Selection-driven adaptation to the extreme Antarctic environment in the Emperor penguin.

ABSTRACT: The eco-evolutionary history of penguins is characterised by shifting from temperate to cold environments. Breeding in Antarctica, the Emperor penguin appears as an extreme outcome of this process, with unique features related to insulation, heat production and energy management. However, whether this species actually diverged from a less cold-adapted ancestor, more ecologically similar to its sister species, the King penguin, is still an open question. As the Antarctic colonisation likely resulted in vast changes in selective pressure experienced by the Emperor penguin, the relative quantification of the genomic signatures of selection, unique to each sister species, could answer this question. Applying phylogeny-based selection tests on 7651 orthologous genes, we identified a more pervas

SUBMITTER: Pirri F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9708836 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature