scholarly journals Insights into Body Size Evolution: A Comparative Transcriptome Study on Three Species of Asian Sisoridae Catfish

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 944 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wansheng Jiang ◽  
Yicheng Guo ◽  
Kunfeng Yang ◽  
Qiong Shi ◽  
Junxing Yang
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Ribosome Biogenesis ◽  
Habitat Preferences ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Adaptor Protein ◽  
Orthologous Gene ◽  
Basic Question ◽  
Functional Screening ◽  
Size Evolution ◽  
Body Size Evolution

Body size is one of the most important attributes of a species, but the basic question of why and how each species reaches a different “right size” is still largely unknown. Herein, three phylogenetically closely related catfishes from Sisoridae, including one extraordinarily large-sized Bagarius yarrelli and two average-sized Glyptothorax macromaculatus and Oreoglanis setiger, were comparatively studied using RNA-Seq. Approximately 17,000 protein-coding genes were annotated for each of the three fishes, and 9509 genes were identified as high-confidence orthologous gene pairs. Comparative expressions uncovered a similar functional cluster about ribosome biogenesis was enriched in different tissues of the upregulated genes of Bagarius yarrelli. Moreover, differentially expressed genes and positively selected genes revealed that the glycolysis/pyruvate metabolism and cell cycle pathways have also greatly enhanced in this large-sized species. In total, 20 size-related candidate genes (including two growth modulators: the serine/threonine-protein kinases 3 (AKT3) and adaptor protein 1 (SH2B1), and a crucial pyruvate kinase (PKM2A)) were identified by multiplying comparative analyses along with gene functional screening, which would play major roles in enabling the large body size associated with Bagarius yarrelli and provide new insights into body size evolution. In conjunction with field observations and morphological comparisons, we hypothesize that habitat preferences promote size divergence of sisorids.

scholarly journals New insights into the genetic mechanisms of body size evolution in Carnivora

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Huang ◽  
Di Sun ◽  
Tianzhen Wu ◽  
Xing Liu ◽  
Shixia Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Rapid Evolution ◽  
Large Body ◽  
The Body ◽  
Molecular Evidence ◽  
Size Evolution ◽  
Body Size Evolution

Abstract Background The range of body sizes in Carnivora is unparalleled in any other mammalian order, with more than 130,000 times in body mass and 50 times in length. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the huge difference in body size of Carnivora have not been explored so far. Results Herein, we performed a comparative genomics analysis of 20 carnivores to explore the genetic basis of great body size variation in carnivores. Phylogenetic generalized least squares (PGLS) revealed that 337 genes were significantly related to both head body length and body mass, these genes were defined as body size associated genes (BSAGs). Fourteen positively related BSAGs were found to be associated with obesity and three of which were identified to be under rapid evolution in the extremely large body-sized carnivores, which suggested that these obesity-related BSAGs might have driven the body size expansion in carnivores. Interestingly, 100 BSAGs were examined to be associated with cancer control in carnivores, particularly 15 cancer-related genes were found to be under rapid evolution in extremely large carnivores. These results strongly suggested that large body-sized carnivores might have evolved effective mechanism to resist cancer, which could be regarded as molecular evidence to support for the Peto’s paradox. For small carnivores, we identified 15 rapidly evolving genes and found six genes with fixed amino acid changes that were reported to reduce body size. Conclusion This study brings new insights into the molecular mechanisms that drove the diversifying evolution of body size in carnivores, and provides new target genes for exploring the mysteries of body size evolution in mammals.

scholarly journals Environmental drivers of body size evolution in crocodile-line archosaurs

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maximilian T. Stockdale ◽  
Michael J. Benton
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Evolutionary Rates ◽  
Environmental Drivers ◽  
Mass Extinctions ◽  
Extrinsic Factors ◽  
Size Evolution ◽  
Body Size Evolution

AbstractEver since Darwin, biologists have debated the relative roles of external and internal drivers of large-scale evolution. The distributions and ecology of living crocodilians are controlled by environmental factors such as temperature. Crocodilians have a rich history, including amphibious, marine and terrestrial forms spanning the past 247 Myr. It is uncertain whether their evolution has been driven by extrinsic factors, such as climate change and mass extinctions, or intrinsic factors like sexual selection and competition. Using a new phylogeny of crocodilians and their relatives, we model evolutionary rates using phylogenetic comparative methods. We find that body size evolution follows a punctuated, variable rate model of evolution, consistent with environmental drivers of evolution, with periods of stability interrupted by periods of change. Regression analyses show warmer environmental temperatures are associated with high evolutionary rates and large body sizes. We confirm that environmental factors played a significant role in the evolution of crocodiles.

scholarly journals The multi-peak adaptive landscape of crocodylomorph body size evolution

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro L. Godoy ◽  
Roger B. J. Benson ◽  
Mario Bronzati ◽  
Richard J. Butler
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Size Increase ◽  
Adaptive Landscape ◽  
Evolutionary Trend ◽  
Size Evolution ◽  
Size Disparity ◽  
Body Sizes ◽  
Body Size Evolution

AbstractBackgroundLittle is known about the long-term patterns of body size evolution in Crocodylomorpha, the > 200-million-year-old group that includes living crocodylians and their extinct relatives. Extant crocodylians are mostly large-bodied (3–7 m) predators. However, extinct crocodylomorphs exhibit a wider range of phenotypes, and many of the earliest taxa were much smaller (< 1.2 m). This suggests a pattern of size increase through time that could be caused by multi-lineage evolutionary trends of size increase or by selective extinction of small-bodied species. In this study, we characterise patterns of crocodylomorph body size evolution using a model fitting-approach (with cranial measurements serving as proxies). We also estimate body size disparity through time and quantitatively test hypotheses of biotic and abiotic factors as potential drivers of crocodylomorph body size evolution.ResultsCrocodylomorphs reached an early peak in body size disparity during the Late Jurassic, and underwent essentially continually decreases in disparity since then. A multi-peak Ornstein-Uhlenbeck model outperforms all other evolutionary models fitted to our data (including both uniform and non-uniform), indicating that the macroevolutionary dynamics of crocodylomorph body size are better described within the concept of an adaptive landscape, with most body size variation emerging after shifts to new macroevolutionary regimes (analogous to adaptive zones). We did not find support for a consistent evolutionary trend towards larger sizes among lineages (i.e., Cope’s rule), or strong correlations of body size with climate. Instead, the intermediate to large body sizes of some crocodylomorphs are better explained by group-specific adaptations. In particular, the evolution of a more aquatic lifestyle (especially marine) correlates with increases in average body size, though not without exceptions.ConclusionsShifts between macroevolutionary regimes provide a better explanation of crocodylomorph body size evolution than do climatic factors, suggesting a central role for lineage-specific adaptations rather than climatic forcing. Shifts leading to larger body sizes occurred in most aquatic and semi-aquatic groups. This, combined with extinctions of groups occupying smaller body size regimes (particularly during the Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic), gave rise to the upward-shifted body size distribution of extant crocodylomorphs compared to their smaller-bodied terrestrial ancestors.

Dinosaur Macroevolution and Macroecology

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 379-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger B.J. Benson
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Reproductive Biology ◽  
Fossil Record ◽  
Structural Diversity ◽  
Body Plan ◽  
Adaptive Landscape ◽  
Species Diversification ◽  
Size Evolution ◽  
Body Size Evolution

Dinosaurs were large-bodied land animals of the Mesozoic that gave rise to birds. They played a fundamental role in structuring Jurassic–Cretaceous ecosystems and had physiology, growth, and reproductive biology unlike those of extant animals. These features have made them targets of theoretical macroecology. Dinosaurs achieved substantial structural diversity, and their fossil record documents the evolutionary assembly of the avian body plan. Phylogeny-based research has allowed new insights into dinosaur macroevolution, including the adaptive landscape of their body size evolution, patterns of species diversification, and the origins of birds and bird-like traits. Nevertheless, much remains unknown due to incompleteness of the fossil record at both local and global scales. This presents major challenges at the frontier of paleobiological research regarding tests of macroecological hypotheses and the effects of dinosaur biology, ecology, and life history on their macroevolution.

scholarly journals The developmental and physiological basis of body size evolution in an insect

2001 ◽  
Vol 268 (1476) ◽  
pp. 1589-1593 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis J. D'Amico ◽  
Goggy Davidowitz ◽  
H. Frederik Nijhout
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Physiological Basis ◽  
Size Evolution ◽  
Body Size Evolution

scholarly journals Mammal body size evolution in North America and Europe over 20 Myr: similar trends generated by different processes

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1849) ◽  
pp. 20162361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shan Huang ◽  
Jussi T. Eronen ◽  
Christine M. Janis ◽  
Juha J. Saarinen ◽  
Daniele Silvestro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
North America ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Species Selection ◽  
Minimum Size ◽  
Extinction Rate ◽  
Large Herbivores ◽  
Size Evolution ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
Body Size Evolution

Because body size interacts with many fundamental biological properties of a species, body size evolution can be an essential component of the generation and maintenance of biodiversity. Here we investigate how body size evolution can be linked to the clade-specific diversification dynamics in different geographical regions. We analyse an extensive body size dataset of Neogene large herbivores (covering approx. 50% of the 970 species in the orders Artiodactyla and Perissodactyla) in Europe and North America in a Bayesian framework. We reconstruct the temporal patterns of body size in each order on each continent independently, and find significant increases of minimum size in three of the continental assemblages (except European perissodactyls), suggesting an active selection for larger bodies. Assessment of trait-correlated birth-death models indicates that the common trend of body size increase is generated by different processes in different clades and regions. Larger-bodied artiodactyl species on both continents tend to have higher origination rates, and both clades in North America show strong links between large bodies and low extinction rate. Collectively, our results suggest a strong role of species selection and perhaps of higher-taxon sorting in driving body size evolution, and highlight the value of investigating evolutionary processes in a biogeographic context.

scholarly journals Inconsistent patterns of body size evolution in co-occurring island reptiles

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 538-550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuval Itescu ◽  
Rachel Schwarz ◽  
Colin M. Donihue ◽  
Alex Slavenko ◽  
Stephanos A. Roussos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Size Evolution ◽  
Body Size Evolution

scholarly journals Migratory lineages rapidly evolve larger body sizes than non-migratory relatives in ray-finned fishes

2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1918) ◽  
pp. 20192615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. Burns ◽  
Devin D. Bloom
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Life History Theory ◽  
Environmental Heterogeneity ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Adaptive Landscape ◽  
Migratory Species ◽  
Size Evolution ◽  
Body Sizes ◽  
Body Size Evolution ◽  
First Time

Migratory animals respond to environmental heterogeneity by predictably moving long distances in their lifetime. Migration has evolved repeatedly in animals, and many adaptations are found across the tree of life that increase migration efficiency. Life-history theory predicts that migratory species should evolve a larger body size than non-migratory species, and some empirical studies have shown this pattern. A recent study analysed the evolution of body size between diadromous and non-diadromous shads, herrings, anchovies and allies, finding that species evolved larger body sizes when adapting to a diadromous lifestyle. It remains unknown whether different fish clades adapt to migration similarly. We used an adaptive landscape framework to explore body size evolution for over 4500 migratory and non-migratory species of ray-finned fishes. By fitting models of macroevolution, we show that migratory species are evolving towards a body size that is larger than non-migratory species. Furthermore, we find that migratory lineages evolve towards their optimal body size more rapidly than non-migratory lineages, indicating body size is a key adaption for migratory fishes. Our results show, for the first time, that the largest vertebrate radiation on the planet exhibited strong evolutionary determinism when adapting to a migratory lifestyle.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document