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Developmental instability in domesticated mammals.

Laura A B Wilson1,2

  • 1School of Archaeology and Anthropology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.

Journal of Experimental Zoology. Part B, Molecular and Developmental Evolution
|November 23, 2021
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Fluctuating asymmetry (FA), an indicator of developmental instability, was studied in domestic mammals and their wild relatives. While most domesticates showed greater shape disparity, only pigs and dogs exhibited significantly higher asymmetry, challenging domestication stress predictions.

Keywords:
covariance matrixdevelopmental instabilitydomestication syndromefluctuating asymmetrymammalian domesticationskull

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Developmental biology
  • Animal morphology

Background:

  • Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) quantifies developmental instability, linked to fitness and stress responses.
  • Domestication is considered an environmental stressor, potentially increasing FA in domesticates versus wild relatives.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantify cranial FA in six domestic mammal species and their wild relatives.
  • To assess how random developmental variation integrates into population variation across domestic/wild pairs.
  • To investigate the relationship between symmetric and asymmetric shape variation in domesticates and wild relatives.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized three-dimensional geometric morphometrics with landmark data.
  • Compared cranial FA between domestic mammal species and their wild counterparts.
  • Analyzed correlations between symmetric and asymmetric shape variation using partial least squares.

Main Results:

  • Most domestic mammals displayed greater asymmetric shape disparity than wild relatives.
  • Pigs and dogs showed significantly higher FA and asymmetry compared to wild boar and wolves, respectively.
  • A moderate correlation (r-partial least squares >0.5) was observed between symmetric shape variation and FA in most pairs, with similar magnitudes in domestic/wild forms.

Conclusions:

  • Domestication does not universally increase FA across all species.
  • Cranial development in domesticates may maintain conserved patterns while allowing selection on specific traits.
  • The relationship between symmetric and asymmetric variation is similar in domestic and wild populations.