| Literature DB >> 27209096 |
Mariana F Nery1, Brunno Borges2, Aline C Dragalzew2, Tiana Kohlsdorf3.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Convergent evolution has been a challenging topic for decades, being cetaceans, pinnipeds and sirenians textbook examples of three independent origins of equivalent phenotypes. These mammalian lineages acquired similar anatomical features correlated to an aquatic life, and remarkably differ from their terrestrial counterparts. Whether their molecular evolutionary history also involved similar genetic mechanisms underlying such morphological convergence nevertheless remained unknown. To test for the existence of convergent molecular signatures, we studied the molecular evolution of Hox genes in these three aquatic mammalian lineages, comparing their patterns to terrestrial mammals. Hox genes are transcription factors that play a pivotal role in specifying embryonic regional identity of nearly any bilateral animal, and are recognized major agents for diversification of body plans.Entities:
Keywords: Cetaceans; Hox genes; Molecular evolution; Pinnipeds; Positive selection; Sirenians
Mesh:
Substances:
Year: 2016 PMID: 27209096 PMCID: PMC4875654 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-016-0682-4
Source DB: PubMed Journal: BMC Evol Biol ISSN: 1471-2148 Impact factor: 3.260
Fig. 1Tree topology used to conduct the analyses of variable ω among lineages; tree assembled from published literature [77, 78]
Fig. 2The ω values for Hox genes in cetaceans, pinnipeds, sirenian and average value for the remaining mammals (solid line) derived from the two-ratio model. Asterisks indicate those Hox genes statistically inferred as evolving under positive selection or those having significantly higher evolutionary rates
Genes and sites inferred to be under positive selection using different models implemented in PAML
| Model | Cetacea | Positively selected sites | Pinniped | Positively selected sites | Sirenia | Positively selected sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Branch model |
| - | HoxA4, HoxB9, HoxC10 | - | HoxA2, HoxA13, HoxB4, | - |
| Branch-site model |
| 18, 35, 64, 147, 153, 169 |
| 16, 28, 200, 233 | ||
| MEME |
| 64 | HoxA7 | 201 |
| 233 |
| BUSTED |
| 18, 35, 64, 128, 147, 153, 169 | HoxA7 | 201 |
| 233 |
In bold are highlighted those genes identified by all methods
Fig. 3Hox genes evolving under positive selection in cetaceans, pinnipeds and sirenians, coupled with their functions
Amino acid physicochemical properties under positive destabilizing selection in Hox genes
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