Genomic basis for skin phenotype and cold adaptation in the extinct Steller's sea cow

• Steller's sea cow, an extinct sirenian and one of the largest Quaternary mammals, was described by Georg Steller in 1741 and eradicated by humans within 27 years. Here, we complement Steller's descriptions with paleogenomic data from 12 individuals. We identified convergent evolution between Steller's sea cow and cetaceans but not extant sirenians, suggesting a role of several genes in adaptation to cold aquatic (or marine) environments. Among these are inactivations of lipoxygenase genes, which in humans and mouse models cause ichthyosis, a skin disease characterized by a thick, hyperkeratotic epidermis that recapitulates Steller's sea cows' reportedly bark-like skin. We also found that Steller's sea cows' abundance was continuously declining for tens of thousands of years before their description, implying that environmental changes also contributed to their extinction. 

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Mammals

Aquatic environments

Convergent evolution

Environmental change

Genomics

Human modelling

Lipoxygenases

Marine environment

Mice models

Skin disease

Genes

animal

bovine

Dugong

female

mammal

mouse

phenotype

Animals

Cattle

Mice

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)