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Gradual evolution towards flightlessness in steamer ducks.

Leonardo Campagna1,2, Kevin G McCracken3, Irby J Lovette1,2

  • 1Fuller Evolutionary Biology Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14850.

Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution
|May 21, 2019
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Genomic analysis of steamer ducks reveals that the evolution of flightlessness may have occurred once, driven by changes in specific genes like DYRK1A. This trait remains variable within some species.

Keywords:
BirdsDYRK1ATachyeresgenomicsislands

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Genomics
  • Ornithology

Background:

  • Flightlessness in birds evolves repeatedly, often linked to insular environments and morphological changes like larger body size and reduced forelimbs.
  • Understanding the genomic basis of this convergent evolution is challenging due to the ancient origins of many flightless bird lineages.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the genomic underpinnings of flightlessness in the recently diverged Tachyeres steamer ducks.
  • To determine the number of independent evolutionary events leading to flightlessness within the Tachyeres genus.

Main Methods:

  • Genome sequencing of flighted and flightless Tachyeres species.
  • Genome-wide association analysis to identify candidate genomic regions associated with flightlessness.
  • Phylogenetic and demographic analyses to reconstruct evolutionary history.

Main Results:

  • Two narrow genomic regions were identified as potentially implicated in the morphological evolution of flightlessness.
  • The strongest association was with the DYRK1A gene, known to affect growth and bone development.
  • Phylogenetic analyses suggest flightlessness in Tachyeres may have evolved a single time, persisting as a functionally polymorphic trait in two species.

Conclusions:

  • The study provides genomic insights into the evolution of flightlessness in a dynamic avian group.
  • Convergent evolution of flightlessness may extend to the genomic level, with DYRK1A as a key candidate gene.
  • Flightlessness in Tachyeres likely represents a single evolutionary event with ongoing functional polymorphism.