Related papers: Hominin evolution was caused by introgression from…
To identify genetic changes underlying dog domestication and reconstruct their early evolutionary history, we analyzed novel high-quality genome sequences of three gray wolves, one from each of three putative centers of dog domestication,…
Asynchronous replication of the genome has been associated with different rates of point mutation and copy number variation (CNV) in human populations. Here, we explored if the bias in the generation of CNV that is associated to DNA…
We analyze models of genome evolution based on both restricted and unrestricted double-cut-and-join (DCJ) operations. We compare the number of operations along the evolutionary trajectory to the DCJ distance of the genome from its ancestor…
The process of speciation, where an ancestral species divides in two or more new species, involves several geographic, environmental and genetic components that interact in a complex way. Understanding all these elements at once is…
The distribution of species body size within taxonomic groups exhibits a heavy right-tail extending over many orders of magnitude, where most species are significantly larger than the smallest species. We provide a simple model of…
Reputed intractable, the question of the origin of viruses has long been neglected. In the modern literature 'Virus evolution' has come to refer to study more akin to population genetics, such as the world-wide scrutiny on new polymorphisms…
Various features of the development of individual living species, including individual humans, are programmed. Is death also programmed, and if yes, how is it implemented and what can be the underlying mechanism providing the inevitability…
Mimulus guttatus and M. nasutus are an evolutionary and ecological model sister species pair differentiated by ecology, mating system, and partial reproductive isolation. Despite extensive research on this system, the history of divergence…
There is great scientific and popular interest in understanding the genetic history of populations in the Americas. We wish to understand when different regions of the continent were inhabited, where settlers came from, and how current…
The natural evolution of life seems to proceed through steps characterized by phases of relatively rapid changes, followed by longer, more stable periods. In the light of the string-theory derived physical scenario proposed in [1], we…
Developmental constraints have been postulated to limit the space of feasible phenotypes and thus shape animal evolution. These constraints have been suggested to be the strongest during either early or mid-embryogenesis, which corresponds…
We attempted to test biogeographic hypotheses proposed for the evolution of tropical faunas using mitochondrial DNA sequences of selected African mammalian taxa (Insectivora, Rodentia and Primates). 1/ we constructed a molecular phylogeny…
Background/ Objectives: Resolving the origin of the genetic code is fundamental to understanding how life began its journey out of the chemical world. Since its deciphering some 60 years ago, there is still no general theory of the…
Gene duplication is key to molecular evolution in all three domains of life and may be the first step in the emergence of new gene function. It is a well recognized feature in large DNA viruses, but has not been studied extensively in the…
Emergence of new protein structures has proved difficult to trace in nature and engineer in the laboratory. However, one aspect of structure evolution has proved immensely helpful for determining the three-dimensional structure of proteins…
We explore the large-scale behavior of nucleotide compositional strand asymmetries along human chromosomes. As we observe for 7 of 9 origins of replication experimentally identified so far, the (TA+GC) skew displays rather sharp upward…
Living at high-altitude is one of the most difficult challenges that humans had to cope with during their evolution. Whereas several genomic studies have revealed some of the genetic bases of adaptations in Tibetan, Andean and Ethiopian…
Background: In the marine environment, where there are few absolute physical barriers, contemporary contact between previously isolated species can occur across great distances, and in some cases, may be inter-oceanic. [..] in the minke…
A hypothesis of the evolution of the genetic code is proposed, the leading mechanism of which is the nucleotide spontaneous damage leading to AT-enrichment of the genome. The hypothesis accounts for stability of the genetic code towards…
This hypothesis can provide an opportunity to trace logically the process of the emergence of the DNA double helix. AT-enrichment in this hypothesis is main factor of evolution of DNA double helix from RNA double helix.