compbio

Tiny, 45 base long RNA can make copies of itself Self-copying RNAs may have been a key stop along the pathway to life.

🔄 Tiny, 45 base long RNA can make copies of itself

arstechnica.com/science/2026...

#rna #molecules #replication #molbio

Defective splicing of Y-chromosome-linked gigantic genes contributes to hybrid male sterility in Drosophila Abstract. The Y chromosome evolves rapidly, often differing dramatically even between closely related species. While such divergence has long been suspecte

Fontan et al. show that sequence divergence within introns can disrupt essential gene expression through defective splicing, providing a mechanistic link between rapid Y chr. evolution and hybrid sterility.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag045

#evobio #molbio #drosophila

@jullienflynn.bsky.social

MitoNGS: an online platform to analyze fish metabarcoding data in high resolution Abstract. Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding has become a powerful tool for assessing fish biodiversity in aquatic ecosystems. However, accurate specie

Zhu, @susumu31.bsky.social et al. present MitoNGS, a platform designed for high-resolution analysis of fish metabarcoding data that allows for fish detection, biodiversity monitoring, conservation research, and bioresource management.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag046

#evobio #molbio

@jomcinerney.bsky.social proposes that genomes do not encode fixed functions but rather “probability distributions” over functional and phenotypic outcomes, and introduces “genomic perplexity” as a measure of gene-context incompatibility.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag041

#evobio #molbio

MBE | Mammalian mitochondrial DNA accumulates insertions and deletions with age in energetically demanding tissues

@edmundotogo.bsky.social et al. studied de novo indel mtDNA mutations across multiple age groups in three mammalian species, showing that indels accumulate rapidly with age in somatic tissues with high energetic demand or high proliferation.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molb...

#evobio #molbio #mtDNA

The core-pivotal index: a geometry-first approach to academic impact The defining goal of the academic endeavor is to establish a single perfect value that completely summarizes entire careers’ achievements. Such an index wo

@russcd.bsky.social ushers in a new era of academic metrics with the core-pivotal author index, which assigns all credit to authors that occupy the exact center of the author list, while non-central peripheral authors receive no credit whatsoever.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag026

#evobio #molbio

MBE | The role of society journals in protecting the scientific record

MBE Editors-in-Chief Claudia Russo and Brandon Gaut publish a new editorial on the role of society journals in protecting the scientific record.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag022

#evobio #molbio #societyjournal

@claurusso.bsky.social @bsgaut.bsky.social

Molecular Biology and Evolution A new look, the same rigor and commitment to the community

🙌 The new logo of Molecular Biology and Evolution is now live!

This new look will carry us forward while maintaining the same rigor and commitment to the molecular evolutionist community as an SMBE journal.

#evobio #molbio #science #biology #societyjournal

Leveraging low-cost short-read sequencing: revolutionizing complex trait genetics Abstract. The genetics of complex traits has been fundamentally transformed by the dramatic reduction in short-read sequencing costs, leading to a dramatic

Ruckman & Long review how affordable sequencing is transforming complex trait research, focusing on how affordable sequencing has fundamentally reshaped what questions evolutionary researchers can ask and how they can answer them.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag025

#evobio #molbio

MBE | The evolutionary genomics of meiotic drive Meiotic drivers gain transmission advantages by distorting equal, Mendelian segregation. This review discusses the evolutionary genomics of meiotic drive. The figure highlights the interactions of meiotic drive elements with other classes of selfish genetic elements including: direct interactions between drivers and transposable elements (TEs) (A) or satellites (C) that can facilitate the spread of drivers; other drive systems that cause the mutual destruction of all gametes (B; e.g. the presence of multiple toxin-antidote systems); indirect interactions where the host machinery responsible for silencing TEs are recruited to silence drivers (D); dosage-sensitive interactions involving sex-linked drivers that result in gene amplifications (E); and tradeoffs between suppressing drive and TEs (F).

For a new MBE Review, Presgraves et al. argue that many features of genome evolution, content, and organization seemingly inexplicable by adaptation or nearly neutral processes are instead best accounted for by meiotic drive.

🔗 academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...

#evobio #molbio