Ecological and Evolutionary Science
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceStructural and Nonstructural Genes Contribute to the Genetic Diversity of RNA VirusesWith the advent of advanced sequencing technology, studies of RNA viruses have shown that genetic diversity can contribute to both attenuation and virulence and the paradigm is that this is controlled by the error-prone RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). Since wild-type yellow fever virus (YFV) strain Asibi has genetic diversity typical of a wild-type RNA virus, while 17D virus vaccine has limited diversity, it provides a unique...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceRethinking the Coral Microbiome: Simplicity Exists within a Diverse Microbial BiosphereWe propose that the coral holobiont should be conceptualized as a diverse transient microbial community that is responsive to the surrounding environment and encompasses a simple, redundant, resident microbiome and a small conserved core microbiome. Most importantly, we show that the coral microbiome is comparable to the microbiomes of other organisms studied thus far. Accurately characterizing the coral-microbe interactions provides an...
- Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceAn Introduced Crop Plant Is Driving Diversification of the Virulent Bacterial Pathogen Erwinia tracheiphila
Erwinia tracheiphila is a virulent phytopathogen that infects two genera of cucurbit crop plants, Cucurbita spp. (pumpkin and squash) and Cucumis spp. (muskmelon and cucumber). One of the unusual ecological traits of this pathogen is that it is limited to temperate eastern North America. Here, we complete the first large-scale sequencing of an...
- Perspective | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceBotulinum Neurotoxin-Producing Bacteria. Isn’t It Time that We Called a Species a Species?
Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) are produced by a diverse set of seven clostridial species, though alternate naming systems have developed over the last 100 years. Starting in the 1950s, a single-species taxonomy where any bacterium producing BoNT would be designated Clostridium botulinum was introduced.
- Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceParallel Evolution of Genome Streamlining and Cellular Bioenergetics across the Marine Radiation of a Bacterial Phylum
Understanding long-term patterns of microbial evolution is critical to advancing our knowledge of past and present role microbial life in driving global biogeochemical cycles. Historically, it has been challenging to study the evolution of environmental microbes due to difficulties in obtaining genome sequences from lineages that could not be cultivated, but recent advances in metagenomics and single-cell genomics have begun to obviate...
- Editor's Pick Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceThe Genome of the Human Pathogen Candida albicans Is Shaped by Mutation and Cryptic Sexual Recombination
Mutations introduce variation into the genome upon which selection can act. Defining the nature of these changes is critical for determining species evolution, as well as for understanding the genetic changes driving important cellular processes. The heterozygous diploid fungus Candida albicans is both a frequent commensal organism and a prevalent opportunistic...