Divergent and parallel routes of biochemical adaptation in high-altitude passerine birds from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

ABSTRACT: When different species experience similar selection pressures, the probability of evolving similar adaptive solutions may be influenced by legacies of evolutionary history, such as lineage-specific changes in genetic background. Here we test for adaptive convergence in hemoglobin (Hb) function among high-altitude passerine birds that are native to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and we examine whether convergent increases in Hb-O₂ affinity have a similar molecular basis in different species. We documented that high-altitude parid and aegithalid species from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau have evolved derived increases in Hb-O₂ affinity in comparison with their closest lowland relatives in East Asia. However, convergent increases in Hb-O₂ affinity and convergence in u

SUBMITTER: Zhu X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5828625 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature