Genomic insights into body size evolution in Carnivora support Peto's paradox.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The range of body sizes in Carnivora is unparalleled in any other mammalian order-the heaviest species is 130,000 times heavier than the lightest and the longest species is 50 times longer than the shortest. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these huge differences in body size have not been explored.

Results

Herein, we performed a comparative genomics analysis of 20 carnivores to explore the evolutionary basis of the order's great variations in body size. Phylogenetic generalized least squares (PGLS) revealed that 337 genes were significantly related to both head body length and body mass; these genes were defined as body size associated genes (BSAGs). Fourteen positively-related BSAGs were found to be associated with obesity, and three of these were un

SUBMITTER: Huang X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8191207 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature