Genome-wide analyses reveal drivers of penguin diversification
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-21, 05:46authored byVianna, JA, Fernandes, FAN, Frugone, MJ, Figueiro, HV, Pertierra, LR, Noll, D, Bi, K, Wang-Claypool, CY, Lowther, A, Parker, P, Le Bohec, C, Bonadonna, F, Wienecke, B, Pistorius, P, Steinfurth, A, Christopher BurridgeChristopher Burridge, Dantas, GPM, Poulin, E, Simison, WB, Henderson, J, Eizirik, E, Nery, MF, Bowie, RCK
Penguins have long been of interest to scientists and the general public, but their evolutionary history remains unresolved. Using genomes, we investigated the drivers of penguin diversification. We found that crown-group penguins diverged in the early Miocene in Australia/New Zealand and identified Aptenodytes (emperor and king penguins) as the sister group to all other extant penguins. Penguins first occupied temperate environments and then radiated to cold Antarctic waters. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current’s (ACC) intensification 11.6 Mya promoted penguin diversification and geographic expansion. We detected interspecies introgression among penguins, in some cases following the direction of the ACC, and identified genes acting on thermoregulation, oxygen metabolism, and diving capacity that underwent adaptive evolution as they progressively occupied more challenging thermal niches.
History
Publication title
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume
117
Issue
36
Pagination
22303-22310
ISSN
0027-8424
Department/School
School of Natural Sciences
Publisher
Natl Acad Sciences
Place of publication
2101 Constitution Ave Nw, Washington, USA, Dc, 20418