Fish lateral line innovation: insights into the evolutionary genomic dynamics of a unique mechanosensory organ.

ABSTRACT: The mechanosensory lateral line, found only in fishes and amphibians, is an important sense organ associated with aquatic life. Lateral line patterns differ among teleost, the most diverse vertebrate taxa, hypothetically in response to selective pressures from different aquatic habitats. In this article, we conduct evolutionary genomic analyses of 34 genes associated with lateral line system development in teleosts to elucidate the significance of contrasting evolutionary rates and changes in the protein coding sequences. We find that duplicated copies of these genes are preferentially retained in the teleost genomes and that episodic events of positive selection have occurred in 22 of the 30 postduplication branches. In general, teleost genes evolved at a faster rate relative to their tet

SUBMITTER: Philip S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3494275 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature