Probing the Local Velocity Distribution of WIMP Dark Matter with Directional Detectors

We explore the ability of directional nuclear-recoil detectors to constrain the local velocity distribution of weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark matter by performing Bayesian parameter estimation on simulated recoil-event data sets. We discuss in detail how directional information, when combined with measurements of the recoil-energy spectrum, helps break degeneracies in the velocity-distribution parameters. We also consider the possibility that velocity structures such as cold tidal streams or a dark disk may also be present in addition to the Galactic halo. Assuming a carbon-tetrafluoride detector with a 30-kg-yr exposure, a 50-GeV WIMP mass, and a WIMP-nucleon spin-dependent cross-section of 0.001 pb, we show that the properties of a cold tidal stream may be well constrained. However, measurement of the parameters of a dark-disk component with a low lag speed of ~50 km/s may be challenging unless energy thresholds are improved.Comment: 38 pages, 15 figure

The genome sequence of the stone loach, Barbatula barbatula (Linnaeus, 1758)

We present a genome assembly from an individual female Barbatula barbatula (the stone loach; Chordata; Actinopteri; Cypriniformes; Nemacheilidae). The genome sequence is 617.6 megabases in span. Most of the assembly is scaffolded into 25 chromosomal pseudomolecules. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled and is 16.64 kilobases in length

Lack of support for Rensch's rule in an intraspecific test using red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum) populations

Rensch's rule proposes a universal allometric scaling phenomenon across species where sexual size dimorphism (SSD) has evolved: in taxa with male‐biased dimorphism, degree of SSD should increase with overall body size, and in taxa with female‐biased dimorphism, degree of SSD should decrease with increasing average body size. Rensch's rule appears to hold widely across taxa where SSD is male‐biased, but not consistently when SSD is female‐biased. Furthermore, studies addressing this question within species are rare, so it remains unclear whether this rule applies at the intraspecific level. We assess body size and SSD within Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), a species where females are larger than males, using 21 populations derived from separate locations across the world, and maintained in isolated laboratory culture for at least 20 years. Body size, and hence SSD patterns, are highly susceptible to variations in temperature, diet quality and other environmental factors. Crucially, here we nullify interference of such confounds as all populations were maintained under identical conditions (similar densities, standard diet and exposed to identical temperature, relative humidity and photoperiod). We measured thirty beetles of each sex for all populations, and found body size variation across populations, and (as expected) female‐biased SSD in all populations. We test whether Rensch's rule holds for our populations, but find isometry, i.e. no allometry for SSD. Our results thus show that Rensch's rule does not hold across populations within this species. Our intraspecific test matches previous interspecific studies showing that Rensch's rule fails in species with female‐biased SSD.The authors further thank NERC (Standard research grant to MJGG, BCE and OYM), Swiss National Science Foundation (postdoctoral fellowships and Ambizione grants to OYM), the University of East Anglia and ETH Zürich for support.Peer Reviewe

The genome sequence of the Brown Long-eared bat, Plecotus auritus (Linnaeus 1758)

Funding: This work was supported by Wellcome through core funding to the Wellcome Sanger Institute [206194, https://doi.org/10.35802/206194] and the Darwin Tree of Life Discretionary Award [218328, https://doi.org/10.35802/218328 ]. SCV was supported by a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship, (MR/T021985/1), an ERC Consolidator Grant (101001702; BATSPEAK), and a Max Planck Research Group awarded by the Max Planck Society.We present a genome assembly from a female Plecotus auritus (Brown Long-eared bat; Chordata; Mammalia; Chiroptera; Vespertilionidae). The genome sequence is 2163.2 megabases in span. Most of the assembly is scaffolded into 16 chromosomal pseudomolecules, including the X sex chromosome. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled and is 16.91 kilobases in length.Peer reviewe

The genome sequence of Daubenton's bat, Myotis daubentonii (Kuhl, 1817)

Funding: This work was supported by Wellcome through core funding to the Wellcome Sanger Institute [206194, https://doi.org/10.35802/206194] and the Darwin Tree of Life Discretionary Award [218328, https://doi.org/10.35802/218328 ]. SCV was supported by a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship, (MR/T021985/1) and an ERC Consolidator Grant (101001702; BATSPEAK). ECT was supported by Science Foundation Ireland, Future Frontiers Award (19/FFP/6790).We present a genome assembly from an individual male Myotis daubentonii (Daubenton's bat; Chordata; Mammalia; Chiroptera; Vespertilionidae). The genome sequence is 2,127.8 megabases in span. Most of the assembly is scaffolded into 23 chromosomal pseudomolecules, including the X and Y sex chromosomes. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled and is 17.34 kilobases in length.Peer reviewe

The genome sequence of the whiskered bat, Myotis mystacinus (Kuhl, 1817)

Funding: SCV was supported by a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship, (MR/T021985/1), an ERC Consolidator Grant (101001702; BATSPEAK), and a Max Planck Research Group awarded by the Max Planck Society. This work was supported by Wellcome through core funding to the Wellcome Sanger Institute [206194, https://doi.org/10.35802/206194] and the Darwin Tree of Life Discretionary Award [218328, https://doi.org/10.35802/218328 ].We present a genome assembly from an individual male Myotis mystacinus (whiskered bat; Chordata; Mammalia; Chiroptera; Vespertilionidae). The genome sequence has a total length of 2,081.20 megabases. Most of the assembly (97.52%) is scaffolded into 23 chromosomal pseudomolecules, including the X and Y sex chromosomes. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled and is 16.93 kilobases in length.Peer reviewe

The genome sequence of the particolored bat, Vespertilio murinus Linnaeus, 1758

Funding: This work was supported by Wellcome through core funding to the Wellcome Sanger Institute [206194, https://doi.org/10.35802/206194] and the Darwin Tree of Life Discretionary Award [218328, https://doi.org/10.35802/218328 ]. SCV was supported by a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship (MR/T021985/1) and an ERC Consolidator Grant (101001702; BATSPEAK). ECT is supported by Irish Research Council Laureate Award IRCLA/2017/58 and Science Foundation Ireland Future Frontiers 19/FFP/6790.We present a genome assembly from an individual male Vespertilio murinus (the particolored bat; Chordata; Mammalia; Chiroptera; Vespertilionidae). The genome sequence is 1,925.6 megabases in span. Most of the assembly is scaffolded into 20 chromosomal pseudomolecules, including the X and Y sex chromosomes. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled and is 16.96 kilobases in length.Peer reviewe

The genome sequence of the Ruby Tiger, Phragmatobia fuliginosa (Linnaeus, 1758)

We present a genome assembly from an individual male Phragmatobia fuliginosa (the Ruby Tiger; Arthropoda; Insecta; Lepidoptera; Erebidae). The genome sequence is 629.4 megabases in span. Most of the assembly is scaffolded into 28 chromosomal pseudomolecules, including the assembled Z sex chromosome. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled and is 15.4 kilobases in length. Gene annotation of this assembly on Ensembl identified 13,338 protein coding genes