Whole genome assembly of the armored loricariid catfish Ancistrus triradiatus highlights herbivory signatures.

The catfish Ancistrus triradiatus belongs to the species-rich family Loricariidae. Loricariids display remarkable traits such as herbivory, a benthic lifestyle, the absence of scales but the presence of dermal bony plates. They are exported as ornamental fish worldwide, with escaped fishes becoming a threat locally. Although genetic and phylogenetic studies are continuously increasing and developmental genetic investigations are underway, no genome assembly has been formally proposed for Loricariidae yet. We report a high-quality genome assembly of Ancistrus triradiatus using long and short reads, and a newly assembled transcriptome. The genome assembly is composed of 9530 scaffolds, including 85.6% of ray-finned fish BUSCOs, and 26,885 predicted protein-coding genes. The genomic GC content is higher than in other catfishes, reflecting the higher metabolism associated with herbivory. The examination of the SCPP gene family indicates that the genes presumably triggering scale loss when absent, are present in the scaleless A. triradiatus, questioning their explanatory role. The analysis of the opsin gene repertoire revealed that gene losses associated to the nocturnal lifestyle of catfishes were not entirely found in A. triradiatus, as the UV-sensitive opsin 5 is present. Finally, most gene family expansions were related to immunity except the gamma crystallin gene family which controls pupil shape and sub-aquatic vision. Thus, the genome of A. triradiatus reveals that fish herbivory may be related to the photic zone habitat, conditions metabolism, photoreception and visual functions. This genome is the first for the catfish suborder Loricarioidei and will serve as backbone for future genetic, developmental and conservation studies.

Evolutionary units delimitation and continental multilocus phylogeny of the hyperdiverse catfish genus Hypostomus.

With 149 currently recognized species, Hypostomus is one of the most species-rich catfish genera in the world, widely distributed over most of the Neotropical region. To clarify the evolutionary history of this genus, we reconstructed a comprehensive phylogeny of Hypostomus based on four nuclear and two mitochondrial markers. A total of 206 specimens collected from the main Neotropical rivers were included in the present study. Combining morphology and a Bayesian multispecies coalescent (MSC) approach, we recovered 85 previously recognized species plus 23 putative new species, organized into 118 'clusters'. We presented the Cluster Credibility (CC) index that provides numerical support for every hypothesis of cluster delimitation, facilitating delimitation decisions. We then examined the correspondence between the morphologically identified species and their inter-specific COI barcode pairwise divergence. The mean COI barcode divergence between morphological sisters species was 1.3 ± 1.2%, and only in 11% of the comparisons the divergence was ≥2%. This indicates that the COI barcode threshold of 2% classically used to delimit fish species would seriously underestimate the number of species in Hypostomus, advocating for a taxon-specific COI-based inter-specific divergence threshold to be used only when approximations of species richness are needed. The phylogeny of the 108 Hypostomus species, together with 35 additional outgroup species, confirms the monophyly of the genus. Four well-supported main lineages were retrieved, hereinafter called super-groups: Hypostomus cochliodon, H. hemiurus, H. auroguttatus, and H. plecostomus super-groups. We present a compilation of diagnostic characters for each super-group. Our phylogeny lays the foundation for future studies on biogeography and on macroevolution to better understand the successful radiation of this Neotropical fish genus.

LSX: automated reduction of gene-specific lineage evolutionary rate heterogeneity for multi-gene phylogeny inference.

BACKGROUND: Lineage rate heterogeneity can be a major source of bias, especially in multi-gene phylogeny inference. We had previously tackled this issue by developing LS3, a data subselection algorithm that, by removing fast-evolving sequences in a gene-specific manner, identifies subsets of sequences that evolve at a relatively homogeneous rate. However, this algorithm had two major shortcomings: (i) it was automated and published as a set of bash scripts, and hence was Linux-specific, and not user friendly, and (ii) it could result in very stringent sequence subselection when extremely slow-evolving sequences were present. RESULTS: We address these challenges and produce a new, platform-independent program, LSX, written in R, which includes a reprogrammed version of the original LS3 algorithm and has added features to make better lineage rate calculations. In addition, we developed and included an alternative version of the algorithm, LS4, which reduces lineage rate heterogeneity by detecting sequences that evolve too fast and sequences that evolve too slow, resulting in less stringent data subselection when extremely slow-evolving sequences are present. The efficiency of LSX and of LS4 with datasets with extremely slow-evolving sequences is demonstrated with simulated data, and by the resolution of a contentious node in the catfish phylogeny that was affected by an unusually high lineage rate heterogeneity in the dataset. CONCLUSIONS: LSX is a new bioinformatic tool, with an accessible code, and with which the effect of lineage rate heterogeneity can be explored in gene sequence datasets of virtually any size. In addition, the two modalities of the sequence subsampling algorithm included, LS3 and LS4, allow the user to optimize the amount of non-phylogenetic signal removed while keeping a maximum of phylogenetic signal.

An integrated approach clarifies the cryptic diversity in Hypostomus Lacépède 1803 from the Lower La Plata Basin.

Hypostomus commersoni Valenciennes 1836, Hypostomus cordovae (Günther 1880) and Hypostomus laplatae (Eigenmann 1907) have been little studied since their original descriptions. This study shows a comprehensive review of these species from the Lower La Plata Basin, including their taxonomic history, distribution, color patterns, morphology, and ecological and molecular phylogenetic data. Morphological and phylogenetic analyses based on D-loop sequences suggested that H. commersoni can be separated into two subclades, or subgroups. Based on these results and on the non-overlapping distribution range of the two subclades, we conclude that they represent two distinct species, thereby revalidating H. spiniger. The results also suggest that H. paranensis should be considered as species inquirenda and H. cordovae as valid species. This integrated approach provides key information for assessing the conservation status and biogeographic aspects of the genus Hypostomus in the Lower La Plata Basin.

Back to the roots: Reducing evolutionary rate heterogeneity among sequences gives support for the early morphological hypothesis of the root of Siluriformes (Teleostei: Ostariophysi).

Catfishes (Teleostei: Siluriformes) are a highly diverse order within Ostariophysi that is distributed worldwide. At the base of this clade emerge three lineages with well-defined monophylies: Diplomystidae, Loricarioidei, and Siluroidei. Morphological phylogeny studies place the Diplomystidae as the earliest branching of these three lineages, but studies based on molecular phylogenetics consistently find the fast-evolving Loricarioidei instead. The high lineage evolutionary rate heterogeneity in this order and the fact that the lineage placed closest to the root in the molecular phylogenies is fast evolving, including many long branches, raises the possibility that the discrepancy between morphological and molecular phylogenies may be the result of a long branch attraction inference artifact. We test this hypothesis by using a 10-gene dataset to evaluate the arrangement of the three main siluriform lineages, and apply the LS3 and LS4 taxon sequence subsampling methods to reduce evolutionary rate heterogeneity among lineages. The initial and complete dataset supports the basal branching of Loricarioidei as in all previous molecular phylogenies, but once lineage rate heterogeneity is reduced with LS3 or LS4 through the removal of sequences disrupting homogeneity, the phylogeny shows Diplomystidae as the earliest branching group, with high supports, as proposed by morphological phylogeny. The result obtained with LS3, however, introduces the misplacement of one of the species with the highest amount of missing data, Scoloplax sp. Because the sequence sub-selection criterion of LS4 has been optimized to reduce data removal, the phylogeny resulting from the LS4-processed data is in agreement with the known intra-lineage relationships in addition to supporting the morphologically-based rooting hypothesis. Our results are the first instance in which a consensus between molecular and morphological phylogeny is reached concerning the root of this order.

Effect of hybridization with genome exclusion on extinction risk.

Human-induced habitat changes may lead to the breakdown of reproductive barriers between distantly related species. This phenomenon may result in fertile first-generation hybrids (F1 ) that exclude the genome of one parental species during gametogenesis, thus disabling introgression. The species extinction risk associated with hybridization with genome exclusion is largely underappreciated because the phenomenon produces only F1 hybrid phenotype, leading to the misconception that hybrids are sterile and potentially of minor conservation concern. We used a simulation model that integrates the main genetic, demographic, and ecological processes to examine the dynamics of hybridization with genome exclusion. We showed that this mode of hybridization may lead to extremely rapid extinction when the process of genome exclusion is unbalanced between the interbreeding species and when the hybridization rate is not negligible. The coexistence of parental species was possible in some cases of asymmetrical genome exclusion, but show this equilibrium was highly vulnerable to environmental variation. Expanding the exclusive habitat of the species at risk allowed its persistence. Our results highlight the extent of possible extinction risk due to hybridization with genome exclusion and suggest habitat management as a promising conservation strategy. In anticipation of serious threats to biodiversity due to hybridization with genome exclusion, we recommend a detailed assessment of the reproductive status of hybrids in conservation programs. We suggest such assessments include the inspection of genetic content in hybrid gametes.

LS³: A Method for Improving Phylogenomic Inferences When Evolutionary Rates Are Heterogeneous among Taxa.

Phylogenetic inference artifacts can occur when sequence evolution deviates from assumptions made by the models used to analyze them. The combination of strong model assumption violations and highly heterogeneous lineage evolutionary rates can become problematic in phylogenetic inference, and lead to the well-described long-branch attraction (LBA) artifact. Here, we define an objective criterion for assessing lineage evolutionary rate heterogeneity among predefined lineages: the result of a likelihood ratio test between a model in which the lineages evolve at the same rate (homogeneous model) and a model in which different lineage rates are allowed (heterogeneous model). We implement this criterion in the algorithm Locus Specific Sequence Subsampling (LS³), aimed at reducing the effects of LBA in multi-gene datasets. For each gene, LS³ sequentially removes the fastest-evolving taxon of the ingroup and tests for lineage rate homogeneity until all lineages have uniform evolutionary rates. The sequences excluded from the homogeneously evolving taxon subset are flagged as potentially problematic. The software implementation provides the user with the possibility to remove the flagged sequences for generating a new concatenated alignment. We tested LS³ with simulations and two real datasets containing LBA artifacts: a nucleotide dataset regarding the position of Glires within mammals and an amino-acid dataset concerning the position of nematodes within bilaterians. The initially incorrect phylogenies were corrected in all cases upon removing data flagged by LS³.

Trunk dental tissue evolved independently from underlying dermal bony plates but is associated with surface bones in living odontode-bearing catfish.

Although oral dental tissue is a vertebrate attribute, trunk dental tissue evolved in several extinct vertebrate lineages but is rare among living species. The question of which processes trigger dental-tissue formation in the trunk remains open, and would shed light on odontogenesis evolution. Extra-oral dental structures (odontodes) in the trunk are associated with underlying dermal bony plates, leading us to ask whether the formation of trunk bony plates is necessary for trunk odontodes to emerge. To address this question, we focus on Loricarioidei: an extant, highly diverse group of catfish whose species all have odontodes. We examined the location and cover of odontodes and trunk dermal bony plates for all six loricarioid families and 17 non-loricarioid catfish families for comparison. We inferred the phylogeny of Loricarioidei using a new 10-gene dataset, eight time-calibration points, and noise-reduction techniques. Based on this phylogeny, we reconstructed the ancestral states of odontode and bony plate cover, and find that trunk odontodes emerged before dermal bony plates in Loricarioidei. Yet we discovered that when bony plates are absent, other surface bones are always associated with odontodes, suggesting a link between osteogenic and odontogenic developmental pathways, and indicating a remarkable trunk odontogenic potential in Loricarioidei.

Molecular phylogeny of the highly diversified catfish subfamily Loricariinae (Siluriformes, Loricariidae) reveals incongruences with morphological classification.

The Loricariinae belong to the Neotropical mailed catfish family Loricariidae, the most species-rich catfish family. Among loricariids, members of the Loricariinae are united by a long and flattened caudal peduncle and the absence of an adipose fin. Despite numerous studies of the Loricariidae, there is no comprehensive phylogeny of this morphologically highly diversified subfamily. To fill this gap, we present a molecular phylogeny of this group, including 350 representatives, based on the analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear genes (8426 positions). The resulting phylogeny indicates that Loricariinae are distributed into two sister tribes: Harttiini and Loricariini. The Harttiini tribe, as classically defined, constitutes a paraphyletic assemblage and is here restricted to the three genera Harttia, Cteniloricaria, and Harttiella. Two subtribes are distinguished within Loricariini: Farlowellina and Loricariina. Within Farlowellina, the nominal genus formed a paraphyletic group, as did Sturisoma and Sturisomatichthys. Within Loricariina, Loricaria, Crossoloricaria, and Apistoloricaria are also paraphyletic. To solve these issues, and given the lack of clear morphological diagnostic features, we propose here to synonymize several genera (Quiritixys with Harttia; East Andean members of Crossoloricaria, and Apistoloricaria with Rhadinoloricaria; Ixinandria, Hemiloricaria, Fonchiiichthys, and Leliella with Rineloricaria), to restrict others (Crossoloricaria, and Sturisomatichthys to the West Andean members, and Sturisoma to the East Andean species), and to revalidate the genus Proloricaria.

Changes in Hox genes' structure and function during the evolution of the squamate body plan.

Hox genes are central to the specification of structures along the anterior-posterior body axis, and modifications in their expression have paralleled the emergence of diversity in vertebrate body plans. Here we describe the genomic organization of Hox clusters in different reptiles and show that squamates have accumulated unusually large numbers of transposable elements at these loci, reflecting extensive genomic rearrangements of coding and non-coding regulatory regions. Comparative expression analyses between two species showing different axial skeletons, the corn snake and the whiptail lizard, revealed major alterations in Hox13 and Hox10 expression features during snake somitogenesis, in line with the expansion of both caudal and thoracic regions. Variations in both protein sequences and regulatory modalities of posterior Hox genes suggest how this genetic system has dealt with its intrinsic collinear constraint to accompany the substantial morphological radiation observed in this group.

Optimization of de novo transcriptome assembly from next-generation sequencing data.

Transcriptome analysis has important applications in many biological fields. However, assembling a transcriptome without a known reference remains a challenging task requiring algorithmic improvements. We present two methods for substantially improving transcriptome de novo assembly. The first method relies on the observation that the use of a single k-mer length by current de novo assemblers is suboptimal to assemble transcriptomes where the sequence coverage of transcripts is highly heterogeneous. We present the Multiple-k method in which various k-mer lengths are used for de novo transcriptome assembly. We demonstrate its good performance by assembling de novo a published next-generation transcriptome sequence data set of Aedes aegypti, using the existing genome to check the accuracy of our method. The second method relies on the use of a reference proteome to improve the de novo assembly. We developed the Scaffolding using Translation Mapping (STM) method that uses mapping against the closest available reference proteome for scaffolding contigs that map onto the same protein. In a controlled experiment using simulated data, we show that the STM method considerably improves the assembly, with few errors. We applied these two methods to assemble the transcriptome of the non-model catfish Loricaria gr. cataphracta. Using the Multiple-k and STM methods, the assembly increases in contiguity and in gene identification, showing that our methods clearly improve quality and can be widely used. The new methods were used to assemble successfully the transcripts of the core set of genes regulating tooth development in vertebrates, while classic de novo assembly failed.

Benchmarking the Mantel test and derived methods for testing association between distance matrices.

Testing the association between objects is central in ecology, evolution, and quantitative sciences in general. Two types of variables can describe the relationships between objects: point variables (measured on individual objects), and distance variables (measured between pairs of objects). The Mantel test and derived methods have been extensively used for distance variables. Yet, these methods have been criticized due to low statistical power and inflated type I error when spatial autocorrelation is present. Here, we assessed the statistical power between different types of tested variables and the type I error rate over a wider range of autocorrelation intensities than previously assessed, both on univariate and multivariate data. We also illustrated the performance of distance matrix statistics through computational simulations of genetic diversity. We show that the Mantel test and derived methods are not affected by inflated type I error when spatial autocorrelation affects only one variable when investigating correlations, or when either the response or the explanatory variable(s) is affected by spatial autocorrelation while investigating causal relationships. As previously noted, with autocorrelation affecting more variables, inflated type I error could be reduced by modifying the significance threshold. Additionally, the Mantel test has no problem of statistical power when the hypothesis is formulated in terms of distance variables. We highlight that transformation of variable types should be avoided because of the potential information loss and modification of the tested hypothesis. We propose a set of guidelines to help choose the appropriate method according to the type of variables and defined hypothesis.

From scales to armor: Scale losses and trunk bony plate gains in ray-finned fishes.

Actinopterygians (ray-finned fishes) are the most diversified group of vertebrates and are characterized by a variety of protective structures covering their integument, the evolution of which has intrigued biologists for decades. Paleontological records showed that the first mineralized vertebrate skeleton was composed of dermal bony plates covering the body, including odontogenic and skeletogenic components. Later in evolution, the exoskeleton of actinopterygian's trunk was composed of scale structures. Although scales are nowadays a widespread integument cover, some contemporary lineages do not have scales but bony plates covering their trunk, whereas other lineages are devoid of any such structures. To understand the evolution of the integument coverage and particularly the transition between different structures, we investigated the pattern of scale loss events along with actinopterygian evolution and addressed the functional relationship between the scaleless phenotype and the ecology of fishes. Furthermore, we examined whether the emergence of trunk bony plates was dependent over the presence or absence of scales. To this aim, we used two recently published actinopterygian phylogenies, one including >11,600 species, and by using stochastic mapping and Bayesian methods, we inferred scale loss events and trunk bony plate acquisitions. Our results reveal that a scaled integument is the most frequent state in actinopterygians, but multiple independent scale loss events occurred along their phylogeny with essentially no scale re-acquisition. Based on linear mixed models, we found evidence supporting that after a scale loss event, fishes tend to change their ecology and adopt a benthic lifestyle. Furthermore, we show that trunk bony plates appeared independently multiple times along the phylogeny. By using fitted likelihood models for character evolution, we show that trunk bony plate acquisitions were dependent on a previous scale loss event. Overall, our findings support the hypothesis that integument cover is a key evolutionary trait underlying actinopterygian radiation.

Air temperature influences early Covid-19 outbreak as indicated by worldwide mortality.

The Covid-19 outbreak has triggered a global crisis that is challenging governments, health systems and the scientific community worldwide. A central question in the Covid-19 pandemic is whether climatic factors have influenced its progression. To address this question, we used mortality rates during the first three weeks of recorded mortality in 144 countries, during the first wave of the pandemic. We examined the effect of climatic variables, along with the proportion of the population older than 64 years old, the number of beds in hospitals, and the timing and strength of the governmental travel measures to control the spread of the disease. Our first model focuses on air temperature as the central climatic factor and explains 67% of the variation in mortality rate, with 37% explained by the fixed variables considered and 31% explained by country-specific variations. We show that mortality rate is negatively influenced by warmer air temperature. Each additional Celsius degree decreases mortality rate by ~5%. Our second model is centred on the UV Index and follows the same trend as air temperature, explaining 69% of the variation in mortality rate. These results are robust to the exclusion of countries with low incomes, as well as to the exclusion of low- and medium-income countries. We also show that the proportion of vulnerable age classes and access to healthcare are critical factors impacting the mortality rate of this disease. The effects of air temperature at an early stage of the Covid-19 outbreak is a key factor to understand the primary spread of this pandemic, and should be considered in projecting subsequent waves.

Multilocus phylogeny and historical biogeography of Hypostomus shed light on the processes of fish diversification in La Plata Basin.

Distribution history of the widespread Neotropical genus Hypostomus was studied to shed light on the processes that shaped species diversity. We inferred a calibrated phylogeny, ancestral habitat preference, ancestral areas distribution, and the history of dispersal and vicariance events of this genus. The phylogenetic and distribution analyses indicate that Hypostomus species inhabiting La Plata Basin do not form a monophyletic clade, suggesting that several unrelated ancestral species colonized this basin in the Miocene. Dispersal to other rivers of La Plata Basin started about 8 Mya, followed by habitat shifts and an increased rate of cladogenesis. Amazonian Hypostomus species colonized La Plata Basin several times in the Middle Miocene, probably via the Upper Paraná and the Paraguay rivers that acted as dispersal corridors. During the Miocene, La Plata Basin experienced marine incursions, and geomorphological and climatic changes that reconfigured its drainage pattern, driving dispersal and diversification of Hypostomus. The Miocene marine incursion was a strong barrier and its retraction triggered Hypostomus dispersal, increased speciation rate and ecological diversification. The timing of hydrogeological changes in La Plata Basin coincides well with Hypostomus cladogenetic events, indicating that the history of this basin has acted on the diversification of its biota.

Processes that drive the population structuring of Jenynsia lineata (Cyprinidontiformes, Anablepidae) in the La Plata Basin.

The distribution of genetic diversity across a species distribution range is rarely homogeneous, as the genetic structure among populations is related to the degree of isolation among them, such as isolation by distance, isolation by barrier, and isolation by environment. Jenynsia lineata is a small viviparous fish that inhabits a wide range of habitats in South America. To decipher the isolation processes that drive population structuring in J. lineata, we analyzed 221 sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I gene (COI), from 19 localities. Then, we examined the influence of the three most common types of isolation in order to explain the genetic variation found in this species.Our results revealed a marked structuration, with three groups: (a) La Plata/Desaguadero Rivers (sampling sites across Argentina, Uruguay, and Southern Brazil), (b) Central Argentina, and (c) Northern Argentina. A distance-based redundancy analysis, including the explanatory variables geographical distances, altitude, latitude, and basin, was able to explain up to 65% of the genetic structure. A variance partitioning analysis showed that the two most important variables underlying the structuration in J. lineata were altitude (isolation by environment) and type of basin (isolation by barrier).Our results show that in this species, the processes of population diversification are complex and are not limited to a single mechanism. The processes that play a prominent role in this study could explain the high rate of diversity that characterizes freshwater fish species. And these processes in turn are the basis for possible speciation events.

Transcriptome screen for fast evolving genes by Inter-Specific Selective Hybridization (ISSH).

BACKGROUND: Fast evolving genes are targets of an increasing panel of biological studies, from cancer research to population genetics and species specific adaptations. Yet, their identification and isolation are still laborious, particularly for non-model organisms. We developed a method, named the Inter-Specific Selective Hybridization (ISSH) method, for generating cDNA libraries enriched in fast evolving genes. It utilizes transcripts of homologous tissues of distinct yet related species. Experimental hybridization conditions are monitored in order to discard transcripts that do not find their homologous counterparts in the two species sets as well as transcripts that display a strong complementarity between the two species. Only heteroduplexes that disanneal at low stringency are used for constructing the resulting cDNA library. RESULTS: We demonstrate the efficiency of the ISSH method by generating a brain cDNA library enriched in fast evolving transcripts of a non-model catfish species as well as a control, non-enriched library. Our results indicate that the enriched library contains effectively more fast evolving sequences than the control library. Gene annotation analyses also indicate enrichment in genes with low expression levels and non-ubiquitously expressed genes, both categories encompassing the majority of fast evolving genes. Furthermore, most of the identified transcripts show higher sequence divergence between two closely related catfish species as compared to recognized fast evolving DNA markers. CONCLUSIONS: The ISSH method offers a simple, inexpensive and efficient way to screen the transcriptome for isolating fast evolving genes. This method opens new opportunities in the investigation of biological mechanisms that include fast evolving genes, such as the evolution of lineage specific processes and traits responsible for species adaptation to their environment.

Early history of mammals is elucidated with the ENCODE multiple species sequencing data.

Understanding the early evolution of placental mammals is one of the most challenging issues in mammalian phylogeny. Here, we addressed this question by using the sequence data of the ENCODE consortium, which include 1% of mammalian genomes in 18 species belonging to all main mammalian lineages. Phylogenetic reconstructions based on an unprecedented amount of coding sequences taken from 218 genes resulted in a highly supported tree placing the root of Placentalia between Afrotheria and Exafroplacentalia (Afrotheria hypothesis). This topology was validated by the phylogenetic analysis of a new class of genomic phylogenetic markers, the conserved noncoding sequences. Applying the tests of alternative topologies on the coding sequence dataset resulted in the rejection of the Atlantogenata hypothesis (Xenarthra grouping with Afrotheria), while this test rejected the second alternative scenario, the Epitheria hypothesis (Xenarthra at the base), when using the noncoding sequence dataset. Thus, the two datasets support the Afrotheria hypothesis; however, none can reject both of the remaining topological alternatives.

Life-history traits drive the evolutionary rates of mammalian coding and noncoding genomic elements.

A comprehensive phylogenetic framework is indispensable for investigating the evolution of genomic features in mammals as a whole, and particularly in humans. Using the ENCODE sequence data, we estimated mammalian neutral evolutionary rates and selective pressures acting on conserved coding and noncoding elements. We show that neutral evolutionary rates can be explained by the generation time (GT) hypothesis. Accordingly, primates (especially humans), having longer GTs than other mammals, display slower rates of neutral evolution. The evolution of constrained elements, particularly of nonsynonymous sites, is in agreement with the expectations of the nearly neutral theory of molecular evolution. We show that rates of nonsynonymous substitutions (dN) depend on the population size of a species. The results are robust to the exclusion of hypermutable CpG prone sites. The average rate of evolution in conserved noncoding sequences (CNCs) is 1.7 times higher than in nonsynonymous sites. Despite this, CNCs evolve at similar or even lower rates than nonsynonymous sites in the majority of basal branches of the eutherian tree. This observation could be the result of an overall gradual or, alternatively, lineage-specific relaxation of CNCs. The latter hypothesis was supported by the finding that 3 of the 20 longest CNCs displayed significant relaxation of individual branches. This observation may explain why the evolution of CNCs fits the expectations of the nearly neutral theory less well than the evolution of nonsynonymous sites.

Harmonizing hybridization dissonance in conservation.

A dramatic increase in the hybridization between historically allopatric species has been induced by human activities. However, the notion of hybridization seems to lack consistency in two respects. On the one hand, it is inconsistent with the biological species concept, which does not allow for interbreeding between species, and on the other hand, it is considered either as an evolutionary process leading to the emergence of new biodiversity or as a cause of biodiversity loss, with conservation implications. In the first case, we argue that conservation biology should avoid the discussion around the species concept and delimit priorities of conservation units based on the impact on biodiversity if taxa are lost. In the second case, we show that this is not a paradox but an intrinsic property of hybridization, which should be considered in conservation programmes. We propose a novel view of conservation guidelines, in which human-induced hybridization may also be a tool to enhance the likelihood of adaptation to changing environmental conditions or to increase the genetic diversity of taxa affected by inbreeding depression. The conservation guidelines presented here represent a guide for the development of programmes aimed at protecting biodiversity as a dynamic evolutionary system.