Expressed Sequence Tags as a Tool for Phylogenetic Analysis of Placental Mammal Evolution

BACKGROUND: We investigate the usefulness of expressed sequence tags, ESTs, for establishing divergences within the tree of placental mammals. This is done on the example of the established relationships among primates (human), lagomorphs (rabbit), rodents (rat and mouse), artiodactyls (cow), carnivorans (dog) and proboscideans (elephant). METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We have produced 2000 ESTs (1.2 mega bases) from a marsupial mouse and characterized the data for their use in phylogenetic analysis. The sequences were used to identify putative orthologous sequences from whole genome projects. Although most ESTs stem from single sequence reads, the frequency of potential sequencing errors was found to be lower than allelic variation. Most of the sequences represented slowly evolving housekeeping-type genes, with an average amino acid distance of 6.6% between human and mouse. Positive Darwinian selection was identified at only a few single sites. Phylogenetic analyses of the EST data yielded trees that were consistent with those established from whole genome projects. CONCLUSIONS: The general quality of EST sequences and the general absence of positive selection in these sequences make ESTs an attractive tool for phylogenetic analysis. The EST approach allows, at reasonable costs, a fast extension of data sampling from species outside the genome projects

The complete mitochondrial genome of the wallaroo (Macropus robustus) and the phylogenetic relationship among

ABSTRACT The complete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) (16,896 nt) of the wallaroo (Macropus robustus) was sequenced. The concatenated amino acid sequences of 12 mitochondrial protein-coding genes of the wallaroo plus those of a number of other mammals were included in a phylogenetic study of early mammalian divergences. The analysis joined monotremes and marsupials (the Marsupionta hypothesis) to the exclusion of eutherians. The analysis rejected significantly the commonly acknowledged Theria hypothesis, according to which Marsupialia and Eutheria are grouped together to the exclusion of Monotremata. The region harboring the gene for lysine tRNA (tRNA-Lys) in the mtDNA of other vertebrates is in the wallaroo occupied by a sequence (tRNA-Lys) that lacks both an anticodon loop as well as the anticodon for the amino acid lysine. An alternative tRNA-Lys gene was not identified in any other region of the mtDNA of the wallaroo, suggesting that a tRNA-Lys of nuclear origin is imported into marsupial mitochondria. Previously described RNA editing of tRNA-Asp and rearrangement of some tRNA genes were reconfirmed in the mtDNA of the wallaroo. The divergence between Monotremata͞Marsupialia and Eutheria was timed to Ϸ130 million years before present (MYBP). The same calculations suggested that Monotremata and Marsupialia diverged Ϸ115 MYBP and that Australian and American marsupials separated Ϸ75 MYBP. The findings also show that many, probably most, extant eutherian orders had their origin in middle to late Cretaceous times, 115-65 MYBP

Comparative chromosome painting discloses homologous Segments in distantly related mammals

Comparative chromosome painting, termed ZOO-FISH, using DNA libraries from flow sorted human chromosomes 1,16,17 and X, and mouse chromosome 11 discloses the presence of syntenic groups in distantly related mammalian Orders ranging from primates (Homo sapiens), rodents (Mus musculus), even-toed ungulates (Muntiacus muntjak vaginalis and Muntiacus reevesi) and whales (Balaenoptera physalus). These mammalian Orders have evolved separately for 55-80 million years (Myr). We conclude that ZOO-FISH can be used to generate comparative chromosome maps of a large number of mammalian species

50 years after - examination of some circumstances around the establishment of the correct chromosome number of man

Three authors, Levan (1975, 1978), Tjio (1978) and Hulten (2002)have independently described the establishment of the correct chromosome number of man Tjio and Levan 1956 and the background to that study. However, the three authors provide strikingly different accounts of this historical discovery. In this study I have examined the consistency between these accounts and details provided by the logbook kept at Cancer Chromosome Laboratory, University of Lund. For complementary details I have also consulted several persons that were active at the Institute of Genetics, Univ. of Lund, at the time of the discovery. Levan's (1975)Levan's (1978)accounts are both written in a modest way compared to the more self-centered narratives of Tjio and Hulten. His accounts are also consistent with all details that can be collected from the logbook. However, and most unfortunately, Levan is not explicit with respect to the dates of what might be different cytogenetic observations related to the determination of the correct chromosome number of man. The logbook leaves no room for various temporal details given by Tjio, which, if correct, might substantiate his account. Also Tjio's introduction of an alter ego into the narrative is apt to lessen the general credibility of his account. Tjio's (1978)contention of having made his human chromosome preparations at 2 a.m. on December 22nd or 23rd would be consistent with his claim that he arrived from Spain in early December 1955. His account of this crucial issue is incorrect, however, as he did not arrive at the Cancer Chromosome Laboratory until December 19. Hulten's claim of involvement becomes highly questionable in the light of her fading recollections of both the localities at the Institute of Genetics and the persons working there. Her temporal account, like that of Tjio, remains unsupported by the logbook. Examination of the logbook for temporal details relating to the establishment of the correct chromosome number of man suggests that Levan made his first preliminary 2n=46 human chromosome counts around December 20th - 23rd, 1955, and that Tjio made his first conclusive preparations two-three weeks after his arrival from Spain, that is in early January 1956

Mitochondrial DNA sequence evolution and phylogeny of the Atlantic Alcidae, including the extinct great auk (Pinguinus impennis)

The Atlantic auk assemblage includes four extant species, razorbill (Alca torda), dovekie (Alle alle), common murre (Uria aalge), and thick-billed murre (U. lomvia), and one recently extinct species, the flightless great auk (Pinguinus impennis). To determine the phylogenetic relationships among the species, a contiguous 4.2-kb region of the mitochondrial genome from the extant species was amplified using PCR. This region included one ribosomal RNA gene, four transfer RNA genes, two protein-coding genes, the control region, and intergenic spacers. Sets of PCR primers for amplifying the same region from great auk were designed from sequences of the extant species. The authenticity of the great auk sequence was ascertained by alternative amplifications, cloning, and separate analyses in an independent laboratory. Phylogenetic analyses of the entire assemblage, made possible by the great auk sequence, fully resolved the phylogenetic relationships and split it into two primary lineages, Uria versus Alle, Alca, and Pinguinus. A sister group relationship was identified between Alca and Pinguinus to the exclusion of Alle. Phylogenetically, the flightless great auk originated late relative to other divergences within the assemblage. This suggests that three highly divergent species in terms of adaptive specializations, Alca, Alle, and Pinguinus, evolved from a single lineage in the Atlantic Ocean, in a process similar to the initial adaptive radiation of alcids in the Pacific Ocean

Examining the utility of categorical models and alleviating artifacts in phylogenetic reconstruction of the Squamata (Reptilia).

Reconstruction artifacts are a serious hindrance to the elucidation of phylogenetic relationships and a number of methods have been devised to alleviate them. Previous studies have demonstrated a striking disparity in the evolutionary rates of the mitochondrial (mt) genomes of squamate reptiles (lizards, worm lizards and snakes) and the reconstruction artifacts that may arise from this. Here, to examine basal squamate relationships, we have added the mt genome of the blind skink Dibamus novaeguineae to the mitogenomic dataset and applied different models for resolving the squamate tree. Categorical models were found to be less susceptible to artifacts than were the commonly used noncategorical phylogenetic models GTR and mtREV. The application of different treatments to the data showed that the removal of the fastest evolving sites in snakes improved phylogenetic signal in the dataset. Basal divergences remained, nevertheless, poorly resolved. The proportion of both fast-evolving and conserved sites in the squamate mt genomes relative to sites with intermediate rates of evolution suggests rapid early divergences among squamate taxa and at least partly explains the short internal relative to external branches in the squamate tree. Thus, mt and nuclear trees may never reach full agreement because of the short branches characterizing these divergences

Mitogenomic analyses of eutherian relationships

Reasonably correct phylogenies are fundamental to the testing of evolutionary hypotheses. Here, we present phylogenetic findings based on analyses of 67 complete mammalian mitochondrial (mt) genomes. The analyses, irrespective of whether they were performed at the amino acid (aa) level or on nucleotides (nt) of first and second codon positions, placed Erinaceomorpha (hedgehogs and their kin) as the sister group of remaining eutherians. Thus, the analyses separated Erinaceomorpha from other traditional lipotyphlans (e.g., tenrecs, moles, and shrews), making traditional Lipotyphla polyphyletic. Both the aa and nt data sets identified the two order-rich eutherian clades, the Cetferungulata (comprising Pholidota, Carnivora, Perissodactyla, Artiodactyla, and Cetacea) and the African clade (Tenrecomorpha, Macroscelidea, Tubulidentata, Hyracoidea, Proboscidea, and Sirenia). The study corroborated recent findings that have identified a sister-group relationship between Anthropoidea and Dermoptera (flying lemurs), thereby making our own order, Primates, a paraphyletic assembly. Molecular estimates using paleontologically well-established calibration points, placed the origin of most eutherian orders in Cretaceous times, 70-100 million years before present (MYBP). The same estimates place all primate divergences much earlier than traditionally believed. For example, the divergence between Homo and Pan is estimated to have taken place approximate to 10 MYBP, a dating consistent with recent findings in primate paleontology. Copyrigh

Hominids: Molecular Phylogenetics

Molecular relationships among the great apes (including Homo) and molecular estimates of the times of their divergences