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1. Soil origin corresponds with variation in growth of an invasive Centaurea , but not of non‐invasive congeners

   https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3141  

   Montesinos, Daniel ; Callaway, Ragan M. ( August 2020 , Ecology)

   Why only a small proportion of exotic species become invasive is an unresolved question. Escape from the negative effects of soil biota in the native range can be important for the success of many invasives, but comparative effects of soil biota on less successful exotic species are poorly understood. Studies of other mechanisms suggest that such comparisons might be fruitful. Seeds of three closely relatedCentaureaspecies with overlapping distributions in both their native range of Spain and their nonnative range of California were grown to maturity in pots to obtain an F1 generation of full sibling seeds with reduced maternal effects. Full sibling F1 seeds from both ranges were subsequently grown in pots with inoculations of soil from either the native or nonnative ranges in a fully orthogonal factorial design. We then compared plant biomass among species, regions, and soil sources. Our results indicate that escape from soil pathogens may unleash the highly invasiveCentaurea solstitialis, which was suppressed by native Spanish soils but not by soils from California. In contrast, the two non‐invasiveCentaureaspecies grew the same on all soils. These results add unprecedented phylogenetically controlled insight into why some species invade and others do not.

    

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2. Geographic variation in apparent competition between native and invasive Phragmites australis

   https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.1646  

   Bhattarai, Ganesh P. ; Meyerson, Laura A. ; Cronin, James T. ( February 2017 , Ecology)
3. Genotypic variability following fusion in the invasive colonial tunicate Didemnum vexillum

   https://doi.org/10.1111/ivb.12263  

   Weinberg, Rachel Beth ; Clancy, Darragh Lillian ; Cohen, C. Sarah ( September 2019 , Invertebrate Biology)

   Fusion to form a chimera has been documented in many marine invertebrate taxa, including poriferans, cnidarians, bryozoans, and colonial ascidians. Allogenic interactions in chimeric ascidian colonies vary widely across taxonomic groups but are poorly characterized in the invasive colonial ascidianDidemnum vexillum.The moderate level of discrimination expressed in the fusion–rejection response ofD. vexillumsuggests that there is some integration of cells beyond the fusion line in a chimeric colony. We tracked the shifts in representation of microsatellite alleles between fused colonies ofD. vexillumto elucidate the extent of genotypic integration in fused colonies and the patterns of changes to the genotypic composition of colonies immediately following chimera formation. By genotyping colonies before and after fusion, we found that allogeneic fusion inD. vexillummay lead to genotypic changes beyond the visible fusion line. Alleles from one colony were found in multiple tissue samples in the chimera 7–10 days after fusion had occurred. In some instances, alleles that were in a single colony prior to fusion were lost following fusion. We observed multiple patterns of allelic change, including both the unidirectional transfer and reciprocal exchange of alleles between fused colonies. Our findings suggest that tissue or cells are exchanged following allogeneic fusion between colonies ofD. vexillumand that the genotypic composition of chimeric colonies may be fluid.

    

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4. Transcriptomic comparison of invasive bigheaded carps ( Hypophthalmichthys nobilis and Hypophthalmichthys molitrix ) and their hybrids

   https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.2574  

   Wang, Jun ; Lamer, James T. ; Gaughan, Sarah ; Wachholtz, Michael ; Wang, Chenghui ; Lu, Guoqing ( December 2016 , Ecology and Evolution)
5. High-Quality Assemblies for Three Invasive Social Wasps from the Vespula Genus

   https://doi.org/10.1534/g3.120.401579  

   Harrop, Thomas W ; Guhlin, Joseph ; McLaughlin, Gemma M ; Permina, Elizabeth ; Stockwell, Peter ; Gilligan, Josh ; Le Lec, Marissa F ; Gruber, Monica A ; Quinn, Oliver ; Lovegrove, Mackenzie ; et al ( October 2020 , G3 Genes|Genomes|Genetics)

   null (Ed.)

   Abstract Social wasps of the genus Vespula have spread to nearly all landmasses worldwide and have become significant pests in their introduced ranges, affecting economies and biodiversity. Comprehensive genome assemblies and annotations for these species are required to develop the next generation of control strategies and monitor existing chemical control. We sequenced and annotated the genomes of the common wasp (Vespula vulgaris), German wasp (Vespula germanica), and the western yellowjacket (Vespula pensylvanica). Our chromosome-level Vespula assemblies each contain 176–179 Mb of total sequence assembled into 25 scaffolds, with 10–200 unanchored scaffolds, and 16,566–18,948 genes. We annotated gene sets relevant to the applied management of invasive wasp populations, including genes associated with spermatogenesis and development, pesticide resistance, olfactory receptors, immunity and venom. These genomes provide evidence for active DNA methylation in Vespidae and tandem duplications of venom genes. Our genomic resources will contribute to the development of next-generation control strategies, and monitoring potential resistance to chemical control. 

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