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Modularity promotes morphological divergence in ray-finned fishes.
Olivier Larouche1, Miriam L Zelditch2, Richard Cloutier3
1Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, 29631, USA. olarouc@g.clemson.edu.
Scientific Reports
|May 10, 2018
Summary
Biological modularity allows for independent evolution, driving morphological disparity. A study on ray-finned fishes found that fin modules evolved faster, generating greater disparity, supporting modularity
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Developmental biology
- Comparative genomics
Background:
- Modularity is theorized to enable differential evolutionary rates among biological components.
- This rate variation is hypothesized to drive the diversification of biological form (disparity).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the link between evolutionary modularity, morphological evolution rates, and disparity.
- To test if distinct evolutionary modules exhibit different rates of evolution.
Main Methods:
- Phylogenetic analysis of ray-finned fishes.
- Comparison of multiple hypotheses for evolutionary modularity.
- Assessment of evolutionary rate differentials across identified modules.
Main Results:
- A well-supported evolutionary module comprising dorsal, anal, and paired fins was identified.
- This fin module demonstrated significantly higher evolutionary rates compared to other modules.
- The faster evolution of the fin module correlated with increased morphological disparity.
Conclusions:
- Modularity, characterized by distinct evolutionary rates, promotes morphological disparity.
- The findings support the hypothesis that modular evolution facilitates organismal diversification.
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