Unique pattern of dietary adaptation in the dentition of Carnivora: its advantage and developmental origin

ABSTRACT: Carnivora is a successful taxon in terms of dietary diversity. We investigated the dietary adaptations of carnivoran dentition and the developmental background of their dental diversity, which may have contributed to the success of the lineage. A developmental model was tested and extended to explain the unique variability and exceptional phenotypes observed in carnivoran dentition. Carnivorous mammalian orders exhibited two distinct patterns of dietary adaptation in molars and only Carnivora evolved novel variability, exhibiting a high correlation between relative molar size and the shape of the first molar. Studies of Bmp7-hetero-deficient mice, which may exhibit lower Bmp7 expression, suggested that Bmp7 has pleiotropic effects on these two dental traits. Its effects are consistent with

SUBMITTER: Asahara M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4920314 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature