All Ecology & Evolution articles – Page 2
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NewsSabiá virus has been circulating in Brazil for 142 years and mutating, study finds
Researchers developed a new method and identified the infection in two patients who died from acute hemorrhagic and neurological syndrome in São Paulo in 2019 and 2020.
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NewsAsteroid impact site reveals possible traces of early life
Scientists have uncovered new evidence that could help explain how Earth’s atmosphere became rich in oxygen, one of the most transformative events in the planet’s history. Researchers report finding stromatolites, layered structures formed by microbial communities, within the only confirmed impact crater on the Korean Peninsula.
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NewsAgricultural azoles drive clinical azole resistance in Candida tropicalis via inducing aneuploidy
To define the causal role of agricultural azole fungicides in driving clinical azole resistance in the major human opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida tropicalis, researchers conducted a systematic study integrating experimental evolution, genomic characterization, and transcriptomic profiling.
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NewsMicrofossils interpreted as animal traces were actually algae and bactéria
A reexamination of microfossils found in Brazil shows that the marks previously interpreted as traces of worms or other small oceanic animals are actually communities of fossilized microscopic bacteria and algae.
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NewsStudy reveals how strawberries and raspberries were ambushed by fungal parasites
Plant diseases often arise when the pathogens that cause disease are introduced into new territories where native plants don’t recognize the pathogen and therefore may have minimal defenses against it. But how often does the reverse happen?
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NewsFrom ocean to gut: The bacteria that shape both human health and marine carbon cycling
A group of researchers has discovered that Akkermansia bacteria are not unique to our guts, but can also be found in the ocean. In both habitats they use similar skills to ensure their survival and success. They seem to carry an old and widespread survival toolkit.
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NewsResearchers track the mutations that allow HIV-1 to escape broadly neutralizing antibodies
Scientists have established the most comprehensive view to date of how HIV-1 can escape broadly neutralizing antibodies. They have discovered viral mutations that make HIV-1 strains resistant to two bNAbs, 3BNC117 and 10-1074.
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NewsEvolutionary processes shape bacterial populations in the human gut
Researchers used the ‘reverse ecology’ analytical approach to demonstrate that many known gut bacterial species consist of several evolutionarily distinct groups that have adapted to different conditions in the gut.
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NewsGenetic ‘bonus material’ makes the gut bacterium Segatella copri oxygen-tolerant
Researchers have found that some strains of the gut bacterium Segatella copri possess bonus material that makes them more oxygen tolerant. The presence of the molecular regulator OxyR is crucial for this. The team discovered that strains carrying OxyR are particularly prevalent in industrialized regions of the world.
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NewsFungi utilize ancient antimicrobial proteins to attack hosts and their microbiomes
An international research team has discovered the surprising evolutionary origin of fungal effector proteins: molecules that pathogens use today to infect their hosts appear to have evolved from ancient antimicrobial proteins.
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NewsEarly life on Earth relied on a surprisingly scarce metal
A new study shows that 3.4 billion years ago, life on Earth relied on a metal called molybdenum, despite its limited availability at the time. It is the first to trace molybdenum’s use this far back in time.
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NewsMass mating event reveals how yeast find the perfect match
When choosing mates, yeast organisms tend to pick partners that may increase the chances of their offspring’s success, according to a new study which revealed a link between the success of the parents and the genetic distance between them, and the success of their offspring.
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NewsIn mice, viruses gain virulence in some individuals, depending on genetics and sex
New research demonstrates that some hosts appear to serve as “evolutionary accelerators” that could enable viruses to gain virulence more quickly.
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NewsData from Earth’s most remote atoll show soil fungi are key to island regeneration
Palmyra Atoll, a remote, uninhabited speck of land, coral and sea halfway between Hawaiʻi and American Samoa, is one of the healthiest, intact atolls on the planet—so ecologically sensitive that visiting researchers freeze their clothes at night to kill invasive species. Source: NASA NLT Landsat 7 (Visible Color) ...
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NewsSelf‑replicating circular RNA persists in extreme environments: Insights from hot spring microbiomes
Researchers who previously identified a highly unusual RNA virus in a high-temperature hot spring ecosystem searched for distinct types of self-replicating RNAs in a similar extreme environment, and a novel circular RNA replicon was identified within the microbial community inhabiting the hot spring.
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NewsRare orchid Paphiopedilum purpuratum mediates adaptation via a dual-fungal strategy
Paphiopedilum purpuratum, an endangered orchid species with critical conservation value, faces severe challenges in ex situ adaptation despite successful reproductive output. A novel study reveals the integrated physiological and symbiotic adaptation mechanism underlying its ex situ conservation.
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NewsMalaria shaped distribution of early human populations
Scientists investigated whether Plasmodium falciparum induced malaria shaped human habitat choice between 74,000 and 5,000 years ago, finding that malaria influenced habitat choice by pushing human groups away from high-risk environments and separating populations across the landscape.
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NewsAndes volcanoes – the missing link between algae blooms, whales and climate millions of years ago
Record volcanic eruptions in the Andes could explain the mysterious death of dozens of whales about 5 to 8 million years ago, according to a study. A significant increase in volcanic activity in the Andes peaking between eight and four million years ago likely delivered a significant pulse of nutrients to the Southern Ocean.
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NewsCyanobacteria surprise scientists with evolutionary shift
Researchers report a surprising new discovery—a system thought to separate DNA has developed to sculpt the shape of the cell in cyanobacteria instead. The results shed light on how protein systems evolve and how multicellularity emerged in this type of ecologically essential bacteria.
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NewsHelping corals survive future heatwaves requires strong and strategic trait selection
A new study exploring host assisted evolution in corals have created a unique, pedigree-tracked coral population over the last eight years, allowing them to map family relationships and measure how multiple key traits—such as growth, reproduction and survival—are inherited.