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A comparative transcriptomic analysis of eight tissue types in twenty bilaterian species reveals the long-lasting effects of genome duplication on the evolution of novel tissue-specific gene-expression patterns.

The volatile compound methyl jasmonate is emitted from plant roots and has been shown to trigger the formation of biofilms of beneficial bacteria in the rhizosphere, which suggests an active role of plants in luring microorganisms to aid them.

An analysis of publicly available viral genomes explores the evolutionary dynamics of host jumps and shows that humans are as much a source of viral spillover events to other animals as they are recipients.

Metatranscriptomic data from more than 2,000 mosquitoes of 81 species show that the composition of mosquito viral communities is determined more by host phylogeny than by climate and land-use factors, which will help to inform arbovirus surveillance.

Combining species range-shift estimates with population trends for 146 marine species reveals that population abundances tend to decline as the velocity with which the species’ range is shifting poleward increases. The findings suggest widespread transient population dynamics rather than a simple dichotomy between climate-change ‘winners’ and ‘losers’.

Within-species adaptation of locomotor capacity in deer mice and defensive structures in stickleback fish is associated with changes in Hox gene regulation.

A large-scale coordinated experiment shows low seagrass resilience to tropicalization-induced herbivory beyond the tropics.

A cross-validation approach with acoustic and bird datasets from four regions shows that acoustic indices produce inconsistent and non-generalizable estimates of biodiversity.

A meta-analysis of research on megaherbivore effects on ecosystems shows that large wild mammals influence heterogeneity in plant, soil and animal community responses.

An assessment of time series of riverine fish communities from several continents finds positive trends in abundance and richness but also strong changes in community composition, driven in part by increased proportions of non-native species.

Systematic conservation planning in the European Alps suggests that priorities to safeguard multifaceted plant diversity will shift from low to high elevations and across latitudes, necessitating a coordinated and transboundary conservation strategy.

A multidisciplinary study of the Shiyu archaeological site in northern China reveals a complex human behavioural record that currently is the oldest of its kind in Northeast Asia and provides insight into the nature of the northward dispersal of modern humans across Asia.

Two recent studies come to different yet complementary conclusions about the factors — species traits, climate conditions and past disturbances — that determine the responses of bird species to forest loss and fragmentation.

Inferring the evolutionary history of prokaryotic pangenomes is complicated by the lack of a reference for neutral genetic variation. A study that uses pseudogenes as a neutral reference provides support for selection as a force that shapes pangenomes.

Two decades of global satellite observations reveal enhanced greening in mangrove forests relative to adjacent evergreen forests, which highlights important differences in the response of coastal and terrestrial ecosystems to climate change.

Species co-occurrences have long been used as proxies for interactions, but not all co-occurring species interact. A study now reveals that super-generalist consumers realize a higher portion of their potential interactions in bipartite networks.

A random sequence variant in an experimental screen can rescue Escherichi coli from the deleterious effects of a RNase toxin by interacting with chaperones.

Population genomics of the fungal plant pathogen Pyricularia oryzae shows that recombination of existing genetic variation during a multi-hybrid swarm probably facilitated an instantaneous host jump onto wheat.

A meta-analysis demonstrates that non-native species are often more resilient to extreme weather events than their native counterparts.

Exploring regenerative abilities in planarian flatworms across a diverse living collection reveals independent gains and losses of head regeneration and the rescue of regeneration defects by inhibiting a single cell–cell interaction signal.