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118 results for “vertebrate evolution”
Data from: Large-scale evolution of body temperatures in land vertebrates
<p>Body temperature is a crucial variable in animals that affects nearly every aspect of their lives. Here we analyze for the first time large-scale patterns in the evolution of body temperatures across terrestrial vertebrates (tetrapods, including amphibians, mammals, birds and other reptiles). Despite the traditional view that endotherms (birds and mammals) have higher body temperatures than ectotherms, we find they are not significantly different. However, rates of body-temperature evolution are significantly different, with lower rates in endotherms than ectotherms, and the highest rates in amphibians. We find that body temperatures show strong phylogenetic signal over 350 million years of evolutionary history in tetrapods, and some lineages appear to have retained similar body temperatures over time for hundreds of millions of years. Although body temperatures are often unrelated to climate in tetrapods, we find that body temperatures are significantly related to day-night activity patterns. Specifically, body temperatures are generally higher in diurnal species than nocturnal species, both across ectotherms and, surprisingly, across endotherms also. Overall, our results suggest that body temperatures are significantly linked to phylogeny and diel-activity patterns within and among tetrapod groups, rather than just climate and the endotherm-ectotherm divide.</p>
Data from: Why are animals conspicuously colored? Evolution of sexual versus warning signals in land vertebrates
<p>Conspicuous colors (e.g. red, yellow, blue) have evolved numerous times across animals. But the function of this coloration can differ radically among species. Many species use this coloration as a sexual signal to conspecifics, whereas others use it as a warning signal to predators. Why do different species evolve conspicuous coloration in association with one function as opposed to the other? We address this question in terrestrial vertebrates (tetrapods) using phylogenetic approaches and test whether day-night activities of species help determine these patterns. Using phylogenetic logistic regression, we found that conspicuous, sexually dimorphic coloration is significantly associated with diurnal lineages (e.g. many birds and lizards). By contrast, the evolution of warning signals was significantly associated with large-scale clades that were ancestrally nocturnal (e.g. snakes, amphibians), regardless of the current diel activity of species. Overall, we show that the evolution of conspicuous coloration as warning signals or sexual signals is influenced by the ecology of species, both recently and in the ancient past.</p>
text-fig. 30. Undetermined ornithomimosaur; mid-caudal vertebral column; Judith River Formation, southern Alberta; TMP unnumbered. Scale bar represents 50 mm. in The interrelationships and evolution of basal theropod dinosaurs
text-fig. 30. Undetermined ornithomimosaur; mid-caudal vertebral column; Judith River Formation, southern Alberta; TMP unnumbered. Scale bar represents 50 mm.
text-fig. 26. Anterior dorsal vertebrae of two theropods in left lateral view, illustrating states for several vertebral characters, a, Lilienstemus lilienstemifMB R. 2175. B, Troödon formosus', TMP 94.12.438. Abbreviations as in ext-fig. 24, and: hy, hyposphene; hyp, hypapophysis. Scale bars represent 10 mm. in The interrelationships and evolution of basal theropod dinosaurs
text-fig. 26. Anterior dorsal vertebrae of two theropods in left lateral view, illustrating states for several vertebral characters, a, Lilienstemus lilienstemifMB R. 2175. B, Troödon formosus', TMP 94.12.438. Abbreviations as in ext-fig. 24, and: hy, hyposphene; hyp, hypapophysis. Scale bars represent 10 mm.
Fig. 1 in Regional differentiation of felid vertebral column evolution: a study of 3D shape trajectories
Fig. 1 Different vertebral morphologies and their respective threedimensional landmarks: a–c atlas in anterior, posterior and dorsal view; d–f T1 in anterior, posterior and lateral view; g–i L1 in anterior, posterior
Fig. 4 in Regional differentiation of felid vertebral column evolution: a study of 3D shape trajectories
Fig. 4 Phenotypic trajectory analysis (PTA) of post-atlantoaxial presacral vertebrae (i.e. C4–L7) grouped by prey size categories. Larger-sized circles show the average shape location of each individual group per stage. White-filled circles represent the first stage of the trajectory, grey-filled circles represent all intermediate stages and blackfilled circles mark the final stage of each trajectory
Fig. 5 in Regional differentiation of felid vertebral column evolution: a study of 3D shape trajectories
Fig. 5 Phenotypic trajectory analysis (PTA) of vertebrae in the T10–L7 region grouped by prey size (a) and locomotory (b) categories. Largersized circles show the average shape location of each individual group per
Figure 4 in Cryptic complexity in felid vertebral evolution: shape differentiation and allometry of the axial skeleton
Figure 4. Vertebral profile plots of locomotory groups (i.e. arboreal, terrestrial and scansorial species) showing variation in vertebral measurements along the vertebral column number. A, centrum length (CL); B, centrum height (CH); C, centrum width (CW); D, centrum shape (CS); E, lamina width (LW); F, neural spine lever arm (NSLA); J, transverse process dorsoventral angle (TPDV); K, transverse process anteroposterior angle (TPAP); L, interzygapophyseal length (IZL); M, accessory process distance (APD). Regular vertical bars mark the boundaries between vertebral regions (i.e. cervical, thoracic and lumbar regions) and the corresponding analytical bins, while dotted vertical lines mark boundaries only related to vertebral bins.
Figure 3 in Cryptic complexity in felid vertebral evolution: shape differentiation and allometry of the axial skeleton
Figure 3. PCA plots of PC1 X PC2 (A) and PC1 X PC3 (B) showing species distribution in vertebral morphospace. Species are grouped according to their locomotory mode (i.e. cross: arboreal species; triangle: scansorial species; squares: terrestrial species).
Figure 2 in Cryptic complexity in felid vertebral evolution: shape differentiation and allometry of the axial skeleton
Figure 2. Vertebral measurements: A–C, atlas; D and E, axis; F, C6; G–J, L2. Abbreviations: LDA, length of dorsal arch; Pre_Z-D, prezygapophyseal distance; Post_Z-D, postzygapophyseal distance; TPLA, transverse process lever arm; WDA, width of dorsal arch. B. LVA, length of ventral arch; WVA, width of ventral arch. C. HNC, height of the neural canal. D. DW, dens width. E. DA, dens angle; DL, dens length; NSL, neural spine anteroposterior length at tip. F. LIL, length of inferior lamella. G. CL, centrum length; IZL, interzygapophyseal length; NSL, neural anteroposterior length at tip; NSLA, neural spine lever arm. H. APD, accessory process distance; CH, centrum height; CW, centrum width; NSLA, neural spine lever arm. I. TPDV, transverse process dorsoventral angle; TPLA, transverse process lever arm. J. LW, lamina width; TPAP, transverse process anteroposterior angle. Vertebral images are from of a CT scan of Acinonyx jubatus (cheetah).
Figure 1. Felid phylogeny showing studied species, from a in Cryptic complexity in felid vertebral evolution: shape differentiation and allometry of the axial skeleton
Figure 1. Felid phylogeny showing studied species, from a subset of Nyakatura & Bininda-Emonds (2012), with felid lineage designation according to Johnson et al. (2006), and locomotory (A, S, and T) and prey size specialization (circles at tip of phylogeny) according to Meachen-Samuels & Van Valkenburgh (2009b). Abbreviations: arboreal (A), scansorial (S) and terrestrial (T). Prey size symbols: black circles – large prey specialist; dark grey circles – mixed prey specialist; and light grey with black rim circles – small prey specialist.
Data from: The evolution of energetic scaling across the vertebrate tree of life
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Data from: Large-scale evolution of body temperatures in land vertebrates
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Data from: Why are animals conspicuously colored? Evolution of sexual versus warning signals in land vertebrates
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Data from: The evolution of vertebrate eye size across an environmental gradient: phenotype does not predict genotype in a Trinidadian killifish
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Data from: Rates of speciation and morphological evolution are correlated across the largest vertebrate radiation
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Data from: Evolution of neck vertebral shape and neck retraction at the transition to modern turtles: an integrated geometric morphometric approach
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Data from: Evolution and expression of the phosphodiesterase 6 genes unveils vertebrate novelty to control photosensitivity
Background: Phosphodiesterase 6 (PDE6) is a protein complex that hydrolyses cGMP and acts as the effector of the vertebrate phototransduction cascade. The PDE6 holoenzyme consists of catalytic and inhibitory subunits belonging to two unrelated gene families. Rods and cones express distinct genes from both families: PDE6A and PDE6B code for the catalytic and PDE6G the inhibitory subunits in rods while PDE6C codes for the catalytic and PDE6H the inhibitory subunits in cones. We performed phylogenetic and comparative synteny analyses for both gene families in genomes from a broad range of animals. Furthermore, gene expression was investigated in zebrafish. Results: We found that both gene families expanded from one to three members in the two rounds of genome doubling (2R) that occurred at the base of vertebrate evolution. The PDE6 inhibitory subunit gene family appears to be unique to vertebrates and expanded further after the teleost-specific genome doubling (3R). We also describe a new family member that originated in 2R and has been lost in amniotes, which we have named pde6i. Zebrafish has retained two additional copies of the PDE6 inhibitory subunit genes after 3R that are highly conserved, have high amino acid sequence identity, are coexpressed in the same photoreceptor type as their amniote orthologs and, interestingly, show strikingly different daily oscillation in gene expression levels. Conclusions: Together, these data suggest specialisation related to the adaptation to different light intensities during the day-night cycle, most likely maintaining the regulatory function of the PDE inhibitory subunits in the phototransduction cascade.
Data from: Evolution of vertebrate nicotinic acetylcholine receptors
Background: Many physiological processes are influenced by nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR), ranging from neuromuscular and parasympathetic signaling to modulation of the reward system and long-term memory. Due to the complexity of the nAChR family and variable evolutionary rates among its members, their evolution in vertebrates has been difficult to resolve. In order to understand how and when the nAChR genes arose, we have used a broad approach of analyses combining sequence-based phylogeny, chromosomal synteny and intron positions. Results: Our analyses suggest that there were ten subunit genes present in the vertebrate predecessor. The two basal vertebrate tetraploidizations (1R and 2R) then expanded this set to 19 genes. Three of these have been lost in mammals, resulting in 16 members today. None of the ten ancestral genes have kept all four copies after 2R. Following 2R, two of the ancestral genes became triplicates, five of them became pairs, and three seem to have remained single genes. One triplet consists of CHRNA7, CHRNA8 and the previously undescribed CHRNA11, of which the two latter have been lost in mammals but are still present in lizards and ray-finned fishes. The other triplet consists of CHRNB2, CHRNB4 and CHRNB5, the latter of which has also been lost in mammals. In ray-finned fish the neuromuscular subunit gene CHRNB1 underwent a local gene duplication generating CHRNB1.2. The third tetraploidization in the predecessor of teleosts (3R) expanded the repertoire to a total of 31 genes, of which 27 remain in zebrafish. These evolutionary relationships are supported by the exon-intron organization of the genes. Conclusions: The tetraploidizations explain all gene duplication events in vertebrates except two. This indicates that the genome doublings have had a substantial impact on the complexity of this gene family leading to a very large number of members that have existed for hundreds of millions of years.
Data from: Evolution of the vertebrate goose-type lysozyme gene family
Background: Lysozyme g is an antibacterial enzyme that was first found in the eggs of some birds, but recently has been found in additional species, including non-vertebrates. Some previously characterized lysozyme g sequences are suggested to have altered secretion potential and enzymatic activity, however the distribution of these altered sequences is unknown. Duplicated copies of the lysozyme g gene exist in some species; however, the origins of the duplicates and their roles in altered function are unclear. Results: We identified 234 lysozyme g sequences from 118 vertebrate species, including 181 sequences that are full or near full length representing all vertebrate classes except cartilaginous fish. Phylogenetic analysis shows that most lysozyme g gene duplicates are recent or lineage specific events, however three amplification events are more ancient, those in an early amniote, an early mammal, and an early teleost. The older gene duplications are associated with changes in function, including changes in secretion potential and muramidase antibacterial enzymatic activity. Conclusions: Lysozyme g is an essential muramidase enzyme that is widespread in vertebrates. Duplication of the lysozyme g gene, and the retention of non-secreted isozymes that have lost enzymatic activity indicate that lysozyme g has an activity other than the muramidase activity associated with being an antibacterial enzyme.
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.