Genomic Signature of an Avian Lilliput Effect across the K-Pg Extinction.

ABSTRACT: Survivorship following major mass extinctions may be associated with a decrease in body size-a phenomenon called the Lilliput Effect. Body size is a strong predictor of many life history traits (LHTs), and is known to influence demography and intrinsic biological processes. Pronounced changes in organismal size throughout Earth history are therefore likely to be associated with concomitant genome-wide changes in evolutionary rates. Here, we report pronounced heterogeneity in rates of molecular evolution (varying up to $\sim$20-fold) across a large-scale avian phylogenomic data set and show that nucleotide substitution rates are strongly correlated with body size and metabolic rate. We also identify potential body size reductions associated with the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) transition, c

SUBMITTER: Berv JS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5837713 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature