Evolutionary genetics

Evolutionary genetics is the study of how genetic variation leads to evolutionary change. It includes topics such as the evolution of genome structure, the genetic basis of speciation and adaptation, and genetic change in response to selection within populations.

Latest Research and Reviews

Research | 20 June 2022

Gene regulation in Escherichia coli is commonly selected for both high plasticity and low noise

Comparing the regulatory behaviour of naturally segregating promoter variants to randomly mutated promoters, the authors demonstrate both stabilizing and directional selection that reduce variation in phenotype.
- Markéta Vlková
- & Olin K. Silander
Nature Ecology & Evolution, 1-15
Research
17 June 2022 | Open Access

Bifurcation drives the evolution of assembly-line biosynthesis

Reprogramming biosynthetic assembly-lines is a topic of interest for antibiotics. Here, the authors explore the evolutionary biosynthesis of anti-tubercular wollamides, show gene duplication and neo-functionalisation results in bifurcation allowing for testing of new structures with the ability to recover old structures by gene loss.
- Thomas J. Booth
- , Kenan A. J. Bozhüyük
- & Barrie Wilkinson
Nature Communications 13, 3498
Research
16 June 2022 | Open Access

Genome-wide association study of musical beat synchronization demonstrates high polygenicity

Niarchou et al. identify 69 genomic loci associated with people’s synchronization to a musical beat. The genetic architecture of beat synchronization was enriched for genes involved in early brain development and lifelong brain function.
- Maria Niarchou
- , Daniel E. Gustavson
- & Reyna L. Gordon
Nature Human Behaviour, 1-18
Research
16 June 2022 | Open Access

Liver-derived cell lines from cavefish Astyanax mexicanus as an in vitro model for studying metabolic adaptation
- Jaya Krishnan
- , Yan Wang
- & Nicolas Rohner
Scientific Reports 12, 10115
Research | 16 June 2022

A polar bear paleogenome reveals extensive ancient gene flow from polar bears into brown bears

A paleogenome from an approximately 100,000-year-old polar bear shows massive prehistoric, and largely unidirectional, gene flow from polar bears into brown bears at a time of climate change-induced overlap in the ranges of the two species. This admixture event cannot be detected using genomic data from living polar bears.
- Ming-Shan Wang
- , Gemma G. R. Murray
- & Beth Shapiro
Nature Ecology & Evolution, 1-9
Research
16 June 2022 | Open Access

The 3D architecture of the pepper genome and its relationship to function and evolution

The organization of chromatin into self-interacting domains is universal among eukaryotic genomes. Here, the authors report a reference-grade pepper genome assembly and use this reference to help describe the relationship among 3D chromatin conformation, chromatin function, and gene expression.
- Yi Liao
- , Juntao Wang
- & Changming Chen
Nature Communications 13, 3479

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News and Comment

Research Highlights | 19 May 2022

Turning gene loss into phenotypic gain

Gene loss is followed by the rapid emergence of new phenotypes owing to compensatory evolution, finds a recent study using experimental evolution of budding yeast lineages.
- Linda Koch
Nature Reviews Genetics 23, 393
News & Views | 14 April 2022

Weaklings make trouble

An analysis of phenotypic skew — the asymmetrical distributions of traits — explores how it can bias estimates of inheritance and selection, and how to correct for those biases.
- David Houle
Nature Ecology & Evolution 6, 671-672
Research Highlights | 31 March 2022

Retrotransposons: still mobile in humans

In this Journal Club article, Geoff Faulkner discusses how a ground-breaking study of LINE-1 mobility in human genomes demonstrated not just a role in disease but also molecular details of the mechanisms of retrotransposition.
- Geoffrey J. Faulkner
Nature Reviews Genetics, 1
News & Views | 24 February 2022

The emergence of COVID-19 vaccine resistance depends on human choices

The probability of the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine-resistant variants depends on the number of daily infections permitted by society, and the rate and penetrance of vaccination. Rapidly vaccinating all eligible people while maintaining strict physical distancing measures can prevent the evolution of vaccine resistance.

Nature Human Behaviour 6, 181-182
Research Highlights | 22 February 2022

Vavilov’s law and phenotypes across species

Michael Purugganan reflects on a 100-year-old publication by Nikolai Vavilov, which postulated a new law of genetics from which key evolutionary insights emerged and which guided future molecular genetic investigations.
- Michael D. Purugganan
Nature Reviews Genetics 23, 262-263
Research Highlights | 21 February 2022

Tracking haplotypes to quantify genome erosion

Using whole-genome sequencing and haplotype tracking, Viluma et al. show that the small, highly inbred Scandinavian wolf population has lost substantial genetic diversity over a 30-year period. Their findings have important implications for the management and conservation of endangered species.
- Dorothy Clyde
Nature Reviews Genetics 23, 197

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Evolutionary genetics

Latest Research and Reviews

Gene regulation in Escherichia coli is commonly selected for both high plasticity and low noise

Bifurcation drives the evolution of assembly-line biosynthesis

Genome-wide association study of musical beat synchronization demonstrates high polygenicity

Liver-derived cell lines from cavefish Astyanax mexicanus as an in vitro model for studying metabolic adaptation

A polar bear paleogenome reveals extensive ancient gene flow from polar bears into brown bears

The 3D architecture of the pepper genome and its relationship to function and evolution

News and Comment

Turning gene loss into phenotypic gain

Weaklings make trouble

Retrotransposons: still mobile in humans

The emergence of COVID-19 vaccine resistance depends on human choices

Vavilov’s law and phenotypes across species

Tracking haplotypes to quantify genome erosion

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