| 1. |
- Speliotes, Elizabeth K., et al.
(author)
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Association analyses of 249,796 individuals reveal 18 new loci associated with body mass index
- 2010
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In: Nature Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1061-4036 .- 1546-1718. ; 42:11, s. 937-948
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Obesity is globally prevalent and highly heritable, but its underlying genetic factors remain largely elusive. To identify genetic loci for obesity susceptibility, we examined associations between body mass index and ~2.8 million SNPs in up to 123,865 individuals with targeted follow up of 42 SNPs in up to 125,931 additional individuals. We confirmed 14 known obesity susceptibility loci and identified 18 new loci associated with body mass index (P < 5 × 10−8), one of which includes a copy number variant near GPRC5B. Some loci (at MC4R, POMC, SH2B1 and BDNF) map near key hypothalamic regulators of energy balance, and one of these loci is near GIPR, an incretin receptor. Furthermore, genes in other newly associated loci may provide new insights into human body weight regulation.
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| 2. |
- Ahola, Virpi, et al.
(author)
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The Glanville fritillary genome retains an ancient karyotype and reveals selective chromosomal fusions in Lepidoptera
- 2014
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In: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 5, s. 4737-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Previous studies have reported that chromosome synteny in Lepidoptera has been well conserved, yet the number of haploid chromosomes varies widely from 5 to 223. Here we report the genome (393 Mb) of the Glanville fritillary butterfly (Melitaea cinxia; Nymphalidae), a widely recognized model species in metapopulation biology and eco-evolutionary research, which has the putative ancestral karyotype of n = 31. Using a phylogenetic analyses of Nymphalidae and of other Lepidoptera, combined with orthologue-level comparisons of chromosomes, we conclude that the ancestral lepidopteran karyotype has been n = 31 for at least 140 My. We show that fusion chromosomes have retained the ancestral chromosome segments and very few rearrangements have occurred across the fusion sites. The same, shortest ancestral chromosomes have independently participated in fusion events in species with smaller karyotypes. The short chromosomes have higher rearrangement rate than long ones. These characteristics highlight distinctive features of the evolutionary dynamics of butterflies and moths.
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| 3. |
- Edger, Patrick P., et al.
(author)
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The butterfly plant arms-race escalated by gene and genome duplications
- 2015
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In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 112:27, s. 8362-8366
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Coevolutionary interactions are thought to have spurred the evolution of key innovations and driven the diversification of much of life on Earth. However, the genetic and evolutionary basis of the innovations that facilitate such interactions remains poorly understood. We examined the coevolutionary interactions between plants (Brassicales) and butterflies (Pieridae), and uncovered evidence for an escalating evolutionary arms-race. Although gradual changes in trait complexity appear to have been facilitated by allelic turnover, key innovations are associated with gene and genome duplications. Furthermore, we show that the origins of both chemical defenses and of molecular counter adaptations were associated with shifts in diversification rates during the arms-race. These findings provide an important connection between the origins of biodiversity, coevolution, and the role of gene and genome duplications as a substrate for novel traits.
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| 4. |
- Aagaard, Sunniva M.D. 1977-, et al.
(author)
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Resolving maternal relationships in the clubmoss genus Diphasiastrum (Lycopodiaceae)
- 2009
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In: Taxon. - 0040-0262 .- 1996-8175. ; 58:3, s. 835-848
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Diphasiastrum comprises 20-30 species. In addition to a number of species with a circumboreal distribution, several island endemics and putative diploid hybrid species contribute to the diversity of the group. To assess the integrity and relationships of the recognized species, a global phylogeny of Diphasiastrum is constructed using five chloroplast regions comprising ~9000 bp. Six monophyletic groups are identified. Accessions identified as hybrid species cluster in all but one case together with one of its putative parents. Two microsatellite loci are identified, and allelic information combined with sequence information is found diagnostic for the three putative parental taxa in the Central Europe hybrid complexes. Haplotype screening is performed on six Central European populations, from where one or more putative diploid hybrid species have been reported to grow in sympatry with their parent species. The most common parental haplotypes are identified in all populations. Additional intraspecific variation, restricted to single populations, is identified in all sympatric populations at very low frequencies. Taking the low degree of sequence and microsatellite variation into consideration, the acknowledged morphological diversity in Central Europe is probably best explained by phenotypic plasticity, ancestral polymorphisms or relatively recent events of reticulate evolution.
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| 5. |
- Aagaard, Sunniva M.D. 1977-, et al.
(author)
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Reticulate phylogenetic patterns in diploid European Diphasiastrum (Lycopodiaceae).
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- In Central Europe, three species belonging to Diphasiastrum are considered to be of homoploid hybrid origin. Diphasiastrum issleri is suggested to have originated from a cross between D. alpinum and D. complanatum, D. oellgaardii from D. alpinum and D. tristachyum, and D. zeilleri from D. complanatum and D. tristachyum. Variation at three nuclear regions and two chloroplast microsatellites verify the presence of all three putative parental combinations in Europe. Data obtained with Feulgen DNA image densitometry confirms that all specimens displaying such pattern are diploid. Also, two of three parental combinations have probably arisen repeatedly, implied by the occurrence of chloroplast haplotypes associated with different parents. The presented dataset cannot be used as argument for the existence of independent evolutionary entities hybrid origin. This is nonetheless an important first step in order to address the influence of reticulate evolutionary events in European Diphasiastrum.
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