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FRAGMENT FROM NATURE continues from last weekend with the issue of the species barrier. While it can be argued that in the light of evolutionary timeframes, species are not fixed, and by definition, evolve; nevertheless, in smaller time windows, successful species interbreeding is limited, and controlled by specific genes. View in LinkedIn

REPRODUCTIVE ISOLATION. "Recent molecular analyses of a handful of genes that are involved in maintaining reproductive isolation between species (speciation genes) have provided some striking insights. In particular, it seems that despite being strongly influenced by positive selection, speciation genes are often non-essential, having functions that are only loosely coupled to reproductive isolation." https://lnkd.in/ey8kwaB View in LinkedIn

EQUALLY, when Craig Venter's team created "the minimal cell" in 2016, with only 473 genes, a large number of these genes "essential for life" have functions that are "yet to be determined". https://lnkd.in/e9ZJKP5 View in LinkedIn

SPECIATION GENES. "The cloning of genes involved in plant speciation, followed by molecular population genetic analysis, will allow us to reach our ultimate goal: an understanding of the role of microevolutionary forces in the evolution of reproductive isolation." https://lnkd.in/eGmuRdp View in LinkedIn

REMARKABLE BLIND SPOT. "As yet, no single prediction program and no single proteomics experiment can accurately identify the full complement of proteins located in plastids or mitochondria." (2016). https://lnkd.in/ePgs9VJ View in LinkedIn

PLANT SPECIATION. "The relative role of genic changes versus the chromosomal rearrangements in the evolution of intrinsic postzygotic reproductive isolation now appears to be on the verge of resolution with the implementation of modern molecular techniques." https://lnkd.in/eGmuRdp View in LinkedIn

PLANTS. "Currently, it is unclear whether the evolution of reproductive isolating barriers is under simple genetic control or due to more complex additive and/or epistatic control, involves loci of major or minor effect, and whether genetic architecture is dependent on the type of reproductive isolating barrier." https://lnkd.in/eGmuRdp View in LinkedIn

PRION EPIGENETIC SWITCH. "The mammalian prion species barrier, which prevents the spread of scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy to man, has been the focus of intense research efforts. Our data show that for the yeast [PSI+] prion, the species barrier results from a remarkable specificity in interaction between the prion protein itself, mediated by a well-defined epitope in the PrD. Because prion domains are modular, fusion to prion domains could potentially allow prion-based regulation of a broad range of proteins." https://lnkd.in/ebZGb4M View in LinkedIn

REPRODUCTIVE ISOLATION. "The role of sexual selection as a selective force in plant speciation is still controversial, in contrast to the situation in animals." http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.13756/full View in LinkedIn

EPISTASIS AND CELL CYCLE ROLES. "The identification of gfzf, in particular, emphasizes the role of cell cycle regulations mechanisms in the evolution of hybrid incompatibilities and the complex epistatic interactions which underlie dominant hybrid incompatibilities in F1 hybrids." https://lnkd.in/eFexwJZ View in LinkedIn