Influence of parallel hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) on morphology of zinc electro­deposits has been investigated. Zn was electrodeposited potentiostatically from the alkaline electrolyte at overpotentials both inside and outside the plateau of the limiting diffusion current density, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to characterize the resulting deposits. Holes originating from detached hydrogen bubbles were formed among the branchy, fern-like dendrites at overpotentials outside the plateau of the limiting diffusion current density, while HER was not detected at the overpotential inside the plateau. The overpotential of electrodeposition had no significant effect on the amount of hydrogen produced (the HER current efficiency was in the 17.7-19.1 % range), but it did affect the hole size. Depending on the overpotential of the electrodeposition, the size of holes was from several to about 100 mm, including those obtained by a coalescence of neighbouring hydrogen bubbles, and decreased with the increasing overpotential. The absence of inhibition of dendritic growth in spite of a high value of evolved hydrogen was attributed to Zn, which belongs to the group of normal metals characterized by high values of both the exchange current density and the overpotential for hydrogen evolution.

The neural basis of imagination: an evolutionary perspective.

Natural populations are often spatially structured, meaning they exist as metapopulations composed of subpopulations connected by migration. Little is known about the impact of spatial structure, in particular the topology of connections among subpopulations, on adaptive evolution. Typically, spatial structure slows adaptation, although some models suggest topologies that concentrate dispersing individuals through a central hub can accelerate adaptation above that of a well-mixed system. We provide evidence to support this claim and show acceleration is accompanied by high rates of parallel evolution. Our results suggest metapopulation topology can be a potent force driving evolutionary dynamics and patterns of genomic repeatability in structured landscapes such as those involving the spread of pathogens or invasive species.

Rhodococcus erythropolis NI86/21, isolated from maize rhizosphere in Hungary, possesses one of the largest genomes (8.046 Mb) within the species. The genome comprises a 6.83 Mb chromosome and 1.22 Mb of extrachromosomal elements, including three circular and two fragmented linear plasmids. Comparative analysis identified five horizontally acquired genomic islands (HGTi), totaling 0.64 Mb with mosaic-like architecture derived from plasmids, phages, and chromosomal segments of other Nocardiaceae. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)-based proteomic analysis revealed a lower expression of genes located in HGT elements (53%) compared to core chromosomal genes (73%), indicating regulatory silencing of foreign DNA. Nevertheless, an inducible cytochrome P450 monooxygenase (CYP116) responsible for thiocarbamate and atrazine degradation is encoded on HGTi_V and actively expressed upon herbicide exposure. Strikingly, an identical CYP450 locus is present on a conjugative plasmid in Rhodococcus sp. TE1 isolated from thiocarbamate-treated soil in Canada, demonstrating independent acquisition of the same catabolic module from a high GC% content Rhodococcus, under similar selective pressure. Frequent recombination between chromosomal and mobile elements generates the observed mosaic-like HGT structures, which we found common for R. erythropolis strains. These results highlight extraordinary genomic plasticity and rapid adaptive evolution in Rhodococci, enabling efficient colonization of herbicide-contaminated agro-ecosystems.IMPORTANCERhodococcus erythropolis NI86/21 exemplifies how bacterial genomes evolve through horizontal gene transfer and mobile elements. Its unusually large, plastic genome contains extensive HGT islands and a high load of active transposons, which shape mosaic genomic architectures and hinder complete genome assembly. These horizontally acquired regions, although partially silenced, encode key adaptive functions such as an inducible CYP116 monooxygenase enabling thiocarbamate and atrazine degradation. Remarkably, an identical CYP116 module is present in Rhodococcus sp. TE1 from thiocarbamate-treated Canadian soil, demonstrating that similar environmental pressures can drive independent acquisition of the same biodegradation trait. Together, the dynamic transposon activity, mosaic HGT structure, and geographically convergent gene recruitment highlight the extraordinary genomic plasticity of R. erythropolis and underscore its rapid adaptive potential in agro-ecosystems, with implications for microbial evolution and bioremediation strategies.

Abstract This study investigates the morphology, material and mechanical properties of radular teeth in six lineages of Chondrinidae, a family of terrestrial gastropods. We examined three species that forage on biofilms from mixed substrates (Abida secale, Granopupa granum and Granaria frumentum) and three that specialized in scraping lichen off rock faces (Chondrina arcadica, Rupestrella rhodia and Solatopupa similis). Using scanning electron microscopy, nanoindentation and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, we analysed tooth morphology, hardness (H), Young’s modulus (E) and elemental composition. Our findings confirm that the central radular region reflects substrate preferences, with rock-scraping species exhibiting reduced tooth denticles and significantly higher E and H values compared to mixed substrate feeders. Correlations between mechanical properties and elemental composition (increased calcium or silicon content) suggest convergently evolved strengthening mechanisms in rock-scraping species. The results support hypotheses of parallel evolution in radular adaptations, highlighting Chondrinidae as a valuable model for studying the interplay of morphology, function, ecology and evolution.

The Eurasian steppe area has been a dynamic vegetation biome during the Pleistocene with its repeated cycles of forest advances and retreats. Such a scenario allows the evolution of ecotypes at the ecotone with the potential for parallel evolution in different parts of the distribution area. We test this hypothesis using the steppe and forest‐steppe herb Veronica spicata , based on results from genotyping‐by‐sequencing and pollen morphology. We provide evidence that the forest‐living paczoskiana‐morphotype evolved independently in Ukraine (the type locality in central Ukraine) and the Altai region, but potentially also elsewhere. Pollen morphology of 26 herbarium specimens was studied using both light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Pollen grains are 3(4)‐colpate and 3‐colporate, suboblate to prolate (P/E = 0.82–1.75) in shape; small‐ and medium‐sized. Pollen grains of forest ecotypes were usually smaller in size (mean 20.74 × 18.72 µm) than pollen of grassland V. spicata (mean 23.79 × 20.98 µm). Lack of an indumentum, reddish stem color, lower specific leaf area, and smaller pollen seem to be parallel adaptations to the shadier conditions and more acidic soil in these forests. The dynamic history of the forest‐steppe zone in Eurasia during the Pleistocene provides a compelling scenario supporting the convergent evolution of this morphotype.

The basic amino acids lysine and ornithine are precursors to bioactive alkaloids including nicotine, hyoscyamine, and securinine. The amino acids can be incorporated into alkaloids in a symmetric or nonsymmetric manner. Here, we report the discovery of enzymes responsible for the nonsymmetric pathway. We used transcriptomics and enzyme characterisation, including mutagenesis and isotope labelling, to identify the enzyme catalysing the nonsymmetric lysine incorporation step of securinine biosynthesis in Flueggea suffruticosa. We then used phylogenetics to expand the investigation across plants and identified orthologs from Nicotiana tabacum and Artemisia annua. We report the ornithine/lysine/arginine decarboxy-oxidases (OLADOs), pyridoxal phosphate (PLP)-dependent enzymes responsible for the nonsymmetric pathway, catalysing the single-step decarboxylative oxidative deamination of lysine, ornithine, or arginine. These enzymes are part of the group III ornithine/lysine/arginine decarboxylase-like family (OLADLs), previously associated with prokaryotes. We show that OLADLs are widespread in plants and that OLADOs have repeatedly emerged from OLADLs through parallel evolution. This investigation introduces a new class of eukaryotic decarboxylases and describes enzymes involved in multiple alkaloid biosynthesis pathways. It furthermore demonstrates how the principle of parallel evolution at a genomic and enzymatic level can be leveraged for gene discovery across multiple lineages.

Plants have evolved diverse defenses against herbivores, and some species produce juvenile hormone III (JH III) that disrupts insect growth and reproduction. While the insect JH III biosynthetic pathway is well-established, its occurrence and basis in plants remain unresolved. We investigated the molecular and biochemical basis of JH III biosynthesis in the model sedge Cyperus iria. Comparative genomics, expression profiling, metabolic analyses, and in vitro enzyme assays were combined with transient pathway reconstruction in Nicotiana benthamiana. Cyperus iria harbors members of the same enzyme families of four insect JH III pathway enzymes but lacks a canonical farnesoic acid methyltransferase (FAMT). A pair of SABATH methyltransferases was identified as functional FAMTs (CiFAMT) in C. iria. Functional validation in N. benthamiana transient assay demonstrated that CiFAMT can replace the insect farnesoic acid methyltransferase within an otherwise insect-based pathway, confirming its role in methyl farnesoate biosynthesis. Our results demonstrate that plants and insects have independently evolved the capacity to biosynthesize structurally identical JH III through recruitment of non-homologous enzymes. This provides compelling evidence for structural convergent evolution of a specialized metabolite with ecological implications for plant-insect interactions.

The evolution of type I polyketide synthase (T1PKS) assembly lines remains poorly understood. Through systematic mining of polyene biosynthetic gene clusters, we identified a novel eurocidin biosynthetic pathway capable of producing identical compounds with divergent loading module architectures, thereby capturing an evolutionary transitional state. Biochemical analysis revealed unprecedented functional reprogramming of acyltransferase (AT) domains, shifting substrate specificity from extender units (malonyl-CoA) to starter units (acyl-CoA). This paradigm shift enables direct initiation of polyketide chain assembly via AT-mediated loading of starter units, thereby elucidating the origin of extant AT-initiated assembly lines and establishing AT functional plasticity as a novel mechanism for polyketide structural diversification. Parallel evolution of ketosynthase (KS) domains through KSS→KSQ mutations further diversified initiation strategies. Applying this evolutionary insight, we engineered the candicidin pathway by replacing its native aromatic-starting bimodule with a starter-selective monomodule from eurocidin, generating aliphatic-starting analogs. This demonstrates that evolution-inspired AT reprogramming provides a rational framework for modifying polyketide starter units, expanding structural diversity, and enhancing therapeutic potential.

Elbow anatomy of fossil cercopithecids from Nakali, Kenya: Functional anatomy and taxonomy.

The repeated transition from aquatic to terrestrial environments (terrestrialization) has shaped the evolutionary trajectory of many animal lineages, yet the genomic basis of this ecological shift remains incompletely understood. Arthropods, with multiple independent terrestrialization events, provide a powerful system to investigate whether parallel genomic changes underlie adaptation to land. Here, we present a phylum-wide comparative phylogenomic analysis of 309 arthropod species representing aquatic and terrestrial lineages, using gene family evolutionary dynamics and directional selection analyses to uncover shared genomic strategies associated with life on land. We identified thousands of orthogroups showing parallel expansions or contractions across the three main lineages that colonised land (Arachnida, Myriapoda and Hexapoda), of which a significant proportion also exhibited lineage-specific shifts in selective pressure. Functional enrichment of these orthogroups revealed functional convergence on processes such as oxidative stress response, transmembrane transport, energy metabolism, exoskeleton formation and moulting regulation. Notably, parallel evolution in aquaporins, solute carriers, cytochrome P450s, superoxide dismutases and heat shock proteins suggests that a conserved terrestrialization toolkit underlies independent colonisation events. Additionally, parallel remodelling of key developmental and immune signalling pathways highlights the role of regulatory and structural innovations in adapting to terrestrial challenges. Our results provide the first large-scale genomic evidence of parallel molecular evolution driving arthropod terrestrialization and emphasise the power of comparative genomics to reveal shared solutions to ecological transitions across deep evolutionary timescales.

The terrestrial biota of modern Australia is a highly diverse mix of taxa exhibiting an array of adaptations to a range of habitats across three major biomes. With the vast majority of Australia now covered by dry, fire-tolerant vegetation communities that have evolved since the Eocene, Australia can be considered an arid continent, with xeric habitats of varying degrees of aridity dominating the Arid Zone, Mesic Zone and Monsoon Tropics biomes. Molecular phylogenetic studies exploring the evolutionary and biogeographic histories of Australian arid-adapted lineages cover a wide spectrum of animal and plant taxa, and have together highlighted the important role evolutionary adaptive radiations have played since the Miocene in shaping the composition and distributions of lineages. In this study, we apply a taxon-rich, multi-locus molecular dataset (of 252 specimens), to infer a continent-scale phylogeny of the Australian endemic trapdoor spider genus Idiosoma Ausserer (Idiopidae). This mega-diverse lineage of mygalomorph spiders is notable for being found across most of continental mainland Australia in both the Arid Zone and Mesic Zone biomes, in predominantly transitional and arid habitats to the exclusion of ever-wet mesic refugia. Idiosoma is further notable in the sheer variety of different burrow entrance morphologies constructed by species in different parts of Australia, with a suite of taxa known to construct burrows with an unusual and conspicuous addition of leaves or twigs (i.e., 'twig-lines') fanning out from the burrow entrance. This twig-lining behaviour has been postulated to be an adaptive shift associated with higher aridity environments. With the aim of characterising the Idiosoma adaptive radiation, including potential phenotypic adaptive shifts, we revealed a genus with at least 120 putative species in our molecular dataset, and a total Australian fauna that likely exceeds 200 species. Phylogenetic structure within the genus showed remarkably strong geographic fidelity at all levels, indicating an evolutionary history that has been heavily influenced by biogeographic factors. Ancestral range reconstruction recovered a temperate south-western or arid origin for crown-group Idiosoma, with divergence dating showing that the major diversification of lineages occurred from ca. 10-4 million years ago. Combined, these results support a Mio-Pliocene model of Idiosoma speciation across continental Australia, at a time when the country was undergoing extensive aridification. Finally, results of a maximum likelihood analysis using continuous-time Markov models were consistent with a model of parallel evolution of twig-lining burrowing behaviours in Idiosoma, driven by discrete adaptive shifts in biomes with contrasting levels of aridity. This is the first study to have quantified phenotypic adaptive shifts in a continental radiation of invertebrate animals across arid Australia, providing further evidence of the importance of climate-driven biotic change during the Miocene and Pliocene in shaping the distribution and composition of the Australian Arid Zone biota.

Plants harbor remarkable genetic diversity in flowering phenology, particularly in their responses to environmental cues such as photoperiod. Understanding the genetic basis of repeated evolution in flowering cues, which are key to reproduction, illuminates adaptation with gene flow and parallel evolution. We characterized variation in minimum critical daylength for flowering (MCD) in yellow monkeyflower (Mimulus guttatus) accessions from a geothermal soil mosaic in Yellowstone National Park, mapped loci underlying the most extreme MCD in focal thermal annuals, and investigated environmental variables shaping phenology in the field. Yellowstone monkeyflowers range in MCD from 12 to 15 h, paralleling range-wide variation in M. guttatus; plants from thermal habitats flower under significantly shorter daylengths. Two QTLs govern the most extreme 12-h MCD. Both contain candidates from gene families previously implicated in phenological evolution in monkeyflowers and other angiosperms, but the major loci appear novel. The frequency of 12-h flowering across a microgeographic gradient is predicted by variation in soil temperature and the timing of dry-down. Adaptation to Yellowstone's geothermal soil mosaic has generated dramatic evolution of flowering cues over short spatial scales. The genetic basis of 12-h flowering does not indicate re-use of known M. guttatus alleles, but strong candidate genes nonetheless suggest molecular parallelism.

The development of the retail sector in the Russian Federation is characterized by the parallel operation and evolution of two fundamentally different retail formats: traditional hypermarkets and innovative online marketplaces. Their economic efficiency and competitiveness are largely determined by the structure of operating and capital costs, as well as the specifics of the tax burden. This article provides a comprehensive comparative analysis of these cost categories, identifies the key determinants of their formation, forecasts future trends, and develops recommendations for improving the efficiency of the Russian retail sector.

Epistatic interactions among heterologous enzymes remain a fundamental bottleneck in pathway engineering, often constraining accessible evolutionary trajectories and frustrating rational pathway design. Using microbial pinosylvin biosynthesis as a model, we first mapped the controllable evolutionary trajectories for each pinosylvin-associated enzyme. We then developed a transcription-factor-based biosensor that links target product accumulation to fluorescence output, enabling the parallel evolution of all core enzymes along their manageable trajectories. A subsequent combinatorial analysis revealed the prevalent gene-gene epistasis, demonstrating that continued parallel evolution of all pinosylvin-related enzymes might compromise metabolic flux by creating conflicting mutational effects. To circumvent this, we further implemented targeted promoter reprogramming to rebalance transcriptional flux, restoring pathway coordination and unlocking synergistic improvements across evolved modules. The optimal strain achieved 931.04 mg/L pinosylvin in fed-batch fermentation, exceeding previously reported systems without requiring host-level changes. These results establish a scalable strategy that integrates landscape-guided evolution, biosensor-driven selection, and modular expression control, offering a generalizable approach for overcoming epistatic barriers in complex biosynthetic design.

Allopatric speciation is the predominant mode of speciation in riverine fishes. However, the relative importance of genetic drift versus natural selection in the allopatric speciation of these fishes remain uncertain. Here, we present a case study that demonstrates the role of ecology in the diversification of a group of imperiled freshwater fishes from the central United States. We integrate a phylogenomic dataset with analyses of streamwise distance, environmental variables, meristic and morphological traits, and diet to investigate the ecological context and outcomes of allopatric speciation within a species complex comprising the Slenderhead Darter Percina phoxocephala (Nelson), Ouachita Darter Percina brucethompsoni (Robison, Cashner, and Near), and Longnose Darter Percina nasuta (Bailey). We find that two of the species traditionally delimited based on disparity in snout length, P. phoxocephala and P. nasuta, are polyphyletic, revealing three instances of the parallel evolution of snout length disparity. We propose a revised taxonomy including the delimitation of six new species based on disparity in phenotypic traits and phylogenomic analyses. We find that morphological differences are not correlated with genetic divergence but are congruent with with variations in diet and environmental niches, suggesting a role for ecological factors in allopatric speciation of riverine fishes.

Abstract The majority of cancer deaths result from metastatic spread to other tissues and it has been observed clinically that cancers demonstrate distinct preferences for metastatic sites. While factors like physical proximity and the lymphatic access explain a degree of this site bias, the parallel evolution and molecular etiology of the heterogenous primary disease likely results in subclonal or clonal populations of tumor cells which are well-disposed to some potential metastatic sites and maladapted to others. Clinically, metastases to the brain are of particular interest due to the sensitivity of the brain to disruptions, difficulty in treatment, and particular lethality of spread. Non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) have been observed to metastasize to the brain at high prevalence. The features of NSCLC tumors that eventually metastasize to the brain may exhibit shared characteristics dictated by unique evolutionary constraints shaping their progression. Here, we examine a cohort of patients with metastatic NSCLC cancer to the brain whose paired primary-site and metastatic-site tumors have been sequenced. First, we reconstruct the individual evolutionary histories—including an estimate of the divergence timeline—of the primary and metastatic tumors using a Bayesian phylogenetic approach. We then investigate the effect of selection on metastatic spread by examining selection on somatic mutations both in individual tumor lineages and recurrently across the cohort. We further probe the population of mutations constituting neoantigens, as well as the shifts in the endogenous and exogenous mutational processes active in each site. We conclude by identifying specific mutational processes, neoantigen dynamics, and high-effect mutations unique to the metastatic lineage. Citation Format: Nic Fisk, Sarah Goldberg, Jeffrey P. Townsend. Characterization of the recurrent and parallel evolution of non-small cell lung cancer metastases to the brain [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference in Cancer Research: Cancer Evolution: The Dynamics of Progression and Persistence; 2025 Dec 4-6; Albuquerque, NM. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2025;85(23_Suppl):Abstract nr A007.

Abstract Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) represent a paradigm of cancer evolution, where spatial and temporal heterogeneity creates dynamic ecosystems that rapidly adapt to therapeutic pressures. Through multi-region multi-omics profiling of 45 patients across primary, irradiated, and recurrent tumors, we reconstructed evolutionary trajectories using an integrated analytical framework. DNA methylation (RRBS) was processed via Bismark, with CAMDAC deconvolution distinguishing cell type-specific signals from copy number alterations. Transcriptomic data were analyzed using Salmon and edgeR, while copy number landscapes were inferred through TitanCNA and InferCNV. Evolutionary dynamics were reconstructed using PRISM, enabling methylation-based phyloepigenome reconstruction to trace subclonal epigenetic evolution. Our analysis reveals that STS evolution follows a branching phylogenetic pattern, with early “trunk” alterations establishing the foundational epigenome and subsequent “branch” events driving radiation adaptation. PRISM-based methylation phylogenies demonstrated conserved evolutionary trajectories across patients, with epigenetic divergence increasing through treatment. At diagnosis, widespread methylome remodeling systematically rewires cellular identity, with convergent hypermethylation-mediated silencing of tumor suppressive networks (SMARCA4, DICER1, FOXO3) and hypomethylation-driven activation of oncogenic pathways (CCND1/2, CDK6). Across patients, these events were recurrent and enriched for functional gene expression changes, representing positive selection for survival advantages. Under radiotherapy selection pressure, the evolutionary dynamics shift from broad remodeling to targeted adaptation. The epigenome stabilizes, focusing on DNA repair (DDB2), stemness (ZBTB16), and proliferation (CCND1) pathways—evidence of directional selection for resistance mechanisms. Single-cell phylogenetics of >150,000 cells reveals that radiation selects for pre-existing subclones rather than generating novel populations, with overall ecosystem architecture maintained despite cellular turnover. Spatial-temporal mapping demonstrates that evolutionary trajectories vary dramatically both between patients and within individual tumors, generating multi-focal ecosystems where distinct subclones coexist, compete, and occasionally converge on shared adaptive solutions. This evolutionary framework explains radiotherapy resistance as the inevitable outcome of selection acting upon pre-existing heterogeneity. The convergent emergence of DNA repair enhancement, stem-like properties, and immunosuppressive niches across patients represents parallel evolution under common selective pressures. Together, these findings argue for the development of evolution-informed therapeutic strategies that anticipate and intercept adaptive trajectories, with the potential to overcome the formidable challenge of heterogeneity in treatment-resistant STS. Citation Format: Shaghayegh Soudi, Nadia Silvia, Ajay Subramanian, Serey Nouth, Faith Ryu, Taryn Kaneko, Christin New, Deborah Kenney, Raffi Avedian, Robert Steffner, David Mohler, Anusha Kalbasi, Matt van de Rijn, Gregory Charville, Everett Moding. Decoding the evolutionary landscape of soft tissue sarcomas: From multiregion origins to therapy-driven adaptation [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference in Cancer Research: Cancer Evolution: The Dynamics of Progression and Persistence; 2025 Dec 4-6; Albuquerque, NM. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2025;85(23_Suppl):Abstract nr B018.

The homology and evolutionary origins of conifer seed cones have been debated in the plant morphology literature for over a century. Although seed cones are broadly considered to be compound, in which the ovule-bearing structure is a highly modified shoot termed the ovuliferous scale, conifer research over the last several decades has challenged this interpretation for some taxa and raised new questions about the evolution of these reproductive structures. Here I explore (1) whether structures homologous to the axillary ovuliferous shoots of ancient conifers are present in all groups of living conifers, (2) the development and evolutionary origins of the inverted vascular bundles of ovuliferous scales, (3) the role of heterochrony in seed cone evolution and its relationship to functional morphology and pollination, and (4) evidence of parallel evolution of ovuliferous scales among major conifer lineages.

ABSTRACT This article examines how social movements achieve legal frame resonance through technical problem-solving. Using qualitative content analysis of 278 movement documents and 510 judicial rulings (2011–2023), I analyze how Chile’s water movement MODATIMA transformed from protest rhetoric to policy proposals, and examine courts’ response to this legal framing. Three interconnected processes emerged: (1) evolution from diagnostic framing (‘it’s not drought, it’s plunder’) to technical specifications (100 L/day guarantees, allocation hierarchies, governance procedures); (2) parallel yet interconnected evolution of movement proposals and judicial conceptualizations during the 2020 pandemic crisis when courts required immediate implementation tools; and (3) differential uptake across legal institutions—the Supreme Court incorporated human rights distinctions while Appeals Courts maintained property frameworks, administrative agencies adopted water allocation criteria, and local governments implemented monitoring procedures, yet all utilized MODATIMA’s operational mechanisms. Contrary to conventional framing theory emphasizing value alignment, I find resonance emerged through provision of implementable solutions to governance problems. The movement’s 100 L/day standard achieved broader adoption than abstract rights claims precisely because it offered measurable, enforceable criteria. These findings suggest successful legal mobilization in fragmented institutional contexts depends on technical specificity that enables incremental implementation across contradictory legal frameworks. The study contributes to understanding how movements navigate between transformative aspirations and institutional constraints through pragmatic innovation.