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Development and evolution of the unique cetacean dentition.

Brooke A Armfield1, Zhengui Zheng, Sunil Bajpai

  • 1Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology , Northeast Ohio Medical University , Rootstown, Ohio , United States ; Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology , University of Florida , Gainesville, Florida , USA.

Peerj
|May 3, 2013
PubMed
Summary

Cetaceans lost precise tooth occlusion, evolving simple teeth. This study reveals altered gene expression (Bmp4) in dolphin jaws, unlike pigs, driving dental evolution and diet shifts.

Keywords:
CetaceaCetaceanEvo-devoPaleontologyTeeth

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Developmental genetics
  • Comparative anatomy

Background:

  • Mammalian evolutionary success is linked to high metabolic rates, supported by efficient food processing via precise tooth occlusion.
  • Cetaceans (whales and dolphins) are unique among mammals for secondarily losing precise occlusion, developing simple, uniform teeth.
  • The evolutionary timing and developmental basis of cetacean dental specializations remain poorly understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the developmental genetic mechanisms underlying the loss of precise occlusion and dental simplification in cetaceans.
  • To compare gene expression patterns in developing cetacean jaws with those of a closely related mammal that retains functional occlusion.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of gene expression patterns during early tooth development.
  • Focus on the expression domains of key developmental genes, specifically Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4 (Bmp4) and Fibroblast Growth Factor 8 (Fgf8).
  • Utilized pigs as a model for mammals with retained occlusion and dolphins as representatives of cetaceans.

Main Results:

  • Pigs exhibit typical mammalian gene expression patterns for tooth development, with Bmp4 expressed rostrally and Fgf8 caudally.
  • Dolphins display altered gene expression, with the Bmp4 expression domain extending into the caudal jaw region.
  • This loss of regional gene expression differences correlates with the simplified and uniform dental morphology in dolphins.

Conclusions:

  • The release from functional constraints of occlusion in cetaceans likely facilitated changes in the genetic control of dental development.
  • Altered expression of genes like Bmp4 is a key driver of the unique dental morphology observed in cetaceans.
  • These developmental changes are associated with significant evolutionary shifts in cetacean diet and feeding strategies.