With more than 50,000 described species, the leaf beetle family is distributed worldwide and represents about a quarter of the species diversity of all herbivores. Leaf beetles can be found to feed on ...

The movement or acquisition of genetic material between organisms that is not the result of vertical inheritance (reproduction) is called horizontal (or lateral) gene transfer. Horizontal gene ...

Scientists explored the evolutionary success of leaf beetles, the most diverse herbivores on Earth. They showed that symbioses with bacteria have evolved repeatedly and independently in different ...

Decomposers are crucial for keeping Earth habitable, breaking down dead biomass and returning key nutrients, such as carbon, ...

DNA sequencing at the genome level may clarify evolutionary trees based on individual gene sequences--or muddy the waters further. "In the literature there's been a debate as to whether Thermotoga is ...