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Related Concept Videos

Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons02:54

Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons

Genome comparison is one of the excellent ways to interpret the evolutionary relationships between organisms. The basic principle of genome comparison is that if two species share a common feature, it is likely encoded by the DNA sequence conserved between both species. The advent of genome sequencing technologies in the late 20th century enabled scientists to understand the concept of conservation of domains between species and helped them to deduce evolutionary relationships across diverse...
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Using Phylogenetic Analysis to Investigate Eukaryotic Gene Origin
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Published on: August 14, 2018

Gnathostome phylogenomics utilizing lungfish EST sequences.

Björn M Hallström1, Axel Janke

  • 1Department of Cell and Organism Biology, Division of Evolutionary Molecular Systematics, University of Lund, Sweden. bjorn.hallstrom@cob.lu.se

Molecular Biology and Evolution
|November 26, 2008
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

New molecular data confirm lungfishes (Dipnoi) are the closest fish relatives to tetrapods, resolving vertebrate evolution. This study rejects fish monophyly and supports a split between cartilaginous fishes (Chondrichthyes) and bony vertebrates.

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A Bioinformatics Pipeline for Investigating Molecular Evolution and Gene Expression using RNA-seq
07:09

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Published on: May 28, 2021

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Comparative Genomics
  • Vertebrate Phylogeny

Background:

  • The evolutionary relationships among cartilaginous fishes (Chondrichthyes), ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii), lobe-finned fishes (Sarcopterygii), and the origin of tetrapods have been debated for over a century.
  • Morphological studies suggest a consensus, but molecular evidence has been inconclusive in resolving these deep vertebrate divergences.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the phylogenetic relationships between major vertebrate clades using extensive molecular sequence data.
  • To provide conclusive molecular evidence for the placement of lungfishes (Dipnoi) relative to tetrapods and other jawed vertebrates (Gnathostomes).

Main Methods:

  • Generated nearly 1,000,000 bp of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from the African marbled lungfish (Protopterus aethiopicus), yielding 771 novel transcribed nuclear sequences.
  • Combined lungfish EST data with ESTs from cartilaginous fishes and whole genome data from jawless fish (agnathan), ray-finned fishes, and tetrapods.
  • Performed phylogenomic analysis using maximum likelihood methods to infer evolutionary relationships.

Main Results:

  • Achieved significant maximum likelihood support for a traditional gnathostome tree, clearly separating Chondrichthyes from other (bony) gnathostomes.
  • Provided conclusive support for the sister group relationship between lungfishes (Dipnoi) and tetrapods.
  • Significantly rejected previously proposed hypotheses, including the monophyly of fishes.

Conclusions:

  • The study resolves the long-standing debate on vertebrate relationships, confirming lungfishes as the closest fish relatives to tetrapods.
  • The findings support a basal split between cartilaginous fishes and the lineage leading to bony vertebrates and tetrapods.
  • Estimated the divergence time between lungfishes and tetrapods at 382-388 million years ago based on the data and calibration points.