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Reposted by matthew capek

Current Biology @currentbiology.bsky.social · 12d

Although highly topical, kleptoparasitism does not get nearly the attention it deserves!

Here, a plant exploits the kleptoparasitic behavior of a fly that likes to snatch ants killed by spiders.

🕷️🐜🪰🌿

So the thief itself gets taken advantage of. Nice going, plants!

www.cell.com/current-biol...

Olfactory floral mimicry of injured ants mediates the attraction of kleptoparasitic fly pollinators

Mochizuki reports a plant that lures pollinating flies by imitating the scent of ants injured by predators. This study reveals the first known case of ant mimicry in flowers and uncovers previously un...

www.cell.com

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Reposted by matthew capek

Andres Bendesky @bendeskylab.com · Sep 8

New review on how changes in cell type composition in and outside the brain contribute to the evolution of behavior. 🧪

authors.elsevier.com/a/1lihM,LqAZ...

Changes in cell type composition, including cell expansions, cell losses, and novel cell gains, are associated with the evolution of specific behaviors.
Figure credit: Matteo Farinella.

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Reposted by matthew capek

Nicholas Bellono @nbellono.bsky.social · Jun 25

Corey Allard et al asks how “solar-powered” slugs maintain stolen chloroplasts from their diet for photosynthesis and starvation resistance. @cellpress.bsky.social, @harvardmcb.bsky.social, @harvardmed.bsky.social
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

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Reposted by matthew capek

Dmitri Petrov @petrovadmitri.bsky.social · Jun 3

Flybase lost all of the NIH support overnight - it is a disaster for the community. Please consider donating. I just did! www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk/give-to-camb...

Drosophila Genetic Database

The Drosophila Genetic Database, FlyBase, is on the brink of collapse due to the sudden termination of the FlyBase NIH grant, which includes salaries for 5 literature curators based at the University ...

www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk

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matthew capek @matthewcapek.bsky.social · May 1

amazing !!

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Reposted by matthew capek

tomtom-auer.bsky.social @tomtom-auer.bsky.social · Apr 28

Happy to see this out now:
Olfactory projection neuron rewiring in the brain of an ecological specialist: Cell Reports www.cell.com/cell-reports...

In a team effort with @bentonlab.bsky.social 's lab we establish new genetic tools in #drosophila sechellia and compare single central brain neurons.

Olfactory projection neuron rewiring in the brain of an ecological specialist

Dürr et al. develop advanced genetic tools in the host specialist D. sechellia to study its olfactory system neuroanatomy. They show via single-cell labeling, tracing, and quantitative comparison of o...

www.cell.com

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Reposted by matthew capek

Stephen Montgomery @ebablab.bsky.social · Apr 30

Now out in #ProcB 🧪

Ancestral complexity and constrained diversification of the ant olfactory system 🐜

Expertly led by Simon Marty and Antoine Couto, funded by @leverhulme.ac.uk and @agencerecherche.bsky.social 🙏🏻

#socialinsects @bristolbiosci.bsky.social @cnrs.fr

Stephen Montgomery @ebablab.bsky.social · Oct 4

new from our project with Patrizia d’Ettore and Jean-Christoph Sandoz’s labs, led by Simon Marty & Antoine Couto, with Neven Brard and Erika Dawson - comparing the olfactory pathway across ants, from sensillae to specialised antennal lobe structures 🐜

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Reposted by matthew capek

Corryn Wetzel @corrynwetzel.bsky.social · Apr 15

A colossal squid — the largest invertebrate in the world — has been photographed alive in its habitat for the first time. And it's just a baby. www.newscientist.com/article/2476...

First ever confirmed image of a colossal squid in the deep ocean

The colossal squid is the largest invertebrate on the planet, but it is also surprisingly elusive. An image of a 30-centimetre-long juvenile is our first glimpse of the animal in its natural habitat

www.newscientist.com

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Reposted by matthew capek

Matteo Santon @matteosanton.bsky.social · Mar 27

In our latest paper, we describe how the passing-stripe hunting display of the broadclub cuttlefish camouflages the hunting predator during the final moments of the attack.

Read more here www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

@drmartinjhow.bsky.social @jtroscianko.bsky.social @bristolbiosci.bsky.social

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Reposted by matthew capek

Michael Reiser @michaelreiser.bsky.social · Mar 27

I know there's a 𝒍𝒐𝒕 going on right now, but I couldn’t be prouder to share this long-incubated labor of love: the complete connectome of the male 𝐷𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑜𝑝ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑎 optic lobe 🧠🪰
🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Connectome-driven neural inventory of a complete visual system - Nature

A connectome of the right optic lobe from a male fruitfly is presented together with an extensive collection of genetic drivers matched to a comprehensive neuron-type catalogue.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by matthew capek

PLOS Biology @plosbiology.org · Mar 12

Neural circuits that link genetic variation to #behavior: This study of mate choice behavior in Heliconius cydno #butterflies shows that alterations to the peripheral nervous system, driven by genetic & gene expression differences, can alter essential behaviors 🧪 @plosbiology.org plos.io/4iHQDRd

Top left: Cartoon showing how the eye is organized into ommatidia containing nine photoreceptors (left), with distinct ommatidial types typically defined by the opsin expression patterns in the R1 and R2 cells (right). R1/R2 axons bypass the lamina (LA) and project directly to the medulla (ME), while R3-8 project only to the lamina where they can also make inter-photoreceptor synaptic connections with R1/R2 axons. Bottom left: Representative anti-UV1 and anti-UV2 antibody stains in three representative white H. c. alithea males showing consistent expression of UV2 and variable expression of UV1 across individuals. Right: These white Heliconius cydno alithea butterflies are mating on a passionflower vine, but the male had a choice between white and yellow-winged females. Image credit: Wei Lu.

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matthew capek @matthewcapek.bsky.social · Mar 12

wild

Nature @nature.com · Mar 12

Male blue-lined octopuses inject females with venom during mating to avoid being eaten by their partners

https://go.nature.com/3FqtOU4

Bad romance: male octopuses inject deadly venom into their mates

The paralysing toxin deployed by the male blue-lined octopus might help to protect him from being eaten.

go.nature.com

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matthew capek @matthewcapek.bsky.social · Mar 7

i think i’m now going to use the term “flylord” on a regular basis … ⚔️

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matthew capek @matthewcapek.bsky.social · Mar 6

🤘✨

Nature @nature.com · Mar 5

Nature research paper: Evolution of temperature preference in flies of the genus Drosophila

https://go.nature.com/4i1VQn9

Evolution of temperature preference in flies of the genus Drosophila - Nature

A study using flies of the genus Drosophila adapted to life in diverse thermal environments shows how evolution has shaped temperature preference by acting on both molecular heat receptors and thermosensory circuits in the flies.

go.nature.com

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matthew capek @matthewcapek.bsky.social · Mar 6

🎉 so excited to share my first first-author paper is out in @Nature.com, from my PhD work in the Gallio Lab! we uncover the neurobiological mechanisms that drive the evolution of temperature preference behavior in flies of the genus Drosophila 👇

go.nature.com/4i1VQn9

Evolution of temperature preference in flies of the genus Drosophila - Nature

A study using flies of the genus Drosophila adapted to life in diverse thermal environments shows how evolution has shaped temperature preference by acting on both molecular heat receptors and th...

go.nature.com

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