Evolutionary biology articles from across Nature Portfolio

A previously unsampled deep lineage in central Argentina was discovered that had distinctive genetic drift by 8,500 bp and persisted as the main Native American ancestry component in the region up to the present day.

Genetic association tests prioritize candidate genes based on different criteria.

Kay et al. review evidence that parental care, and more complex social behaviour based on parental care, evolved in multiple species through the repeated co-option of members of a pleiotropic molecular network regulating the ancestral processes of feeding, growth and reproduction.

KRAB-zinc finger proteins repress retrotransposons and rapidly evolve in mammals. Here, the authors show that ERV insertions drive the emergence and diversification of new KZFP genes in mice, revealing a co-evolutionary mechanism between retroviruses and host repressors.

In this Journal Club, Tzachi Hagai highlights a 2005 paper by Sawyer et al. that tested the functional relationship of evolutionary changes in immune genes with infection outcomes.

In this Journal Club, Lopez-Hernandez and Ortega-Del Vecchyo discuss a study that mapped the genetic basis of hybrid incompatibility in swordtail fish, revealing melanoma-causing gene interactions that reduce survival in natural hybrid populations.

Convolutional neural networks and genetic association analysis decode the evolution of colour pattern diversity and its underlying complex genetic architecture in the Trinidadian guppy.

Nina Wedell discusses how a study by Dunning Hotopp et al., which found widespread lateral gene transfer (LGT) from the bacterium Wolbachia to a variety of arthropod and nematode hosts, catalysed the debate on the extent and functional relevance of LGT-derived genes.

Eduardo Eizirik works to understand a cat complex.

Ian Barnes discusses how a seminal paper by Krings et al. invoked renewed interest in the field of ancient DNA, inspiring both researchers and the wider public.