Modularity patterns in mammalian domestication: Assessing developmental hypotheses for diversification.

ABSTRACT: The neural crest hypothesis posits that selection for tameness resulted in mild alterations to neural crest cells during embryonic development, which directly or indirectly caused the appearance of traits associated with the "domestication syndrome" (DS). Although representing an appealing unitary explanation for the generation of domestic phenotypes, support for this hypothesis from morphological data and for the validity of the DS remains a topic of debate. This study used the frameworks of morphological integration and modularity to assess patterns that concern the embryonic origin of the skull and issues around the neural crest hypothesis. Geometric morphometric landmarks were used to quantify cranial trait interactions between six pairs of wild and domestic mammals, comprising represe

SUBMITTER: Wilson LAB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8327948 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature