Katerina Guschanski

TL;DR: Examination of mitochondrial DNA sequences from tissue remains that vary in age between 18 and 60,000 years with respect to three molecular features finds that fragment length does not decrease consistently over time and that strand breaks occur preferentially before purine residues by what may be at least two different molecular mechanisms that are not yet understood.

TL;DR: The study provides detailed insights into the birth and evolution of mammalian miRNA genes and the associated selective forces, and suggests a high rate of miRNA family turnover in mammals with many newly emerged miRNA families being lost soon after their formation.

TL;DR: Having produced the largest mitochondrial DNA data set from museum specimens, this work documents how NGS technologies can “unlock” museum collections, thereby helping to unravel the tree-of-life.

TL;DR: A two‐step multiplex PCR procedure that allows rapid genotyping using at least 19 different microsatellite loci was applied to quantified amounts of noninvasive DNAs from western chimpanzee, western gorilla, mountain gorilla and black and white colobus faecal samples, as well as to DNA from ~100‐year‐old gorilla teeth from museums.

TL;DR: Elements of both biogeographic models are combined in a new hypothesis that aims to explain the speciation process leading to the present distribution of mouse lemurs in Madagascar.