GEPHE SUMMARY Print
Gephebase Gene
Entry Status
Published
GepheID
GP00001945
Main curator
Courtier
PHENOTYPIC CHANGE
Trait Category
Trait State in Taxon A
presence of enamel
Trait State in Taxon B
absence of enamel
Ancestral State
Taxon A
Taxonomic Status
Taxon A
Common Name
dog
Synonyms
Canis canis; Canis domesticus; Canis familiaris; dog; dogs; Canis familiaris Linnaeus, 1758; Canis lupus familiaris Linnaeus, 1758
Rank
subspecies
Lineage
Show more ... tomata; Teleostomi; Euteleostomi; Sarcopterygii; Dipnotetrapodomorpha; Tetrapoda; Amniota; Mammalia; Theria; Eutheria; Boreoeutheria; Laurasiatheria; Carnivora; Caniformia; Canidae; Canis; Canis lupus
NCBI Taxonomy ID
is Taxon A an Infraspecies?
No
Taxon B #1
Common Name
Pale-throated sloth
Synonyms
Pale-throated sloth; pale-throated three-toed sloth; Bradypus tridactylus Linnaeus, 1758
Rank
species
Lineage
Show more ... Craniata; Vertebrata; Gnathostomata; Teleostomi; Euteleostomi; Sarcopterygii; Dipnotetrapodomorpha; Tetrapoda; Amniota; Mammalia; Theria; Eutheria; Xenarthra; Pilosa; Folivora; Bradypodidae; Bradypus
NCBI Taxonomy ID
is Taxon B an Infraspecies?
No
Taxon B #2
Common Name
southern tamandua
Synonyms
southern tamandua
Rank
species
Lineage
Show more ... ata; Vertebrata; Gnathostomata; Teleostomi; Euteleostomi; Sarcopterygii; Dipnotetrapodomorpha; Tetrapoda; Amniota; Mammalia; Theria; Eutheria; Xenarthra; Pilosa; Vermilingua; Myrmecophagidae; Tamandua
NCBI Taxonomy ID
is Taxon B an Infraspecies?
No
Taxon B #3
Common Name
nine-banded armadillo
Synonyms
nine-banded armadillo
Rank
species
Lineage
Show more ... Chordata; Craniata; Vertebrata; Gnathostomata; Teleostomi; Euteleostomi; Sarcopterygii; Dipnotetrapodomorpha; Tetrapoda; Amniota; Mammalia; Theria; Eutheria; Xenarthra; Cingulata; Dasypodidae; Dasypus
NCBI Taxonomy ID
is Taxon B an Infraspecies?
No
Taxon B #4
Common Name
-
Synonyms
-
Rank
species
Lineage
Show more ... ta; Craniata; Vertebrata; Gnathostomata; Teleostomi; Euteleostomi; Sarcopterygii; Dipnotetrapodomorpha; Tetrapoda; Amniota; Mammalia; Theria; Eutheria; Xenarthra; Cingulata; Chlamyphoridae; Euphractus
NCBI Taxonomy ID
is Taxon B an Infraspecies?
No
GENOTYPIC CHANGE
Presumptive Null
Yes
Molecular Type
Aberration Type
Molecular Details of the Mutation
multiple frameshift insertions and deletions
Experimental Evidence
Authors
Meredith RW; Gatesy J; Murphy WJ; Ryder OA; Springer MS
Abstract
Vestigial structures occur at both the anatomical and molecular levels, but studies documenting the co-occurrence of morphological degeneration in the fossil record and molecular decay in the genome are rare. Here, we use morphology, the fossil record, and phylogenetics to predict the occurrence of "molecular fossils" of the enamelin (ENAM) gene in four different orders of placental mammals (Tubulidentata, Pholidota, Cetacea, Xenarthra) with toothless and/or enamelless taxa. Our results support the "molecular fossil" hypothesis and demonstrate the occurrence of frameshift mutations and/or stop codons in all toothless and enamelless taxa. We then use a novel method based on selection intensity estimates for codons (omega) to calculate the timing of iterated enamel loss in the fossil record of aardvarks and pangolins, and further show that the molecular evolutionary history of ENAM predicts the occurrence of enamel in basal representatives of Xenarthra (sloths, anteaters, armadillos) even though frameshift mutations are ubiquitous in ENAM sequences of living xenarthrans. The molecular decay of ENAM parallels the morphological degeneration of enamel in the fossil record of placental mammals and provides manifest evidence for the predictive power of Darwin's theory.
Additional References
RELATED GEPHE
Related Genes
No matches found.
Related Haplotypes
1
EXTERNAL LINKS
COMMENTS
@ParrallelEvolution in baleen whales. No unique homoplasy-free frameshifts in AMELX; AMBN; MMP20 or ENAM in the common ancestry of either Xenarthra or Dasypodidae. This is consistent with the hypothesis that enamel was lost independently in Pilosa and also in more than one dasypodid lineage.
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