J. Bertram

Human deleterious mutation rate slows adaptation and implies high fitness variance

The paper shows that high human deleterious mutation rates slow adaptation and increase fitness variance, but also suggest that increased mutation rates can speed adaptation.

Allele frequency divergence reveals ubiquitous influence of positive selection in Drosophila

This study uses allele frequency divergence to show that positive selection influences most of the Drosophila genome over short timescales, even for mutations not directly under selection.

Mutation bias can shape adaptation in large asexual populations experiencing clonal interference

The paper shows mutation-biased adaptation can occur in asexual populations despite clonal interference, depending on mutation rate and selection coefficient differences.

Evolution rapidly optimizes stability and aggregation in lattice proteins despite pervasive landscape valleys and mazes

This study develops a biophysically-grounded model of protein evolution showing that despite rugged fitness landscapes with valleys and mazes, adaptive paths can still reach high fitness.

In vivo identification of GTPase interactors by mitochondrial relocalization and proximity biotinylation

The paper introduces MitoID, a method to identify GTPase effectors and regulators using mitochondrial relocalization and proximity biotinylation, validating novel interactors for Rab, Rho, and Ras family GTPases.

Different mechanisms drive the maintenance of polymorphism at loci subject to strong versus weak fluctuating selection

The paper models how different mechanisms stabilize genetic polymorphism under fluctuating selection in Drosophila, finding that reversal of dominance has the strongest effect.

Maximum entropy models elucidate the contribution of metabolic traits to patterns of community assembly

This paper compares two MaxEnt models, METE and VEG, to assess how metabolic traits influence community assembly patterns.

Directional selection rather than functional constraints can shape the G matrix in rapidly adapting asexuals

The paper shows that directional selection, not functional constraints, shapes the G matrix in asexual populations through linkage disequilibrium rather than pleiotropy.

A shift in aggregation avoidance strategy marks a long-term direction to protein evolution

The paper shows that older genes have more interspersed hydrophobic residues compared to younger genes, indicating a long-term evolutionary trend toward reducing aggregation risk.

Density-dependent selection and the limits of relative fitness

The paper shows that density-independent relative fitnesses can accurately describe strong density-dependent selection under certain conditions, using a novel model with ecologically intuitive traits.