Phylogenetic and Developmental Constraints Dictate the Number of Cusps on Molars in Rodents.

ABSTRACT: Mammal tooth morphology and function correlate strongly with dietary ecology, and convergence is a major feature of mammalian tooth evolution. Yet, function and ecology are insufficient to explain morphological diversification and convergence within mammalian molar evolution; suggesting that development and phylogeny also limit possible structural solutions to selective pressures. Here, I use in silico models and empirical studies of extant and fossil rodent teeth to identify morphogenetic rules that influence molar morphology. Because rodents are the most diverse group of mammals with corresponding dental disparity they represent an excellent system for investigating how genetic interactions limit morphology. I find that lower first molars are limited to a minimum of four cusps and a maxi

SUBMITTER: Burroughs RW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6662684 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature