{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,13]],"date-time":"2026-05-13T13:39:36Z","timestamp":1778679576440,"version":"3.51.4"},"posted":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,4]]},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"Wiley","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:p>Pregnancy, the post-fertilization period when embryos are incubated\nwithin the body, is a dynamic multistage process that has convergently\nevolved in many vertebrates. To increase independence from environmental\nfluctuations and protect offspring from predation, challenges had to be\ninitially overcome. The most obvious, when considering such an intimate\nrelation between the parent and its semi-allogenic offspring, was the\npressing need to dodge immunity-associated embryo rejection. In mammals,\nimmunological tolerance was found to be dependent on the active\nmodulation of the immune system. Even though supporting much of the\ncurrent knowledge on vertebrate pregnancy, mammals lack extant\ntransitional stages that could help reconstruct the evolutionary pathway\nof this fascinatingly complex reproduction mode. In this issue of\nMolecular Ecology, Parker et al. (2022) selected an untraditional model\n- the seahorse and pipefish family, whose species evolved male pregnancy\nacross an almost continuous gradient of complexity, from external\noviparity to internal gestation. By contrasting gene expression profiles\nof syngnathids with distinct brooding architectures, this study allowed\nfor the observation of subtle evolutionary adaptations, while confirming\nthe existence of remarkable similarities to \u2018female\u2019 pregnancy (e.g.,\nthe evolution of male pregnancy in pouched species occurred alongside\nimmune downregulation, and inflammation seems vital during early\npregnancy stages). In a world where the debate on sex-roles takes centre\nstage, Parker et al. (2022) appeasing results hint at the fact that the\nstrongly convergent evolution of vertebrate pregnancy was seemingly\nunaffected by which sex carries the burden of gestation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.22541\/au.166754710.05022233\/v1","type":"posted-content","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,4]],"date-time":"2022-11-04T03:31:53Z","timestamp":1667532713000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Mom and dad are not that different after all: immune modulation as a prerequisite for the evolution of pregnancy"],"prefix":"10.22541","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6994-4673","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nuno","family":"Monteiro","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"CIBIO"}]}],"member":"311","container-title":[],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.authorea.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.22541\/au.166754710.05022233\/v1","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,13]],"date-time":"2026-05-13T13:05:59Z","timestamp":1778677559000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.authorea.com\/doi\/full\/10.22541\/au.166754710.05022233\/v1"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,4]]},"references-count":0,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.22541\/au.166754710.05022233\/v1","relation":{"is-preprint-of":[{"id-type":"doi","id":"10.1111\/mec.16857","asserted-by":"subject"}]},"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,4]]},"subtype":"preprint"}}