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Crichton AI, Beck RMD, Couzens AMC, Worthy TH, Camens AB, Prideaux GJ. A probable koala from the Oligocene of central Australia provides insights into early diprotodontian evolution. Sci Rep 2023; 13:14521. [PMID: 37666885 PMCID: PMC10477348 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-41471-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/27/2023] [Indexed: 09/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Diprotodontians are the morphologically and ecologically most diverse order of marsupials. However, an approximately 30-million-year gap in the Australian terrestrial vertebrate fossil record means that the first half of diprotodontian evolution is unknown. Fossil taxa from immediately either side of this gap are therefore critical for reconstructing the early evolution of the order. Here we report the likely oldest-known koala relatives (Phascolarctidae), from the late Oligocene Pwerte Marnte Marnte Local Fauna (central Australia). These include coeval species of Madakoala and Nimiokoala, as well as a new probable koala (?Phascolarctidae). The new taxon, Lumakoala blackae gen. et sp. nov., was comparable in size to the smallest-known phascolarctids, with body-mass estimates of 2.2-2.6 kg. Its bunoselenodont upper molars retain the primitive metatherian condition of a continuous centrocrista, and distinct stylar cusps B and D which lacked occlusion with the hypoconid. This structural arrangement: (1) suggests a morphocline within Phascolarctidae from bunoselenodonty to selenodonty; and (2) better clarifies the evolutionary transitions between molar morphologies within Vombatomorphia. We hypothesize that the molar form of Lumakoala blackae approximates the ancestral condition of the suborder Vombatiformes. Furthermore, it provides a plausible link between diprotodontians and the putative polydolopimorphians Chulpasia jimthorselli and Thylacotinga bartholomaii from the early Eocene Tingamarra Local Fauna (eastern Australia), which we infer as having molar morphologies consistent with stem diprotodontians.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arthur I Crichton
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, 5042, Australia.
| | - Robin M D Beck
- School of Science, Engineering and Environment, University of Salford, Salford, England
| | - Aidan M C Couzens
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Trevor H Worthy
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, 5042, Australia
| | - Aaron B Camens
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, 5042, Australia
| | - Gavin J Prideaux
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, 5042, Australia
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2
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Koehler AV, Beveridge I, Spratt DM. A molecular characterization of marsupial filarioid nematodes of the genus Breinlia. Parasitology 2023; 150:49-54. [PMID: 36259355 PMCID: PMC10090590 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182022001482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2022] [Revised: 10/09/2022] [Accepted: 10/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Here we present the genetic relationships of 26 specimens of the genus Breinlia (Nematoda: Filarioidea) from a range of Australian marsupials using markers in the small subunit of nuclear ribosomal RNA and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) genes and compare them with morphological determinations. The molecular data support the validity of most of the morpho-species included in the study and provide provisional insights into the phylogeny of the genus in Australian mammals, with dasyuroid marsupials appearing to be the original hosts. The recent discovery of Breinlia annulipapillata in the eye of a human brings this genus of parasites into the group of emerging infectious parasitic diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anson V. Koehler
- Department of Veterinary Biosciences, School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Ian Beveridge
- Department of Veterinary Biosciences, School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - David M. Spratt
- Australian National Wildlife Collection, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Canberra, Australia
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3
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Carmelet‐Rescan D, Morgan‐Richards M, Pattabiraman N, Trewick SA. Time-calibrated phylogeny and ecological niche models indicate Pliocene aridification drove intraspecific diversification of brushtail possums in Australia. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9633. [PMID: 36540081 PMCID: PMC9755819 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Major aridification events in Australia during the Pliocene may have had significant impact on the distribution and structure of widespread species. To explore the potential impact of Pliocene and Pleistocene climate oscillations, we estimated the timing of population fragmentation and past connectivity of the currently isolated but morphologically similar subspecies of the widespread brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula). We use ecological niche modeling (ENM) with the current fragmented distribution of brushtail possums to estimate the environmental envelope of this marsupial. We projected the ENM on models of past climatic conditions in Australia to infer the potential distribution of brushtail possums over 6 million years. D-loop haplotypes were used to describe population structure. From shotgun sequencing, we assembled whole mitochondrial DNA genomes and estimated the timing of intraspecific divergence. Our projections of ENMs suggest current possum populations were unlikely to have been in contact during the Pleistocene. Although lowered sea level during glacial periods enabled connection with habitat in Tasmania, climate fluctuation during this time would not have facilitated gene flow over much of Australia. The most recent common ancestor of sampled intraspecific diversity dates to the early Pliocene when continental aridification caused significant changes to Australian ecology and Trichosurus vulpecula distribution was likely fragmented. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the subspecies T. v. hypoleucus (koomal; southwest), T. v. arnhemensis (langkurr; north), and T. v. vulpecula (bilda; southeast) correspond to distinct mitochondrial lineages. Despite little phenotypic differentiation, Trichosurus vulpecula populations probably experienced little gene flow with one another since the Pliocene, supporting the recognition of several subspecies and explaining their adaptations to the regional plant assemblages on which they feed.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Carmelet‐Rescan
- Wildlife and Ecology, School of Natural SciencesMassey UniversityPalmerston NorthNew Zealand
| | - Mary Morgan‐Richards
- Wildlife and Ecology, School of Natural SciencesMassey UniversityPalmerston NorthNew Zealand
| | - Nimeshika Pattabiraman
- Wildlife and Ecology, School of Natural SciencesMassey UniversityPalmerston NorthNew Zealand
| | - Steven A. Trewick
- Wildlife and Ecology, School of Natural SciencesMassey UniversityPalmerston NorthNew Zealand
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4
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Doronina L, Feigin CY, Schmitz J. Reunion of Australasian Possums by Shared SINE Insertions. Syst Biol 2022; 71:1045-1053. [PMID: 35289914 PMCID: PMC9366447 DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syac025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2021] [Revised: 03/09/2022] [Accepted: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Although first posited to be of a single origin, the two superfamilies of phalangeriform marsupial possums (Phalangeroidea: brushtail possums and cuscuses and Petauroidea: possums and gliders) have long been considered, based on multiple sequencing studies, to have evolved from two separate origins. However, previous data from these sequence analyses suggested a variety of conflicting trees. Therefore, we reinvestigated these relationships by screening $\sim$200,000 orthologous short interspersed element (SINE) loci across the newly available whole-genome sequences of phalangeriform species and their relatives. Compared to sequence data, SINE presence/absence patterns are evolutionarily almost neutral molecular markers of the phylogenetic history of species. Their random and highly complex genomic insertion ensures their virtually homoplasy-free nature and enables one to compare hundreds of shared unique orthologous events to determine the true species tree. Here, we identify 106 highly reliable phylogenetic SINE markers whose presence/absence patterns within multiple Australasian possum genomes unexpectedly provide the first significant evidence for the reunification of Australasian possums into one monophyletic group. Together, our findings indicate that nucleotide homoplasy and ancestral incomplete lineage sorting have most likely driven the conflicting signal distributions seen in previous sequence-based studies. [Ancestral incomplete lineage sorting; possum genomes; possum monophyly; retrophylogenomics; SINE presence/absence.].
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Affiliation(s)
- Liliya Doronina
- Institute of Experimental Pathology (ZMBE), University of Münster, Von-Esmarch-Str. 56, D-48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Charles Y Feigin
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, 119 Lewis Thomas Laboratory, Washington Road, Princeton, NJ 08544-1014, USA
- School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, BioSciences 4, Royal Pde, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Jürgen Schmitz
- Institute of Experimental Pathology (ZMBE), University of Münster, Von-Esmarch-Str. 56, D-48149 Münster, Germany
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5
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Beck RM, Voss RS, Jansa SA. Craniodental Morphology and Phylogeny of Marsupials. BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY 2022. [DOI: 10.1206/0003-0090.457.1.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Robin M.D. Beck
- School of Science, Engineering and Environment University of Salford, U.K. School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences University of New South Wales, Australia Division of Vertebrate Zoology (Mammalogy) American Museum of Natural History
| | - Robert S. Voss
- Division of Vertebrate Zoology (Mammalogy) American Museum of Natural History
| | - Sharon A. Jansa
- Bell Museum and Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior University of Minnesota
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6
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Kealy S, Donnellan SC, Mitchell KJ, Herrera M, Aplin K, O'Connor S, Louys J. Phylogenetic relationships of the cuscuses (Diprotodontia : Phalangeridae) of island Southeast Asia and Melanesia based on the mitochondrial ND2 gene. AUSTRALIAN MAMMALOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1071/am18050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
The species-level systematics of the marsupial family Phalangeridae, particularly Phalanger, are poorly understood, due partly to the family’s wide distribution across Australia, New Guinea, eastern Indonesia, and surrounding islands. In order to refine the species-level systematics of Phalangeridae, and improve our understanding of their evolution, we generated 36 mitochondrial ND2 DNA sequences from multiple species and sample localities. We combined our new data with available sequences and produced the most comprehensive molecular phylogeny for Phalangeridae to date. Our analyses (1) strongly support the monophyly of the three phalangerid subfamilies (Trichosurinae, Ailuropinae, Phalangerinae); (2) reveal the need to re-examine all specimens currently identified as ‘Phalanger orientalis’; and (3) suggest the elevation of the Solomon Island P. orientalis subspecies to species level (P. breviceps Thomas, 1888). In addition, samples of P. orientalis from Timor formed a clade, consistent with an introduction by humans from a single source population. However, further research on east Indonesian P. orientalis populations will be required to test this hypothesis, resolve inconsistencies in divergence time estimates, and locate the source population and taxonomic status of the Timor P. orientalis.
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Moros-Nicolás C, Chevret P, Izquierdo-Rico MJ, Holt WV, Esteban-Díaz D, López-Béjar M, Martínez-Nevado E, Nilsson MA, Ballesta J, Avilés M. Composition of marsupial zona pellucida: a molecular and phylogenetic approach. Reprod Fertil Dev 2019; 30:721-733. [PMID: 29162213 DOI: 10.1071/rd16519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2016] [Accepted: 09/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The zona pellucida (ZP) is an extracellular matrix that surrounds mammalian oocytes. In eutherians it is formed from three or four proteins (ZP1, ZP2, ZP3, ZP4). In the few marsupials that have been studied, however, only three of these have been characterised (ZP2, ZP3, ZP4). Nevertheless, the composition in marsupials may be more complex, since a duplication of the ZP3 gene was recently described in one species. The aim of this work was to elucidate the ZP composition in marsupials and relate it to the evolution of the ZP gene family. For that, an in silico and molecular analysis was undertaken, focusing on two South American species (gray short-tailed opossum and common opossum) and five Australian species (brushtail possum, koala, Bennett's wallaby, Tammar wallaby and Tasmanian devil). This analysis identified the presence of ZP1 mRNA and mRNA from two or three paralogues of ZP3 in marsupials. Furthermore, evidence for ZP1 and ZP4 pseudogenes in the South American subfamily Didelphinae and for ZP3 pseudogenes in two marsupials is provided. In conclusion, two different composition models are proposed for marsupials: a model with four proteins (ZP1, ZP2 and ZP3 (two copies)) for the South American species and a model with six proteins (ZP1, ZP2, ZP3 (three copies) and ZP4) for the Australasian species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carla Moros-Nicolás
- Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Murcia, Campus Mare Nostrum and IMIB, Murcia 30100, Spain
| | - Pascale Chevret
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, UMR5558, CNRS, Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Villeurbanne 69622, France
| | - María José Izquierdo-Rico
- Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Murcia, Campus Mare Nostrum and IMIB, Murcia 30100, Spain
| | | | - Daniela Esteban-Díaz
- Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Murcia, Campus Mare Nostrum and IMIB, Murcia 30100, Spain
| | - Manel López-Béjar
- Department of Animal Health and Anatomy, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona 08193, Spain
| | - Eva Martínez-Nevado
- Veterinary Department, Zoo-Aquarium Madrid, Casa de Campo s/n., Madrid 28011, Spain
| | - Maria A Nilsson
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, Senckenberganlage 25, Frankfurt am Main D-60325, Germany
| | - José Ballesta
- Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Murcia, Campus Mare Nostrum and IMIB, Murcia 30100, Spain
| | - Manuel Avilés
- Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Murcia, Campus Mare Nostrum and IMIB, Murcia 30100, Spain
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8
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Rovinsky DS, Evans AR, Adams JW. The pre-Pleistocene fossil thylacinids (Dasyuromorphia: Thylacinidae) and the evolutionary context of the modern thylacine. PeerJ 2019; 7:e7457. [PMID: 31534836 PMCID: PMC6727838 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.7457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2019] [Accepted: 07/10/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The thylacine is popularly used as a classic example of convergent evolution between placental and marsupial mammals. Despite having a fossil history spanning over 20 million years and known since the 1960s, the thylacine is often presented in both scientific literature and popular culture as an evolutionary singleton unique in its morphological and ecological adaptations within the Australian ecosystem. Here, we synthesise and critically evaluate the current state of published knowledge regarding the known fossil record of Thylacinidae prior to the appearance of the modern species. We also present phylogenetic analyses and body mass estimates of the thylacinids to reveal trends in the evolution of hypercarnivory and ecological shifts within the family. We find support that Mutpuracinus archibaldi occupies an uncertain position outside of Thylacinidae, and consider Nimbacinus richi to likely be synonymous with N. dicksoni. The Thylacinidae were small-bodied (< ~8 kg) unspecialised faunivores until after the ~15-14 Ma middle Miocene climatic transition (MMCT). After the MMCT they dramatically increase in size and develop adaptations to a hypercarnivorous diet, potentially in response to the aridification of the Australian environment and the concomitant radiation of dasyurids. This fossil history of the thylacinids provides a foundation for understanding the ecology of the modern thylacine. It provides a framework for future studies of the evolution of hypercarnivory, cursoriality, morphological and ecological disparity, and convergence within mammalian carnivores.
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Affiliation(s)
- Douglass S. Rovinsky
- Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Alistair R. Evans
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
- Geosciences, Museums Victoria, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Justin W. Adams
- Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
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9
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Eldridge MDB, Beck RMD, Croft DA, Travouillon KJ, Fox BJ. An emerging consensus in the evolution, phylogeny, and systematics of marsupials and their fossil relatives (Metatheria). J Mammal 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyz018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Mark D B Eldridge
- Australian Museum Research Institute, Australian Museum, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Robin M D Beck
- School of Environment and Life Sciences, University of Salford, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Darin A Croft
- School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | | | - Barry J Fox
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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11
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St Clair EM, Reback N, Perry JMG. Craniomandibular Variation in Phalangeriform Marsupials: Functional Comparisons with Primates. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2018; 301:227-255. [PMID: 29330956 DOI: 10.1002/ar.23717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2017] [Revised: 09/16/2017] [Accepted: 09/30/2017] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Phalangeriform marsupials have often been compared with primates because of similarity in the range of external morphology, ecological niches, and body size between the two radiations. We explore morphological convergence in the masticatory anatomy of strepsirrhine primates and phalangeriforms, through osteological measurements of the mandible and facial skeleton, and through dissection of the masticatory musculature, presenting new data on the arrangement and proportions of jaw adductors in phalangeriforms. Phalangeriforms and primates have a large number of shape differences in mandibular morphology. Despite these differences in shape on phylogenetic lines, dietary groups used to pool species of phalangeriforms and strepsirrhines also differed from each other in a range of shape variables. Notably, the striped possum (Dactylopsila), previously described as convergent with the aye-aye (Daubentonia), shares a number of features of mandibular shape with Daubentonia, and the exudate-feeding sugar-glider, Petaurus, shares shape features with gummivorous strepsirrhines. Petaurus also has long-fibered jaw adductors for its body mass, as would be expected for a species with a requirement for large gape. Phalangeriform species on the frugivore-folivore continuum were less clearly comparable to strepsirrhine species with similar diets. There are a number of significant dietary contrasts in osteological measurements, but in the masticatory muscles phalangeriforms did not meet all expectations based on available dietary data, highlighting the possible complexity of dietary adaptation in phalangeriform folivores. Anat Rec, 301:227-255, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth M St Clair
- Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Nicholas Reback
- Art as Applied to Medicine Graduate Program, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Jonathan M G Perry
- Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
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12
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Flores DA, Giannini N, Abdala F. Evolution of post-weaning skull ontogeny in New World opossums (Didelphidae). ORG DIVERS EVOL 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s13127-018-0369-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
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13
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Transcriptome sequencing of the long-nosed bandicoot (Perameles nasuta) reveals conservation and innovation of immune genes in the marsupial order Peramelemorphia. Immunogenetics 2017; 70:327-336. [PMID: 29159447 DOI: 10.1007/s00251-017-1043-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2017] [Accepted: 10/30/2017] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Bandicoots are omnivorous marsupials of the order Peramelemorphia. Conservation concerns and their unique biological characteristics suggest peramelomorphs are worthy research subjects, but knowledge of their genetics and immunology has lagged behind that of other high-profile marsupials. Here, we characterise the transcriptome of the long-nose bandicoot (Perameles nasuta), the first high-throughput data set from any peramelomorph. We investigate the immune gene repertoire of the bandicoot, with a focus on key immune gene families, and compare to previously characterised marsupial and mammalian species. We find that the immune gene complement in bandicoot is often conserved with respect to other marsupials; however, the diversity of expressed transcripts in several key families, such as major histocompatibility complex, T cell receptor μ and natural killer cell receptors, appears greater in the bandicoot than other Australian marsupials, including devil and koala. This transcriptome is an important first step for future studies of bandicoots and the bilby, allowing for population level analysis and construction of bandicoot-specific immunological reagents and assays. Such studies will be critical to understanding the immunology and physiology of Peramelemorphia and to inform the conservation of these unique marsupials.
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Duchêne DA, Bragg JG, Duchêne S, Neaves LE, Potter S, Moritz C, Johnson RN, Ho SYW, Eldridge MDB. Analysis of Phylogenomic Tree Space Resolves Relationships Among Marsupial Families. Syst Biol 2017; 67:400-412. [DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syx076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2017] [Accepted: 09/08/2017] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- David A Duchêne
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Jason G Bragg
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
- National Herbarium of NSW, The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
| | - Sebastián Duchêne
- Centre for Systems Genomics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Linda E Neaves
- Australian Museum Research Institute, Australian Museum, 1 William Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
| | - Sally Potter
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
- Australian Museum Research Institute, Australian Museum, 1 William Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
| | - Craig Moritz
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Rebecca N Johnson
- Australian Museum Research Institute, Australian Museum, 1 William Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
| | - Simon Y W Ho
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Mark D B Eldridge
- Australian Museum Research Institute, Australian Museum, 1 William Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
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Schneider NY, Gurovich Y. Morphology and evolution of the oral shield in marsupial neonates including the newborn monito del monte (Dromiciops gliroides, Marsupialia Microbiotheria) pouch young. J Anat 2017; 231:59-83. [PMID: 28620997 PMCID: PMC5472534 DOI: 10.1111/joa.12621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Newborn marsupials can be arranged into three grades of developmental complexity based on their external form, as well as based on their organ systems and their cytology. The dasyurids are considered the least developed marsupials at birth, while didelphids and peramelids are intermediate, and macropods are the most developed. Currently there is still little information on caenolestid and microbiotherid development at birth. Developmental stages can be graded as G1, G2 and G3, with G1 being the least developed at birth, and G3 the most developed. Marsupials are also characterized by having an extremely developed craniofacial region at birth compared with placentals. However, the facial region is also observed to vary in development between different marsupial groups at birth. The oral shield is a morphological structure observed in the oral region of the head during late embryological development, which will diminish shortly after birth. Morphological variation of the oral shield is observed and can be arranged by developmental complexity from greatly developed, reduced to vestigial. In its most developed state, the lips are fused, forming together with the rhinarium, a flattened ring around the buccal opening. In this study, we examine the external oral shield morphology in different species of newborn marsupials (dasyurids, peramelids, macropods and didelphids), including the newborn monito del monte young (Dromiciops gliroides - the sole survivor of the order Microbiotheria). The adaptive value of the oral shield structure is reviewed, and we discuss if this structure may be influenced by developmental stage of newborn, pouch cover, species relatedness, or other reproductive features. We observe that the oral shield structure is present in most species of Marsupialia and appears to be exclusively present in this infraclass. It has never been described in Monotremata or Eutherians. It is present in unrelated taxa (e.g. didelphids, dasyurids and microbiotherids). We observe that a well-developed oral shield may be related to ultra altricial development at birth, large litter size (more than two), and is present in most species that lack a pouch in reproductive adult females or have a less prominent or less developed pouch with some exceptions. We try to explore the evolution of the oral shield structure using existing databases and our own observations to reconstruct likely ancestral character states that can then be used to estimate the evolutionary origin of this structure and if it was present in early mammals. We find that a simple to develop oral shield structure (type 2-3) may have been present in marsupial ancestors as well as in early therians, even though this structure is not present in the extant monotremes. This in turn may suggest that early marsupials may have had a very simple pouch or lacked a pouch as seen in some living marsupials, such as some dasyurids, didelphids and caenolestids. The study's results also suggest that different morphological stages of the oral shield and hindlimb development may be influenced by species size and reproductive strategy, and possibly by yet unknown species-specific adaptations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nanette Y. Schneider
- Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation (CSGA)UMR 6265 CNRS1324 INRAUniversité de Bourgogne‐Franche‐ComtéDijonFrance
| | - Yamila Gurovich
- CONICET y Centro de Investigación Esquel de Montaña y Estepa Patagonica (CIEMEP) Laboratorio de Investigaciones en Evolución y Biodiversidad (LIEB)Universidad Nacional de La Patagonia SJB (UNP)EsquelChubutArgentina
- Department of AnatomySchool of Medical SciencesThe University of New South Wales2052 New South WalesAustralia
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Solé F, Ladevèze S. Evolution of the hypercarnivorous dentition in mammals (Metatheria,Eutheria) and its bearing on the development of tribosphenic molars. Evol Dev 2017; 19:56-68. [DOI: 10.1111/ede.12219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Floréal Solé
- Evo-Devo of Vertebrate Dentition; Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon; Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon; Université de Lyon; UCBL 1 CNRS, Lyon France
| | - Sandrine Ladevèze
- Centre de Recherche sur la Paléobiodiversité et les Paléoenvironnements (CR2P, UMR 7207); Sorbonne Universités MNHN CNRS UPMC-Paris6; Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle; 57 rue Cuvier CP 38 F-75005 Paris France
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17
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Wilson GP, Ekdale EG, Hoganson JW, Calede JJ, Vander Linden A. A large carnivorous mammal from the Late Cretaceous and the North American origin of marsupials. Nat Commun 2016; 7:13734. [PMID: 27929063 PMCID: PMC5155139 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2016] [Accepted: 10/28/2016] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Marsupial mammal relatives (stem metatherians) from the Mesozoic Era (252-66 million years ago) are mostly known from isolated teeth and fragmentary jaws. Here we report on the first near-complete skull remains of a North American Late Cretaceous metatherian, the stagodontid Didelphodon vorax. Our phylogenetic analysis indicates that marsupials or their closest relatives evolved in North America, as part of a Late Cretaceous diversification of metatherians, and later dispersed to South America. In addition to being the largest known Mesozoic therian mammal (node-based clade of eutherians and metatherians), Didelphodon vorax has a high estimated bite force and other craniomandibular and dental features that suggest it is the earliest known therian to invade a durophagous predator-scavenger niche. Our results broaden the scope of the ecomorphological diversification of Mesozoic mammals to include therian lineages that, in this case, were linked to the origin and evolution of marsupials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory P. Wilson
- Department of Biology and Burke Museum, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
| | - Eric G. Ekdale
- Department of Biology, San Diego State University, San Diego, California 92182, USA
- Department of Paleontology, San Diego Natural History Museum, San Diego, California 92101, USA
| | - John W. Hoganson
- North Dakota Geological Survey, Bismarck, North Dakota 58505, USA
| | - Jonathan J. Calede
- Department of Biology and Burke Museum, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
| | - Abby Vander Linden
- Graduate Program in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA
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Kear BP, Aplin KP, Westerman M. Bandicoot fossils and DNA elucidate lineage antiquity amongst xeric-adapted Australasian marsupials. Sci Rep 2016; 6:37537. [PMID: 27881865 PMCID: PMC5121598 DOI: 10.1038/srep37537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2016] [Accepted: 10/31/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Bandicoots (Peramelemorphia) are a unique order of Australasian marsupials whose sparse fossil record has been used as prima facie evidence for climate change coincident faunal turnover. In particular, the hypothesized replacement of ancient rainforest-dwelling extinct lineages by antecedents of xeric-tolerant extant taxa during the late Miocene (~10 Ma) has been advocated as a broader pattern evident amongst other marsupial clades. Problematically, however, this is in persistent conflict with DNA phylogenies. We therefore determine the pattern and timing of bandicoot evolution using the first combined morphological + DNA sequence dataset of Peramelemorphia. In addition, we document a remarkably archaic new fossil peramelemorphian taxon that inhabited a latest Quaternary mosaic savannah-riparian forest ecosystem on the Aru Islands of Eastern Indonesia. Our phylogenetic analyses reveal that unsuspected dental homoplasy and the detrimental effects of missing data collectively obscure stem bandicoot relationships. Nevertheless, recalibrated molecular clocks and multiple ancestral area optimizations unanimously infer an early diversification of modern xeric-adapted forms. These probably originated during the late Palaeogene (30-40 Ma) alongside progenitors of other desert marsupials, and thus occupied seasonally dry heterogenous habitats long before the onset of late Neogene aridity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin P Kear
- Museum of Evolution, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 16, SE-752 36 Uppsala, Sweden.,Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Villavägen 16, SE-752 36 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Ken P Aplin
- Division of Mammals, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, P.O. Box. 37012, Washington, DC, 20013-7012, USA
| | - Michael Westerman
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Evolution, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria 3086, Australia
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19
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Beck RMD. The Skull of Epidolops ameghinoi from the Early Eocene Itaboraí Fauna, Southeastern Brazil, and the Affinities of the Extinct Marsupialiform Order Polydolopimorphia. J MAMM EVOL 2016; 24:373-414. [PMID: 29187780 PMCID: PMC5684316 DOI: 10.1007/s10914-016-9357-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The skull of the polydolopimorphian marsupialiform Epidolops ameghinoi is described in detail for the first time, based on a single well-preserved cranium and associated left and right dentaries plus additional craniodental fragments, all from the early Eocene (53–50 million year old) Itaboraí fauna in southeastern Brazil. Notable craniodental features of E. ameghinoi include absence of a masseteric process, very small maxillopalatine fenestrae, a prominent pterygoid fossa enclosed laterally by a prominent ectopterygoid crest, an absent or tiny transverse canal foramen, a simple, planar glenoid fossa, and a postglenoid foramen that is immediately posterior to the postglenoid process. Most strikingly, the floor of the hypotympanic sinus was apparently unossified, a feature found in several stem marsupials but absent in all known crown marsupials. “Type II” marsupialiform petrosals previously described from Itaboraí plausibly belong to E. ameghinoi; in published phylogenetic analyses, these petrosals fell outside (crown-clade) Marsupialia. “IMG VII” tarsals previously referred to E. ameghinoi do not share obvious synapomorphies with any crown marsupial clade, nor do they resemble those of the only other putative polydolopimorphians represented by tarsal remains, namely the argyrolagids. Most studies have placed Polydolopimorphia within Marsupialia, related to either Paucituberculata, or to Microbiotheria and Diprotodontia. However, diprotodonty almost certainly evolved independently in polydolopimorphians, paucituberculatans and diprotodontians, and Epidolops does not share obvious synapomorphies with any marsupial order. Epidolops is dentally specialized, but several morphological features appear to be more plesiomorphic than any crown marsupial. It seems likely Epidolops that falls outside Marsupialia, as do morphologically similar forms such as Bonapartherium and polydolopids. Argyrolagids differ markedly in their known morphology from Epidolops but share some potential apomorphies with paucituberculatans. It is proposed that Polydolopimorphia as currently recognised is polyphyletic, and that argyrolagids (and possibly other taxa currently included in Argyrolagoidea, such as groeberiids and patagoniids) are members of Paucituberculata. This hypothesis is supported by Bayesian non-clock phylogenetic analyses of a total evidence matrix comprising DNA sequence data from five nuclear protein-coding genes, indels, retroposon insertions, and morphological characters: Epidolops falls outside Marsupialia, whereas argyrolagids form a clade with the paucituberculatans Caenolestes and Palaeothentes, regardless of whether the Type II petrosals and IMG VII tarsals are used to score characters for Epidolops or not. There is no clear evidence for the presence of crown marsupials at Itaboraí, and it is possible that the origin and early evolution of Marsupialia was restricted to the “Austral Kingdom” (southern South America, Antarctica, and Australia).
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Affiliation(s)
- Robin M. D. Beck
- School of Environment & Life Sciences, University of Salford, M5 4WT, Manchester, UK
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052 Australia
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20
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Warburton NM, Travouillon KJ. The biology and palaeontology of the Peramelemorphia: a review of current knowledge and future research directions. AUST J ZOOL 2016. [DOI: 10.1071/zo16003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Bandicoots and bilbies (Marsupialia : Peramelemorphia) represent the dominant omnivorous clade of Australasian marsupials and, as ground-dwelling, small- to medium-sized mammals, have not fared well in the 200 years since European settlement. Unlike large or charismatic marsupial species, the cryptic nature of bandicoots and bilbies tends to keep them out of the public eye, at a time when public interest plays a significant role in conservation efforts. The inconspicuous ‘rat-like’ appearance of many bandicoots and a generalist ecological strategy belie a complex biology of adaptive traits and evolutionary diversity. For a few species these biological traits have enabled them to make use of urban environments. In the main, however, peramelemorphians are facing ongoing pressure from introduced predators and human impacts. Basic biological information for many species, particularly those from New Guinea, is still lacking. In this review, we examine advances in the knowledge of the biology of this group over the past 25 years including anatomical, physiological and ecological studies. We also provide a comprehensive review of the fossil records of bandicoots in order to provide an up-to-date platform for future studies. From this work, it is clear that there is still much to be done regarding the taxonomy and biology of these animals before a more detailed understanding of the evolutionary history of this group can be elucidated.
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Abstract
Australia has undergone significant climate change, both today and in the past. Koalas, due to their restricted diet of predominantly eucalyptus leaves and limited drinking behaviour may serve as model organisms for assessing past climate change via stable isotopes of tooth enamel. Here, we assess whether stable carbon and oxygen isotopes from tooth enamel record known climate variables, including proxies of relative aridity (e.g. mean annual precipitation, mean annual maximum temperature, and relative humidity). The results demonstrate significant negative relationships between oxygen isotope values and both relative humidity and mean annual precipitation, proxies for relative aridity. The best model for predicting enamel oxygen isotope values incorporates mean annual precipitation and modelled oxygen isotope values of local precipitation. These data and the absence of any relationship between modelled oxygen isotope precipitation values, independently, suggest that koalas do not track local precipitation values but instead record relative aridity. The lack of significant relationships between carbon isotopes and climate variables suggests that koalas may instead be tracking the density of forests and/or their location in the canopy. Collectively, these data suggest that koalas are model organisms for assessing relative aridity over time – much like kangaroos.
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22
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Zhu Q, Hastriter MW, Whiting MF, Dittmar K. Fleas (Siphonaptera) are Cretaceous, and evolved with Theria. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2015; 90:129-39. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2015.04.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2014] [Revised: 03/16/2015] [Accepted: 04/28/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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23
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Vilela JF, Alves de Oliveira J, Russo CADM. The diversification of the genusMonodelphisand the chronology of Didelphidae (Didelphimorphia). Zool J Linn Soc 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/zoj.12240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Júlio Fernando Vilela
- Laboratório de Biologia Evolutiva Teórica e Aplicada; Departamento de Genética - Instituto de Biologia - CCS; Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; Bloco A, Sala A2-095, Rua Prof. Rodolpho Paulo Rocco, S/N, Cidade Universitária, CEP: 21941-617 Rio de Janeiro RJ Brazil
- Setor de Mastozoologia - Departamento de Vertebrados - Museu Nacional - UFRJ; Quinta da Boa Vista; São Cristóvão, CEP 20940-040 Rio de Janeiro RJ Brazil
| | - João Alves de Oliveira
- Setor de Mastozoologia - Departamento de Vertebrados - Museu Nacional - UFRJ; Quinta da Boa Vista; São Cristóvão, CEP 20940-040 Rio de Janeiro RJ Brazil
| | - Claudia Augusta de Moraes Russo
- Laboratório de Biologia Evolutiva Teórica e Aplicada; Departamento de Genética - Instituto de Biologia - CCS; Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; Bloco A, Sala A2-095, Rua Prof. Rodolpho Paulo Rocco, S/N, Cidade Universitária, CEP: 21941-617 Rio de Janeiro RJ Brazil
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24
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May-Collado LJ, Kilpatrick CW, Agnarsson I. Mammals from 'down under': a multi-gene species-level phylogeny of marsupial mammals (Mammalia, Metatheria). PeerJ 2015; 3:e805. [PMID: 25755933 PMCID: PMC4349131 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2014] [Accepted: 02/09/2015] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Marsupials or metatherians are a group of mammals that are distinct in giving birth to young at early stages of development and in having a prolonged investment in lactation. The group consists of nearly 350 extant species, including kangaroos, koala, possums, and their relatives. Marsupials are an old lineage thought to have diverged from early therian mammals some 160 million years ago in the Jurassic, and have a remarkable evolutionary and biogeographical history, with extant species restricted to the Americas, mostly South America, and to Australasia. Although the group has been the subject of decades of phylogenetic research, the marsupial tree of life remains controversial, with most studies focusing on only a fraction of the species diversity within the infraclass. Here we present the first Methaterian species-level phylogeny to include 80% of the extant marsupial species and five nuclear and five mitochondrial markers obtained from Genbank and a recently published retroposon matrix. Our primary goal is to provide a summary phylogeny that will serve as a tool for comparative research. We evaluate the extent to which the phylogeny recovers current phylogenetic knowledge based on the recovery of “benchmark clades” from prior studies—unambiguously supported key clades and undisputed traditional taxonomic groups. The Bayesian phylogenetic analyses recovered nearly all benchmark clades but failed to find support for the suborder Phalagiformes. The most significant difference with previous published topologies is the support for Australidelphia as a group containing Microbiotheriidae, nested within American marsupials. However, a likelihood ratio test shows that alternative topologies with monophyletic Australidelphia and Ameridelphia are not significantly different than the preferred tree. Although further data are needed to solidify understanding of Methateria phylogeny, the new phylogenetic hypothesis provided here offers a well resolved and detailed tool for comparative analyses, covering the majority of the known species richness of the group.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Ingi Agnarsson
- Department of Biology, University of Vermont , Burlington, VT , USA
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25
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Flores DA, Abdala F, Martin GM, Giannini NP, Martinez JM. Post-Weaning Cranial Growth in Shrew Opossums (Caenolestidae): A Comparison with Bandicoots (Peramelidae) and Carnivorous Marsupials. J MAMM EVOL 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s10914-014-9279-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
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26
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Travouillon KJ, Archer M, Hand SJ, Muirhead J. Sexually Dimorphic Bandicoots (Marsupialia: Peramelemorphia) From the Oligo-Miocene of Australia, First Cranial Ontogeny for Fossil Bandicoots and New Species Descriptions. J MAMM EVOL 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s10914-014-9271-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
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Yates AM. New craniodental remains of Thylacinus potens (Dasyuromorphia: Thylacinidae), a carnivorous marsupial from the late Miocene Alcoota Local Fauna of central Australia. PeerJ 2014; 2:e547. [PMID: 25237601 PMCID: PMC4157238 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2014] [Accepted: 08/07/2014] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
New craniodental specimens that are referrable to the thylacinid marsupial, Thylacinus potens, are described from the late Miocene Alcoota Local Fauna of the Northern Territory, Australia. The remains include a largely complete maxilla and dentary, showing for the first time the anterior dentition of the dentary. The new remains indicate that Th. potens was a more variable species than previously recognised. The dentary, in particular, is more gracile, than other specimens referred to this species. A revised apomorphy-based diagnosis of Th. potens that takes this variability into account is presented. A cladistic analysis supports previous analyses that placed Th. potens in a derived position within Thylacinidae, close to the modern Th. cynocephalus. New estimations of body size are made using published regressions of dental measurements of dasyuromorphians as well as by assuming geometric similitude with Th. cynocephalus. All methods produce body mass estimates in excess of 35 kg.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam M Yates
- Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory , Museum of Central Australia, Alice Springs, Northern Territory , Australia
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28
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Molecular Phylogeny, Biogeography, and Habitat Preference Evolution of Marsupials. Mol Biol Evol 2014; 31:2322-30. [DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msu176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 133] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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29
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Flores DA, Abdala F, Giannini NP. Post-weaning cranial ontogeny in two bandicoots (Mammalia, Peramelomorphia, Peramelidae) and comparison with carnivorous marsupials. ZOOLOGY 2013; 116:372-84. [DOI: 10.1016/j.zool.2013.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2013] [Revised: 06/26/2013] [Accepted: 07/28/2013] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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30
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Álvarez A, Ercoli MD, Prevosti FJ. Locomotion in some small to medium-sized mammals: a geometric morphometric analysis of the penultimate lumbar vertebra, pelvis and hindlimbs. ZOOLOGY 2013; 116:356-71. [DOI: 10.1016/j.zool.2013.08.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2012] [Revised: 06/25/2013] [Accepted: 08/03/2013] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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31
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Deakin JE, Delbridge ML, Koina E, Harley N, Alsop AE, Wang C, Patel VS, Graves JAM. Reconstruction of the ancestral marsupial karyotype from comparative gene maps. BMC Evol Biol 2013; 13:258. [PMID: 24261750 PMCID: PMC4222502 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-13-258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2013] [Accepted: 11/19/2013] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The increasing number of assembled mammalian genomes makes it possible to compare genome organisation across mammalian lineages and reconstruct chromosomes of the ancestral marsupial and therian (marsupial and eutherian) mammals. However, the reconstruction of ancestral genomes requires genome assemblies to be anchored to chromosomes. The recently sequenced tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii) genome was assembled into over 300,000 contigs. We previously devised an efficient strategy for mapping large evolutionarily conserved blocks in non-model mammals, and applied this to determine the arrangement of conserved blocks on all wallaby chromosomes, thereby permitting comparative maps to be constructed and resolve the long debated issue between a 2n = 14 and 2n = 22 ancestral marsupial karyotype. RESULTS We identified large blocks of genes conserved between human and opossum, and mapped genes corresponding to the ends of these blocks by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). A total of 242 genes was assigned to wallaby chromosomes in the present study, bringing the total number of genes mapped to 554 and making it the most densely cytogenetically mapped marsupial genome. We used these gene assignments to construct comparative maps between wallaby and opossum, which uncovered many intrachromosomal rearrangements, particularly for genes found on wallaby chromosomes X and 3. Expanding comparisons to include chicken and human permitted the putative ancestral marsupial (2n = 14) and therian mammal (2n = 19) karyotypes to be reconstructed. CONCLUSIONS Our physical mapping data for the tammar wallaby has uncovered the events shaping marsupial genomes and enabled us to predict the ancestral marsupial karyotype, supporting a 2n = 14 ancestor. Futhermore, our predicted therian ancestral karyotype has helped to understand the evolution of the ancestral eutherian genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janine E Deakin
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Kangaroo Genomics, Canberra, Australia.
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32
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Jansa SA, Barker FK, Voss RS. THE EARLY DIVERSIFICATION HISTORY OF DIDELPHID MARSUPIALS: A WINDOW INTO SOUTH AMERICA'S “SPLENDID ISOLATION”. Evolution 2013; 68:684-95. [DOI: 10.1111/evo.12290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2013] [Accepted: 10/01/2013] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sharon A. Jansa
- Bell Museum of Natural History and Department of Ecology; Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota; St. Paul Minnesota
| | - F. Keith Barker
- Bell Museum of Natural History and Department of Ecology; Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota; St. Paul Minnesota
| | - Robert S. Voss
- Division of Vertebrate Zoology; American Museum of Natural History; Central Park West at 79th Street New York New York
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33
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Beck RMD, Travouillon KJ, Aplin KP, Godthelp H, Archer M. The Osteology and Systematics of the Enigmatic Australian Oligo-Miocene Metatherian Yalkaparidon (Yalkaparidontidae; Yalkaparidontia; ?Australidelphia; Marsupialia). J MAMM EVOL 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s10914-013-9236-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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34
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Abello MA. Analysis of dental homologies and phylogeny of Paucituberculata (Mammalia: Marsupialia). Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2013. [DOI: 10.1111/bij.12048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Maria Alejandra Abello
- Laboratorio de Sistemática y Biología Evolutiva (LASBE) Museo de La Plata; Paseo del Bosque s/n 1900 La Plata Argentina
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35
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Carlson KJ, Jashashvili T, Houghton K, Westaway MC, Patel BA. Joint loads in marsupial ankles reflect habitual bipedalism versus quadrupedalism. PLoS One 2013; 8:e58811. [PMID: 23554931 PMCID: PMC3595237 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0058811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2012] [Accepted: 02/07/2013] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Joint surfaces of limb bones are loaded in compression by reaction forces generated from body weight and musculotendon complexes bridging them. In general, joints of eutherian mammals have regions of high radiodensity subchondral bone that are better at resisting compressive forces than low radiodensity subchondral bone. Identifying similar form-function relationships between subchondral radiodensity distribution and joint load distribution within the marsupial postcranium, in addition to providing a richer understanding of marsupial functional morphology, can serve as a phylogenetic control in evaluating analogous relationships within eutherian mammals. Where commonalities are established across phylogenetic borders, unifying principles in mammalian physiology, morphology, and behavior can be identified. Here, we assess subchondral radiodensity patterns in distal tibiae of several marsupial taxa characterized by different habitual activities (e.g., locomotion). Computed tomography scanning, maximum intensity projection maps, and pixel counting were used to quantify radiodensity in 41 distal tibiae of bipedal (5 species), arboreal quadrupedal (4 species), and terrestrial quadrupedal (5 species) marsupials. Bipeds (Macropus and Wallabia) exhibit more expansive areas of high radiodensity in the distal tibia than arboreal (Dendrolagus, Phascolarctos, and Trichosurus) or terrestrial quadrupeds (Sarcophilus, Thylacinus, Lasiorhinus, and Vombatus), which may reflect the former carrying body weight only through the hind limbs. Arboreal quadrupeds exhibit smallest areas of high radiodensity, though they differ non-significantly from terrestrial quadrupeds. This could indicate slightly more compliant gaits by arboreal quadrupeds compared to terrestrial quadrupeds. The observed radiodensity patterns in marsupial tibiae, though their statistical differences disappear when controlling for phylogeny, corroborate previously documented patterns in primates and xenarthrans, potentially reflecting inferred limb use during habitual activities such as locomotion. Despite the complex nature of factors contributing to joint loads, broad observance of these patterns across joints and across a variety of taxa suggests that subchondral radiodensity can be used as a unifying form-function principle within Mammalia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristian J Carlson
- Institute for Human Evolution, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
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36
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Brassey CA, Kitchener AC, Withers PJ, Manning PL, Sellers WI. The Role of Cross-Sectional Geometry, Curvature, and Limb Posture in Maintaining Equal Safety Factors: A Computed Tomography Study. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2013; 296:395-413. [DOI: 10.1002/ar.22658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2012] [Accepted: 12/16/2012] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Andrew C. Kitchener
- Department of Natural Sciences; National Museum of Scotland; Edinburgh United Kingdom
- Institute of Geography; School of Geosciences; University of Edinburgh; Drummond Street Edinburgh United Kingdom
| | - Philip J. Withers
- Henry Moseley X-Ray Imaging Facility; School of Materials; University of Manchester; Manchester United Kingdom
| | - Phillip L. Manning
- School of Earth; Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences; University of Manchester; Manchester United Kingdom
| | - William I. Sellers
- Faculty of Life Sciences; University of Manchester; Manchester United Kingdom
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Withers PC, Cooper CE, Nespolo RF. Evaporative water loss, relative water economy and evaporative partitioning of a heterothermic marsupial, the monito del monte (Dromiciops gliroides). ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012; 215:2806-13. [PMID: 22837452 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.070433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
We examine here evaporative water loss, economy and partitioning at ambient temperatures from 14 to 33°C for the monito del monte (Dromiciops gliroides), a microbiotheriid marsupial found only in temperate rainforests of Chile. The monito's standard evaporative water loss (2.58 mg g(-1) h(-1) at 30°C) was typical for a marsupial of its body mass and phylogenetic position. Evaporative water loss was independent of air temperature below thermoneutrality, but enhanced evaporative water loss and hyperthermia were the primary thermal responses above the thermoneutral zone. Non-invasive partitioning of total evaporative water loss indicated that respiratory loss accounted for 59-77% of the total, with no change in respiratory loss with ambient temperature, but a small change in cutaneous loss below thermoneutrality and an increase in cutaneous loss in and above thermoneutrality. Relative water economy (metabolic water production/evaporative water loss) increased at low ambient temperatures, with a point of relative water economy of 15.4°C. Thermolability had little effect on relative water economy, but conferred substantial energy savings at low ambient temperatures. Torpor reduced total evaporative water loss to as little as 21% of normothermic values, but relative water economy during torpor was poor even at low ambient temperatures because of the relatively greater reduction in metabolic water production than in evaporative water loss. The poor water economy of the monito during torpor suggests that negative water balance may explain why hibernators periodically arouse to normothermia, to obtain water by drinking or via an improved water economy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip C Withers
- School of Animal Biology M092, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
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Lambret-Frotté J, Perini FA, de Moraes Russo CA. Efficiency of nuclear and mitochondrial markers recovering and supporting known amniote groups. Evol Bioinform Online 2012; 8:463-73. [PMID: 23032608 PMCID: PMC3422098 DOI: 10.4137/ebo.s9656] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
We have analysed the efficiency of all mitochondrial protein coding genes and six nuclear markers (Adora3, Adrb2, Bdnf, Irbp, Rag2 and Vwf) in reconstructing and statistically supporting known amniote groups (murines, rodents, primates, eutherians, metatherians, therians). The efficiencies of maximum likelihood, Bayesian inference, maximum parsimony, neighbor-joining and UPGMA were also evaluated, by assessing the number of correct and incorrect recovered groupings. In addition, we have compared support values using the conservative bootstrap test and the Bayesian posterior probabilities. First, no correlation was observed between gene size and marker efficiency in recovering or supporting correct nodes. As expected, tree-building methods performed similarly, even UPGMA that, in some cases, outperformed other most extensively used methods. Bayesian posterior probabilities tend to show much higher support values than the conservative bootstrap test, for correct and incorrect nodes. Our results also suggest that nuclear markers do not necessarily show a better performance than mitochondrial genes. The so-called dependency among mitochondrial markers was not observed comparing genome performances. Finally, the amniote groups with lowest recovery rates were therians and rodents, despite the morphological support for their monophyletic status. We suggest that, regardless of the tree-building method, a few carefully selected genes are able to unfold a detailed and robust scenario of phylogenetic hypotheses, particularly if taxon sampling is increased.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Lambret-Frotté
- Departamento de Genética, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
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Beck RMD. An ‘ameridelphian’ marsupial from the early Eocene of Australia supports a complex model of Southern Hemisphere marsupial biogeography. THE SCIENCE OF NATURE - NATURWISSENSCHAFTEN 2012; 99:715-29. [DOI: 10.1007/s00114-012-0953-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2012] [Revised: 07/17/2012] [Accepted: 07/19/2012] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Deakin JE, Graves JAM, Rens W. The evolution of marsupial and monotreme chromosomes. Cytogenet Genome Res 2012; 137:113-29. [PMID: 22777195 DOI: 10.1159/000339433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Marsupial and monotreme mammals fill an important gap in vertebrate phylogeny between reptile-mammal divergence 310 million years ago (mya) and the eutherian (placental) mammal radiation 105 mya. They possess many unique features including their distinctive chromosomes, which in marsupials are typically very large and well conserved between species. In contrast, monotreme genomes are divided into several large chromosomes and many smaller chromosomes, with a complicated sex chromosome system that forms a translocation chain in male meiosis. The application of molecular cytogenetic techniques has greatly advanced our understanding of the evolution of marsupial chromosomes and allowed the reconstruction of the ancestral marsupial karyotype. Chromosome painting and gene mapping have played a vital role in piecing together the puzzle of monotreme karyotypes, particularly their complicated sex chromosome system. Here, we discuss the significant insight into karyotype evolution afforded by the combination of recently sequenced marsupial and monotreme genomes with cytogenetic analysis, which has provided a greater understanding of the events that have shaped not only marsupial and monotreme genomes, but the genomes of all mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- J E Deakin
- Evolution, Ecology and Genetics, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
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ERCOLI MARCOSDARÍO, PREVOSTI FRANCISCOJUAN, ÁLVAREZ ALICIA. Form and function within a phylogenetic framework: locomotory habits of extant predators and some Miocene Sparassodonta (Metatheria). Zool J Linn Soc 2012. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2011.00793.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Pavey CR, Burwell CJ, Benshemesh J. Diet and prey selection of the southern marsupial mole: an enigma from
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ustralia's sand deserts. J Zool (1987) 2012. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7998.2011.00889.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- C. R. Pavey
- Biodiversity Unit Department of Natural Resources, Environment, the Arts and Sport Alice Springs NT Australia
- Queensland Museum South Brisbane Qld Australia
| | - C. J. Burwell
- Queensland Museum South Brisbane Qld Australia
- Environmental Futures Centre and Griffith School of Environment Griffith University Nathan Qld Australia
| | - J. Benshemesh
- Department of Zoology La Trobe University Bundoora Vic. Australia
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Macrini TE. Comparative Morphology of the Internal Nasal Skeleton of Adult Marsupials Based on X-ray Computed Tomography. BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY 2012. [DOI: 10.1206/365.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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Deakin JE. Marsupial genome sequences: providing insight into evolution and disease. SCIENTIFICA 2012; 2012:543176. [PMID: 24278712 PMCID: PMC3820666 DOI: 10.6064/2012/543176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2012] [Accepted: 09/26/2012] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Marsupials (metatherians), with their position in vertebrate phylogeny and their unique biological features, have been studied for many years by a dedicated group of researchers, but it has only been since the sequencing of the first marsupial genome that their value has been more widely recognised. We now have genome sequences for three distantly related marsupial species (the grey short-tailed opossum, the tammar wallaby, and Tasmanian devil), with the promise of many more genomes to be sequenced in the near future, making this a particularly exciting time in marsupial genomics. The emergence of a transmissible cancer, which is obliterating the Tasmanian devil population, has increased the importance of obtaining and analysing marsupial genome sequence for understanding such diseases as well as for conservation efforts. In addition, these genome sequences have facilitated studies aimed at answering questions regarding gene and genome evolution and provided insight into the evolution of epigenetic mechanisms. Here I highlight the major advances in our understanding of evolution and disease, facilitated by marsupial genome projects, and speculate on the future contributions to be made by such sequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janine E. Deakin
- Division of Evolution, Ecology and Genetics, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
- *Janine E. Deakin:
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Springer MS, Meredith RW, Janecka JE, Murphy WJ. The historical biogeography of Mammalia. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2011; 366:2478-502. [PMID: 21807730 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2011.0023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Palaeobiogeographic reconstructions are underpinned by phylogenies, divergence times and ancestral area reconstructions, which together yield ancestral area chronograms that provide a basis for proposing and testing hypotheses of dispersal and vicariance. Methods for area coding include multi-state coding with a single character, binary coding with multiple characters and string coding. Ancestral reconstruction methods are divided into parsimony versus Bayesian/likelihood approaches. We compared nine methods for reconstructing ancestral areas for placental mammals. Ambiguous reconstructions were a problem for all methods. Important differences resulted from coding areas based on the geographical ranges of extant species versus the geographical provenance of the oldest fossil for each lineage. Africa and South America were reconstructed as the ancestral areas for Afrotheria and Xenarthra, respectively. Most methods reconstructed Eurasia as the ancestral area for Boreoeutheria, Euarchontoglires and Laurasiatheria. The coincidence of molecular dates for the separation of Afrotheria and Xenarthra at approximately 100 Ma with the plate tectonic sundering of Africa and South America hints at the importance of vicariance in the early history of Placentalia. Dispersal has also been important including the origins of Madagascar's endemic mammal fauna. Further studies will benefit from increased taxon sampling and the application of new ancestral area reconstruction methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark S Springer
- Department of Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA.
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PREVOSTI FRANCISCOJ, TURAZZINI GUILLERMOF, ERCOLI MARCOSD, HINGST-ZAHER ERIKA. Mandible shape in marsupial and placental carnivorous mammals: a morphological comparative study using geometric morphometrics. Zool J Linn Soc 2011. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2011.00785.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Simmons MP. Radical instability and spurious branch support by likelihood when applied to matrices with non-random distributions of missing data. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2011; 62:472-84. [PMID: 22067131 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2011.10.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2011] [Revised: 10/10/2011] [Accepted: 10/23/2011] [Indexed: 10/16/2022]
Abstract
Non-random distributions of missing data are a general problem for likelihood-based statistical analyses, including those in a phylogenetic context. Extensive non-randomly distributed missing data are particularly problematic in supermatrix analyses that include many terminals and/or loci. It has been widely reported that missing data can lead to loss of resolution, but only very rarely create misleading or otherwise unsupported results in a parsimony context. Yet this does not hold for all parametric-based analyses because of their assumption of homogeneity across characters and lineages, which can lead to both long-branch attraction and long-branch repulsion. Contrived examples were used to demonstrate that non-random distributions of missing data, even without rate heterogeneity among characters and a well fitting model, can provide misleading likelihood-based topologies and branch-support values that are radically unstable based on slight modifications to character sampling. The same can occur despite complete absence of parsimony-informative characters. Otherwise unsupported resolution and high branch support for these clades were found to occur frequently in 22 empirical examples derived from a published supermatrix. Partitioning characters based on the distribution of missing data helped to decrease, but did not eliminate, these artifacts. These artifacts were exacerbated by low quality tree searches, particularly when holding only a single optimal tree that must be fully resolved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark P Simmons
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1878, USA.
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Butcher MT, White BJ, Hudzik NB, Gosnell WC, Parrish JHA, Blob RW. In vivo strains in the femur of the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) during terrestrial locomotion: testing hypotheses of evolutionary shifts in mammalian bone loading and design. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011; 214:2631-40. [PMID: 21753057 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.049544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Terrestrial locomotion can impose substantial loads on vertebrate limbs. Previous studies have shown that limb bones from cursorial species of eutherian mammals experience high bending loads with minimal torsion, whereas the limb bones of non-avian reptiles (and amphibians) exhibit considerable torsion in addition to bending. It has been hypothesized that these differences in loading regime are related to the difference in limb posture between upright mammals and sprawling reptiles, and that the loading patterns observed in non-avian reptiles may be ancestral for tetrapod vertebrates. To evaluate whether non-cursorial mammals show loading patterns more similar to those of sprawling lineages, we measured in vivo strains in the femur during terrestrial locomotion of the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), a marsupial that uses more crouched limb posture than most mammals from which bone strains have been recorded, and which belongs to a clade phylogenetically between reptiles and the eutherian mammals studied previously. The presence of substantial torsion in the femur of opossums, similar to non-avian reptiles, would suggest that this loading regime likely reflects an ancestral condition for tetrapod limb bone design. Strain recordings indicate the presence of both bending and appreciable torsion (shear strain: 419.1 ± 212.8 με) in the opossum femur, with planar strain analyses showing neutral axis orientations that placed the lateral aspect of the femur in tension at the time of peak strains. Such mediolateral bending was unexpected for a mammal running with near-parasagittal limb kinematics. Shear strains were similar in magnitude to peak compressive axial strains, with opossum femora experiencing similar bending loads but higher levels of torsion compared with most previously studied mammals. Analyses of peak femoral strains led to estimated safety factor ranges of 5.1-7.2 in bending and 5.5-7.3 in torsion, somewhat higher than typical mammalian values for bending, but approaching typical reptilian values for shear. Loading patterns of opossum limb bones therefore appear intermediate in some respects between those of eutherian mammals and non-avian reptiles, providing further support for hypotheses that high torsion and elevated limb bone safety factors may represent persistent ancestral conditions in the evolution of tetrapod limb bone loading and design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael T Butcher
- Department of Biological Sciences, Youngstown State University, Youngstown, OH 44555, USA
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Goldie X, Lanfear R, Bromham L. Diversification and the rate of molecular evolution: no evidence of a link in mammals. BMC Evol Biol 2011; 11:286. [PMID: 21967038 PMCID: PMC3205075 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-11-286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2011] [Accepted: 10/04/2011] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Recent research has indicated a positive association between rates of molecular evolution and diversification in a number of taxa. However debate continues concerning the universality and cause of this relationship. Here, we present the first systematic investigation of this relationship within the mammals. We use phylogenetically independent sister-pair comparisons to test for a relationship between substitution rates and clade size at a number of taxonomic levels. Total, non-synonymous and synonymous substitution rates were estimated from mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences. RESULTS We found no evidence for an association between clade size and substitution rates in mammals, for either the nuclear or the mitochondrial sequences. We found significant associations between body size and substitution rates, as previously reported. CONCLUSIONS Our results present a contrast to previous research, which has reported significant positive associations between substitution rates and diversification for birds, angiosperms and reptiles. There are three possible reasons for the differences between the observed results in mammals versus other clades. First, there may be no link between substitution rates and diversification in mammals. Second, this link may exist, but may be much weaker in mammals than in other clades. Third, the link between substitution rates and diversification may exist in mammals, but may be confounded by other variables.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xavier Goldie
- Centre for Macroevolution and Macroecology, Division of Evolution, Ecology and Genetics, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, A.C.T. 0200, Australia
| | - Robert Lanfear
- Centre for Macroevolution and Macroecology, Division of Evolution, Ecology and Genetics, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, A.C.T. 0200, Australia
| | - Lindell Bromham
- Centre for Macroevolution and Macroecology, Division of Evolution, Ecology and Genetics, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, A.C.T. 0200, Australia
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Abstract
Mammals have incredible biological diversity, showing extreme flexibility in eco-morphology, physiology, life history and behaviour across their evolutionary history. Undoubtedly, mammals play an important role in ecosystems by providing essential services such as regulating insect populations, seed dispersal and pollination and act as indicators of general ecosystem health. However, the macroecological and macroevolutionary processes underpinning past and present biodiversity patterns are only beginning to be explored on a global scale. It is also particularly important, in the face of the global extinction crisis, to understand these processes in order to be able to use this knowledge to prevent future biodiversity loss and loss of ecosystem services. Unfortunately, efforts to understand mammalian biodiversity have been hampered by a lack of data. New data compilations on current species' distributions, ecologies and evolutionary histories now allow an integrated approach to understand this biodiversity. We review and synthesize these new studies, exploring the past and present ecology and evolution of mammalian biodiversity, and use these findings to speculate about the mammals of our future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate E Jones
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, UK.
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