Character Displacement in the Midst of Substantial Background Evolution in Anolis Lizard Island Populations

Negative interactions between species can generate divergent selection that causes character displacement. However, other processes cause similar divergence. We use spatial and temporal replication across island populations of Anolis lizards to assess the importance of negative interactions in driving trait shifts. Previous work showed that the establishment of Anolis sagrei on islands drove resident Anolis carolinensis to perch higher and evolve larger toepads. To further test the interaction\u27s causality and predictability, we resurveyed a subset of islands nine years later. Anolis sagrei had established on one island between surveys. We found that A. carolinensis on this island now perch higher and have larger toepads. However, toepad morphology change on this island was not distinct from shifts on six other islands whose Anolis community composition had not changed. Thus, the presence of A. sagrei only partly explains A. carolinensis trait variation across space and time. We also found that A. carolinensis on islands with previously established A. sagrei now perch higher than a decade ago, and that current A. carolinensis perch height is correlated with A. sagrei density. Our results suggest that character displacement likely interacts with other evolutionary processes in this system, and that temporal data are key to detecting such interactions

Lipid exposure activates gene expression changes associated with estrogen receptor negative breast cancer

Improved understanding of local breast biology that favors the development of estrogen receptor negative (ER-) breast cancer (BC) would foster better prevention strategies. We have previously shown that overexpression of specific lipid metabolism genes is associated with the development of ER- BC. We now report results of exposure of MCF-10A and MCF-12A cells, and mammary organoids to representative medium- and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. This exposure caused a dynamic and profound change in gene expression, accompanied by changes in chromatin packing density, chromatin accessibility, and histone posttranslational modifications (PTMs). We identified 38 metabolic reactions that showed significantly increased activity, including reactions related to one-carbon metabolism. Among these reactions are those that produce S-adenosyl-L-methionine for histone PTMs. Utilizing both an in-vitro model and samples from women at high risk for ER- BC, we show that lipid exposure engenders gene expression, signaling pathway activation, and histone marks associated with the development of ER- BC

Author Correction: Lipid exposure activates gene expression changes associated with estrogen receptor negative breast cancer

Correction to: npj Breast Cancer 10.1038/s41523-022-00422-0, published online 04 May 2022 In this article, funding from the National Institutes of Health (award number R01CA228272) was inadvertently omitted. The original article has been corrected