Vulture Genomes Reveal Molecular Adaptations Underlying Obligate Scavenging and Low Levels of Genetic Diversity

	Vulture Genomes Reveal Molecular Adaptations Underlying Obligate Scavenging and Low Levels of Genetic Diversity
	Zou, Dahu; Tian, Shilin; Zhang, Tongzuo; Zhuoma, Nima; Wu, Guosheng; Wang, Muyang; Dong, Lu; Rossiter, Stephen J.; Zhao, Huabin
刊名	MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
	2021
卷号	38 期号:9
关键词	vulture conservation scavenging gastric acid immune system
英文摘要	Obligate scavenging on the dead and decaying animal matter is a rare dietary specialization that in extant vertebrates is restricted to vultures. These birds perform essential ecological services, yet many vulture species have undergone recent steep population declines and are now endangered. To test for molecular adaptations underlying obligate scavenging in vultures, and to assess whether genomic features might have contributed to their population declines, we generated high-quality genomes of the Himalayan and bearded vultures, representing both independent origins of scavenging within the Accipitridae, alongside a sister taxon, the upland buzzard. By comparing our data to published sequences from other birds, we show that the evolution of obligate scavenging in vultures has been accompanied by widespread positive selection acting on genes underlying gastric acid production, and immunity. Moreover, we find evidence of parallel molecular evolution, with amino acid replacements shared among divergent lineages of these scavengers. Our genome-wide screens also reveal that both the Himalayan and bearded vultures exhibit low levels of genetic diversity, equating to around a half of the mean genetic diversity of other bird genomes examined. However, demographic reconstructions indicate that population declines began at around the Last Glacial Maximum, predating the well-documented dramatic declines of the past three decades. Taken together, our genomic analyses imply that vultures harbor unique adaptations for processing carrion, but that modern populations are genetically depauperate and thus especially vulnerable to further genetic erosion through anthropogenic activities.
内容类型	期刊论文
源URL	[http://210.75.249.4/handle/363003/60727]
专题	西北高原生物研究所_中国科学院西北高原生物研究所
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Zou, Dahu,Tian, Shilin,Zhang, Tongzuo,et al. Vulture Genomes Reveal Molecular Adaptations Underlying Obligate Scavenging and Low Levels of Genetic Diversity[J]. MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION,2021,38(9).
APA	Zou, Dahu.,Tian, Shilin.,Zhang, Tongzuo.,Zhuoma, Nima.,Wu, Guosheng.,...&Zhao, Huabin.(2021).Vulture Genomes Reveal Molecular Adaptations Underlying Obligate Scavenging and Low Levels of Genetic Diversity.MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION,38(9).
MLA	Zou, Dahu,et al."Vulture Genomes Reveal Molecular Adaptations Underlying Obligate Scavenging and Low Levels of Genetic Diversity".MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION 38.9(2021).