The University of Toronto published a press release about our recently published paper on the molecular basis for ant ‘bodyguard’ behaviour!
You can read the press release, look for some coverage on news websites, or read the original paper again.
The study about the molecular basis for ant ‘bodyguard’ behaviour that I conducted at the University of Toronto was published in Proceedings B. We discovered the effect of the expression of genes and activation of proteins of the PKG family on the efficiency of host-plant protection by symbiotic ants.
This is one of my favourite studies and it’s the result of a collaboration with Kyle Turner, Marla Sokolowski and Megan Frederickson, among others.
The reference of the paper is Malé, P. J. G., Turner, K. M., Doha, M., Anreiter, I., Allen, A. M., Sokolowski, M. B., & Frederickson, M. E. (2017). An ant–plant mutualism through the lens of cGMP-dependent kinase genes. Proc. R. Soc. B 284:20170896, and it’s accessible here
The manuscript describing a new locus controlling the color polymorphism of the endemic white-eye of Reunion was published in Royal Society Open Science. This study uses a large panel of genetic and genomic analyses to identify a region that determines the color of the birds.
This is a huge piece of work resulting from a collaboration with my good friends Yann Bourgeois and Joris Bertrand, among others.
The reference of the paper is “Bourgeois YXC, Delahaie B, Gautier M, Lhuillier E, Malé P-JG, Bertrand JAM, Cornuault J, Wakamatsu K, Bouchez O, Mould C, Bruxaux J, Holota H, Milá B & Thébaud C (2017) A novel locus on chromosome 1 underlies the evolution of a melanic plumage polymorphism in a wild songbird. Royal Society Open Science 4:160805“.
Also, the paper about trade-offs in tripartite mutualisms received a full reference in Proceedings B: “Orivel J, Malé P-JG, Lauth J, Roux O, Petitclerc F, Dejean A & Leroy C (2017) Trade-offs in mutualistic investments in a tripartite symbiosis. Proceedings B 284:20161679“.
Way to go, 2017!
The manuscript about the role of population connectivity in an ant-plant mutualism stability was just published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology.
Here is the complete reference:
Malé P-JG, Leroy C, Humblot P, Dejean A, Quilichini A & Orivel J (2016). Limited gene dispersal and spatial genetic structure as stabilizing factors in an ant-plant mutualism. J Evol Biol. 29(12):2519-29.
It can be found here. I wish you good reading!
The manuscript describing trade-offs and service exchange in the tripartite plant-ant-fungus association that I studied during my PhD is accepted for publication in Proceedings B. This study compares two ant species associated with the same plant and fungus species. These ants show different investments in mutualistic relationships and pay different costs for different services. Our results show that local coexistence between the ants should be fleeting, due to differences in their competitiveness.
This is a very cool article resulting from a collaboration with Jérôme Orivel, Jérémie Lauth, Olivier Roux, Frédéric Petitclerc, Alain Dejean and Céline Leroy. Its publication rewards more than a decade of research on the Allomerus-Hirtella system in French Guiana. We progressed so much in our understanding of this amazing ant-plant-fungus mutualism since the discovery of the trap/galleries!
This new paper is titled “Trade-offs in mutualistic investment in a tripartite symbiosis” and will certainly be online soon.
I presented a few of my latest results about the foraging gene in plant ants at the EVOLUTION2016 conference in Austin. The video has kindly been uploaded on YouTube by the amazing organization team.
This work has been conducted at the Frederickson lab and is the result of a collaboration with the Sokolowski lab.
Stay tuned for the publication!
The manuscript about the history of the Chrysobalanaceae family has just been published in the American Journal of Botany.
Here is the complete reference:
Bardon L, Sothers CA, Prance GT, Malé PJG, Xi Z, Davis CC, Murienne J, García-Villacorta R, Coissac E, Lavergne S & Chave J (2016). Unraveling the biogeographical history of Chrysobalanaceae from plastid genomes. American Journal of Botany 103: 1089-1102.
It can be found here. I wish you good reading!
Following the awarding of a Marie Skłodowska Curie fellowship, I just joined the Pierce lab for investigating the genetic and chemical components of host recognition by plant-ants, in Devil’s gardens.
I will work with Naomi Pierce and Axel Mithöfer, at Harvard Museum of Comparative Biology and at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology. I will also continue collaborating with Megan Frederickson.
Stay tuned!
I will be presenting my latest results about the foraging gene in plant ants at the EVOLUTION2016 conference in Austin on June 19 at 3:45pm.
The manuscript about the history of the Chrysobalanaceae family has been accepted for publication in the American Journal of Botany. This study unravels the phylogenetic and phylogeographic origin and history of this fascinating pantropical tree family. One of the most striking discoveries is the single migration event that occured 28 Ma ago and gave rise to the incredible Neotropical diversity!
This article is a result of a collaboration with Jérôme Chave, Léa Bardon, Jérôme Murienne, Ghillean Prance, Cynthia Sothers, Charles C Davis, Zhenxiang Xi, Roosevelt García-Villacorta, Sébastien Lavergne and Eric Coissac. Its publication rewards the hard work started during my first post-doc at the “Evolution & Diversité Biologique” lab, in Toulouse (France).
It is titled “Unraveling the biogeographical history of Chrysobalanaceae from plastid genomes” and will hopefully be online soon.