Structural Rearrangements and Selection Promote Phenotypic Evolution in Anolis Lizards.

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary Biology
• Genomics
• Comparative Genomics

Background:

• Adaptive radiation in Anolis lizards has led to high species diversity and ecological disparity.
• Genomic characteristics are hypothesized to contribute to evolutionary potential and speciation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore genomic variation in Anolis lizards with distinct phenotypes.
• To investigate the role of genomic features in Anolis adaptive radiation.

Main Methods:

• Assembly and annotation of chromosome-level reference genomes for Anolis auratus and Anolis frenatus.
• Comparative genomic analysis with Anolis carolinensis and Anolis sagrei.
• Evaluation of structural rearrangements, repeat element density, and positive selection signatures.

Main Results:

• Detected substantial structural rearrangements in Anolis frenatus scaffolds 1, 2, and 3, with breakpoints near developmental genes.
• Observed an accumulation of repeat elements around key developmental genes in anoles and outgroups.
• Identified variations in coding and regulatory regions of developmental and physiological genes linked to distinct phenotypes.

Conclusions:

• Hierarchical genomic variation within anoles provides a substrate for phenotypic disparity.
• Genomic changes contribute to the adaptive radiation and diversification of Anolis lizards.