Phylogenetics articles from across Nature Portfolio

There is still no consensus on the factors favouring the evolution of same-sex sexual behaviour in mammals. This study presents evidence that it is a widespread behaviour that has evolved repeatedly in mammals, and that may play an adaptive role in bonding and conflict resolution.

Computed tomography reveals that the cranial anatomy of Ordovician stem-group gnathostome Eriptychius americanus from the Harding Sandstone of Colorado, USA, is distinct among vertebrates.

The advantage of genomic monitoring over cytogenetics for clinical assessment of leukemia is illustrated by a case of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia in which a lesion underlying lethal end-stage myeloid disease could be detected by whole-genome sequencing years before the risk manifested cytogenetically.

By studying the closest extant unicellular relatives of animals and fungi, a study in Nature contrasts the evolutionary trajectories leading to the origin of these groups.

Multi-drug resistant Mycobacterium abscessus clones from individuals who smoke have infiltrated the narrow niche of patients with cystic fibrosis, which has resulted in surprising specialization and subsequent worldwide dissemination.

The genome of a magnoliid, Aristolochia fimbriata, shows no evidence of whole-genome duplication, a feature uniquely shared with Amborella trichopoda, the sister species to all other angiosperms. This ancestral structure of the Aristolochia genome offers great opportunities for comparative genomics.

Sperm length unexpectedly varies more than 3,000-fold across species, posing new questions for anisogamy theory and understanding the different forces shaping evolution of the male gamete.