Genetics News | Sci.News

A cacao tree (Theobroma cacao) with fruit pods in various stages of ripening. Image credit: Marco Vasquez.

Scientists Discover Gene that Controls Flowering in Cacao

May 18, 2021 by News Staff

A team of researchers at the Pennsylvania State University has made a discovery that may help accelerate breeding efforts aimed at improving the disease-ridden...

The ecological function of the main volatiles emitted by opening flowers, flower buds, leaves, and stems of the lavender (Lavandula angustifolia): a large proportion of linalool, linalyl acetate, and lavandulyl acetate in opening flowers function as attractants for pollinators; at the flower bud stage, α-pinene, β-pinene, and β-ocimene, etc. provide defense against herbivores and predators; borneol, camphor, 1,8-cineole, camphene, and bornyl acetate are the main compounds in leaves and stems, and are always repellents to pests. Image credit: Li et al., doi: 10.1038/s41438-021-00490-6.

Researchers Sequence Genome of New Lavender Cultivar

May 17, 2021 by Natali Anderson

A research team in China has produced the high-quality reference genome for ‘Jingxun 2,’ a cultivar of the lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) recently...

The Yap hadal snailfish. Image credit: Mu et al., doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.100953.

Scientists Sequence Genome of Deep-Sea Snailfish

May 14, 2021 by Natali Anderson

A team of researchers in China has sequenced and assembled the high-quality reference genome for the Yap hadal snailfish, which was captured at a depth...

Lemon-scented gum trees (Corymbia citriodora) at the Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens in Australia. Image credit: Bidgee / CC BY 3.0.

Lemon-Scented Gum Tree Genome Sequenced

May 13, 2021 by News Staff

An international team of researchers has for the first time mapped the genome of the lemon-scented gum (Corymbia citriodora). Lemon-scented gum trees (Corymbia...

El Sidron Neanderthals taste wild mushrooms, pine nuts and forest moss. Image credit: Abel Grau, CSIC Communication.

Researchers Reconstruct Oral Microbiomes of Neanderthals, Paleolithic and Modern Humans

May 11, 2021 by News Staff

The oral microbiome plays key roles in human biology, health, and disease, but little is known about the global diversity, variation, or evolution of this...

An adult female Masai giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) in the Masaai Mara National Park, Kenya. Image credit: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen / CC BY-SA 3.0.

DNA Study Confirms There Are Four Giraffe Species

May 7, 2021 by News Staff

An international team of researchers has sequenced and analyzed the genomes 50 giraffe individuals representing all traditionally recognized subspecies....

Researchers Sequence Genomes of Revived 2,000-Year-Old Date Palms

May 6, 2021 by Sergio Prostak

An international team of scientists from Israel, the United States, France, and the United Arab Emirates has successfully sequenced and analyzed the genomes...

Two common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). Image credit: Dario Sanches.

Scientists Sequence Genome of Common Marmoset

Apr 29, 2021 by News Staff

Researchers from the Vertebrate Genomes Project have produced a chromosome-level, fully haplotype-resolved diploid genome assembly for the common marmoset...

A skull of Voay robustus collected at Ampoza during the joint Mission Franco-Anglo-American expedition from 1927-1930. Image credit: Hekkala et al., doi: 10.1038/s42003-021-02017-0.

Ancient DNA Sheds Light on Evolutionary History of Extinct ‘Horned’ Crocodile

Apr 27, 2021 by News Staff

An international team of scientists has recovered and analyzed partial mitochondrial genomes from 1,300-1,400-year-old specimens of Voay robustus, a recently...

Reconstruction of the giant, short-faced North American bear Arctodus simus. Image credit: Daniel Reed / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Genome-Wide Data from Stone Age Bears Recovered from Cave Sediments

Apr 20, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

Scientists have reconstructed the genomes of the extinct giant short-faced bear (Arctodus simus) and the American black bear (Ursus americanus) using environmental...

Life reconstruction of the Steller’s sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas). Image credit: Biodiversity Heritage Library / Sci-News.com.

Scientists Sequence Genome of Extinct Steller’s Sea Cow

Apr 19, 2021 by Natali Anderson

A multinational team of researchers has successfully sequenced and analyzed the genome of the Steller’s sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas). Their results show...

Neanderthals in a cave. Image credit: Tyler B. Tretsven.

Neanderthal Nuclear DNA Found in Paleolithic Cave Sediments

Apr 16, 2021 by News Staff

An international team of scientists has developed new methods for the enrichment and analysis of nuclear DNA from sediments, and applied them to cave deposits...

A graphical abstract showing the six sex chromosomes found in Odorrana swinhoana. Image credit: Ikuo Miura.

Taiwanese Frog Has Six Sex Chromosomes, Study Shows

Apr 15, 2021 by News Staff

Biologists have found a multiple sex chromosome system comprising three different chromosome pairs in Odorrana swinhoana, a species of medium to large-sized...

The occasional use of stone tools as ‘strike-a-lights’ was a technocultural feature shared among Neanderthals in France.

First European Homo sapiens Mixed with Neanderthals, DNA Study Shows

Apr 9, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

Scientists have extracted and analyzed DNA from three individuals of anatomically modern humans who lived between 45,930 and 42,580 years ago in what is...

Bombus incognitus is indistinguishable from Bombus sylvicola using typical diagnostic characters. Image credit: Jennifer Geib.

Cryptic New Species of Bumblebee Discovered in Rocky Mountains

Apr 8, 2021 by News Staff

A research team led by Uppsala University scientists has sequenced and compared the genomes of a bumblebee species called Bombus sylvicola and a previously...

Naqvi et al. recently developed a data-driven approach to phenotyping complex, multidimensional traits; this multivariate approach, when applied to facial surface images, revealed numerous genomic loci with no previously known role in human face shape variation; in the new study, the team implemented this approach to discover associations between common genetic variants and brain shape, using MRI data from middle-aged participants in the UK Biobank. Image credit: Gerd Altmann.

Genetic Link between Brain and Face Shape Discovered

Apr 6, 2021 by News Staff

In a genome-wide association study involving 19,644 individuals of European ancestry, an international team of researchers identified 472 genomic regions,...

Silverleaf whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci) carry a plant-derived phenolic glucoside malonyltransferase gene BtPMaT1, which enables the insects to neutralize phenolic glycosides in host plants. Image credit: Xia et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.02.014.

Silverleaf Whiteflies Carry Plant-Derived Detoxification Gene, New Study Shows

Mar 26, 2021 by News Staff

The silverleaf whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) incorporated a gene called BtPMaT1 from plants into its genome roughly 35 million years ago and now uses it to...

Reconstruction of Homo floresiensis. Image credit: Kinez Riza / Atelier Elisabeth Daynes, Sangiran Museum.

Southeast Asians Carry DNA of ‘Mysterious Southern Denisovans’

Mar 23, 2021 by News Staff

The hominin fossil record of Island Southeast Asia (ISEA) indicates that at least two super-archaic species, Homo luzonensis and Homo floresiensis, were...

Dry age-related macular degeneration is one of the most common causes of vision loss in people over the age of 50. Image credit: Pexels.

Researchers Identify 50 New Eye Color Genes

Mar 15, 2021 by News Staff

The largest genome-wide association study for eye color to date, involving up to 192,986 European participants from 10 populations, has identified 124...