Parasites are expected to hybridise in similar ways to free‐living organisms, although this may be modified by their reduced genome architecture. Recombinant strains and taxa of hybrid origin can be studied in nature where hosts come into secondary contact. Here we apply genome‐wide analysis to parasites from a contact previously characterised for many individuals using classical markers. The host contact is the European house...

Reference genomes from representative species across families provide the critical infrastructure for research and conservation. The Cetacean Genomes Project (CGP) began in early 2020 to facilitate the generation of near error-free, chromosome-resolved reference genomes for all cetacean species. Towards that goal, and using the methods, goals and genome assembly quality standards of the Vertebrate Genomes Project (VGP), we gen...

Maternal effects, where the performance of offspring is determined by the condition of their mother, are widespread and may in some cases be adaptive. The crustacean Daphnia magna shows strong maternal effects: offspring size at birth and other proxies for fitness are altered when their mothers are older or when mothers have experienced dietary restriction. The mechanisms for this transgenerational transmission of maternal exp...

Distinct populations of the potato cyst nematode ( PCN ) Globodera pallida exist in the UK that differ in their ability to overcome various sources of resistance. An efficient method for distinguishing between populations would enable pathogen‐informed cultivar choice in the field. Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture ( SASA ) annually undertake national DNA diagnostic tests to determine the presence of PCN in potato se...

Studies on the classic shell colour and banding polymorphism of the land snail C epaea played a crucial role in establishing the importance of natural selection in maintaining morphological variation. Cepaea is also a pre‐eminent model for ecological genetics because the outward colour and banding phenotype is entirely genetically determined, primarily by a ‘supergene’ of at least five loci. Unfortunately, progress in understa...

Restriction site‐associated DNA Sequencing ( RAD ‐Seq) is an economical and efficient method for SNP discovery and genotyping. As with other sequencing‐by‐synthesis methods, RAD ‐Seq produces stochastic count data and requires sensitive analysis to develop or genotype markers accurately. We show that there are several sources of bias specific to RAD ‐Seq that are not explicitly addressed by current genotyping tools, namely res...

The H eliconius butterflies are a diverse recent radiation comprising multiple levels of divergence with ongoing gene flow between species. The recently sequenced genome of H eliconius melpomene allowed us to investigate the genomic evolution of this group using dense RAD marker sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis of 54 individuals robustly supported reciprocal monophyly of H . melpomene and H eliconius cydno and refuted previou...

The Lepidoptera have long been used as examples in the study of evolution, but some questions remain difficult to resolve due to a lack of molecular genetic data. However, as technology improves, genomic tools are becoming increasingly available to tackle unanswered evolutionary questions. Here we have used expressed sequence tags (ESTs) to develop genetic markers for two Müllerian mimic species, Heliconius melpomene and Helic...

Using a molecular barcode, derived from single‐specimen polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing of the 5′ segment of the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU) gene, we have developed a molecular operational taxonomic unit (MOTU) scheme for soil nematodes. Individual specimens were considered to belong to the same MOTU when the sequenced segment of 450 bases was > 99.5% identical. A Scottish upland Agrostis‐Festuca grassland...