Step-wise evolution of complex chemical defenses in millipedes: a phylogenomic approach.

ABSTRACT: With fossil representatives from the Silurian capable of respiring atmospheric oxygen, millipedes are among the oldest terrestrial animals, and likely the first to acquire diverse and complex chemical defenses against predators. Exploring the origin of complex adaptive traits is critical for understanding the evolution of Earth's biological complexity, and chemical defense evolution serves as an ideal study system. The classic explanation for the evolution of complexity is by gradual increase from simple to complex, passing through intermediate "stepping stone" states. Here we present the first phylogenetic-based study of the evolution of complex chemical defenses in millipedes by generating the largest genomic-based phylogenetic dataset ever assembled for the group. Our phylogenomic resul

SUBMITTER: Rodriguez J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5816663 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature