Ancient and continuing Darwinian selection on insulin-like growth factor II in placental fishes.

ABSTRACT: Despite abundant examples of both adaptation at the level of phenotype and Darwinian selection at the level of genes, correlations between these two processes are notoriously difficult to identify. Positive Darwinian selection on genes is most easily discerned in cases of genetic conflict, when antagonistic evolutionary processes such as a Red Queen race drive the rate of nonsynonymous substitution above the neutral mutation rate. Genomic imprinting in mammals is thought to be the product of antagonistic evolution coincident with evolution of the placenta, but imprinted loci lack evidence of positive selection likely because of the ancient origin of viviparity in mammals. To determine whether genetic conflict is a general feature of adaptation to placental reproduction, we performed compar

SUBMITTER: O'Neill MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1941482 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature