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Journal articleMaretvadakethope S, Perez-Carrasco R, 2026,
Simple systems, complex dynamics: Lessons from minimal gene regulatory networks
, Current Opinion in Systems Biology, Vol: 44Small gene regulatory networks (GRNs) are well-established biological modules that underpin cellular decisions and dynamical function. Their theoretical understanding has largely been shaped by the motif idea, which links simple network wiring patterns to behaviours. This approach has been extremely influential, providing a clear and widely used language for regulatory logic, facilitating the understanding of behaviours such as bistability, ultra-sensitivity, or oscillations. However, a growing body of theoretical and experimental work now challenges the idea that circuit behaviour is fully determined by topology alone, revealing that even very small GRNs can exhibit much richer dynamics once molecular implementation, stochasticity, and upstream modulation are taken into account. Recent advances show that the timing, precision, and reversibility of cell-fate decisions depend critically on signal history, noise structure, and molecular context, even in minimal circuits. Furthermore, there is growing evidence that small GRNs support a wide range of non-canonical dynamical behaviours including mushroom and isola bifurcations, hybrid oscillatory–switching regimes, and pronounced critical slowing down, substantially expanding their functional repertoire without increasing topological complexity. Crucially, these behaviours are highly sensitive to how regulation is implemented at the molecular level: distinct promoter architectures, regulatory logics, and stochastic mechanisms—often hidden by standard Hill-function descriptions—can qualitatively reshape circuit dynamics, requiring an explicit link between abstract network structure and specific biophysical processes. Together, these results expose fundamental limits to inferring function from topology alone or to reconstructing mechanisms from expression data. Rather than simplified motifs, Small GRNs still provide a uniquely powerful setting in which to explore these open questions in order to progress
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Journal articleWang H-Y, Yuen ELH, Chen Y-F, et al., 2026,
A hydrophobic core in the coiled-coil domain is essential for NRC resistosome function.
, New Phytol, Vol: 250, Pages: 3247-3263The nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat protein (NLR) required for cell death (NRC) family represents a group of helper NLRs that are required by sensor NLRs to execute hypersensitive cell death during pathogen infection. NRCs contain an N-terminal coiled-coil (CC) domain essential for their function, yet our knowledge of how this domain contributes to NRC function remains limited. Using site-directed mutagenesis and transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana, we screened conserved hydrophobic residues among NRCs and identified seven required for NRC4-mediated cell death, revealing a hydrophobic feature within the CC domain that contributes to NRC-mediated immunity. Structural analysis revealed that four of these residues form a hydrophobic core in the CC domain. This hydrophobic core is important for NRC4 subcellular localization, oligomerization, and phospholipid association, but not for NRC4 focal accumulation at the extrahaustorial membrane during Phytophthora infestans infection. Sequence analysis and functional assays revealed that this core is highly conserved in NRCs and some singleton NLRs but has degenerated in NRC-dependent sensor NLRs. Our study identifies a hydrophobic feature in the CC domain of NRCs and reveals its contribution to NLR-mediated immunity.
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Journal articleEneli AA, Siu PC, Perez MF, et al., 2026,
On the use of generative models for demographic inference in malaria vectors from genomic data.
, G3 (Bethesda)Malaria in sub-Saharan Africa is transmitted by mosquitoes from the Anopheles genus. Efforts to control the spread of malaria have often focused on these vectors, but little is known about the demographic history of populations and species of Anopheles mosquitoes. Here, we adapt and apply an innovative generative deep learning algorithm to infer the joint evolutionary history of Anopheles gambiae populations sampled in Guinea and Burkina Faso. We further develop a model selection approach and discover that an evolutionary model with migration fits this pair of populations better than a model without post-split migration. For the migration model, we find that our method accurately captures population genetic differentiation. These findings demonstrate that machine learning and generative models are a valuable direction for future understanding of the evolution of malaria vectors, including the joint inference of demography and natural selection. Understanding changes in population size, migration patterns, and adaptation in hosts, vectors, and pathogens will assist malaria control interventions, with the ultimate goal of predicting nuanced outcomes from insecticide resistance to population collapse.
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Journal articleLian X, JiJi J, Fang J, et al., 2026,
Leaf temperature and its departure from ambient air temperature.
, Nat PlantsLeaf temperature (Tl), the temperature at which leaf-air exchanges of carbon and water occur, varies with ambient air temperature (Ta), regulated by microclimate and species' energy balance traits. Ground and satellite thermal measurements of the Tl-Ta relationship are widely used to infer plants' thermoregulation capacity. On the basis of a global synthesis of observations across diverse climates and biomes, we show that reported thermoregulation patterns vary primarily along temperature gradients. Megathermy (dTl/dTa > 1) is particularly prevalent in warm tropical regions and in sun-exposed canopy-top leaves owing to ineffective dissipation of the often excessively accumulated solar radiation, while limited homeothermy (dTl/dTa < 1) and poikilothermy (dTl/dTa = 1) are reported mostly for cold ecosystems or sub-canopy leaves. Under heat-stressed conditions, some warm-adapted species can abate rapid Tl surge through active stomatal control, unless critical temperature thresholds are exceeded, above which Tl might increase non-linearly as a warning sign of damaging stress. This thermal consideration of stomatal regulation is currently missing in mechanistic models as a source of bias in estimated photosynthetic rates. We highlight the pressing need to develop new stomatal theories that tackle a triple-target optimization between carbon gain, water loss and thermal regulation.
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Journal articleSandoval Calle D, Flo V, Morfopoulos C, et al., 2026,
Environmental influences on the maximum quantum yield of terrestrial primary production
, New Phytologist, ISSN: 0028-646XHistorically, terrestrial biosphere models (TBMs) have assigned the intrinsic (maximum) quantum yield of photosynthesis (𝜑) a constant value for each plant functional type. However, experimental studies have shown that 𝜑 – when measured on light adapted leaves – depends on temperature. It is unclear whether this dependence is universal or biome-specific; how it is manifested at the ecosystem level; and how it should be represented in TBMs. By fitting empirical light-response curves to a global set of eddy-covariance CO2 flux measurements and correcting for photorespiration, we inferred apparent, ecosystem level 𝜑values and their temperature responses across a wide range of environments. The temperature response of apparent ecosystem-level 𝜑 follows a universal bell shaped curve. The shape of this curve does not markedly differ among biomes, but the maximum value of 𝜑 decreases with increasing aridity, its temperature optimum increases with increasing growth temperature, and its sensitivity to temperature increases as growth temperature declines. Our model for 𝜑(𝑇) aligns with recent theory highlighting the role of cytochrome b6f in regulating the light reactions of photosynthesis. If implemented in TBMs, this model should allow better predictions of the responses of terrestrial ecosystem function to a warming climate.
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Journal articleForest F, Brown R, Buerki S, et al., 2026,
High risk of extinction across the flowering plant tree of life.
, Science, Vol: 392, Pages: 655-659Global biodiversity policies recognize the necessity to preserve evolutionary lineages, as their diversity underpins current and future benefits to people and the future of life on Earth. Plants are largely absent from global biodiversity assessments, resulting in a taxonomic imbalance that has undermined their conservation for decades. We present a tree of life and extinction risk estimates for all species of flowering plants (angiosperms), representing a global assessment of their threatened evolutionary history. We estimate that 21.2% of angiosperm evolutionary history is at risk of extinction and identify 9945 priority species that disproportionately account for total threatened evolutionary history. These prioritizations serve to redress imbalances between plants and animals, monitor conservation effectiveness, and optimize resource allocation in the face of increasing human pressures on biodiversity.
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Journal articleCreedy TJ, Ding Y, Gregory KM, et al., 2026,
Bioinformatics of combined nuclear and mitochondrial phylogenomics to define key nodes for the classification of Coleoptera
, Systematic Biology, Vol: 75, Pages: 445-467, ISSN: 1063-5157Nuclear genome sequencing for phylogenetics is resource-intensive while mitochondrial genomes can be sequenced and analyzed with relative ease for building densely sampled phylogenetic trees of the most species-rich lineages of animals. Here, we develop a conceptual approach and bioinformatics workflow for combining nuclear single-copy orthologs with less informative but densely sampled mitochondrial genomes, for a detailed tree of Coleoptera (beetles). Basal relationships of Coleoptera were first inferred from > 2,000 BUSCO loci mined from GenBank’s Short Read Archive for 119 exemplars of all major lineages under various substitution models and levels of matrix completion, to reveal universally supported nodes. Second, the corresponding mitogenomes were extracted and combined with an additional 373 species selected for broad taxonomic and biogeographic coverage, roughly in proportion to the known global species diversity of Coleoptera. Bioinformatic processing of mitogenomes was conducted with a novel pipeline for rapid, accurate annotation of protein-coding genes. Finally, phylogenetic trees from all 491 mitogenomes were generated under a backbone constraint from the universal basal nodes, which produced a well-supported tree of the major lineages at the family and superfamily level. Being genetically unlinked and showing unique character variation, mitogenomes provide a unique perspective of the phylogeny. Comparison with 3 recent nuclear phylogenomic studies resulted in the recognition of > 80 nodes universally present across all analyses. These may now support the higher classification of Coleoptera and serve as backbone of further studies, as numerous full mitogenomes and mitochondrial DNA barcodes are added to an increasingly complete phylogenetic tree of this super-diverse insect order.
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Journal articleBubeck D, Noone DP, 2026,
Advances in cryo-EM that have shaped mechanistic models of membrane attack complex assembly and regulation
, IUCrJ, ISSN: 2052-2525The complement system is a blood-based immune network that plays a crucial role in fighting infection and maintaining immune homeostasis. The membrane attack complex (MAC) is a pore assembled from complement proteins that creates holes in cells when the immune system is activated. Over the last 10 years, advances in cryo electron microscopy (cryo-EM) have enabled key molecular insights into how MAC assembles, remodels membranes, and is regulated. These new tools revealed the inherent flexibility of complement complexes. By adapting computational approaches that disentangle diverse conformations, these studies have provided detailed mechanisms for MAC activity that could underpin novel complement-targeted therapeutics. Now accelerated by AI-driven image analysis and advances in structural cell biology, the next revolution in cryo-EM o ers new opportunities to understand the cellular consequences of immune activation.
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Journal articleLee S, Chesters D, Vogler AP, 2026,
Organelle genomes as universal standard for phylogenetics: a sociotechnical perspective.
, Trends Ecol Evol, Vol: 41, Pages: 395-403Assembling a densely sampled tree-of-life from genomic data requires the integration of disparate studies in phylogenetics, genomics, and ecology. Currently, we lack agreement on a standard genetic marker acting as a universal ortholog across all taxa and hierarchical levels. The universality and structural simplicity of organellar genomes, and the relative ease of their acquisition and phylogenetic analysis compared to whole-genome sequences, suggest they should play a greater role as a universal data standard. Standardization requires wide community acceptance, exemplified by the sociotechnical factors leading to its general adoption. Similar processes could promote organellar genomes as the next-generation standard in phylogenetics, with just minor adjustments to data generation and accessibility, to act as the anchoring framework for the current hugely diverse genomic data structure.
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Journal articleIbrahim T, King FJ, Toghani A, et al., 2026,
A helper NLR channels organellar calcium to trigger plant immunity.
, Science, Vol: 392, Pages: 499-505Upon activation, plant nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NLR) immune receptors are known to assemble into oligomeric resistosomes that insert into the plasma membrane, forming calcium (Ca2+)-permeable channels and triggering immunity. Here, we found that the RPW8-like coiled-coil NLR (CCR-NLR) N requirement gene 1 (NRG1) primarily targets organelles instead of the plasma membrane. Unlike canonical CC-NLRs, activated NRG1 accumulated at the chloroplast envelope and channeled stromal Ca2+ into the cytosol. AlphaFold modeling of the NRG1 resistosome revealed an unusually long amino-terminal membrane-insertion structure that could span the double membrane of the chloroplast. Nanobody-mediated relocalization showed functional membrane specificity: Chloroplast trapping abolished activity of the canonical helper CC-NLR NRC4 but not NRG1. NRG1 orthologs, from nonflowering lineages to angiosperms, targeted chloroplasts, suggesting that organelle-centered defense dates back at least ~360 million years. We propose that CC-NLR diversification has enabled compartment-specific immune signaling to capture diverse Ca2+ stores.
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Journal articleBarkoulas M, Grover M, Ippolito D, 2026,
Worming out defence strategies: mechanisms of immunity through the lens of genetic screens in C. elegans
, Heredity, ISSN: 0018-067X -
Journal articleBradfer-Lawrence T, Harrison M, Ashton-Butt A, et al., 2026,
Assessing Potential Data Sources for Landscape-scale Terrestrial Biodiversity Indicators.
, Environ Manage, Vol: 76Global efforts to mitigate anthropogenic pressures on biodiversity and ecosystems will often be realised through management at landscape-scales (i.e., in the range of 100s-1000 s km2). In consequence, we need to measure biodiversity responses at landscape-scales to ensure mitigations are effectively protecting and restoring ecosystems. Yet many countries currently lack monitoring programmes that can generate indicators of biodiversity at these scales. Localised monitoring (e.g., 1 km2) is often amalgamated into national-scale indicators, however, this leaves a substantial gap in the middle of this spatial gradient, limiting availability of information at decision-relevant scales. Here, using the United Kingdom as a case study, we explored the suitability of seven sources of biodiversity data which could be used to construct landscape-scale indicators. We surveyed 70, mostly UK-based, monitoring experts for their opinions on structured and unstructured in-person surveys, camera traps, eDNA, drones, passive acoustic recorders, and satellite remote sensing. We assessed data source utility to construct indicators reflecting Essential Biodiversity Variables, i.e., as holistic measures of taxa or ecosystems rather than assessments of individual management interventions. All seven data sources were deemed suitable, and experts expected developments in technology and infrastructure to greatly increase this potential over the next decade. However, there are technical, analytical, logistical and financial barriers to establishing monitoring networks that could yield the requisite data for landscape-scale indicators. Resolving these issues requires substantial research, policy commitment and investment, but landscape-scale indicators will be essential for the UK to undertake adaptive management and monitor nature recovery.
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Journal articleZhu Y, Li M, Zheng J, et al., 2026,
Non-correlated variation of leaf and fine root traits in subtropical forest plants
, Ecology Letters, ISSN: 1461-023XPlants employ multiple strategies to adapt to their growth environment. Characterizing key dimensions in plant trait space is important for understanding functional diversity within ecosystems. Leaf and root functional traits have been studied in the context of resource economics, but whether they covary, and through which mechanisms, is still debated. We investigated this in subtropical forests by sampling root and leaf traits on individuals of coexisting species in two communities with different resource availability. We found largely non-correlated variation between leaf and fine root traits both across- and within-communities, and a clear decoupling between leaf economic spectrum and root economic space, independent of evolutionary history. Our results suggest that leaf-root trait relationships are shaped by an interplay between microenvironmental heterogeneity that drives decoupling, and shared selection pressures promoting covariation. The interplay explains the weak observed coordination and highlights the importance of environmental context in predicting above- and below-ground plant functions.
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Journal articleBidartondo MI, van der Linde S, Andrew C, et al., 2026,
Impacts of ectomycorrhizal forest change on nutrient cycling, forest resilience, and ecosystem services.
, ISME JAt a time when we count on northern hemisphere forests to mitigate global atmospheric change, European forests are showing deteriorating aboveground nutritional trends without a mechanistic, causal explanation. The increasingly recognised roles of ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi in global carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) cycling mean there is a need to understand dynamics in changing EM forests, particularly at large scales over time. Achieving this requires integrating soil microbial biology with long-term forest monitoring, and a fundamental distributional, temporal and mechanistic understanding of key soil organisms and the plasticity of their traits across gradients. We postulate that changing abundances of ectomycorrhizas with different capabilities for delivering mineral nutrients from soil to trees, and for storing or releasing soil C, can explain what is happening with forest nutrition, and thus should be included in future models of forest nutrient cycling, above and belowground. Here we discuss the state-of-the-art regarding data needs, focussing on environmental change, large-scale spatial and temporal dynamics, experimentation, modelling and monitoring. Linking understanding of tree nutritional status with the potential of forests to cope with environmental change, for instance, anthropogenic carbon and N fertilisation of the biosphere leading to P limitation, holds significant potential to inform management and policy of forests and soils for promoting resilient ecosystems.
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Journal articleBa W, Harding E, Nollet M, et al., 2026,
Wake-active brainstem GABA neurons signal sleep pressure by upregulating AMPA receptors to drive rebound sleep
, Current Biology, ISSN: 0960-9822How the brain compensates for sleep deprivation (SD) by generating rebound sleep (RS) is not understood. Using Ca²⁺ photometry, we identified a WAKE/REMS-active somatostatin/parvalbumin GABAergic population in the mouse brainstem oral pontine reticular nucleus (PnOVgat). Following SD, PnOVgat cells transiently switched for the first hour to higher activity during NREMS, promoting RS. Chemogenetic activation of PnOVgat neurons prolonged NREMS, whereas ablation blunted EEG delta power rebound and slowed RS accumulation. During RS, the selective switch of PnOVgat cells to having higher Ca2+ levels in NREMS correlated with elevated levels of synaptic proteins PSD95, activated CaMKII (pCaMKII T286), activated PKA (pPKA T197), and GluA1-containing AMPA receptor subunits with enhanced serine phosphorylation. All increases started during SD and persisted after the first hour of RS. Patch-clamp recordings demonstrated increased postsynaptic AMPA/NMDA receptor ratios in PnOVgat cells 1 h after RS, indicating increased excitability and greater capacity to drive RS. In contrast, an intermingled population of GABA/glycinergic neurons did not respond to SD, despite having similar baseline WAKE/REMS activities and an ability to promote NREMS. The PnO also contained an intermingled population of excitatory PnOVglut2 WAKE/REMS-active neurons; lesioning them caused hypoactivity, but sleep or WAKE amounts were unaffected. The synaptic homeostasis hypothesis (SHY) proposes that as wakefulness progresses, synaptic AMPA receptor activity is enhanced, and subsequently downregulated during NREMS to rebalance circuit function. We suggest that a variation of SHY implements catching up on lost sleep, with glutamate receptor plasticity in the PnO tracking time awake and adjusting NREMS amounts accordingly.
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Journal articleCreedy T, Lee S, Yeo D, et al., 2026,
2,366 new mitochondrial genomes with preliminary identification and phylogeny of >5,500 putative species of beetles
, Scientific Data, ISSN: 2052-4463Mitochondrial genomes are a powerful marker for phylogenetics and biodiversity studies, but remain to be sequenced for the great majority of invertebrate species. We provide a reference set of newly sequenced mitogenomes and corresponding high-resolution images for 2,366 morphospecies from an inventory of beetles in two tropical forest sites in Panama and Malaysia. These sequences were combined with publicly available mitogenomes and edited and re-annotated according to standardised criteria. The final set of 5,527 mitochondrial genomes, mostly representing separate species of 5,518 Coleoptera and 9 outgroups, was used to generate a phylogenetic tree under binary RY coding and using a backbone constraint from nuclear genomes. The tree recovered deep relationships that closely matched previous coleopteran phylogenomic studies, and many lower-level relationships were also largely congruent with earlier lineage-specific works. Furthermore, the expanded taxon sampling provides preliminary insights into shallow-level relationships for several poorly studied lineages. This enhanced resource will serve as a foundation for a comprehensive Coleoptera tree-of-life and support taxonomy, ecology and conservation biology of poorly known tropical lineages.
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Journal articleSavolainen V, Roberts B, Collins T, et al., 2026,
Rethinking intensification: biodiversity-inclusive management sustains coconut yields
, Plants, People, Planet, ISSN: 2572-2611 -
Journal articleBailey AJ, Vlachou D, Christophides GK, 2026,
Oocyst: knowns and unknowns about the lengthiest life stage of the malaria parasite.
, Open Biol, Vol: 16The oocyst is the longest life stage of Plasmodium, the causative agent of malaria, one of the most persistent and devastating infectious diseases of humankind. Following ingestion during blood feeding, parasites reproduce sexually and traverse the mosquito midgut epithelium to differentiate into oocysts on the basal lamina, where they undergo prolonged development, ultimately giving rise to thousands of sporozoites capable of infecting a new human host. Oocyst formation represents a severe population bottleneck, resulting in the lowest parasite numbers observed across the parasite life cycle. Given its extended duration and pronounced numerical vulnerability, it is striking that the oocyst remains one of the least explored stages of Plasmodium development. Major gaps persist in our understanding of the molecular and cellular processes governing oocyst growth and differentiation, including transcriptional and epigenetic regulation, nutrient acquisition and metabolic remodelling, cell cycle control and interactions with the mosquito immune system and physiology. Recent technological advances and renewed interest in mosquito-stage biology provide an opportunity to dissect these processes at unprecedented resolution. In this review, we synthesize knowledge of oocyst biology, highlight key unresolved questions and discuss how deeper insight into this critical stage could inform the development of next-generation transmission-blocking strategies and accelerate progress towards malaria elimination.
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Journal articleMajumdar A, Upadhyay MK, Ojha M, et al., 2026,
Corrigendum to "A critical review on the organo-metal(loid)s pollution in the environment: Distribution, remediation and risk assessment" [Sci. Total Environ., 951, (2024) 175531].
, Sci Total Environ, Vol: 1026 -
Journal articleQiao S, Harrison SP, Prentice IC, et al., 2026,
Adaptive sowing helps mitigate future wheat losses globally
, Earth's Future, ISSN: 2328-4277The escalating effect of climate change on crop yields necessitates urgent adaptation measures. Shifting sowing dates is emerging as one cost-effective adaptation strategy. However, the implications for global wheat yields are unclear. Here we use an optimality-based model, assuming farmers select sowing dates to maximise yields, to quantify changes in wheat sowing dates and potential grain yields by the 2090s under two climatic scenarios (SSP126, SSP370). We find that the optimal wheat sowing dates are affected by climate change, primarily driven by temperature norms and warming trends. Global warming prompts earlier sowing (10-20 days) and even a switch from spring to winter wheat in cold areas, while strong warming delays sowing (20-40 days). Scenario modelling shows climate change is projected to negatively impact wheat potential yields under both moderate (–2.4%, SSP126) and strong (–7.8%, SSP370) warming scenarios. Adaptive sowing dates coupled with CO2 fertilization could mitigate these losses and even enhance yields, resulting in a +5.6% increase in potential yield for SSP126 and a +12.4% for SSP370. However, the benefits are not uniformly distributed across regions, with hotter and less developed regions—such as sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America—facing heightened risks of yield decline. Our findings suggest that simple adaptation strategies could help address the challenges posed by climate change for agricultural production and emphasize the need for region-specific adaptation policies to ensure equitable climate resilience in agriculture.
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Journal articleHui T-Y, Epopa PS, Millogo AA, et al., 2026,
Variance partitioning reveals contrasting random effect contributions to the density and species composition of malaria-transmitting mosquitoes in Western Burkina Faso
, Parasites and Vectors, ISSN: 1756-3305Background Spatial-temporal variation exists in the density and species composition of malaria-carrying mosquitoes, which will in turn influence the transmission of the disease. While there has been extensive research on seasonality and other main drivers of the vector populations, the heterogeneity partitioned as random effects at various spatial-temporal scales is just as important but has not attracted the same attention. Methods To investigate the relative contributions of the between-house, between-village, and between year variations, as well as other house-level covariates such as inhabitant number and bed net usage on vector density and species composition, intensive Pyrethroid Spray Catches (PSC) sampling was conducted across a 60-month period between 2012-2019 from four villages in the Sudano-Sahelian region of Burkina Faso. Results For density, measured by female Anopheles gambiae s.l. counts, our modelling showed that the between-house variation was the largest variance component, followed by the between year then between-village variation, after accounting for seasonality and other covariates. Density increased with the number of inhabitants within a household but was uncorrelated with bed net presence. A subset of female mosquitoes was genotyped for species identification, and the composition of An. coluzzii and An. gambiae, the two dominant vectors in the region, varied markedly across villages without an overall trend. The between-village variance contributed up to 76% of the total random variation in species composition, followed by the between-year variance. The between-house variation was statistically insignificant. Neither household size nor bed net usage had any impact on species composition. Conclusions Interestingly, the between-house component of variation was the largest contributor when measuring mosquito density, but it was the least important for species composition. For between-village variation the converse was found. Together with
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Journal articleBeis K, 2026,
Shared structural mechanisms of alternating access between the secondary peptide transporter SbmA and ABC transporters
, Nature Communications, ISSN: 2041-1723SbmA is a membrane transporter from Escherichia coli that imports antimicrobial peptides. SbmA belongs to the SbmA-like peptide transporter (SLiPT) family. Although the protein is a secondary active transporter that is energized by the proton gradient, it is structurally related to the transmembrane domain (TMD) of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters. SbmA therefore bridges the structural divide between primary and 61 secondary transporters. However, it remains unclear, if SbmA also shares the mechanism of alternating access with ABC transporters, because only a single (outward-open) state is resolved. Here, we show by sequence analysis that SbmA is likely evolved from the TMD of an early ancestor of the ABC transporter YddA. We determine the cryogenic electron microscopy structures of SbmA in occluded and inward-facing states. These conformations closely resemble equivalent states found in ABC trans- porters, indicating a shared structural mechanism of transport. In contrast to ABC transporters, where nucleotide binding, hydrolysis and release steer conformational changes necessary for substrate translocation, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations reveal how pH changes induce conformational transitions in SbmA, consistent with a mechanism of substrate internalization that utilizes the transmembrane proton gradient.
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Journal articleSchlenker P, Lamberton J, Lan N, et al., 2026,
Ancestral iconicity: the dance language of bees revisited.
, Biol Rev Camb Philos SocThe waggle dance of bees has given rise to some of the most striking and detailed studies of animal communication. But because of its gradient character, the waggle dance has widely been taken to have properties that are wholly distinct from those of human language. We argue that this is mistaken, and that the waggle dance represents the oldest instantiation of an iconic system also found in human language, notably in sign language. The waggle dance helps bees locate a food source through four properties: (1) food distance is conveyed through the duration of the waggling phase; and (2) food direction is conveyed through the orientation of the waggle run. In addition, (3) while in bees that dance horizontally, the waggle run points towards the food source, in bees that dance vertically the information involves transposition: the angle of the dance relative to 'upwards' is interpreted as the angle of the food direction relative to the sun. Finally, (4) the number of waggle runs increases with food quality. We show that properties 1 and 2 are instantiated in sign language classifier predicates, highly iconic constructions that produce visual animations of the orientation and movement of an entity. Furthermore, classifier movement (property 3) can be interpreted either directly or with 'viewpoint shift', a more flexible version of transposition. Property 4 seems to be instantiated more generally in the pragmatics of human and animal communication, as repetition can convey intensification and/or excitement (e.g. Go, go, go!). We further show experimentally that properties 1-3 are instantiated in some gestures understood by non-signers. Thus the waggle dance is a primitive form of a semantic system also found (through convergent evolution) in human language. It is remarkably ancient, at least 20 million years old according to phylogenetic reconstructions. While the horizontal dance (without transposition) is usually thought to be ancestral, a closer look at extant phyloge
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Journal articleGrilli S, Vertsimakha O, Marston L, et al., 2026,
Sex distorter male drive for resistance-resilient population control of the human malaria vector Anopheles gambiae
, Nature Communications, ISSN: 2041-1723Progress in malaria control has plateaued, prompting the exploration of additional tools. Here, we characterise two germline-specific promoters, spo11 and vasa1, in the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae. These promoters display distinct temporal and spatial expression patterns, making them well-suited for potential applications in CRISPR-based gene drives and sex ratio distortion systems. Leveraging these unique promoter features, we developed a Sex Distorter Male Drive (SDMD) technology that generates a highly male-biased progeny while spreading through super-Mendelian inheritance. This approach greatly simplifies previous genetic construct designs, potentially improving genetic stability and resilience against the development of target site resistance, a major challenge for the efficacy of genetic strategies. Our findings position SDMD as a promising and potentially resistance-resilient tool for the population suppression of Anopheles mosquitoes in malaria-endemic regions.
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Journal articleBueno AS, Mendenhall CD, Anciães M, et al., 2026,
High-quality surrounding landscapes mitigate avian extirpations from forest remnants.
, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, Vol: 123The species-area relationship (SAR) has long been used to predict extirpation rates from habitat loss, but these rates depend not only on habitat area but also on the surrounding landscape and species' habitat specialization. We collated global data from forest islands created by river damming and forest fragments resulting from clear-cut deforestation to examine the effects of matrix type (aquatic or terrestrial) and tree cover on avian SARs. Unlike oceanic islands, which are often millions of years old, anthropogenic forest islands provide a contemporary analog to forest fragments to understand matrix effects on SARs and serve as a baseline for worst-case scenarios of forest fragmentation. Our database comprises 50 datasets from 45 studies conducted in tropical and subtropical regions, totaling 1,954 bird species detected through 39,197 incidence records from 336 forest islands and 669 forest fragments. We found that bird extirpation rates were lower in fragments than on islands, especially for forest-dependent species compared to all species. Species losses were further reduced by increasing tree cover around forest remnants at local landscape scales of 300 m, highlighting the importance of small-scale conservation strategies. Moreover, even small forest fragments with greater nearby tree cover held high conservation value, emphasizing the crucial role of the surrounding landscape in mitigating avian extirpations from forest remnants. Beyond protecting forest remnants themselves, area-based conservation efforts would therefore be greatly enhanced by improving matrix quality and expanding tree cover in otherwise hostile landscapes.
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Journal articleLarrouy-Maumus G, 2026,
Metabolomics profiling reveals changes in peptidoglycan and redox metabolism between ancient and modern Mycobacterium tuberculosis
, Microbiology Spectrum, ISSN: 2165-0497 -
Journal articleMansfield TM, Zarsav A, Cox F, et al., 2026,
Ecological and genomic variation in ectomycorrhizal fungal exploration types.
, New PhytolEctomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) produce mycelia with variable extension and complexity, which can be classified according to soil 'exploration types' (ETs). ETs have received attention as one of the few mycorrhizal trait frameworks, but without an empirical classification of ET functional diversity and environmental preferences, understanding and interpreting EMF biogeographic patterns has been difficult. We conducted a synthesis combining: comparative EMF genomics to describe functional divergence in decomposition and nutrient cycling genes across ETs; and EMF trait distribution modeling across continental Europe, pairing soil and root EMF surveys to establish biogeographic ET niche profiles. We demonstrate a signature of ETs encoded in EMF genomes, which is independent from phylogeny and linked to biomass production strategies. EMF ET relative abundances were separated by soil, root, and dominant tree leaf type habitats and exhibited unique correlations with forest biotic (e.g. plant productivity and plant pathogen densities) and abiotic (e.g. nitrogen deposition and soil pH) conditions. These findings support a theory that EMF niche partitioning can be partially explained by extraradical mycelial traits, with underlying variation in ET biogeography likely arising from distinct decomposition and nutrient cycling potentials. We also identify important limitations to this trait framework and provide a guided outlook for future research.
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Journal articleGan W, Alizadeh N, Best M, et al., 2026,
An eco-evolutionary optimality model explains theacclimated temperature response of photosynthesis
, New Phytologist, ISSN: 0028-646XThe optimal temperature of net photosynthesis (Topt) generally increases with plant growth temperature. Changes in Topt are associated with changes in the maximum carboxylation capacity at 25 °C (Vcmax25) and the maximum electron transport rate at 25 °C (Jmax25). The ratio between Jmax25 and Vcmax25 declines with warming. Accurate representation of leaf-level photosynthetic responses to temperature is essential for realistic projections of the terrestrial carbon cycle and its response to ongoing climate changes. However, many land-surface models incorporate thermal acclimation through empirical approaches and through assigning distinct but static parameter values to plant functional types (PFTs). Eco-evolutionary optimality approaches provide a simpler way of modelling photosynthesis without recourse to PFTs. Here we use the sub-daily P model, an eco-evolutionary optimality-based model of photosynthesis that explicitly separates the instantaneous and acclimated responses of photosynthetic parameters to temperature to investigate how optimal temperature changes with growth temperature, as represented by leaf or air temperature. We show that the simulated responses are consistent with observations from both controlled experiments and eddy-covariance flux tower data. We show that changes in Topt, and in the assimilation rate at Topt, are caused by changes in carboxylation capacity and electron transport rate that follow directly from the hypotheses underlying the model.
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Journal articleKientega M, Kaboré H, Sawadogo G, et al., 2026,
Genomic insights into the spread and evolution of insecticide resistance variants in Anopheles gambiae s.l. from Burkina Faso.
, Sci Rep, Vol: 16UNLABELLED: The intensive use of insecticide-based control tools has led to the rapid evolution of resistant phenotypes in malaria vector populations. Understanding the evolutionary processes underlying these resistances is essential to inform the development and deployment of effective control interventions. This study investigated the geographical spread and the genetic background of insecticide resistance variants in Anopheles gambiae s.l. in Burkina Faso. The study identified five pyrethroid-resistant mutations (995F, 995S, 402L(g > t,c), 1527T and 1570Y) at high frequencies. Six diplotype groups were identified, including novel combinations of the resistance-associated alleles (995F, 402L(g > t,c) and 1527T), which formed new genotypes within An. coluzzii populations. These results suggest the emergence of new resistance genotypes in An. coluzzii that are not associated with 995F, probably due to recombination and gene flow events. Interestingly, strong linkage disequilibrium (r2 = 0.821) was observed between 1527T and 402L(g > t) compared to 1527T and 402L(g > c). The PCA revealed three clusters of An. coluzzii populations, driven by 995F, 402L(g > t,c) and 1527T. Other insecticide resistance associated variants such as copy number variations and SNPs in the Ace1 gene (ace1-G280S), cytochrome P450s, esterases and glutathione S-transferases were identified at high frequencies in the same mosquito populations, indicating the intensity and diversity of resistance mechanisms in the country. The study underscores the extent and spreads of insecticide resistance variants in Burkina Faso. It highlights the importance of genomic surveillance of malaria vectors to monitor and detect new resistance variants and to understand the evolutionary processes in vector populations. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s
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Journal articleGarner BH, Scott A, Vogler AP, 2026,
Beetles, barcodes and big data: A deep dive into the phylogeny of Harpalinae (Carabidae)
, Systematic Entomology, Vol: 51, ISSN: 0307-6970The ground beetles (Carabidae) are a highly species-rich lineage of the Coleoptera, with over half of their diversity concentrated in the ~20,000 described species in the subfamily Harpalinae sensu lato. As a presumed recent radiation lacking deeply distinct morphological divisions, their taxonomic classification has been challenging, while molecular studies remain limited in the number of genes and taxa sampled. Using ~450 mitochondrial genome sequences from across the Carabidae and the major biogeographic realms we investigate the tribal relationships in Harpalinae. Our phylogenetic analysis supports a revised system that broadly divides the harpalines into two major reciprocally monophyletic lineages, corresponding to a narrowly defined Harpalinae sensu novo and a distinct Lebiinae. Within Harpalinae, we recover well-supported subclades that mostly represent existing tribes (e.g., Harpalini, Pterostichini, Licinini, Platynini), while clades in Lebiinae required the recognition of three new or redefined clades: Lebiini, Agrini and Odacanthini. We also establish the polyphyletic status of the ‘Truncatipennes’ defined by truncated elytra and traditionally encompassing most ‘lebiomorphs’, which are split into the Lebiinae and at least two additional lineages, corresponding to the Dryptinae and Brachininae (bombardier beetles) branching below the Harpalinae + Lebiinae clade. The mitogenome data were extended to include ~7000 species of Carabidae by adding all available cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) barcodes and other legacy sequences. The resulting phylogeny broadly concurs with the tribal boundaries defined by mitogenomes and provides a curated barcode reference library for species identification. The unprecedented scale of mitogenome sequencing, combined with dense taxon sampling of barcodes, resolves a particularly complex portion of the beetle tree-of-life.
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