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Journal articleBradley RW, Nunez-Bajo E, Guder F, et al., 2025,
Synthetic Whole-Cell Bioelectronic Chemical Sensing with <i>In Situ</i> Genetic Computing
, CHEM & BIO ENGINEERING, Vol: 2, Pages: 501-510, ISSN: 2836-967X -
Journal articlePates NJ, Boyce BB, Crawley MJ, et al., 2025,
Using landscape biodiversity metrics to assess rewilding: A comparison of the Knepp Estate and an agricultural baseline at Boothby Wildland
, ECOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS AND EVIDENCE, Vol: 6 -
Journal articleMartin JS, Westneat DF, Nakagawa S, et al., 2025,
Measuring selection on reaction norms: Lack's principle and plasticity in clutch size
, EVOLUTION, ISSN: 0014-3820 -
Journal articleHazime KS, Sheppard S, Niembro-Vivanco O, et al., 2025,
Nanoscale restructuring of the immune synapse with an engager enhances NK cell function.
, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, Vol: 122Engagers are antibody-based therapies which bind immune cell receptors and a target cell ligand. Next-gen engagers typically bind two activating receptors, but the effect of this on immune synapse formation and signaling is unknown. Here, we coligated activating receptors CD16a and NKG2D on natural killer (NK) cells with a CD33-binding anti-acute myeloid leukemia (AML) engager. Superresolution microscopy revealed that coligating CD16a and NKG2D with a single molecule triggered their nanoscale coclustering. This enhanced phosphorylation of CD3ζ, ZAP70, and SLP-76 which augmented secretion of IFN-γ and TNF-α, by NK cells from healthy donors and AML patients. Thus, in addition to connecting immune cells to target cells, the clinical promise of engagers results from their ability to manipulate the nanoscale architecture of the immune synapse.
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Journal articlevan Haaren C, Byrne B, Kazarian SG, 2025,
Assessment of IgG stability in a low pH elution buffer using ATR-FTIR spectroscopic imaging and microfluidics
, Analyst, Vol: 150, Pages: 4201-4210, ISSN: 0003-2654Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) represent the largest class of biopharmaceuticals, playing a vital role in the treatment of a wide range of diseases. Although the production of high quality mAbs has significantly improved over the last three decades, particularly in terms of scale and yield, the antibody's complex nature poses several challenges during bioprocessing. One of the main challenges in the production of mAbs is the formation of aggregates, which may cause harmful immunogenic responses in patients if not removed from the final drug product. Exposure to a low pH environment during protein A chromatography and viral inactivation is thought to be the major contributor to aggregate formation and has therefore been a topic of study for many years. Here, we investigate the stability of an IgG4 mAb in a low pH elution buffer (pH 3.5) under flow using ATR-FTIR spectroscopic imaging. This method, making use of a microfluidic set-up, enables non-destructive monitoring of mAb structural stability under bioprocessing-relevant conditions. Samples were (i) prepared through dialysis into the elution buffer and (ii) collected directly after elution from the protein A column, after which their stability was assessed under flow at two different temperatures (30 °C and 45 °C). Spectroscopic images and associated IR absorption spectra revealed that in both cases the protein in the low pH buffer underwent small, but measurable, structural changes at 30 °C. However, at 45 °C, the protein rapidly aggregated as indicated by a major shift in the Amide I peak position from 1637 cm−1 to 1625 cm−1, representing formation of inter-molecular beta sheets. These results confirm the destabilising effect of the low pH environment and demonstrate the applicability of ATR-FTIR spectroscopic imaging in combination with microfluidics as a powerful analytical tool for the analysis of protein structural stability under flow.
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Journal articleShih P-Y, Le Bras S, Ollivier R, et al., 2025,
A Salivary Effector of the Pea Aphid Interacts with Pea Proteins and Enhances Its Performance on the Host Plant
, MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS, ISSN: 0894-0282 -
Journal articleYan Y, Antolin N, Zhou L, et al., 2025,
Macrophages excite muscle spindles with glutamate to bolster locomotion (vol 637, pages698-707 (2025))
, NATURE, Vol: 645, Pages: E4-E4, ISSN: 0028-0836 -
Journal articleArino S, Sgueglia G, Leone L, et al., 2025,
Deep-Learning Driven Identification of Novel Antimicrobial Peptides
, CHEMISTRY-A EUROPEAN JOURNAL, Vol: 31, ISSN: 0947-6539 -
Journal articleNgoh A, Clark M, Greenaway R, et al., 2025,
Clinical and Molecular Genetic Characterization of Landau Kleffner Syndrome: An Observational Cohort and Experimental Study
, ANNALS OF NEUROLOGY, ISSN: 0364-5134 -
Journal articleSmith DJ, Maretvadakethope S, Wilson LG, et al., 2025,
Emerging directions for biologically active fluids
, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, Vol: 383, ISSN: 1364-503X -
Journal articleMountain K, MacIntyre D, Lee Y, et al., 2025,
ABO blood group antigens influence host-microbe interactions and risk of early spontaneous preterm birth
, npj Biofilms and Microbiomes, Vol: 11, ISSN: 2055-5008The mechanisms by which vaginal microbiota shape spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) risk remain poorly defined. Using electronic clinical records data from 74,913 maternities in conjunction with metaxanomic (n=596) and immune profiling (n=314) data, we show that the B blood group phenotype associates with increased risk of sPTB and adverse vaginal microbiota composition. The O blood group associates with sPTB in women who have a combination of a previous history of sPTB, an adverse vaginal microbial composition and pro-inflammatory cervicovaginal milieu. In contrast, women of blood group A have a higher prevalence of vaginal Lactobacillus crispatus, a lower risk of sPTB, with sPTB cases showing no association with vaginal microbiota composition or inflammation. We found that cervicovaginal fluid contains ABH(O) glycans, and show variable binding to key vaginal bacteria. This indicates that cervicovaginal ABH(O) glycans influence microbiota-host interactions implicated in sPTB risk, suggesting a novel target for sPTB prediction and prevention.
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Journal articleHe L, Patkowski JB, Wang J, et al., 2025,
Chimeric infective particles expand species boundaries in phage-inducible chromosomal island mobilization
, Cell, ISSN: 0092-8674Some mobile genetic elements spread among unrelated bacterial species through unknown mechanisms. Recently, we discovered that identical capsid-forming phage-inducible chromosomal islands (cf-PICIs), a new family of phage satellites, are present across multiple species and genera, raising questions about their widespread dissemination. Here, we have identified and characterized a new biological entity enabling this transfer. Unlike other satellites, cf-PICIs produce their own capsids and package their DNA, relying solely on phage tails for transfer. cf-PICIs release non-infective, tailless capsids containing their DNA into the environment. These subcellular entities then interact with phage tails from various species, forming chimeric particles that inject DNA into different bacterial species depending on the tail present. Additionally, we elucidated the structure of the tailless cf-PICIs and the mechanism behind their unique capsid formation. Our findings illuminate the mechanisms used by satellites to spread in nature, contributing to bacterial evolution and the emergence of new pathogens.
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Journal articlePenadés JR, Gottweis J, He L, et al., 2025,
AI mirrors experimental science to uncover a mechanism of gene transfer crucial to bacterial evolution
, Cell, ISSN: 0092-8674Artificial intelligence (AI) models have been proposed for hypothesis generation, but testing their ability to drive high-impact research is challenging since an AI-generated hypothesis can take decades to validate. Here, we challenge the ability of a recently developed large language model (LLM)-based platform, AI co-scientist, to generate high-level hypotheses by posing a question that took years to resolve experimentally but remained unpublished: how could capsid-forming phage-inducible chromosomal islands (cf-PICIs) spread across bacterial species? Remarkably, the AI co-scientist’s top-ranked hypothesis matched our experimentally confirmed mechanism: cf-PICIs hijack diverse phage tails to expand their host range. We critically assess its five highest-ranked hypotheses, showing that some opened new research avenues in our laboratories. We benchmark its performance against other LLMs and outline best practices for integrating AI into scientific discovery. Our findings suggest that AI can act not just as a tool but as a creative engine, accelerating discovery and reshaping how we generate and test scientific hypotheses.
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Journal articleMichael DR, John DA, Coates N, et al., 2025,
The impact of three distinct probiotic supplements on the gut microbiota and its metabolites in healthy adults.
, Benef Microbes, Vol: 17, Pages: 221-234The effects of probiotics on the gut microbiota and microbial metabolites in healthy individuals are not well understood. Faecal and serum samples were collected at the start and end of a 3-month, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised study with three different probiotic formulations in free-living, healthy adults. The composition of the faecal microbiota and levels of faecal and/or serum short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) and bile acids (BA) were measured and the probiotic formulations were found to impart differing effects including shifts in the composition and structure of the faecal microbiota, enhanced levels of circulating short chain fatty acids such as butyrate and propionate, and elevated levels of sulphated bile acids in faeces. This was in contrast to the outcomes for the placebo population where very little change occurred over the study. These findings demonstrate that probiotic supplementation elicits formulation specific effects and that there are potential benefits for healthy individuals.
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Journal articleOjiogu AD, Patkowski JB, Kuang X, et al., 2025,
Capsid redirection mechanism of the Staphylococcus aureus pathogenicity island SaPIpT1028
, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Vol: 380, ISSN: 0962-8436Staphylococcus aureus pathogenicity islands (SaPIs) are prototypical members of the phage-inducible chromosomal islands (PICI) family. These elements redirect helper phage capsid assembly to produce smaller capsids, accommodating the satellite genome while excluding the phage genome. This study identifies how SaPIpT1028 mediates capsid redirection through a unique gene, rcm (redirecting capsid morphogenesis). While rcm has no sequence similarity to known capsid assembly regulators, our results demonstrate that its expression is necessary and sufficient for redirecting capsid morphogenesis in S. aureus phages, such as φ7206. We show that, to do this, Rcm interacts with the φ7206 major capsid protein. Comparative evolutionary and structural analyses reveal functional parallels between Rcm and CpmB, a regulator used by other SaPIs. However, Rcm has evolved a multi-helical topology to match the multi-helical topology of the scaffold protein of φ7206. Sequence homology and AlphaFold predictions suggest that Rcm competitively interacts with the φ7206 scaffold protein, altering capsid size through a mechanism akin to CpmB. This work highlights SaPI adaptation, exemplified by Rcm's ability to exploit phages resistant to other remodellers, while inhibiting their reproduction. These findings underscore the dynamic co-evolution of phages and SaPIs, with Rcm playing a pivotal role in capsid size regulation and phage interference.This article is part of the discussion meeting issue 'The ecology and evolution of bacterial immune systems'.
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Journal articleCheong B, He C, Laurenson I, et al., 2025,
Performance of direct detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis within Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex by routine MALDI-ToF for the diagnosis using species-specific lipid fingerprint
, Microbiology Spectrum, Vol: 13, ISSN: 2165-0497Managing tuberculosis cases requires species and drug susceptibility identification, which are limited by the time taken by testing procedures due to slow bacterial growth. Lipid-based matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is a promising tool for identifying pathogenic mycobacterial species. This study aims to define and use species-specific lipid profiles of members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) obtained by MALDI-TOF MS, to directly discriminate M. tuberculosis from other members of the MTBC, such as Mycobacterium africanum, Mycobacterium bovis, and M. bovis bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG). Reference strains (M. tuberculosis H37Rv, M. africanum, M. bovis, and M. bovis BCG) were grown in Middlebrook 7H11 media (supplemented with 10% oleic acid-albumin-dextrose-catalase growth supplement) and incubated for up to 6 weeks at 37°C to generate the large biomass (~109 bacteria) required for optimization, to assess reproducibility of the assay, and to set the reference lipid database. In clinical use, standard shorter culture periods would be sufficient. A blinded study was then performed using a collection of 46 mycobacterial clinical isolate strains composed of 30 M. tuberculosis, 2 M. africanum, 9 M. bovis BCG, and 5 M. bovis and grown under the same conditions. Cultured mycobacteria were heat-inactivated and loaded onto the matrix-assisted laser desorption target, followed by the addition of the matrix. Acquisition of the data was done using the negative ion mode. Using the species-specific glycolipid, sulfolipids, M. tuberculosis was discriminated within MTBC using the MALDI-TOF process with a sensitivity and specificity of 86.7% (95% confidence interval [CI] 69.3–96.2) and 93.7% (95% CI 69.8–99.8), respectively. Direct detection of M. tuberculosis within the MTBC based on mycobacterial lipid profiling provides a safe and accurate method, based on the detection of the sulfolipids
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Journal articleYordanova M, Zhang X, Torres CB, et al., 2025,
Friend or foe? Concentration of a commensal microbe induces distinct responses in developing honey bees exposed to field-realistic pesticide concentrations
, FEMS Microbiology Ecology, Vol: 101, ISSN: 0168-6496Commensal microbes play important roles in modulating host health through varied mechanisms. Enterococcus faecalis, a Gram-positive commensal bacterium found across a wide range of hosts, has the potential to benefit its host through probiotic, antimicrobial and detoxification properties. However, it can also cause adverse effects, disrupting the host's healthy microbial communities and responses to co-stressors. Its context-dependent impact on the health of the agriculturally important pollinator - Apis mellifera - has been sparsely explored. Here, we examined the effects on honey bee brood survivorship and development when exposed at different concentrations and when co-exposed with chemical stressors (acetamiprid, thymol, glyphosate, and a mixture of the three). We found high doses of E. faecalis significantly reduced larval survivorship and size of brood at multiple developmental stages. Conversely, we found that low doses of E. faecalis increased larval size when individuals were co-exposed to the pesticide mixture. We also found that glyphosate alone and the pesticide mixture reduced the mass of brown-eyed pupae. These results are the first to show the dual role of E. faecalis in honey bee health is dependent on the concentration of the microbe and the co-stressors that brood are exposed to.
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Journal articleBermúdez-Puga S, Mendes B, Ramos-Galarza JP, et al., 2025,
Revolutionizing agroindustry: towards the industrial application of antimicrobial peptides against pathogens and pests
, Biotechnology Advances, Vol: 82, ISSN: 0734-9750Antibiotics are essential chemicals for medicine and agritech. However, all antibiotics are small molecules that pathogens evolve antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Alternatively, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) offer potential to overcome or evade AMR. AMPs provide broad-spectrum activity, favourable biosafety profiles, and a rapid and efficient mechanism of action with low resistance incidence. These properties have driven innovative applications, positioning AMPs as promising contributors to advancements in various industrial sectors. This review evaluates the multifaceted nature of AMPs and their biotechnological applications in underexplored sectors. In the food industry, the application of AMPs helps to suppress the growth of microorganisms, thereby decreasing foodborne illnesses, minimizing food waste, and prolonging the shelf life of products. In animal husbandry and aquaculture, incorporating AMPs into the diet reduces the load of pathogenic microorganisms and enhances growth performance and survival rates. In agriculture, AMPs provide an alternative to decrease the use of chemical pesticides and antibiotics. We also review current methods for obtaining AMPs, including chemical synthesis, recombinant DNA technology, cell-free protein synthesis, and molecular farming, are also reviewed. Finally, we look to the peptide market to assess its status, progress, and transition from the discovery stage to benefits for society and high-quality products. Overall, our review exemplifies the other side of the coin of AMPs and how these molecules provide similar benefits to conventional antibiotics and pesticides in the agritech sector.
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Journal articleCantwell-Jones A, Everson J, Bates OK, et al., 2025,
Phenological turnover matters when making trait-based predictions of plant-pollinator interactions
, Functional Ecology, Vol: 39, Pages: 2509-2525, ISSN: 0269-84631. Understanding the processes determining species' interactions is key to predicting and safeguarding ecological networks under rapid environmental change. One approach to estimating interactions is to use morphologies of taxa interacting across trophic levels to reveal suites of traits they are more likely to interact with (i.e. a morphological trait niche).2. Previous work studying these morphological trait niches has typically used interactions between species that are pooled in space and time. However, species assemblages, and the traits of individuals within species, can change across even small landscapes over a season, leading to morphological trait space being dynamically reshaped. Therefore, it is unclear how morphological trait turnover affects our inferences of trait niches, and our ability to answer this is in part limited by a lack of individual-level trait data.3. Here, we directly address this by studying a montane Arctic plant-pollinator community over five growing seasons (>1300 h of fieldwork). Specifically, we linked every recorded plant–bumblebee interaction with the traits of the bee individual involved (n = 1150) to investigate (1) whether plant taxa (n = 10) exhibited bee trait niches by interacting with specific regions of multidimensional trait space of visiting bumblebees, and (2) how our inference of these trait niches was affected by considering bumblebee trait turnover and plant taxon turnover over space and time.4. When we did not consider turnover (i.e. interactions in space and time were pooled), plant taxa demonstrated bee trait niches. However, we next considered how bee trait space was reshaped over the elevational and seasonal gradient (for example, with the emergence of different castes), and how this reshaping co-occurred with different spatiotemporal ranges of the plant taxa. From this, we found plant taxa no longer interacted with a smaller area of bee community trait space than exp
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Journal articleBeaghton PJ, Burt A, 2025,
Natural selection of synthetic gene drives for population suppression can favor an intermediate strength of drive
, The American Naturalist, Vol: 206, Pages: 206-217, ISSN: 0003-0147Synthetic gene drives are being investigated as tools to suppress pest populations, and it is important to understand how natural selection will act on variant drivers that may either arise by de novo mutation or are intentionally released. In this study we extend previous spatially implicit stochastic models to examine the evolutionary dynamics of synthetic driving Y chromosomes in patchy environments when population size is responding dynamically to the spread of the driver, and derive conditions for the existence of an evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS) for drive strength. Under broad conditions an intermediate drive strengthemerges as the ESS, capable of outcompeting both stronger and weaker variants. Additionally, we show how the intentional release of two drivers straddling the ESS can help stabilize population dynamics. Finally, inbreeding depression has the effect of expanding the range ofconditions under which no intermediate ESS exists, with ever stronger drive being selected until the population is eliminated. These results provide insights into the expected evolutionary trajectories of gene drive systems, with important implications for the design and release of gene drives for pest and vector control.
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Journal articleAlkemade JA, Hawkins NJ, Baraldi E, et al., 2025,
Learning from fungicide resistance: Evolutionary insights to guide RNAi-based control of fungal crop pathogens
, FUNGAL BIOLOGY REVIEWS, Vol: 53, ISSN: 1749-4613- Cite
- Citations: 1
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Journal articleCalderon-Morales E, Werden LK, Smith-Martin CM, et al., 2025,
Physiological and Growth Responses of Tropical Dry Forest Tree Seedlings to Water and Nutrient Additions: Comparisons Between Nitrogen Fixers and Non-Fixers
, BIOTROPICA, Vol: 57, ISSN: 0006-3606 -
Journal articleYuen ELH, Savage Z, Prazak V, et al., 2025,
Membrane contact sites between chloroplasts and the pathogen interface underpin plant focal immune responses
, PLANT CELL, Vol: 37, ISSN: 1040-4651- Cite
- Citations: 2
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Journal articleDunachie SJ, Pizza M, 2025,
Global antimicrobial resistance-The ostrich's head is in the sand
, PLOS BIOLOGY, Vol: 23, ISSN: 1544-9173 -
Journal articleDaniel O, Heon SP, Donnelly CA, et al., 2025,
Rapid spread of African Swine Fever across Borneo
, Animals, Vol: 15, ISSN: 2076-2615African Swine Fever (ASF) reached the island of Borneo at the end of 2020. The first mortalities were recorded in wild bearded pigs (Sus barbatus) in Sabah, north-east Borneo. The virus then began to spread across the island but due to COVID-19 lockdowns the spread was difficult to monitor on the ground. With the urgent need to track this epidemic, and in the absence of traditional monitoring, the Babi Hutan Project was launched in April 2021 to gather data on pig sightings using citizen science. Any sightings of bearded pigs were requested via the website, social media and a WhatsApp hotline. Here we bring together the data from this project and other online sources to show how the virus spread across almost the entire island within a one-year period. The speed of spread appeared to increase with time following an exponential model: we estimate an average speed of spread of 0.89 km/day after 100 days since the first observation and at 4.28 km/day after 400 days. Our key recommendations are: that existing hunting bans on bearded pigs remain in place; that urgent biosecurity measures should be put in place if outbreaks occur in areas with backyard (domestic) pigs; that surviving pigs are tested for resistance; that the disease dynamics are modelled and that the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) urgently re-evaluates the bearded pig’s status.
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Journal articleAlzate A, Rozzi R, Velasco JA, et al., 2025,
Evolutionary age correlates with range size across plants and animals
, NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, Vol: 16 -
Journal articleAllen ME, Sun Y, Chan CL, et al., 2025,
Thermally driven dynamic behaviors in polymeric vesicles
, Small, Vol: 21, ISSN: 1613-6810Stimuli-responsive polymeric vesicles offer a versatile platform for mimicking dynamic cell-like behaviors for synthetic cell applications. In this study, thermally responsive polymeric droplets derived from poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(butylene oxide) (PEO-PBO) polymersomes, aiming to create synthetic cell models that mimic key biological functions are developed. Upon heating, the nanoscale vesicles undergo fusion, transforming into sponge-like microscale droplets enriched with membrane features. By modulating the temperature, these droplets display dynamic properties such as contractility, temperature-induced fusion, and cargo trapping, including small molecules and bacteria, thereby demonstrating their ability to dynamically interface with biological entities. The findings demonstrate the potential of our sponge-like droplets in synthetic cell applications, contributing to the understanding of PEO-PBO polymersomes’ unique characteristics, expanding the capabilities of synthetic cell structures, and representing an exciting possibility for advancing soft matter engineering to cell-like behaviors.
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Journal articleYoun T, Ehsan M, Hariharan P, et al., 2025,
Tailoring butane-1,2,3,4-tetraol-based maltosides (BTMs) via group-swapping and detergent unsymmetry: new detergent design strategies for membrane protein studies
, Journal of Materials Chemistry B, Vol: 13, Pages: 12569-12578, ISSN: 2050-750XMembrane proteins are essential bio-macromolecules involved in numerous critical biological processes and serve as therapeutic targets for a wide range of modern pharmaceuticals. Small amphipathic molecules, called detergents or surfactants, are widely used for the isolation and structural characterization of these proteins. A key requirement for such studies is their ability to maintain membrane protein stability in aqueous solution, a task where conventional detergents often fall short. While many new detergents have been developed based on novel molecular scaffolds, comparatively little effort has been made to enhance detergent performance through rational modification of existing structures, largely due to the limited availability of guiding design principles and strategies. In this study, we refined previously developed butane-1,2,3,4-tetraol based maltosides (BTMs), using two structural modification strategies, head/tail group-swapping and the introduction of hydrophobic unsymmetry. The resulting group-swapped (GS)-BTMs exhibited distinctive physical properties compared to the original BTM, including differences in water-solubility (∼7 to >10 wt%), critical aggregation concentration (5 to 15 μM), and self-assembly size (7.6 to 34.2 nm). When evaluated using model membrane proteins, including the human adrenergic receptor (β2AR), symmetric GS-BTMs (e.g., GS-BTM-C11 and GS-BTM-C12) showed superior performance relative to the original BTM-C11 and benchmark detergents (DDM and LMNG). The unsymmetric variants, such as GS-BTM-C14,10 and GS-BTM-C15,9, further improved protein stability. These findings highlight group-swapping and hydrophobic unsymmetry as effective strategies for enhancing detergent performance. This work demonstrates how minimal structural modifications can impact detergent properties and efficacy, providing valuable insights for the development of improved detergents from existing molecular frameworks.
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Journal articleCambron TW, Fisher JB, Hungate B, et al., 2025,
Plant nutrient acquisition under elevated CO2 and implications for the land carbon sink
, Nature Climate Change, ISSN: 1758-678XTerrestrial ecosystems currently sequester around a third of anthropogenic carbon emitted each year, slowing the pace of climate change. However, the future of this sink under rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations remains uncertain, in part due to the impact that nutrient limitation may have on plant biomass. Here, we review plant nutrient acquisition strategies and evidence of the enhanced utilization of these strategies under experimental and real-world elevated CO2 (eCO2). Many of the strategies that are key to nutrient limitation alleviation under eCO2 are not yet well represented in Earth System Models (ESMs). A simple, data-driven analysis implies that ESMs without nutrient acquisition strategies could underestimate the land sink.
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Journal articleClaramunt S, Sheard C, Brown JW, et al., 2025,
A new time tree of birds reveals the interplay between dispersal, geographic range size, and diversification
, Current Biology, Vol: 35, Pages: 3883-3895.e4, ISSN: 0960-9822The spatial and temporal dynamics of biodiversity are shaped by complex interactions among species characteristics and geographic processes. A key example is the effect of dispersal on geographical range expansion and gene flow, both of which may determine speciation rates. In this study, we constructed a time-calibrated phylogeny of over 9,000 bird species and leveraged extensive data on avian traits and spatial occurrence to explore the connections between dispersal, biogeography, and speciation. Phylogenetic path analyses and trait-dependent diversification models reveal that geographic range size is strongly associated with the hand-wing index, a proxy for wing aspect ratio related to flight efficiency and dispersal ability. By contrast, we found mixed evidence for the effect of dispersal on diversification rates: dispersive lineages show either slightly higher speciation rates or higher extinction rates. Our results therefore suggest that high dispersal ability increases range expansion and turnover, perhaps because dispersive lineages expand into islands or other geographically restricted environments and have lower population sizes. Our results highlight the nuanced and interconnected roles of dispersal and range size in shaping global patterns of avian diversification and biogeography and provide a richly sampled phylogenetic template for exploring a wide array of research questions in macroecology and macroevolution.
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