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    Eggshell palaeogenomics: Palaeognath evolutionary history revealed through ancient nuclear and mitochondrial DNA from Madagascan elephant bird (Aepyornis sp.) eggshell

    Access Status
    Fulltext not available
    Authors
    Grealy, Alicia Catherine
    Phillips, M.
    Miller, Gifford
    Gilbert, Thomas
    Rouillard, J.
    Lambert, D.
    Bunce, Michael
    Haile, J.
    Date
    2017
    Type
    Journal Article
    
    Metadata
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    Citation
    Grealy, A.C. and Phillips, M. and Miller, G. and Gilbert, T. and Rouillard, J. and Lambert, D. and Bunce, M. et al. 2017. Eggshell palaeogenomics: Palaeognath evolutionary history revealed through ancient nuclear and mitochondrial DNA from Madagascan elephant bird (Aepyornis sp.) eggshell. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 109: pp. 151-163.
    Source Title
    Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
    DOI
    10.1016/j.ympev.2017.01.005
    ISSN
    1055-7903
    School
    Department of Environment and Agriculture
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/51209
    Collection
    • Curtin Research Publications
    Abstract

    Palaeognaths, the sister group of all other living birds (neognaths), were once considered to be vicariant relics from the breakup of the Gondwanan supercontinent. However, recent molecular studies instead argue for dispersal of volant ancestors across marine barriers. Resolving this debate hinges upon accurately reconstructing their evolutionary relationships and dating their divergences, which often relies on phylogenetic information from extinct relatives and nuclear genomes. Mitogenomes from the extinct elephant birds of Madagascar have helped inform the palaeognath phylogeny; however, nuclear information has remained unavailable. Here, we use ancient DNA (aDNA) extracted from fossil eggshell, together with target enrichment and next-generation sequencing techniques, to reconstruct an additional new mitogenome from Aepyornis sp. with 33.5X coverage. We also recover the first elephant bird nuclear aDNA, represented by 12,500 bp of exonic information. While we confirm that elephant birds are sister taxa to the kiwi, our data suggests that, like neognaths, palaeognaths underwent an explosive radiation between 69 and 52 Ma—well after the break-up of Gondwana, and more rapidly than previously estimated from mitochondrial data alone. These results further support the idea that ratites primarily diversified immediately following the Cretaceous-Palaeogene mass extinction and convergently evolved flightlessness. Our study reinforces the importance of including information from the nuclear genome of extinct taxa for recovering deep evolutionary relationships. Furthermore, with approximately 3% endogenous aDNA retrieved, avian eggshell can be a valuable substrate for recovering high quality aDNA. We suggest that elephant bird whole genome recovery is ultimately achievable, and will provide future insights into the evolution these birds.

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