Evidence for an ancient adaptive episode of convergent molecular evolution.

ABSTRACT: Documented cases of convergent molecular evolution due to selection are fairly unusual, and examples to date have involved only a few amino acid positions. However, because convergence mimics shared ancestry and is not accommodated by current phylogenetic methods, it can strongly mislead phylogenetic inference when it does occur. Here, we present a case of extensive convergent molecular evolution between snake and agamid lizard mitochondrial genomes that overcomes an otherwise strong phylogenetic signal. Evidence from morphology, nuclear genes, and most sites in the mitochondrial genome support one phylogenetic tree, but a subset of mostly amino acid-altering substitutions (primarily at the first and second codon positions) across multiple mitochondrial genes strongly supports a radically

SUBMITTER: Castoe TA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2690048 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature