Genome biology and evolution

01 14 October 2026

DOI 10.1093/gbe/evag260

Elevational melanism in East African Honey Bees involves a Major-Effect locus

Open DOI

Marco Mazzoni, Florian Loidolt, Sonja Kersten et al.

Thermal melanism, whereby darker pigmentation occurs in colder environments, is a widespread pattern, yet its genetic and physiological basis in eusocial insects remains poorly understood. East African honey bees (Apis mellifera) occupy ...

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02 14 October 2026

DOI 10.1093/gbe/evag252

Genomic signatures of polyploid origin and diploidization in Campanula americana

Open DOI

Alfredo López-Caamal, Laura F Galloway, Karen B Barnard-Kubow

Cycles of whole-genome duplication (WGD) followed by return to diploidy have played a major role in plant evolution, yet genome evolution during intermediate stages of diploidization in autopolyploids remains less well characterized than...

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03 13 October 2026

DOI 10.1093/gbe/evag253

Molecular mechanisms driving larval green color adaptation in swallowtail butterfly, Papilio memnon

Open DOI

Liang Liu, Shinya Komata, Kai Wu et al.

Insects have evolved diverse anti-predator strategies, with coloration playing a central role through mechanisms such as mimicry and camouflage. Most swallowtail butterfly larvae switch from a black/white bird-dropping mimetic pattern to...

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04 12 October 2026

DOI 10.1093/gbe/evag258

How to write (and review) a Genome Report

Open DOI

Marc S Halfon, Gregor Bucher, Anna K Childers et al.

As eukaryotic genomes continue to be sequenced, assembled, and annotated at decreasing cost and increasing rate, it is important that basic notification of the availability of these genomes, along with essential information about them, b...

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05 12 October 2026

DOI 10.1093/gbe/evag256

Understanding the emergence of viral variants of concern via Bayesian molecular clock model selection

Open DOI

Simona Ivanov, Samuel Fosse, Mario dos Reis et al.

Bayesian inference of divergence times for extant species using molecular data is an unconventional statistical problem: divergence times and molecular rates are confounded, and only their product, the molecular branch length, is statist...

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06 10 October 2026

DOI 10.1093/gbe/evag259

Is faster-X adaptation due to large-effect mutations? An empirical test of a new theory

Open DOI

Filip Ruzicka, Beatriz Vicoso

A widespread observation in molecular evolution is that X-linked genes evolve faster—and often adapt faster—than autosomal genes. Three main ideas have been put forward to explain “faster-X” adaptation. The first is that new beneficial m...

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07 9 October 2026

DOI 10.1093/gbe/evag251

Individual gene translocations during metazoan evolution

Open DOI

Trevor D Lamb, Kevin J Peterson, Hardip R Patel

In contrast to the extensively studied translocation of large sections of DNA between chromosomes, this paper investigates the translocation of individual genes onto different chromosomes during metazoan evolution. We begin by extending ...

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08 8 October 2026

DOI 10.1093/gbe/evag247

Genome-wide evolution of lineage-specific chromatin accessibility links regulatory changes to cichlid phenotypic diversity

Open DOI

Tarang K Mehta, Angela L Man, Graham Etherington et al.

East African cichlids from Lakes Victoria, Malawi and Tanganyika have undergone explosive adaptive radiation, generating extensive morphological, ecological and behavioural diversity within a few million years. Understanding how genome-w...

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09 3 October 2026

DOI 10.1093/gbe/evag246

Genomic evidence for facultative selfing in the cichlid fish Cyphotilapia frontosa

Open DOI

M Efe Uysal, Daniela Souza-Costa, Allison Marks et al.

Organisms have evolved a remarkable diversity of reproductive strategies in response to environmental variations and selective pressures. Although most vertebrates do reproduce biparentally, rare alternative modes such as selfing (self-f...

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10 3 October 2026

DOI 10.1093/gbe/evag248

A network perspective on the evolution of hybrid incompatibilities

Open DOI

Evgeny Brud, Rafael F Guerrero

Theory predicts that hybrid incompatibilities accumulate faster than linearly with genetic divergence, a phenomenon known as the snowball effect. While this prediction is mathematically robust under simplifying assumptions, accumulating ...

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