Comparative Genomics Reveals Accelerated Evolution in Conserved Pathways during the Diversification of Anole Lizards.

ABSTRACT: Squamates include all lizards and snakes, and display some of the most diverse and extreme morphological adaptations among vertebrates. However, compared with birds and mammals, relatively few resources exist for comparative genomic analyses of squamates, hampering efforts to understand the molecular bases of phenotypic diversification in such a speciose clade. In particular, the ∼400 species of anole lizard represent an extensive squamate radiation. Here, we sequence and assemble the draft genomes of three anole species-Anolis frenatus, Anolis auratus, and Anolis apletophallus-for comparison with the available reference genome of Anolis carolinensis. Comparative analyses reveal a rapid background rate of molecular evolution consistent with a model of punctuated equilibrium, and strong pur

SUBMITTER: Tollis M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5798147 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature