A genomic exploration of the early evolution of extant cats and their sabre-toothed relatives
Background: The evolutionary relationships of Felidae during their Early–Middle Miocene radiation is contentious. Although the early common ancestors have been subsumed under the grade-group Pseudaelurus, this group is thought to be paraphyletic, including the early ancestors of both modern cats and...
| Autores: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Formato: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2021 |
| País: | España |
| Recursos: | Universitat Pompeu Fabra |
| Repositorio: | Repositorio Digital de la UPF |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:repositori.upf.edu:10230/48305 |
| Acesso em linha: | http://hdl.handle.net/10230/48305 http://dx.doi.org/10.12688/openreseurope.13104.2 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palavra-chave: | Smilodon Ancient DNA Genomics Gene flow Felidae Palaeogenome Phylogeny |
| Resumo: | Background: The evolutionary relationships of Felidae during their Early–Middle Miocene radiation is contentious. Although the early common ancestors have been subsumed under the grade-group Pseudaelurus, this group is thought to be paraphyletic, including the early ancestors of both modern cats and extinct sabretooths. Methods: Here, we sequenced a draft nuclear genome of Smilodon populator, dated to 13,182 ± 90 cal BP, making this the oldest palaeogenome from South America to date, a region known to be problematic for ancient DNA preservation. We analysed this genome, together with genomes from other extinct and extant cats to investigate their phylogenetic relationships. Results: We confirm a deep divergence (~20.65 Ma) within sabre-toothed cats. Through the analysis of both simulated and empirical data, we show a lack of gene flow between Smilodon and contemporary Felidae. Conclusions: Given that some species traditionally assigned to Pseudaelurus originated in the Early Miocene ~20 Ma, this indicates that some species of Pseudaelurus may be younger than the lineages they purportedly gave rise to, further supporting the hypothesis that Pseudaelurus was paraphyletic. |
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