@article{21161,
  abstract     = {In many species, sex-biased expression is widespread and thought to contribute to sexual dimorphism. While bulk RNA-sequencing has been instrumental in identifying strongly sex-biased genes, it lacks resolution to assess variation across cell-types and tissue compartments. Using single-nucleus expression data from the Fly Cell Atlas, we investigate sex differences in adult Drosophila melanogaster. We find that differences in cell-type composition between the sexes are not a major source of sex-bias, as for the vast majority of genes, the degree of sex-bias is similar regardless of whether sex differences in cell-type composition are controlled for or not. Our analysis confirms a deficit of X-linked male-biased genes in the body’s somatic tissues that is widespread across cell-types. We also find the excess of X-linked female-biased genes to be associated with nervous system cells in the head but with epithelial cells in the body’s somatic tissues, showing that single-nucleus data crucially resolves sex-bias at the cell-type level. We investigate dosage compensation (DC) across 15 tissues and 17 cell-types. We observe that it varies throughout the body. Surprisingly, we observe a lack of DC in a cluster of main cells within the male accessory glands. This result highlights the importance of understanding context-dependent DC.},
  author       = {De Castro Barbosa Rodrigues Barata, Carolina and Vicoso, Beatriz},
  issn         = {1471-2954},
  journal      = {Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences},
  number       = {2063},
  publisher    = {Royal Society of London},
  title        = {{Single-nucleus resolution of sex-biased expression and dosage compensation in Drosophila melanogaster}},
  doi          = {10.1098/rspb.2025.2471},
  volume       = {293},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{10767,
  abstract     = {The t-haplotype of mice is a classical model for autosomal transmission distortion. A largely non-recombining variant of the proximal region of chromosome 17, it is transmitted to more than 90% of the progeny of heterozygous males through the disabling of sperm carrying a standard chromosome. While extensive genetic and functional work has shed light on individual genes involved in drive, much less is known about the evolution and function of the rest of its hundreds of genes. Here, we characterize the sequence and expression of dozens of t-specific transcripts and of their chromosome 17 homologues. Many genes showed reduced expression of the t-allele, but an equal number of genes showed increased expression of their t-copy, consistent with increased activity or a newly evolved function. Genes on the t-haplotype had a significantly higher non-synonymous substitution rate than their homologues on the standard chromosome, with several genes harbouring dN/dS ratios above 1. Finally, the t-haplotype has acquired at least two genes from other chromosomes, which show high and tissue-specific expression. These results provide a first overview of the gene content of this selfish element, and support a more dynamic evolutionary scenario than expected of a large genomic region with almost no recombination.},
  author       = {Kelemen, Réka K and Elkrewi, Marwan N and Lindholm, Anna K. and Vicoso, Beatriz},
  issn         = {1471-2954},
  journal      = {Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences},
  number       = {1968},
  pages        = {20211985},
  publisher    = {The Royal Society},
  title        = {{Novel patterns of expression and recruitment of new genes on the t-haplotype, a mouse selfish chromosome}},
  doi          = {10.1098/rspb.2021.1985},
  volume       = {289},
  year         = {2022},
}

@article{10166,
  abstract     = {While sexual reproduction is widespread among many taxa, asexual lineages have repeatedly evolved from sexual ancestors. Despite extensive research on the evolution of sex, it is still unclear whether this switch represents a major transition requiring major molecular reorganization, and how convergent the changes involved are. In this study, we investigated the phylogenetic relationship and patterns of gene expression of sexual and asexual lineages of Eurasian Artemia brine shrimp, to assess how gene expression patterns are affected by the transition to asexuality. We find only a few genes that are consistently associated with the evolution of asexuality, suggesting that this shift may not require an extensive overhauling of the meiotic machinery. While genes with sex-biased expression have high rates of expression divergence within Eurasian Artemia, neither female- nor male-biased genes appear to show unusual evolutionary patterns after sexuality is lost, contrary to theoretical expectations.},
  author       = {Huylmans, Ann K and Macon, Ariana and Hontoria, Francisco and Vicoso, Beatriz},
  issn         = {1471-2954},
  journal      = {Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences},
  keywords     = {asexual reproduction, parthenogenesis, sex-biased genes, sexual conflict, automixis, crustaceans},
  number       = {1959},
  publisher    = {The Royal Society},
  title        = {{Transitions to asexuality and evolution of gene expression in Artemia brine shrimp}},
  doi          = {10.1098/rspb.2021.1720},
  volume       = {288},
  year         = {2021},
}

@article{1993,
  abstract     = {The fitness effects of symbionts on their hosts can be context-dependent, with usually benign symbionts causing detrimental effects when their hosts are stressed, or typically parasitic symbionts providing protection towards their hosts (e.g. against pathogen infection). Here, we studied the novel association between the invasive garden ant Lasius neglectus and its fungal ectosymbiont Laboulbenia formicarum for potential costs and benefits. We tested ants with different Laboulbenia levels for their survival and immunity under resource limitation and exposure to the obligate killing entomopathogen Metarhizium brunneum. While survival of L. neglectus workers under starvation was significantly decreased with increasing Laboulbenia levels, host survival under Metarhizium exposure increased with higher levels of the ectosymbiont, suggesting a symbiont-mediated anti-pathogen protection, which seems to be driven mechanistically by both improved sanitary behaviours and an upregulated immune system. Ants with high Laboulbenia levels showed significantly longer self-grooming and elevated expression of immune genes relevant for wound repair and antifungal responses (β-1,3-glucan binding protein, Prophenoloxidase), compared with ants carrying low Laboulbenia levels. This suggests that the ectosymbiont Laboulbenia formicarum weakens its ant host by either direct resource exploitation or the costs of an upregulated behavioural and immunological response, which, however, provides a prophylactic protection upon later exposure to pathogens. },
  author       = {Konrad, Matthias and Grasse, Anna V and Tragust, Simon and Cremer, Sylvia},
  issn         = {1471-2954},
  journal      = {Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B Biological Sciences},
  number       = {1799},
  publisher    = {The Royal Society},
  title        = {{Anti-pathogen protection versus survival costs mediated by an ectosymbiont in an ant host}},
  doi          = {10.1098/rspb.2014.1976},
  volume       = {282},
  year         = {2015},
}

@article{2853,
  abstract     = {High relatedness among interacting individuals has generally been considered a precondition for the evolution of altruism. However, kin-selection theory also predicts the evolution of altruism when relatedness is low, as long as the cost of the altruistic act is minor compared with its benefit. Here, we demonstrate evidence for a low-cost altruistic act in bacteria. We investigated Escherichia coli responding to the attack of an obligately lytic phage by committing suicide in order to prevent parasite transmission to nearby relatives. We found that bacterial suicide provides large benefits to survivors at marginal costs to committers. The cost of suicide was low, because infected cells are moribund, rapidly dying upon phage infection, such that no more opportunity for reproduction remains. As a consequence of its marginal cost, host suicide was selectively favoured even when relatedness between committers and survivors approached zero. Altogether, our findings demonstrate that low-cost suicide can evolve with ease, represents an effective host-defence strategy, and seems to be widespread among microbes. Moreover, low-cost suicide might also occur in higher organisms as exemplified by infected social insect workers leaving the colony to die in isolation.},
  author       = {Refardt, Dominik and Bergmiller, Tobias and Kümmerli, Rolf},
  issn         = {1471-2954},
  journal      = {Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B Biological Sciences},
  number       = {1759},
  publisher    = {The Royal Society},
  title        = {{Altruism can evolve when relatedness is low: Evidence from bacteria committing suicide upon phage infection}},
  doi          = {10.1098/rspb.2012.3035},
  volume       = {280},
  year         = {2013},
}