Widespread nocturnality of living birds stemming from their common ancestor.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Many living birds exhibit some nocturnal activity, but the genetic basis and evolutionary origins of their nocturnality remain unknown.

Results

Here, we used a molecular phyloecological approach to analyze the adaptive evolution of 33 phototransduction genes in diverse bird lineages. Our results suggest that functional enhancement of two night-vision genes, namely, GRK1 and SLC24A1, underlies the nocturnal adaption of living birds. Further analyses showed that the diel activity patterns of birds have remained relatively unchanged since their common ancestor, suggesting that the widespread nocturnal activity of many living birds may largely stem from their common ancestor rather than independent evolution. Despite this evolutionary conservation of diel activity pat

SUBMITTER: Wu Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6794809 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature