A unique experiment led by a UC Berkeley biologist enlisted researchers from Europe, the Middle East and U.S. to plant 12 plots of Arabidopsis at 30 sites representing different climates and leave them for five years to adapt or die. A genome analysis of yearly flower clippings from the 360 plots showed how allele frequency changed as the plant populations evolved. Populations at the warmest sites were least likely to find a genetic path to survival.

A new Americas Flyways Atlas unveiled at CMS COP15 in Brazil maps the full annual journeys of an initial 89 vulnerable migratory bird species across 56 countries, offering governments and conservationists an unprecedented, data-driven view of the critical habitats these species depend on throughout their life cycles. Built from hundreds of millions of citizen-science observations and advanced modeling, the tool identifies key “Bird Concentration Areas” where protection efforts can have the greatest impact, highlighting the fragile chain of ecosystems that sustain 622 migratory bird species across the hemisphere. Launched amid growing concern over global declines driven by habitat loss, infrastructure, and climate change, the Atlas supports COP15 negotiations by aligning cross-border conservation action and strengthening ecological connectivity for species that rely on multiple countries to survive.

Global warming has severe impacts on plant growth and development, and XBAT31 controls the protein level of the thermosensor ELF3 to promote hypocotyl growth under warm temperature conditions. In the current study, researchers unveil MIEL1 as a stabilizer of XBAT31, suppressing its auto-ubiquitination independent of MIEL1’s canonical RING-domain activity, and act cooperatively to modulate hypocotyl elongation in response to warm temperature. This hierarchical interaction between two E3 ligases expands the paradigm of ubiquitin-mediated signaling in environmental adaptation.