Evolutionary biology articles within Nature Communications

Featured

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Horizontal gene transfers are known to play an important role in prokaryote evolution but their impact and prevalence in eukaryotes is less clear. Here, the authors sequence the genomes of cheese making fungi P. roqueforti and P. camemberti, and provide evidence for recent horizontal transfers of a large genomic region.

    • Kevin Cheeseman
    • , Jeanne Ropars
    •  & Yves Brygoo

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Tigers are an endangered species and therefore understanding their genetic architecture could aid conservation efforts. Here, the authors report the first genome sequence of the Amur tiger and, through close species comparative genomic analysis, provide insight into the genome organization, evolutionary divergence and diversity of big cats.

    • Yun Sung Cho
    • , Li Hu
    •  & Jong Bhak

  • Article |

    Mutually exclusive splicing of genes is a mechanism for generating proteome diversity. Here Kollmar et al. determine the mutually exclusive spliced exome of Drosophila melanogaster and reveal insights into its evolutionary history within the Drosophilagroup.

    • Klas Hatje
    •  & Martin Kollmar

  • Article |

    The paratympanic organ in the avian middle ear is similar to the fish spiracular organ, but its developmental origin is unresolved. O'Neillet al. use fate mapping techniques to show that the avian paratympanic organ and its afferent neurons arise from a previously undiscovered neurogenic placode.

    • Paul O'Neill
    • , Siu-Shan Mak
    •  & Clare V.H. Baker

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In several Hymenoptera species - ants, bees and wasps - sexual fate is determined by the allelic composition at the complementary sex - determiner locus. This study identifies the honeybeecomplementary sex - determinerin bumble bee and ant orthologues, previously thought to be unique to the honeybee lineage.

    • Sandra Schmieder
    • , Dominique Colinet
    •  & Marylène Poirié

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Fungus-growing ants cultivate fungi for food, but it is unclear whether single ant and fungal species are exclusive to one another. This study ofC. wheeleriants and their fungi shows that each ant species has been associated with a single fungal cultivar species for millions of years and that ant speciation coincides with shifts in fungal use.

    • Natasha J. Mehdiabadi
    • , Ulrich G. Mueller
    •  & Ted R. Schultz

  • Article |

    Putative fossil melanosomes have been reported but, because their shape and size correspond well with those of bacteria, further evidence is required to confirm their identity. This study reports evidence of melanin in association with melanosome-like microbodies in an argentinoid fish eye from the early Eocene.

    • Johan Lindgren
    • , Per Uvdal
    •  & Volker Thiel

  • Article |

    Humans understand actions by making inferences about the person's intentions. Comparing humans with chimpanzees, this study shows that humans refer to the actors' faces more than chimpanzees do when observing goal-directed actions, indicating that humans view actions by integrating information from the actor.

    • Masako Myowa-Yamakoshi
    • , Céline Scola
    •  & Satoshi Hirata

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Populations of the same species living in different habitats can differ in sensory traits driving speciation, but it is not known if this variation limits gene flow. Here, a genetic and acoustic study of the bumblebee bat suggests that geographic distance, instead of echolocation divergence, limits gene flow.

    • Sébastien J. Puechmaille
    • , Meriadeg Ar Gouilh
    •  & Emma C. Teeling

  • Article |

    Modern female horses are genetically diverse but male horses are relatively homogenous. Lippoldet al. sequence the Y chromosome of nine ancient horses and detect diversity in the ancestral paternal lineage, demonstrating ancient Y-chromosomal DNA sequencing can provide insights into evolution.

    • Sebastian Lippold
    • , Michael Knapp
    •  & Michael Hofreiter

  • Article |

    Bird wings resemble the digits on the hands of dinosaurs, but which digit positions gave rise to those seen in modern birds is still unclear. In this work, long-term fate maps of the chick wing polarizing region are presented, supporting fossil data that birds descended from theropods that had digits 1, 2 and 3.

    • Matthew Towers
    • , Jason Signolet
    •  & Cheryll Tickle

  • Article |

    Male túngara frogs produce overlapping mating calls, which poses a challenge for the female frog to group and assign multiple auditory signals to the correct source. Farris and Ryan shows that, like humans, the female frogs compare and group signals using the smallest relative difference in call parameters.

    • Hamilton E. Farris
    •  & Michael J. Ryan

  • Article |

    Undulating flight, an efficient mode of locomotion in flying birds, can theoretically also result in efficient locomotion in water. Here we demonstrate gait patterns resembling undulating flight in four marine vertebrate species comprising sharks and pinnipeds.

    • Adrian C. Gleiss
    • , Salvador J. Jorgensen
    •  & Rory P. Wilson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cyanide-releasing defence systems in plants and animals are important to the evolution of plant–herbivore interactions. The authors identify the enzymes responsible for biosynthesis of cyanogenic glucosides by Six-spot Burnet moth caterpillars, which have evolved independently from the known plant pathway.

    • Niels Bjerg Jensen
    • , Mika Zagrobelny
    •  & Søren Bak

  • Article |

    Seahorses evolved from pipefish, which have a remarkably different body shape. Here, by examining seahorse feeding behaviour and using a mathematical model, Van Wassenberghet al. demonstrate that the head, neck and trunk posture of the seahorse allows for the effective capture of their prey.

    • Sam Van Wassenbergh
    • , Gert Roos
    •  & Lara Ferry

Browse broader subjects

Browse Evolutionary biology across other nature.com journals