Tamsin Woodman

Oct 25, 2024 | biorxiv.org | Tamsin Woodman |Zachary Emberts |Simon Chen |Walter Federle

AbstractArthropods are the most diverse phylum on earth, accounting for up to 90% of animal species. The cuticular exoskeleton has played a vital role in their evolutionary success, but we know surprisingly little about the factors influencing its development, structure, and biomechanical properties. In this study, we examined whether and how nutrition affects the cuticle after an insect has completed its final molt into the adult stage.

Jul 30, 2024 | biorxiv.org | Andrew Joseph Mongue |Hollie Marshall |Tamsin Woodman |Arkadiy Joseph Garber

AbstractMost studies of sex-biased genes explore their evolution in familiar chromosomal sex determination systems, leaving the evolution of sex differences under alternative reproductive systems unknown. Here we explore the system of paternal genome elimination employed by mealybugs (Hempitera: Pseudococcidae) which have no sex chromosomes. Instead, all chromosomes are autosomal and inherited in two copies, but sex is determined by the ploidy of expression.