This Week in Evolution

Nels and Vincent dive deep into evolution and consider how new proteins emerged billions of years ago, when there were no other proteins to serve as starting material. Hosts:  Nels Elde  and  Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free):  iTunes , Google Podcasts ,  RSS ,  email Become a patron  of TWiEVO Primordial emergence of a nucleic acid binding protein (bioRxiv) Tawfik laboratory Image credit Letter...

Nels and Vincent discuss signatures of sex chromosome evolution revealed by assembly of a young vertebrate Y chromosome from 3-spined stickleback fish. Hosts:  Nels Elde  and  Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free):  iTunes , Google Podcasts ,  RSS ,  email Become a patron  of TWiEVO Assembly of a young vertebrate Y chromosome (bioRxiv) Image credit Letters read on TWiEVO 50 Time stamps by Jolene . T...

Rich joins Nels and Vincent for a debriefing on the 4th Ringberg Symposium on Giant Virus Biology in Tegernsee, Germany. Hosts:  Nels Elde  and  Vincent Racaniello Guest: Rich Condit Subscribe (free):  iTunes , Google Podcasts ,  RSS ,  email Become a patron  of TWiEVO Endless giant virus forms most beautiful ( TWiV 575 ) 4th Ringberg Giant Virus Meeting Program (pdf) Photographs by Matthias Fisch...

Nels and Vincent reveal a new choanoflagellate that forms multicellular cup shaped colonies that respond to light to alternate between feeding and swimming behavior. Hosts:  Nels Elde  and  Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free):  iTunes , Google Podcasts ,  RSS ,  email Become a patron  of TWiEVO Microbial accomplices in multicellularity ( TWiEVO 11 ) Light regulated collective contractility (Scienc...

Nels and Vincent trace the origins of Saccharomyces cerevisiae  strains used to make beer, and find that ales and lagers are made with yeasts that were derived from those used to make European grape wine and Asian rice wine. Hosts:  Nels Elde  and  Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free):  iTunes , Google Podcasts ,  RSS ,  email Become a patron  of TWiEVO Origins of beer yeasts (PLoS Biol) Chateau Ji...

Nels and Vincent analyze the genomes of canine transmissible tumors to provide insight into the worldwide spread of the disease from its origin in a single dog 4000-8500 years ago, and its diversity, mutation, and evolution. Hosts:  Nels Elde  and  Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free):  iTunes , Google Podcasts ,  RSS ,  email Become a patron  of TWiEVO Evolution and mutation of canine transmissibl...

At ASM Microbe in San Francisco, Nels and Vincent meet up with Talia Karasov who reveals that in contrast to agriculture, wild plants are colonized by multiple lineages of pathogenic bacteria. Hosts:  Nels Elde  and  Vincent Racaniello Guest: Talia Karasov Subscribe (free):  iTunes , Google Podcasts ,  RSS ,  email Become a patron  of TWiEVO Talia Karasov in the Bergelson lab Arabidopsis thaliana ...

At ASM Microbe in San Francisco, Nels and Vincent meet up with Paul Turner to talk about evolutionary considerations in using bacteriophages to treat infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Hosts:  Nels Elde  and  Vincent Racaniello Guest: Paul Taylor Subscribe (free):  iTunes , Google Podcasts ,  RSS ,  email Become a patron  of TWiEVO Turner Lab at Yale Phage therapy : A renewed approach...

Dustin Rubinstein joins Nels and Vincent to discuss coevolution of genome architecture and social behavior, and studying social transitions in sponge-dwelling snapping shrimp. Hosts:  Nels Elde  and  Vincent Racaniello Guest: Dustin Rubinstein Subscribe (free):  iTunes , Google Podcasts ,  RSS ,  email Become a patron  of TWiEVO Co-evolution of genome architecture and social behavior (Trend Ecol E...

Nels and Vincent review the contribution of multiple Denisovan lineages to the modern Papuan genome. Hosts:  Nels Elde  and  Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free):  iTunes , Google Podcasts ,  RSS ,  email Become a patron  of TWiEVO Denisovan ancestries in Papuans (Cell) Prof Murray Cox Image credit Letters read on TWiEVO 42 Time stamps by Jolene . Thanks! Science Picks Nels -  Sydney Brenner - What...

Nels and Vincent explore the evolution of new protein-coding genes de novo from nocoding DNA sequences, using the antifreeze protein of northern codfish as a model. Hosts:  Nels Elde  and  Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free):  iTunes , Google Podcasts ,  RSS ,  email Become a patron  of TWiEVO Evolution of antifreeze protein gene in codfish (PNAS) Codfish diversity (Cheng lab) Frankentomatoes (Huf...

Nels and Vincent move back to reproductive isolation - this time, pre-zygotic, in the charismatic orchid bee where the males make chemically distinct perfumes to attract mates of the same species. Hosts:  Nels Elde  and  Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free):  iTunes , Google Podcasts ,  RSS ,  email Become a patron  of TWiEVO Olfactory receptor gene underlies reproductive isolation (biorXiv) Image...

Nels and Vincent look at the intracellular bacteria Legionella from an evolutionary perspective: the role of gene acquisition and reshuffling from plants, animals, fungi, and archaea in the emergence of human pathogens. Hosts:  Nels Elde  and  Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free):  iTunes , Google Podcasts ,  RSS ,  email Become a patron  of TWiEVO Over 18,000 effectors in Legionella genome (PNAS)...

Nels and Vincent reveal a highly conserved protein that acts as an evolvability factor, increasing mutation and the ability of bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics. Hosts:  Nels Elde  and  Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free):  iTunes , Google Podcasts ,  RSS ,  email Become a patron  of TWiEVO Inhibiting evolution of antibiotic resistance (Mol Cell) Pushing viruses over the error threshold...

David Quammen joins Nels and Vincent to talk about his new book, A Tangled Tree , including evolutionary trees, Carl Woese, Lynn Margulis, horizontal gene transfer, and much more. Hosts:  Nels Elde  and  Vincent Racaniello Guest: David Quammen Subscribe (free):  iTunes , Google Podcasts ,  RSS ,  email Become a patron  of TWiEVO David's website David on  TWiV 408, Boston Quammens Axel Erlandson's...

Mia joins Nels and Vincent to unravel their finding that the transposons that maintain the ends of chromosomes in Drosophila have evolved in conflict with the genome. Hosts:  Nels Elde  and  Vincent Racaniello Guest: Mia Levine Subscribe (free):  iTunes , Google Podcasts ,  RSS ,  email Become a patron  of TWiEVO Levine Lab at U Penn Telomere elongation without telomerase (bioRxiv) Letters read on...

Nels and Vincent reveal that female-specific DNA associated with sex in strawberries has repeatedly changed its genomic location, possibly linking new genes with sex.  Hosts:  Nels Elde  and  Vincent Racaniello Become a patron  of TWiEVO Jumping sex genes in strawberries (PLoS Biol) Red Queen  by Matt Ridley Image credit Letters read on TWiEVO 35 Science Picks Nels - New snailfish and Cloned crayf...

Nels and Vincent discuss how the loss of an enzyme in marine mammals millions of years ago now makes them at risk for neurotoxicity caused by human-made organophosphorous pesticides. Hosts:  Nels Elde  and  Vincent Racaniello Become a patron  of TWiEVO Ancient losses of paraoxonase I (Science) Big Yellow Taxi (YouTube) Image credit Letters read on TWiEVO 34 Hey farmer farmer put away the chlor-pyr...

Nels and Vincent are astounded by the finding of an insect-derived virus in a fungus that manipulates the behavior of flies. Hosts:  Nels Elde  and  Vincent Racaniello Become a patron  of TWiEVO Virus in fungus in fly (bioRxiv) On a leaf, no one can hear you scream ( TWiV 443 ) Nels gives Benzer Lecture (YouTube) Domestication of fungal fly pathogen (bioRxiv) Sequencing E. muscae  genome (10X geno...

Matt joins Nels and Vincent to discuss the neutral theory of evolution and its rejection in light of genome-scale data. Hosts:  Nels Elde  and  Vincent Racaniello Guest: Matt Hahn Become a patron  of TWiEVO Hahn Lab Molecular Population Genetics by Matt Hahn Neutral theory in light of natural selection (Mol Biol Evol) Neutral Sequence Fallacy (Assembly of Fragments) Splendor and misery of adaptati...

Nels and Vincent present ancient hepatitis B virus genome sequences from Bronze Age to Medieval period human remains. Hosts:  Nels Elde  and  Vincent Racaniello Become a patron  of TWiEVO Ancient hepatitis B virus genomes (Nature) Even more ancient HBV genomes (bioRxiv) Image credit Letters read on TWiEVO 31 Science Picks Nels - Sampling whale breath with drones (Preprint) Vincent -   Verge Scienc...

Nels and Vincent reveal how a motor protein in corn causes preferential transmission of chromosomes to egg cells, leading to non-Mendelian inheritance. Hosts:  Nels Elde  and  Vincent Racaniello Become a patron  of TWiEVO Molecular Evolution and the Cell meeting Selfish corn chromosomes (Cell) Dawe Lab - neocentromeres and meiotic drive Image credit Letters read on TWiEVO 30 Science Picks Nels - C...

Nels and Vincent discuss the evolution of blood feeding to nonbiting in a mosquito, and evolution of bacterial virulence in the house finch caused by incomplete host immunity. Hosts:  Nels Elde  and  Vincent Racaniello Become a patron  of TWiEVO Molecular Evolution and the Cell meeting Mosquito evolution from blood feeding to nonbiting (PNAS) Mosquito blood feeding is not a free lunch (virology bl...

Sarah Tishkoff joins Nels and Vincent to explain work from her laboratory on the genetic basis of skin pigmentation in Africans. Hosts:  Nels Elde  and  Vincent Racaniello Guest: Sarah Tishkoff Become a patron  of TWiEVO Molecular Evolution and the Cell meeting Sarah AMA on Reddit Genetics of African skin pigmentation (Science) Image credit Science Picks Nels - In Defense of Plants  ( Shre w Loo )...

Taking a cue from the recent frigid weather, Nels and Vincent explore how modifications of a neuronal cold-sensing channel regulate diminished cold sensitivity in hibernating mammals. Hosts:  Nels Elde  and  Vincent Racaniello Become a patron  of TWiEVO Why ground squirrels and hamsters don't mind the cold (Cell Rep) Image credit Letters read on TWiEVO 27 Science Picks Nels - Undergrad podcasters...