High-altitude adaptation is accompanied by strong signatures of purifying selection in the mitochondrial genomes of three Andean waterfowl.

ABSTRACT: Evidence from a variety of organisms points to convergent evolution on the mitochondria associated with a physiological response to oxygen deprivation or temperature stress, including mechanisms for high-altitude adaptation. Here, we examine whether demography and/or selection explains standing mitogenome nucleotide diversity in high-altitude adapted populations of three Andean waterfowl species: yellow-billed pintail (Anas georgica), speckled teal (Anas flavirostris), and cinnamon teal (Spatula cyanoptera). We compared a total of 60 mitogenomes from each of these three duck species (n = 20 per species) across low and high altitudes and tested whether part(s) or all of the mitogenome exhibited expected signatures of purifying selection within the high-altitude populations of these species.

SUBMITTER: Graham AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10763953 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature