Evolution: Brainier Birds

Makovicky, Peter J.; Reddy, Srinivas K.

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2020.05.025

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 13 publications

(27 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Gazing pattern of peacocks towards specific display regions plays an important role in intra and inter-sexual selection [7], and in addition the co-evolution of opsin genes and plumage colouration genes is also associated to sexual selection in birds [8]. To perform complex cognitive activities such as sexual selection, brain size has been evolved for better motor control abilities, well developed neural networks, and highly evolved brain organization [9,10]. Comparative genomic analysis also supported sexual selection in peacock, and showed that feather and immune-related gene-pairs underwent selection pressure in this species [4], consistent with Hamilton-Zuk hypothesis [11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-quality genome assemblies provide clues on the evolutionary advantage of blue peafowl over green peafowl

Chakraborty

Mondal

Mahajan

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

An intriguing example of differential adaptability is the case of two Asian peafowl species,Pavo cristatus(blue peafowl) andPavo muticus(green peafowl), where the former has a ″Least Concern″ conservation status and the latter is an ″Endangered″ species. To understand the genetic basis of this differential adaptability of the two peafowl species, a comparative analysis of these species is much needed to gain the genomic and evolutionary insights. Thus, we constructed a high-quality genome assembly of blue peafowl with an N50 value of 84.81 Mb (pseudochromosome-level assembly), and a high-confidence coding gene set to perform the genomic and evolutionary analyses of blue and green peafowls with 49 other avian species. The analyses revealed adaptive evolution of genes related to neuronal development, immunity, and skeletal muscle development in these peafowl species. Major genes related to axon guidance showed adaptive evolution in peafowl species. However, blue peafowl showed the presence of 42% more coding genes compared to the green peafowl along with a higher number of unique gene clusters, segmental duplicated genes and expanded gene families, and comparatively higher evolution in neuronal and developmental pathways. Blue peafowl also showed longer branch length compared to green peafowl in the species phylogenetic tree. These genomic insights obtained from the high-quality genome assembly ofP. cristatusconstructed in this study provide new clues on the superior adaptability of the blue peafowl over green peafowl despite having a recent species divergence time.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-quality genome assemblies provide clues on the evolutionary advantage of blue peafowl over green peafowl

Chakraborty

Mondal

Mahajan

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Gazing pattern of peacocks towards specific display regions plays an important role in intra and intersexual selection [ 7 ], and in addition the co-evolution of opsin genes and plumage colouration genes is also associated to sexual selection in birds [ 8 ]. To perform complex cognitive activities such as sexual selection, brain size has been evolved for better motor control abilities, well developed neural networks, and highly evolved brain organization [ 9 , 10 ]. Comparative genomic analysis also supported sexual selection in peacock, and showed that feather and immune-related gene-pairs underwent selection pressure in this species [ 4 ], consistent with Hamilton-Zuk hypothesis [ 11 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-quality genome assemblies provide clues on the evolutionary advantage of blue peafowl over green peafowl

Chakraborty

Mondal

Mahajan

et al. 2023

Heliyon

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The impact of environmental factors on the evolution of brain size in carnivorans

2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The reasons why some animals have developed larger brains has long been a subject of debate. Yet, it remains unclear which selective pressures may favour the encephalization and how it may act during evolution at different taxonomic scales. Here we studied the patterns and tempo of brain evolution within the order Carnivora and present large-scale comparative analysis of the effect of ecological, environmental, social, and physiological variables on relative brain size in a sample of 174 extant carnivoran species. We found a complex pattern of brain size change between carnivoran families with differences in both the rate and diversity of encephalization. Our findings suggest that during carnivorans’ evolution, a trade-off have occurred between the cognitive advantages of acquiring a relatively large brain allowing to adapt to specific environments, and the metabolic costs of the brain which may constitute a disadvantage when facing the need to colonize new environments.

show abstract

Evolution: Brainier Birds

Cited by 3 publications

References 13 publications

High-quality genome assemblies provide clues on the evolutionary advantage of blue peafowl over green peafowl

High-quality genome assemblies provide clues on the evolutionary advantage of blue peafowl over green peafowl

High-quality genome assemblies provide clues on the evolutionary advantage of blue peafowl over green peafowl

The impact of environmental factors on the evolution of brain size in carnivorans

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About