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Genome Evolution and the Future of Phylogenomics of Non-Avian Reptiles. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:ani13030471. [PMID: 36766360 PMCID: PMC9913427 DOI: 10.3390/ani13030471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Revised: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Non-avian reptiles comprise a large proportion of amniote vertebrate diversity, with squamate reptiles-lizards and snakes-recently overtaking birds as the most species-rich tetrapod radiation. Despite displaying an extraordinary diversity of phenotypic and genomic traits, genomic resources in non-avian reptiles have accumulated more slowly than they have in mammals and birds, the remaining amniotes. Here we review the remarkable natural history of non-avian reptiles, with a focus on the physical traits, genomic characteristics, and sequence compositional patterns that comprise key axes of variation across amniotes. We argue that the high evolutionary diversity of non-avian reptiles can fuel a new generation of whole-genome phylogenomic analyses. A survey of phylogenetic investigations in non-avian reptiles shows that sequence capture-based approaches are the most commonly used, with studies of markers known as ultraconserved elements (UCEs) especially well represented. However, many other types of markers exist and are increasingly being mined from genome assemblies in silico, including some with greater information potential than UCEs for certain investigations. We discuss the importance of high-quality genomic resources and methods for bioinformatically extracting a range of marker sets from genome assemblies. Finally, we encourage herpetologists working in genomics, genetics, evolutionary biology, and other fields to work collectively towards building genomic resources for non-avian reptiles, especially squamates, that rival those already in place for mammals and birds. Overall, the development of this cross-amniote phylogenomic tree of life will contribute to illuminate interesting dimensions of biodiversity across non-avian reptiles and broader amniotes.
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2
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Slavenko A, Tamar K, Tallowin OJS, Kraus F, Allison A, Carranza S, Meiri S. Revision of the montane New Guinean skink genus Lobulia (Squamata: Scincidae), with the description of four new genera and nine new species. Zool J Linn Soc 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
The skink genus Lobulia is endemic to New Guinea, the largest and highest tropical island in the world. Lobulia and its related genera represent an important component of the montane herpetofauna of New Guinea, but it remains understudied and poorly known. We here provide the first, large-scale, systematic revision of Lobulia, using molecular phylogenetic and morphological comparisons to assess the monophyly of the genus and the diversity of species within it. We find that Lobulia, as currently defined, is polyphyletic. The eight species currently assigned to it form three clades. Furthermore, many specimens from New Guinea of unknown specific affinity are genetically and morphologically distinct from each other. Based on these data, we re-diagnose Lobulia and two of its closely related genera, Prasinohaema and Papuascincus. We erect four new genera (Alpinoscincus gen. nov., Nubeoscincus gen. nov., Ornithuroscincus gen. nov. and Palaia gen. nov.) to address the problem of polyphyly and describe nine new species Lobulia fortis sp. nov., Lobulia huonensis sp. nov., Loublia marmorata sp. nov., Lobulia vogelkopensis sp. nov., Ornithuroscincus bengaun sp. nov., Ornithuroscincus inornatus sp. nov., Ornithuroscincus pterophilus sp. nov., Ornithuroscincus shearmani sp. nov. and Ornithuroscincus viridis sp. nov. We supplement this taxonomic revision by investigating the biogeographic history of Lobulia s.l. and find evidence for a large radiation in the accreted terranes of New Guinea, with multiple independent colonizations of montane habitats and subsequent recolonization of lowland habitats. Our study reinforces the uniqueness and richness of the montane herpetofauna of New Guinea and the importance of mountains to biodiversity in the Tropics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex Slavenko
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Karin Tamar
- The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Oliver J S Tallowin
- UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Cambridge, UK
| | - Fred Kraus
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Michigan, USA
| | | | - Salvador Carranza
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Shai Meiri
- The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
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3
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Minh BQ, Hahn MW, Lanfear R. New Methods to Calculate Concordance Factors for Phylogenomic Datasets. Mol Biol Evol 2021; 37:2727-2733. [PMID: 32365179 PMCID: PMC7475031 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msaa106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 237] [Impact Index Per Article: 79.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
We implement two measures for quantifying genealogical concordance in phylogenomic data sets: the gene concordance factor (gCF) and the novel site concordance factor (sCF). For every branch of a reference tree, gCF is defined as the percentage of "decisive" gene trees containing that branch. This measure is already in wide usage, but here we introduce a package that calculates it while accounting for variable taxon coverage among gene trees. sCF is a new measure defined as the percentage of decisive sites supporting a branch in the reference tree. gCF and sCF complement classical measures of branch support in phylogenetics by providing a full description of underlying disagreement among loci and sites. An easy to use implementation and tutorial is freely available in the IQ-TREE software package (http://www.iqtree.org/doc/Concordance-Factor, last accessed May 13, 2020).
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Affiliation(s)
- Bui Quang Minh
- Research School of Computer Science, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.,Department of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Matthew W Hahn
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN.,Department of Computer Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
| | - Robert Lanfear
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
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4
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Slavenko A, Allison A, Meiri S. Elevation is a stronger predictor of morphological trait divergence than competition in a radiation of tropical lizards. J Anim Ecol 2021; 90:917-930. [PMID: 33410529 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2020] [Accepted: 12/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Adaptations for efficient performance are expected to shape animal morphology based on selection for microhabitat use and ecological forces. The presence of competitor species is predicted to cause niches to contract and enhance trait divergence. Therefore, increased species richness is expected to lead to greater trait divergence, and to result in reduced overlap and similarity between morphologies of sympatric species. We examined patterns of morphospace occupancy and partitioning in the skink fauna of New Guinea, the world's largest tropical island. Because skink species richness is largely decoupled from elevation in New Guinea, we could examine the effects of both factors (as proxies for competition and abiotic conditions), on morphospace occupancy and partitioning. We measured 1,860 specimens from 79 species of skinks throughout Papua New Guinea, and examined their morphospace occupancy in a spatial context. We calculated, for each assemblage within equal-area cells, the volume of morphospace occupied by all skinks, the mean volume occupied per species, and the mean distance and overlap between all species pairs. We then examined whether these metrics are related to species richness and elevation. Elevation is a stronger predictor of morphospace occupancy than species richness. As elevation increases, intraspecific variation decreases and morphologies become more similar to each other such that overall morphospace occupancy decreases. Highland skinks are, on average, smaller, thinner and shorter limbed than lowland species. We hypothesise that harsh climates in the New Guinea highland habitats impose strong selection on skinks to occupy specific areas of morphospace that facilitate efficient thermoregulation in suboptimal thermal conditions. We conclude that the effect of competition on trait divergence on a community and assemblage scale is eclipsed by abiotic selection pressures in these harsh environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex Slavenko
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | | | - Shai Meiri
- School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.,The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Tel Aviv, Israel
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5
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Hibbins MS, Gibson MJS, Hahn MW. Determining the probability of hemiplasy in the presence of incomplete lineage sorting and introgression. eLife 2020; 9:e63753. [PMID: 33345772 PMCID: PMC7800383 DOI: 10.7554/elife.63753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Accepted: 12/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The incongruence of character states with phylogenetic relationships is often interpreted as evidence of convergent evolution. However, trait evolution along discordant gene trees can also generate these incongruences - a phenomenon known as hemiplasy. Classic comparative methods do not account for discordance, resulting in incorrect inferences about the number, timing, and direction of trait transitions. Biological sources of discordance include incomplete lineage sorting (ILS) and introgression, but only ILS has received theoretical consideration in the context of hemiplasy. Here, we present a model that shows introgression makes hemiplasy more likely, such that methods that account for ILS alone will be conservative. We also present a method and software (HeIST) for making statistical inferences about the probability of hemiplasy and homoplasy in large datasets that contain both ILS and introgression. We apply our methods to two empirical datasets, finding that hemiplasy is likely to contribute to the observed trait incongruences in both.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark S Hibbins
- Department of Biology, Indiana UniversityBloomingtonUnited States
| | | | - Matthew W Hahn
- Department of Biology, Indiana UniversityBloomingtonUnited States
- Department of Computer Science, Indiana UniversityBloomingtonUnited States
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6
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Taboada C, Brunetti AE, Lyra ML, Fitak RR, Faigón Soverna A, Ron SR, Lagorio MG, Haddad CFB, Lopes NP, Johnsen S, Faivovich J, Chemes LB, Bari SE. Multiple origins of green coloration in frogs mediated by a novel biliverdin-binding serpin. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:18574-18581. [PMID: 32661155 PMCID: PMC7414155 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2006771117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Many vertebrates have distinctive blue-green bones and other tissues due to unusually high biliverdin concentrations-a phenomenon called chlorosis. Despite its prevalence, the biochemical basis, biology, and evolution of chlorosis are poorly understood. In this study, we show that the occurrence of high biliverdin in anurans (frogs and toads) has evolved multiple times during their evolutionary history, and relies on the same mechanism-the presence of a class of serpin family proteins that bind biliverdin. Using a diverse combination of techniques, we purified these serpins from several species of nonmodel treefrogs and developed a pipeline that allowed us to assemble their complete amino acid and nucleotide sequences. The described proteins, hereafter named biliverdin-binding serpins (BBS), have absorption spectra that mimic those of phytochromes and bacteriophytochromes. Our models showed that physiological concentration of BBSs fine-tune the color of the animals, providing the physiological basis for crypsis in green foliage even under near-infrared light. Additionally, we found that these BBSs are most similar to human glycoprotein alpha-1-antitrypsin, but with a remarkable functional diversification. Our results present molecular and functional evidence of recurrent evolution of chlorosis, describe a biliverdin-binding protein in vertebrates, and introduce a function for a member of the serpin superfamily, the largest and most ubiquitous group of protease inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Taboada
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708;
- División Herpetología, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia," Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires C1405DJR, Argentina
- Instituto de Química Física de los Materiales, Medio Ambiente y Energía, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires C1428EHA, Argentina
- Núcleo de Pesquisa em Produtos Naturais e Sintéticos (NPPNS), Departamento de Ciências BioMoleculares, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, 14040903 Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Andrés E Brunetti
- Núcleo de Pesquisa em Produtos Naturais e Sintéticos (NPPNS), Departamento de Ciências BioMoleculares, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, 14040903 Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
- Laboratorio de Genética Evolutiva "Claudio Juan Bidau," Instituto de Biología Subtropical (CONICET-UNaM), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de Misiones, 3300 Posadas, Misiones, Argentina
| | - Mariana L Lyra
- Departamento de Biodiversidade e Centro de Aquicultura, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista, 13506-900 Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Robert R Fitak
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708
- Department of Biology, Genomics and Bioinformatics Cluster, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816
| | - Ana Faigón Soverna
- División Herpetología, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia," Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires C1405DJR, Argentina
| | - Santiago R Ron
- Museo de Zoología, Escuela de Biología, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Aptdo. 17-01-2184, Quito, Ecuador
| | - María G Lagorio
- Instituto de Química Física de los Materiales, Medio Ambiente y Energía, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires C1428EHA, Argentina
- Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Analítica y Química Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires C1428EHA, Argentina
| | - Célio F B Haddad
- Departamento de Biodiversidade e Centro de Aquicultura, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista, 13506-900 Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Norberto P Lopes
- Núcleo de Pesquisa em Produtos Naturais e Sintéticos (NPPNS), Departamento de Ciências BioMoleculares, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, 14040903 Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Sönke Johnsen
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708
| | - Julián Faivovich
- División Herpetología, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia," Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires C1405DJR, Argentina
- Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires C1428EHA, Argentina
| | - Lucía B Chemes
- Fundación Instituto Leloir and Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires-Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires C1405BWE, Argentina;
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas, Universidad Nacional de San Martín, CP1650 San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Sara E Bari
- Instituto de Química Física de los Materiales, Medio Ambiente y Energía, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires C1428EHA, Argentina;
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7
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Slavenko A, Tamar K, Tallowin OJS, Allison A, Kraus F, Carranza S, Meiri S. Cryptic diversity and non-adaptive radiation of montane New Guinea skinks (Papuascincus; Scincidae). Mol Phylogenet Evol 2020; 146:106749. [PMID: 32014575 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2020.106749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2019] [Revised: 12/12/2019] [Accepted: 01/28/2020] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
New Guinea, the world's largest and highest tropical island, has a rich but poorly known biota. Papuascincus is a genus of skinks endemic to New Guinea's mountain regions, comprising two wide-ranging species and two species known only from their type series. The phylogeny of the genus has never been examined and the relationships among its species - as well as between it and closely related taxa - are hitherto unknown. We performed the first large-scale molecular-phylogenetic study of Papuascincus, including sampling across the genus' range in Papua New Guinea. We sequenced three mitochondrial and two nuclear markers from 65 specimens of Papuascincus and reconstructed their phylogenetic relationships. We also performed species-delimitation analyses, estimated divergence times and ancestral biogeography, and examined body-size evolution within the genus. Papuascincus was strongly supported as monophyletic. It began radiating during the mid-Miocene in the area now comprising the Central Cordillera of New Guinea, then dispersed eastward colonising the Papuan Peninsula. We found evidence of extensive cryptic diversity within the genus, with between nine and 20 supported genetic lineages. These were estimated using three methods of species delimitation and predominantly occur in allopatry. Distribution and body-size divergence patterns indicated that character displacement in size took place during the evolutionary history of Papuascincus. We conclude that the genus requires comprehensive taxonomic revision and likely represents a species-rich lineage of montane skinks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex Slavenko
- School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, 6997801 Tel Aviv, Israel.
| | - Karin Tamar
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Barcelona, Spain
| | | | | | - Fred Kraus
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, MI, USA
| | - Salvador Carranza
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Shai Meiri
- School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, 6997801 Tel Aviv, Israel; The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Tel Aviv, Israel
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Affiliation(s)
- Jon Y. Takemoto
- Department of BiologyUtah State University, Logan Utah 84322-5305 U.S.A
| | - Cheng‐Wei T. Chang
- Department of Chemistry and BiochemistryUtah State University Logan, Utah 84322-0300 U.S.A
| | - Dong Chen
- Department of Biological EngineeringUtah State University Logan, Utah 843122 U.S.A
| | - Garrett Hinton
- Department of BiologyUtah State University Logan, Utah 84322-5305 U.S.A
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Leem JW, Allcca AEL, Chen J, Kim SW, Kim KY, Choi KH, Chen YP, Kim SR, Kim YL. Visible light biophotosensors using biliverdin from Antheraea yamamai. OPTICS EXPRESS 2018; 26:31817-31828. [PMID: 30650761 DOI: 10.1364/oe.26.031817] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2018] [Accepted: 11/05/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
We report an endogenous photoelectric biomolecule and demonstrate that such a biomolecule can be used to detect visible light. We identify the green pigment abundantly present in natural silk cocoons of Antheraea yamamai (Japanese oak silkmoth) as biliverdin, using mass spectroscopy and optical spectroscopy. Biliverdin extracted from the green silk cocoons generates photocurrent upon light illumination with distinct colors. We further characterize the basic performance, responsiveness, and stability of the biliverdin-based biophotosensors at a photovoltaic device level using blue, green, orange, and red light illumination. Biliverdin could potentially serve as an optoelectric biomolecule toward the development of next-generation implantable photosensors and artificial photoreceptors.
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