The increased capacity of DNA sequencing has significantly advanced our understanding of
the phylogeny of birds and the proximate and ultimate mechanisms molding their genomic …

The kākāpō is a flightless parrot endemic to New Zealand. Once common in the archipelago,
only 201 individuals remain today, most of them descending from an isolated island …

Abstract Background and Aims Studies on codon usage in monocots have focused on
grasses, and observed patterns of this taxon were generalized to all monocot species. Here …

To better determine the history of modern birds, we performed a genome-scale phylogenetic
analysis of 48 species representing all orders of Neoaves using phylogenomic methods …

The DNA-binding protein PRDM9 has a critical role in specifying meiotic recombination
hotspots in mice and apes, but it appears to be absent from other vertebrate species …

Here we use a chromosome-level genome assembly of a prairie rattlesnake (Crotalus
viridis), together with Hi-C, RNA-seq, and whole-genome resequencing data, to study key …

Snakes are a remarkable squamate lineage with unique morphological adaptations,
especially those related to the evolution of vertebrate skeletons, organs, and sensory …

Selection on codon usage bias is well documented in a number of microorganisms. Whether
codon usage is also generally shaped by natural selection in large organisms, despite their …

Incongruence between different phylogenomic analyses is the main challenge faced by
phylogeneticists in the genomic era. To reduce incongruence, phylogenomic studies …

Survivorship following major mass extinctions may be associated with a decrease in body
size—a phenomenon called the Lilliput Effect. Body size is a strong predictor of many life …