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opencc-zeroOct 2019View details →

Data from: Diversification rates have no effect on the convergent evolution of foraging strategies in the most speciose genus of bats, Myotis

Adaptive radiations are defined as rapid diversification with phenotypic innovation led by colonization to new environments. Notably, adaptive radiations can occur in parallel when habitats with similar selective pressures are accessible promoting convergent adaptions. While convergent evolution appears to be a common process, it is unclear what are the main drivers leading the reappearance of morphologies or ecological roles. We explore this question in Myotis bats, the only Chiropteran genus with a worldwide distribution. Three foraging strategies –gleaning, trawling, and aerial netting– repeatedly evolved in several regions of the world, each linked to characteristic morphologies recognized as ecomorphs. Phylogenomic, morphometric, and comparative approaches were adopted to investigate convergence of such foraging strategies and skull morphology as well as factors that explain diversification rates. Genomic and morphometric data were analyzed from ~80% extant taxa. Results confirm that the ecomorphs evolved multiple times, with trawling evolving more often and foliage gleaning most recently. Skull morphology does not reflect common ancestry, evolves convergently with foraging strategy. While diversification rates have been roughly constant across the genus, speciation rates are area-dependent in taxa with temperate distributions. Results suggest that in this species-rich group of bats, first, stochastic processes have led divergence into multiple lineages. Then, natural selection in similar niches has promoted repeated adaptation of phenotypes and foraging strategies. Myotis bats are thus a remarkable case of ecomorphological convergence and an emerging model system for investigating the genomic basis of parallel adaptive radiation.

opencc-zeroDec 2016View details →

Data from: The acacia ants revisited: convergent evolution and biogeographic context in an iconic ant/plant mutualism

Phylogenetic and biogeographic analyses can enhance our understanding of multispecies interactions by placing the origin and evolution of such interactions in a temporal and geographical context. We use a phylogenomic approach—ultraconserved element sequence capture—to investigate the evolutionary history of an iconic multispecies mutualism: Neotropical acacia ants (Pseudomyrmex ferrugineus group) and their associated Vachellia hostplants. In this system, the ants receive shelter and food from the host plant, and they aggressively defend the plant against herbivores and competing plants. We confirm the existence of two separate lineages of obligate acacia ants that convergently occupied Vachellia and evolved plant-protecting behaviour, from timid ancestors inhabiting dead twigs in rainforest. The more diverse of the two clades is inferred to have arisen in the Late Miocene in northern Mesoamerica, and subsequently expanded its range throughout much of Central America. The other lineage is estimated to have originated in southern Mesoamerica about 3 Myr later, apparently piggy-backing on the pre-existing mutualism. Initiation of the Pseudomyrmex/Vachellia interaction involved a shift in the ants from closed to open habitats, into an environment with more intense plant herbivory. Comparative studies of the two lineages of mutualists should provide insight into the essential features binding this mutualism.

opencc-zeroOct 2023View details →

Data from: Convergent rates of protein evolution identify novel targets of sexual selection in primates

Sexual selection is the differential reproductive success of individuals, resulting from competition for mates, mate choice, or success in fertilization. In primates, this selective pressure often leads to the development of exaggerated traits which play a role in sexual competition and successful reproduction. In order to gain insight into the mechanisms driving the development of sexually selected traits, we used an unbiased genome-wide approach across 21 primate species to correlate individual rates of protein evolution to relative testes size and sexual dimorphism in body size, two anatomical hallmarks of sexual selection in mammals. Among species with presumed high levels of sperm competition, we detected strong conservation of testes-specific proteins responsible for spermatogenesis and ciliary form and function. In contrast, we identified accelerated evolution of female reproductive proteins expressed in the vagina, cervix, and fallopian tubes in these same species. Additionally, we found accelerated protein evolution in lymphoid tissue, indicating that adaptive immune functions may also be influenced by sexual selection. This study demonstrates the distinct complexity of sexual selection in primates revealing contrasting patterns of protein evolution between male and female reproductive tissues.

FIGURE 10 in Convergent Evolution of a Eusuchian-Type Secondary Palate within Shartegosuchidae

FIGURE 10. Simplified phylogenetic tree mapping the stages in the evolution of the secondary palate in Crocodylomorpha. Palatal bones are colored as follows: maxilla, blue; palatine, pink; ectopterygoid, red; pterygoid, brown; and vomer, yellow.

FIGURE 5 in Convergent Evolution of a Eusuchian-Type Secondary Palate within Shartegosuchidae

FIGURE 5. CT scan cross sections through the pterygoid of Shartegosuchus (IGM 200/50). The blue line demarcates the boundary of the pterygoid. A. anterior to palatal fenestra; B. posterior to palatal fenestra; C. through palatal fenestra; D. through choana. Abbreviations: ch, choana; in cav, internal cavity; pal fen, palatal fenestra.

FIGURE 4 in Convergent Evolution of a Eusuchian-Type Secondary Palate within Shartegosuchidae

FIGURE 4. Digital reconstructions and line drawings of Shartegosuchus asperapalatum (IGM 200/50) in A. left lateral view, B. right lateral view of Shartegosuchus asperapalatum (IGM 200/50). Abbreviations: ang, angular; ant fos, antorbital fossa; d, dentary; ect, ectopterygoid; j, jugal; lac, lacrimal; m, maxilla; n, nasal; pf, prefrontal; pm, premaxilla; pty, pterygoid; sp, splenial.

FIGURE 1. A in Convergent Evolution of a Eusuchian-Type Secondary Palate within Shartegosuchidae

FIGURE 1. A. Map of Mongolia with marker indicating the locality of Shartegosuchus asperapalatum (IGM 200/50). B. Photograph of locality of Shartegosuchus asperapalatum (IGM 200/50) with arrow indicating the position the specimen was recovered from.

FIGURE 8 in Convergent Evolution of a Eusuchian-Type Secondary Palate within Shartegosuchidae

FIGURE 8. The five most parsimonious trees from the analyses (length = 897). Red circles indicate the node Shartegosuchoidea and blue circles indicate the node Shartegosuchidae.

FIGURE 6 in Convergent Evolution of a Eusuchian-Type Secondary Palate within Shartegosuchidae

FIGURE 6. Line drawings of the mandible Shartegosuchus asperopalatum (IGM 200/50) in A. dorsal view, B. left lateral view, and C. right lateral view. Abbreviations: ang, angular; d, dentary; sp, splenial.

opencc-zeroNov 2023View details →

Data from: The role of mutation bias in adaptive molecular evolution: insights from convergent changes in protein function

An underexplored question in evolutionary genetics concerns the extent to which mutational bias in the production of genetic variation influences outcomes and pathways of adaptive molecular evolution. In the genomes of at least some vertebrate taxa, an important form of mutation bias involves changes at CpG dinucleotides: If the DNA nucleotide cytosine (C) is immediately 5' to guanine (G) on the same coding strand, and if the C is methylated, then C→T and G→A mutations occur at an elevated rate relative to mutations at non-CpG sites. Here we examine experimental data from case studies in which it has been possible to identify the causative substitutions that are responsible for adaptive changes in the functional properties of vertebrate hemoglobin (Hb). Specifically, we examine the molecular basis of convergent increases in Hb-O2 affinity in high-altitude birds. Using a data set of experimentally verified, affinity-enhancing mutations in the Hbs of highland avian taxa, we tested whether causative changes are enriched for mutations at CpG dinucleotides relative to the frequency of CpG mutations among all possible missense mutations. The tests revealed that a disproportionate number of causative amino acid replacements were attributable to CpG mutations, demonstrating that mutation bias can influence outcomes of molecular adaptation.

opencc-zeroJan 2022View details →

Evidence for continent-wide convergent evolution and stasis throughout 150 years of a biological invasion

The extent to which evolution can rescue a species from extinction, or facilitate range expansion, depends critically on the rate, duration, and geographical extent of the evolutionary response to natural selection. Adaptive evolution can occur quickly, but the duration and geographical extent of contemporary evolution in natural systems remains poorly studied. This is particularly true for species with large geographical ranges and for timescales that lie between 'long-term' field experiments and the fossil record. Here, we introduce the Virtual Common Garden (VCG) to investigate phenotypic evolution in natural history collections while controlling for phenotypic plasticity in response to local growing conditions. Reconstructing 150 years of evolution in Lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife) as it invaded North America, we analyze phenology measurements of 3,429 herbarium records, reconstruct growing conditions from more than 12 million local temperature records, and validate predictions across three common gardens spanning 10 degrees of latitude. We find that phenology clines have evolved along parallel climatic gradients, repeatedly throughout the range, during the first century of evolution. Thereafter, the rate of microevolution stalls, recapitulating macroevolutionary stasis observed in the fossil record. Our study demonstrates that preserved specimens are a critical resource for investigating limits to evolution in natural populations. Our results show how natural selection and trade-offs measured in field studies predict adaptive divergence observable in herbarium specimens over 15 decades at a continental scale.

opencc-by-4.0Apr 2022View details →

Supplementary files for, 'Developmental morphology and anatomy shed light on both parallel and convergent evolution of the umbellate inflorescence in Monocots, underlied by a new variant of metatopy.'

Supplementary file for forth coming manuscript. Consists of Pre-processed microscopy images, FiJI readable annotated stacks and raw laser ablation tomography video data   File name:  MainFigures.zip  File format: .zip, individual images in .bmp format. Description of data: Picolay output of main figure panels.   File name:  Supplementary_File_1 File format: .MOV (video) Description of data: Movie 1 LAT scan of Butomus umbellatus   File name:  Supplementary_File_2 File format: .AVI (video) Description of data: Three-dimensional reconstruction of Butomus umbellatus inflorescence   File name:  Supplementary_File_3 File format: .MOV (video) Description of data: Movie 3 Three-dimensional reconstruction of Butomus umbellatus vasculature   File name:  Supplementary_File_4 File format: .TIFF (Can be opened in FIJI) Description of data: Butomus umbellatus vasculature composite tiff file   File name:  Supplementary_File_5 File format: .MOV (video) Description of data: LAT scan of Ornithogalum umbellatum   File name:  Supplementary_File_6 File format: .TIFF (Can be opened in FIJI) Description of data: Ornithogalum umbellatum vasculature tiff file (Can be opened in FIJI)   File name: Supplementary_File_7 File format: .MOV (video) Description of data: LAT scan of Allium hollandicum inflorescence

opencc-zeroJun 2022View details →

Different genes are recruited during convergent evolution of pregnancy and the placenta

The repeated evolution of the same traits in distantly related groups (convergent evolution) raises a key question in evolutionary biology: do the same genes underpin convergent phenotypes? Here, we explore one such trait, viviparity (live birth), which, qualitative studies suggest, may indeed have evolved via genetic convergence. There are 150 independent origins of live birth in vertebrates, providing a uniquely powerful system to test the mechanisms underpinning convergence in morphology, physiology, and/or gene recruitment during pregnancy. We compared transcriptomic data from eight vertebrates (lizards, mammals, sharks) that gestate embryos within the uterus. Since many previous studies detected qualitative similarities in gene use during independent origins of pregnancy, we expected to find significant overlap in gene use in viviparous taxa. However, we found no more overlap in uterine gene expression associated with viviparity than we would expect by chance alone. Each viviparous lineage exhibits the same core set of uterine physiological functions. Yet, contrary to prevailing assumptions about this trait, we find that none of the same genes are differentially expressed in all viviparous lineages, or even in all viviparous amniote lineages. Therefore, across distantly related vertebrates, different genes have been recruited to support the morphological and physiological changes required for successful pregnancy. We conclude that redundancies in gene function have enabled the repeated evolution of viviparity through recruitment of different genes from genomic "toolboxes", which are uniquely constrained by the ancestries of each lineage.

opencc-zeroJul 2022View details →

Data from: Convergence and constraint in the cranial evolution of mosasaurid reptiles and early cetaceans

The repeated return of tetrapods to aquatic life provides some of the best-known examples of convergent evolution. One comparison which has received relatively little focus is that of mosasaurids (a group of Late Cretaceous squamates) and archaic cetaceans (the ancestors of modern whales and dolphins), both of which show high levels of craniodental disparity, similar initial trends in locomotory evolution, and global distributions. Here we investigate convergence in skull ecomorphology during the initial aquatic radiations of these groups. A series of functionally informative ratios were calculated from 38 species, with ordination techniques used to reconstruct patterns of functional ecomorphospace occupation. The earliest fully aquatic members of each clade occupied different regions of ecomorphospace, with basilosaurids and early russellosaurines exhibiting marked differences in cranial functional morphology. Subsequent ecomorphological trajectories notably diverge: mosasaurids radiated across ecomorphospace with no clear pattern and numerous reversals, whereas cetaceans notably evolved towards shallower, more elongated snouts, perhaps as an adaptation for capturing smaller prey. Incomplete convergence between the two groups is present among megapredatory and longirostrine forms, suggesting stronger selection on cranial function in these two ecomorphologies. Our study highlights both the similarities and divergences in craniodental evolutionary trajectories between archaic cetaceans and mosasaurids, with convergences transcending their deeply divergent phylogenetic affinities.

opencc-by-4.0Nov 2024View details →

Supplementary material for "Cretaceous lacewing larvae with binocular vision demonstrate the convergent evolution of sophisticated simple eyes" by Haug C. et al.

Supplementary matereial including R-Code and data for elliptic Fourier analysis for the publication: "Cretaceous lacewing larvae with binocular vision demonstrate the convergent evolution of sophisticated simple eyes"  Carolin Haug, Roland R. Melzer, Florian Braig, Simon J. Linhart, Derek E. G. Briggs, Alejandro Caballero, Yanzhe Fu, Gideon T. Haug, Marie K. Hörnig, Joachim T. Haug   Abstract:  Many insects and their relatives are renowned for sophisticated compound eyes, which are also preserved in the fossil record. Yet there are also other types of eyes, notably the so-called stemmata of holometabolans, such as beetles, bees, and butterflies. Stemmata are not as effective as compound eyes, except in some predatory larvae. Here we report three lacewing larvae with large forward-directed stemmata from Cretaceous Kachin amber, Myanmar. The stemmata are large relative to those of other fossil lacewing larvae, comparable to the simple eyes of modern larvae capable of image formation. The head is very wide in one larva, representing a new type of morphology as demonstrated by a quantitative comparison of the head and stylets of over 400 fossil and extant lacewing larvae. The arrangement of the exceptionally large stemmata of the larvae reported here provides stereoscopic vision. These new specimens demonstrate the convergent evolution of highly developed simple eyes in at least two additional lineages of lacewings, showcasing the enormous diversity of lacewing larvae in the Cretaceous.

opencc-by-4.0Sep 2023View details →

Fig. 1 in Spinosaurs As Phytosaur Mimics: A Case Of Convergent Evolution Between Two Extinct Archosauriform Clades

Fig. 1. Convergently shared craniodental characters between Spinosauridae (A) and Phytosauria with "brachyrostral" skull (B). Characters: 1. anterior ends of premaxilla and dentary are rounded, laterally and ventrally expanded and bear enlarged teeth ("rosettes"); 2. a concavity posterior to the premaxillary "rosette" that bears smaller teeth that accommodates the lower jaw "rosette" when the mouth is closed, accompanied by a medial constriction of this part of a snout; 3. a ventrally convex margin of the upper jaw behind concavity bearing enlarged teeth; 4. down-turn of the upper jaw towards its tip so that the anteroventral part of the nondentigerous region of the premaxillary "rosette" is at the same level with the tooth row in more posterior region; 5. laterally flattened snout that is moderately deepened dorsoventrally, unlike the dorsoventrally compressed condition in crocodilians; 6. relatively small size of an antorbital fenestra; 7. a bony palate that is formed by medial extensions of adjacent bones (e.g., premaxilla, maxilla); 8. a concavity in the anterior part of the dentary that receives a ventral expansion of the upper jaw; 9. lower teeth behind the dentary "rosette" significantly smaller than those of the "rosette". Images used in A are modified from Bertin (2010) and Ibrahim et al.

opencc-by-4.0Sep 2023View details →

Fig. 2 in Spinosaurs As Phytosaur Mimics: A Case Of Convergent Evolution Between Two Extinct Archosauriform Clades

Fig. 2. Cranial evolution of Phytosauria (A) and Spinosauridae (B), with lateral and dorsal views of the skull/snout, shared morphological changes highlighted. Phytosauria is represented by the early-diverging, dolichorostral Parasuchus hislopi and the laterdiverging, brachyrostral Machaeroprosopus mccauleyi. Spinosauridae is represented by the early-diverging Suchomimus tenerensis and the later-diverging Spinosaurus aegyptiacus. Images used in A are modified from Datta et al. (2021), and those of B, from Sereno et al. (1998) and Ibrahim et al. (2020), respectively.