Evolution articles from across Nature Portfolio

Despite substantial research into the architecture and biology of the pyrenoid, the fundamental biochemistry of these organelles remains unclear. In particular, the mechanism of carboxylation enhancement by the pyrenoid matrix is not known. We studied this mechanism at a protein-level resolution using a minimal synthetic pyrenoid.

The locomotion of modern cephalopods, such as squid and cuttlefish, relies on buoyancy control achieved mainly by a specialized structure called a siphuncle. The discovery of fossils of Eoceras — a millimetre-sized cephalopod with a siphuncle — suggests that the group had already emerged in the early Cambrian, around 520 million years ago.

Naked mole rats live in colonies characterized by having a single breeding queen. It emerges that a queen-associated chemical helps to maintain this reproductive hierarchy.

STING is a well-known activator of type I interferon (IFN-I) responses. However, it is debated whether STING has an ancestral function independent of interferon responses. Here, by combining evolutionary comparative analysis and lipidomics, the authors show that STING homologs regulate polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) metabolism via FADS2 and that this primordial STING-mediated metabolic control regulates responses to viral infections independently of antiviral IFN-I signaling.

This study shows that the structural protein essential pyrenoid component 1 (EPYC1) and the enzyme Rubisco are sufficient to assemble into pyrenoid-like structures that are functionally active and show a basic carbon-concentrating activity.

Population genetics analysis of centromeres of cultivated and wild accessions of pepper plants (Capsicum annuum) reveals centromere diversity and organization, and shows that these chromosomal regions played a role in the selection for domesticated traits.

Despite substantial research into the architecture and biology of the pyrenoid, the fundamental biochemistry of these organelles remains unclear. In particular, the mechanism of carboxylation enhancement by the pyrenoid matrix is not known. We studied this mechanism at a protein-level resolution using a minimal synthetic pyrenoid.

Christian Landry reflects on a 2002 study by Brem, Yvert and colleagues, which combined yeast genetics and genome-wide expression profiling to reveal the genetic architecture underlying gene expression and transformed our understanding of regulatory variation.

The ancient genetic variant is most common in people of South and East Asian ancestry.

The locomotion of modern cephalopods, such as squid and cuttlefish, relies on buoyancy control achieved mainly by a specialized structure called a siphuncle. The discovery of fossils of Eoceras — a millimetre-sized cephalopod with a siphuncle — suggests that the group had already emerged in the early Cambrian, around 520 million years ago.

Discovery of almost 400 structures may help to redefine the true scale of the Aquiry civilization — plus, tiny fossils of the earliest fossil squid ancestor.

The model can modify existing proteins using a probability approach.