| 1. |
- Hill, Jason, et al.
(author)
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Low Mutation Load in a Supergene Underpinning Alternative Male Mating Strategies in Ruff (Calidris pugnax)
- 2023
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In: Molecular biology and evolution. - : Oxford University Press. - 0737-4038 .- 1537-1719. ; 40:12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A paradox in evolutionary biology is how supergenes can maintain high fitness despite reduced effective population size, the suppression of recombination, and the expected accumulation of mutational load. The ruff supergene involves 2 rare inversion haplotypes (satellite and faeder). These are recessive lethals but with dominant effects on male mating strategies, plumage, and body size. Sequence divergence to the wild-type (independent) haplotype indicates that the inversion could be as old as 4 million years. Here, we have constructed a highly contiguous genome assembly of the inversion region for both the independent and satellite haplotypes. Based on the new data, we estimate that the recombination event(s) creating the satellite haplotype occurred only about 70,000 yr ago. Contrary to expectations for supergenes, we find no substantial expansion of repeats and only a modest mutation load on the satellite and faeder haplotypes despite high sequence divergence to the non-inverted haplotype (1.46%). The essential centromere protein N (CENPN) gene is disrupted by the inversion and is as well conserved on the inversion haplotypes as on the noninversion haplotype. These results suggest that the inversion may be much younger than previously thought. The low mutation load, despite recessive lethality, may be explained by the introgression of the inversion from a now extinct lineage.
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| 2. |
- Liu, Simin, et al.
(author)
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Taxonomic revision of the Long-tailed RosefinchCarpodacus sibiricuscomplex
- 2020
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In: Journal of Ornithology. - : SPRINGER HEIDELBERG. - 2193-7192 .- 2193-7206. ; 161:4, s. 1061-1070
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Long-tailed RosefinchCarpodacus sibiricusbreeds in two widely disjunct areas in East Asia. Five subspecies are usually recognized. The plumage differences between different subspecies groups withinC. sibiricusare notable, suggesting it may actually comprise more than one species. However, proper taxonomic assessment has not been carried out, probably in part due to the scarcity and lack of museum specimens of some of these subspecies. In the current study, we re-evaluated the taxonomy of theC. sibiricuscomplex using molecular, acoustic and morphological data. Using mitochondrial DNA, the samples formed two clades, a northern clade (C. s. sibiricus,C. s. ussuriensisandC. s. sanguinolentus) and a southern clade (C. s. henriciandC. s. lepidus). We also revealed thatC. s. ussuriensisandC. s. sanguinolentusare mostly indistinguishable based on mitochondrial markers. This north/south split pattern is congruent with the pattern of plumage differences among north and south taxa. However, no diagnosable differences were found in their songs. We propose synonymizingC. s. ussuriensiswithC. s. sanguinolentus. At the species level, we suggest splitting the complex into two species, with Siberian Long-tailed RosefinchC. sibiricuscomprisingC. s. sibiricusandC. s. sanguinolentus, and Chinese Long-tailed RosefinchC. lepiduscomprisingC. l. henriciandC. l. lepidus.
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| 3. |
- Wei, Chentao, et al.
(author)
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From the Himalayas to a continental Island : Integrative species delimitation in the Brownish-flanked Bush Warbler Horornis fortipes complex
- 2019
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In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. - : ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE. - 1055-7903 .- 1095-9513. ; 131, s. 219-227
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- As species serve as basic units of study in many fields of biology, assessments of species limits are fundamental for such studies. Here, we used a multilocus dataset and different coalescent-based methods to analyze species delimitation and phylogenetic relationships in the Brownish-flanked Bush Warbler Horornis fortipes complex, which is widespread in the Sino-Himalayan region. We also examined the vocal and morphometric divergence within this complex. Our genetic results suggested that Horornis fortipes is composed of at least three independently evolving lineages, which diverged 1.1-1.8 million years ago. However, these lineages have hardly diverged in song or morphometrics and only very slightly in plumage. Our result indicate that there are three incipient species in Horonis fortipes complex diverged in central Himalayas and Hengduan Mountains, but not between the continent and Taiwan island.
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| 4. |
- Wei, Chentao, et al.
(author)
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The evolutionary origin of variation in song length and frequency in the avian family Cettiidae
- 2017
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In: Journal of Avian Biology. - : Wiley. - 0908-8857 .- 1600-048X. ; 48:10, s. 1295-1300
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aspects of bird song have been shown to correlate with morphological and ecological features, including beak and body size, and habitat. Here we study evolution of song length and song frequency among 30 species belonging to the Cettiidae. Frequency is negatively correlated with body size, and song length increases with latitude. Although migration distance correlates with latitude, the association of song length with latitude is only present within the non-migratory species, implying the association is not a consequence of migration. We place these correlations in a historical framework to show that the body size-frequency association arose early in the group, but the latitude-song length association is more evolutionarily labile. We suggest that latitudinal correlates of song length may reflect increased importance of sexual selection by female choice.
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| 5. |
- Zhang, Lei, et al.
(author)
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Discovery of a radio jet in the Cloverleaf quasar at z = 2.56
- 2023
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In: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 524:3, s. 3671-3682
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The fast growth of supermassive black holes and their feedback to the host galaxies play an important role in regulating the evolution of galaxies, especially in the early Universe. However, due to cosmological dimming and the limited angular resolution of most observations, it is difficult to resolve the feedback from the active galactic nuclei (AGNs) to their host galaxies. Gravitational lensing, for its magnification, provides a powerful tool to spatially differentiate emission originating from AGN and host galaxy at high-redshifts. Here, we report a discovery of a jet-like radio structure in a strongly lensed starburst quasar, H1413+117 or Cloverleaf at redshift z = 2.56, based on observational data at optical, submillimetre, and radio wavelengths. With both parametric and non-parametric lens models and with reconstructed images in the source plane, we find a well-separated, kpc-scaled, single-sided radio jet located at projected to the north-west of the host galaxy in the source plane. This could indicate the co-existence of feedback from the AGN by both wind and jet in the Cloverleaf quasar.
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