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Heritability in the Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta) Vertebral Column
Catalina I Villamil1, Jeziel J Negrón1,2, Emily R Middleton3
1School of Chiropractic, Universidad Central del Caribe, Bayamón, Puerto Rico, USA.
American Journal of Primatology
|October 21, 2024
Summary
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.
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.
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