ABSTRACT
We combine the shark semi-analytic model of galaxy formation with the prospect software tool for spectral energy distribution (SED) generation to study the multiwavelength emission of ...galaxies from the far-ultraviolet (FUV) to the far-infrared (FIR) at 0 ≤ z ≤ 10. We produce a physical model for the attenuation of galaxies across cosmic time by combining a local Universe empirical relation to compute the dust mass of galaxies from their gas metallicity and mass, attenuation curves derived from radiative transfer calculations of galaxies in the eagle hydrodynamic simulation suite, and the properties of shark galaxies. We are able to produce a wide range of galaxies, from the z = 8 star-forming galaxies with almost no extinction, z = 2 submillimetre galaxies, down to the normal star-forming and red-sequence galaxies at z = 0. Quantitatively, we find that shark reproduces the observed (i) z = 0 FUV-to-FIR, (ii) 0 ≤ z ≤ 3 rest-frame K-band, and (iii) 0 ≤ z ≤ 10 rest-frame FUV luminosity functions, (iv) z ≤ 8 UV slopes, (v) the FUV-to-FIR number counts (including the widely disputed 850 μm), (vi) redshift distribution of bright $850\, \mu$m galaxies, and (vii) the integrated cosmic SED from z = 0 to 1 to an unprecedented level. This is achieved without the need to invoke changes in the stellar initial mass function, dust-to-metal mass ratio, or metal enrichment time-scales. Our model predicts star formation in galaxy discs to dominate in the FUV-to-optical, while bulges dominate at the NIR at all redshifts. The FIR sees a strong evolution in which discs dominate at z ≤ 1 and starbursts (triggered by both galaxy mergers and disc instabilities, in an even mix) dominate at higher redshifts, even out to z = 10.
The building blocks and origins of life have fascinated scientists since the earliest of times. What is required for life to work in terms of building blocks? An outline of the building blocks that ...have to be present in living systems to allow the processes that are required for life is given. These building blocks have to be organised in a specific way to allow living processes to be functional, which are summarised in what is referred to as the seven pillars of life. In essence, these are the fundamental characteristics of all living systems. Evidences of when and how living systems developed on the Earth shortly after the Earth established itself as a planet are discussed. This comes from the growing body of geological evidence of the age of rocks and rock formations in different places on the Earth. This review is concluded with the latest evidence of where on Earth living systems may have started. A large amount of uncertainty exists about these processes, but more and more consilient evidence is giving us important pointers as to the origins of life on the planet Earth. Contribution: As part of this special collection, the building blocks or origins of life give insights into the chemical principles and constituents of living organisms and how their interactions allow life to function on earth.
Potato virus Y (PVY) is a major agricultural disease that reduces crop yields worldwide. Different strains of PVY are associated with differing degrees of pathogenicity, of which the most common and ...economically important are known to be recombinant. We need to know the evolutionary origins of pathogens to prevent further escalations of diseases, but putatively reticulate genealogies are challenging to reconstruct with standard phylogenetic approaches. Currently available phylogenetic hypotheses for PVY are either limited to non-recombinant strains, represent only parts of the genome, and/or incorrectly assume a strictly bifurcating phylogenetic tree. Despite attempts to date potyviruses in general, no attempt has been made to date the origins of pathogenic PVY. We test whether diversification of the major strains of PVY and recombination between them occurred within the time frame of the domestication and modern cultivation of potatoes. In so doing, we demonstrate a novel extension of a phylogenetic approach for reconstructing reticulate evolutionary scenarios. We infer a well resolved phylogeny of 44 whole genome sequences of PVY viruses, representative of all known strains, using recombination detection and phylogenetic inference techniques. Using Bayesian molecular dating we show that the parental strains of PVY diverged around the time potatoes were first introduced to Europe, that recombination between them only occurred in the last century, and that the multiple recombination events that led to highly pathogenic PVY(NTN) occurred within the last 50 years. Disease causing agents are often transported across the globe by humans, with disastrous effects for us, our livestock and crops. Our analytical approach is particularly pertinent for the often small recombinant genomes involved (e.g. HIV/influenza A). In the case of PVY, increased transport of diseased material is likely to blame for uniting the parents of recombinant pathogenic strains: this process needs to be minimised to prevent further such occurrences.
The disproportionate species richness of the world's biodiversity hotspots could be explained by low extinction (the evolutionary "museum") and/or high speciation (the "hot-bed") models. We test ...these models using the largest of the species rich plant groups that characterise the botanically diverse Cape Floristic Region (CFR): the genus Erica L. We generate a novel phylogenetic hypothesis informed by nuclear and plastid DNA sequences of c. 60 % of the c. 800 Erica species (of which 690 are endemic to the CFR), and use this to estimate clade ages (using RELTIME; BEAST), net diversification rates (GEIGER), and shifts in rates of diversification in different areas (BAMM; MuSSE).
The diversity of Erica species in the CFR is the result of a single radiation within the last c. 15 million years. Compared to ancestral lineages in the Palearctic, the rate of speciation accelerated across Africa and Madagascar, with a further burst of speciation within the CFR that also exceeds the net diversification rates of other Cape clades.
Erica exemplifies the "hotbed" model of assemblage through recent speciation, implying that with the advent of the modern Cape a multitude of new niches opened and were successively occupied through local species diversification.
ABSTRACT
We analyse the metallicity histories of ∼4500 galaxies from the GAMA survey at z < 0.06 modelled by the SED-fitting code ProSpect using an evolving metallicity implementation. These ...metallicity histories, in combination with the associated star formation histories, allow us to analyse the inferred gas-phase mass–metallicity relation. Furthermore, we extract the mass–metallicity relation at a sequence of epochs in cosmic history, to track the evolving mass–metallicity relation with time. Through comparison with observations of gas-phase metallicity over a large range of redshifts, we show that, remarkably, our forensic SED analysis has produced an evolving mass–metallicity relationship that is consistent with observations at all epochs. We additionally analyse the three-dimensional mass–metallicity–SFR space, showing that galaxies occupy a clearly defined plane. This plane is shown to be subtly evolving, displaying an increased tilt with time caused by general enrichment, and also the slowing down of star formation with cosmic time. This evolution is most apparent at lookback times greater than 7 Gyr. The trends in metallicity recovered in this work highlight that the evolving metallicity implementation used within the SED-fitting code ProSpect produces reasonable metallicity results over the history of a galaxy. This is expected to provide a significant improvement to the accuracy of the SED-fitting outputs.
The Cape Floristic Region (CFR) is a biodiversity hotspot, recognized globally for its unusually high levels of endemism. The origins of this biodiversity are a long-standing topic of research. The ...largest "Cape clade,"
, radiated dramatically in the CFR, its ca. 690 species arising within 10-15 Ma. Notable between- and within-species flower color variation in
may have contributed to the origins of species diversity through its impact on pollinator efficiency and specificity.
We investigate the expression and function of the genes of the anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway that controls floral color in 12
species groups using RT-qPCR and UPLC-MS/MS.
Shifts from ancestral pink- or red- to white- and/or yellow flowers were associated with independent losses of single pathway gene expression, abrogation of the entire pathway due to loss of the expression of a transcription factor or loss of function mutations in pathway genes.
Striking floral color shifts are prevalent amongst the numerous species of Cape
. These results show independent origins of a palette of mutations leading to such shifts, revealing the diverse genetic basis for potentially rapid evolution of a speciation-relevant trait.
Abstract We present an all-southern sky survey for Mg ii λλ 2796, 2803 doublet absorbers in 951 z < 4 active galactic nucleus/quasar spectra from the Australian Dark Energy Survey. The spectral ...resolution ranges from R = 1400 to 1700 over the wavelengths 3700–8800 Å. The survey has a 5 σ detection completeness of 50% and above for rest-frame equivalent widths W r (2796) ≥ 0.3 Å. We studied 656 Mg ii absorption systems over the redshift range 0.33 ≤ z ≤ 2.19 with equivalent widths 0.3 ≤ W r (2796) ≤ 3.45 Å. The equivalent width distribution is well fit by an exponential function with W * = 0.76 ± 0.04 Å, and the redshift path density exhibits very little evolution. Overall, our findings are consistent with the large, predominantly northern sky, surveys of Mg ii absorbers. We developed and implemented a Monte Carlo model informed by a high-resolution Mg ii survey for determining the Mg ii mass density, Ω Mg II . We found Ω Mg II ∼ 5 × 10 −7 with no evidence of evolution over a ∼7 Gyr time span following Cosmic Noon. Incorporating measurements covering 2.0 ≤ z ≤ 6.4 from the literature, we extended our insights into Mg ii mass density evolution from the end of reionization well past the Cosmic Noon epoch. The presented Monte Carlo model has potential for advancing our knowledge of the evolution of mass densities of metal ions common to quasar absorption line studies, as it exploits the efficiency of large low-resolution surveys while requiring only small samples from expensive high-resolution surveys.
Sphingolipids (SL) represent a structurally diverse class of lipids that are central to cellular physiology and neuronal development and function. Defects in the sphingolipid metabolism are typically ...associated with nervous system disorders. The C4-dihydroceramide desaturase (DEGS1) catalyzes the conversion of dihydroceramide to ceramide, the final step in the SL de-novo synthesis. Loss of function mutations in DEGS1 cause a hypomyelinating leukodystrophy, which is associated with increased plasma dihydrosphingolipids (dhSL) and with the formation of an atypical SPB 18:1(14Z);O2 metabolite. Here, we characterize two novel DEGS1 variants of unknown significance (VUS), provide a structural model with a predicted substrate binding site and propose a regulatory link between DEGS1 and fatty acid desaturase 3 (FADS3). Both VUS involve single amino acid substitutions near the C-terminus within conserved regions of the enzyme. Patient 1 (p.R311K variant) shows severe progressive tetraspasticity, intellectual disability, and epilepsy in combination with brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings, typical for DEGS1-related leukodystrophy. Patient 2 (p.G270E variant) presents with delayed psychomotor development, oculomotor apraxia, and a normal brain MRI. Plasma from the p.R311K carrier showed a significantly elevated dhSL species and the presence of SPB 18:1(14Z);O2, while the plasma SL profile for the p.G270E variant was not altered. This suggests the p.R331K variant is pathogenic, while the p.G270E appears benign. As an increase in dihydroSL species is also seen in other pathological disorders of the SL metabolism, the SPB 18:1(14Z);O2 seems to be a more specific biomarker to discriminate between pathogenic and benign DEGS1 variants.
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We present the latest published and preliminary results from the SLUGGS Survey discussing the formation of lenticular galaxies through analysis of their kinematics. These include a comparison of the ...measured stellar spin of low-mass lenticular galaxies to the spin of remnant galaxies formed by binary merger simulations to assess whether a merger is a likely formation mechanism for these galaxies. We determine that while a portion of lenticular galaxies have properties consistent with these remnants, others are not, indicating that they are likely “faded spirals”. We also present a modified version of the spin–ellipticity diagram, which utilises radial tracks to be able to identify galaxies with intermediate-scale discs. Such galaxies often have conflicting morphological classifications, depending on whether photometric or kinematic measurements are used. Finally, we present preliminary results on the total mass density profile slopes of lenticular galaxies to assess trends as lower stellar masses are probed.
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