Genomic data suggest parallel dental vestigialization within the xenarthran radiation

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dc.citation.issue2023
dc.citation.volume3
dc.contributor.authorEmerling CA
dc.contributor.authorGibb GC
dc.contributor.authorTilak M-K
dc.contributor.authorHughes JJ
dc.contributor.authorKuch M
dc.contributor.authorDuggan AT
dc.contributor.authorPoinar HN
dc.contributor.authorNachman MW
dc.contributor.authorDelsuc F
dc.date.accessioned2024-11-21T01:25:41Z
dc.date.available2024-11-21T01:25:41Z
dc.date.issued2023-01-01
dc.description.abstractThe recent influx of genomic data has provided greater insights into the molecular basis for regressive evolution, or vestigialization, through gene loss and pseudogenization. As such, the analysis of gene degradation patterns has the potential to provide insights into the evolutionary history of regressed anatomical traits. We specifically applied these principles to the xenarthran radiation (anteaters, sloths, armadillos), which is characterized by taxa with a gradation in regressed dental phenotypes. Whether the pattern among extant xenarthrans is due to an ancient and gradual decay of dental morphology or occurred repeatedly in parallel is unknown. We tested these competing hypotheses by examining 11 core dental genes in most living species of Xenarthra, characterizing shared inactivating mutations and patterns of relaxed selection during their radiation. Here we report evidence of independent and distinct events of dental gene loss in the major xenarthran subclades. First, we found strong evidence of complete enamel loss in the common ancestor of sloths and anteaters, suggested by the inactivation of five enamel-associated genes (AMELX, AMTN, MMP20, ENAM, ACP4). Next, whereas dental regression appears to have halted in sloths, presumably a critical event that ultimately permitted adaptation to an herbivorous lifestyle, anteaters continued losing genes on the path towards complete tooth loss. Echoes of this event are recorded in the genomes of all living anteaters, being marked by a 2-bp deletion in a gene critical for dentinogenesis (DSPP) and a putative shared 1-bp insertion in a gene linked to tooth retention (ODAPH). By contrast, in the two major armadillo clades, genes pertaining to the dento-gingival junction and amelogenesis appear to have been independently inactivated prior to losing all or some enamel. These genomic data provide evidence for multiple pathways and rates of anatomical regression, and underscore the utility of using pseudogenes to reconstruct evolutionary history when fossils are sparse
dc.description.confidentialfalse
dc.identifier.citationEmerling CA, Gibb GC, Tilak MK, Hughes JJ, Kuch M, Duggan AT, Poinar HN, Nachman MW, Delsuc F. (2023). Genomic data suggest parallel dental vestigialization within the xenarthran radiation. Peer Community Journal. 3. 2023.
dc.identifier.doi10.24072/pcjournal.303
dc.identifier.eissn2804-3871
dc.identifier.elements-typejournal-article
dc.identifier.numbere75
dc.identifier.urihttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/72045
dc.languageEnglish
dc.publisherThe Mersenne Center
dc.publisher.urihttps://peercommunityjournal.org/articles/10.24072/pcjournal.303/
dc.relation.isPartOfPeer Community Journal
dc.rightsCC BY 4.0
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectArmadillos, Anteaters, Sloths, Dental regression, Gene loss, Molecular evolution, Phylogenetics
dc.subjectArmadillos
dc.subjectAnteaters
dc.subjectSloths
dc.subjectDental regression
dc.subjectGene loss
dc.subjectMolecular evolution
dc.subjectPhylogenetics
dc.titleGenomic data suggest parallel dental vestigialization within the xenarthran radiation
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.elements-id490709
pubs.organisational-groupOther
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