All Ecology & Evolution articles
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NewsResistant bacteria are favored in hospital sewers – responsible antibiotics identified
A study examined sewer systems and wastewater from hospitals and municipal treatment plants in eight Swedish cities. Sewage from all ten hospitals promoted antibiotic-resistant bacteria, while no such effects were found after exposure to sewage from the corresponding municipal treatment plants.
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NewsHow evolutionary changes in a key enzyme may have tuned the protein synthesis rate
Evolutionary changes in key protein synthesis enzyme, isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase (IleRS), may help bacteria fine-tune how quickly proteins are made, report researchers. Researchers traced the enzyme’s evolutionary history and identified three distinct IleRS clades.
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NewsTranslucent petals create microclimates that shape flower microbiomes
Translucent patches in flower petals can alter the light and heat inside blooms, creating tiny microclimates that shape the microbes living there. Researchers found that warmer flowers tended to harbour fewer microbes, suggesting that petal structure may influence floral microbiomes and potentially plant-pollinator interactions.
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NewsAncient virus may have helped shape differences between human and chimpanzee brains
A virus that infected chimpanzees millions of years ago may have left a lasting mark on brain development. Researchers found that a viral DNA remnant silences a gene involved in early brain development in chimpanzees, while the same gene remains active in humans.
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NewsScientists discover migration-mediated mechanism enabling bacteria-virus coexistence
A study shows how collective movement enables viruses to persist with migrating bacterial colonies while minimizing the risk of either complete viral takeover or bacterial escape.
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NewsHow plants unwittingly help fungal pathogens
Infecting a maize plant is no simple task for a fungal pathogen such as Ustilago maydis. A group of researchers has now uncovered how the fungus detects that it has successfully entered its host. This signal triggers changes in fungal growth.
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NewsResearchers discover Achilles’ heel of antibiotic-resistant bacteria
Even highly antibiotic-resistant bacteria become more vulnerable when their cell wall transport system is disrupted, according to a new study. The discovery reveals a previously overlooked weakness that could help researchers develop new strategies to combat antibiotic resistance.
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NewsResearchers engineer the first bacterial biocatalyst of a toolbox to produce greener pharma and food ingredients
To produce pharmaceuticals, food ingredients, and flavours and fragrances, it is often necessary to oxidise alcohols. But there is a more sustainable route: living organisms, including fungi, produce galactose oxidases, proteins that can carry out the same reactions on alcohols and simple sugars under mild conditions, using oxygen.
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NewsBacteria DNA has evolved to withstand copper
Marine bacteria have evolved to bypass the copper-based coatings placed under ships to stop the growth of barnacles, algae, and other marine life. This necessitates new methods for managing biofouling — the unwanted accumulation of marine organisms — on ship hulls.
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NewsTiny marine microbe sheds new light on how little genetic machinery a cell needs to survive
Scientists have discovered a previously unknown microorganism, which has the smallest genome ever found, that is possibly able to replicate and express its own genetic information. Candidatus Sukunaarchaeum mirabile belongs to the archaea, a group of single-celled organisms that are fundamentally different to bacteria.
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NewsBeetles build with a yellow pigment gene
More than 80 years ago scientists discovered that differences in yellow pigmentation were critical to courtship success and failure for fruit flies. New research has added a deeper perspective to the study of Yellow, showing how in tortoise beetles this protein has been co-opted as a building material to house symbiotic bacteria.
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NewsGut microbes across continents trace ancient human migration
A new study has attempted to answer the question of whether homo sapiens hosted a characteristic and diverse microbiome going back millennia. Gaining insight into which, if any, long-term residents of the microbiome co-evolved with humans could point to ways to investigate how the loss of microbial diversity through industrialization impacts human biology.
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NewsDistinct malaria parasites “hidden in plain sight” may contribute to human disease protection
A new study that investigates the genetics of people and malaria parasites has found that people with the sickle cell variant are almost exclusively infected by a distinct variety of malaria parasites, which might contribute to their lower rates of disease.
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NewsScientists propose an endosymbiont-mediated framework for cryptic speciation in insects
Endosymbionts drive ecological divergence by conferring different physiological capabilities on hosts, providing the impetus for population differentiation under natural selection, a new paper suggests.
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NewsTiny marine worms shop around for bacterial partners
Like shoppers wandering between market stalls, tiny gutless marine worms appear to pick and change the bacterial partners they depend on for survival. A new study suggests this flexibility may help the worms tap into different sources of food and energy and adapt to changing environments.
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NewsCOVID-19 immunity may help protect against other bat coronaviruses
Scientists have found that bat coronaviruses most likely to infect a wide range of animal species are those most closely related to SARS-CoV-2 and most likely to be recognised by immunity generated through COVID-19 infection.
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NewsBacterial immunity—or a form of sex?
Researchers have found that, under starvation stress, E. coli can use bacteriophages and CRISPR-Cas immunity to transfer and incorporate DNA, accelerating genetic reshuffling. The process resembles a primitive form of sexual reproduction and may help bacterial populations adapt to changing conditions.
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NewsCrawling Asgardians: Unexpected dynamics of ancient microbes discovered
Microbiologists placed Asgard archaea in an oxygen-free environment and filmed the living cells under a microscope. This resulted in the first live-cell recordings, which show dynamic changes in shape and a novel crawling movement across surfaces. The results reveal a remarkably dynamic, actin-based cytoskeleton, with parallels to that found in human cells.
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NewsThe Andes were supposed to stop this cacao killer - they didn’t
Black pod disease destroys up to a quarter of the world’s cacao every year. A study provides the first comprehensive portrait of Phytophthora palmivora’s genetic structure in Colombia. Researchers genotyped and virulence-tested 73 isolates gathered from 48 locations across the country’s three main cacao-growing regions.
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NewsNew type of human jumping gene found in a poxvirus
Until now, no one has observed a human gene that is both mobile and required for bodily functions. Scientists have found a human genetic element in a poxvirus and discovered it was both an important gene for brain function and a jumping gene capable of moving and inserting itself in genomes.