Evolution of cetacean-specific conserved non-coding elements suggests their role in the limb changes during secondary aquatic adaptation.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Limb morphology is particularly important for animals to inhabit different environments. Limb modifications (e.g., flipper-like forelimbs and hindlimb regression) are among the most critical secondary aquatic adaptation mechanisms enabling cetaceans to fully adapt to an aquatic environment. Exploring the molecular mechanisms underlying limb evolution in cetaceans has attracted considerable attention from evolutionary biologists.

Results

In the present study, conserved non-coding elements (CNEs) closely associated with limb development, which exhibited lineage-specific sequence divergence (nucleotide mutations and indels) in cetaceans, were identified using comparative genomics. These sequence divergences might have led to the loss of binding motifs for transcripti

SUBMITTER: Zhang Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12269289 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature