Defensive symbiosis leads to gene loss in bacterial partners

Antibiotics on the cocoon protect the offspring of beewolves, a group of digger wasps, from detrimental fungi. These protective substances are produced by symbiotic bacteria of the genus Streptomyces, which live in these ...

Scaling up genome editing in tiny worms

Understanding the effects of specific mutations in gene regulatory regions—the sections of DNA and RNA that turn genes on and off—is important to unraveling how the genome works, as well as normal development and disease. ...

Metabolic mutations help bacteria resist drug treatment

Bacteria have many ways to evade the antibiotics that we use against them. Each year, at least 2.8 million people in the United States develop an antibiotic-resistant infection, and more than 35,000 people die from such infections, ...

Mystery of four-horned goats and sheep finally solved

Some members of the Bovidae family have additional horns. In fact, a few local breeds of sheep, which have been selected by many generations of breeders, are known for their multiple horns. Some goats may spontaneously develop ...

Unusual mutation causes defective sperm in boars

ETH researchers have found a gene mutation that causes the sperm of boars to immobilize. Their discovery will help pig breeders to exclude animals with this genetic defect from breeding in future.

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