Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Genetics
A study of Galápagos tree finches has identified a highly differentiated stretch of DNA associated with differences in beak and body size. The result suggests that one genomic region may have helped the finches expand into different ecological roles despite hybridization between species.
A study of the Kimberley rock-rat finds that patchy habitat and long-isolated islands have produced strongly separated local populations. Island groups have smaller effective population sizes, and the researchers warn that local extinctions could be difficult to reverse.
A genomic study of wild Atlantic salmon across North America suggests that interbreeding with escaped farmed salmon could interfere with genetic differences linked to local climate adaptation. The researchers say this interaction may add to the effects of climate change, although the study did not directly measure how introgression changes salmon survival or climate responses.
A tsunami in Japan created new habitats where freshwater and marine sticklebacks hybridized. Genomic monitoring over nine years found that marine DNA was rapidly removed from most of the hybrid population, including regions linked to reproductive isolation.
A study of Ecuadorian pumas provides the first genomic evidence of inbreeding in South American pumas. The findings suggest that climate history shaped older population connections, while fragmentation in the past 70 years has disrupted gene flow between some groups.
A study of threespine sticklebacks found that genes with different activity in freshwater fish were enriched for genetic variants previously linked to rapid adaptation. The variants were associated with tissue-specific processes including ion regulation in the gills and fatty acid metabolism in the brain.
