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Heritability in the Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta) Vertebral Column.

Catalina I Villamil1, Jeziel J Negrón1,2, Emily R Middleton3

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Vertebral column traits show moderate heritability, but the *type* of variation is highly heritable. This explains primate vertebral diversity and impacts evolutionary studies of extinct primates.

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Primate anatomy
  • Quantitative genetics

Background:

  • The vertebral column is crucial for primate locomotion and behavior.
  • Understanding its heritability is key to studying primate evolution and extinct species.
  • Primate vertebral anatomy is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To estimate the heritability of vertebral counts and specific vertebral elements in primates.
  • To investigate the genetic basis of vertebral variation in relation to locomotion and behavior.
  • To inform the study of primate evolution and paleontology.

Main Methods:

  • Heritability estimation using a pedigreed Macaca mulatta skeletal collection (n=210).
  • Analysis of vertebral counts and morphology of cervical, thoracic, and lumbar elements.
  • Statistical analysis of zygapophyseal facets and spinous process morphology.

Main Results:

  • Moderate heritability of vertebral counts (h²=0.216-0.326).
  • Strong heritability of vertebral count variation type (h²=0.599), explaining hominoid diversity.
  • High heritability for cervical/lumbar zygapophyseal facets and thoracic spinous processes, linked to stability and motion control.
  • Size is the most heritable component of form.

Conclusions:

  • Vertebral count heritability suggests limitations for ancestral state estimation.
  • Specific vertebral features (e.g., spinous processes) may hold more phylogenetic information than others (e.g., transverse processes).
  • Size effects are significant and should not be removed indiscriminately in morphological comparisons.