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Phylogenomic data analyses provide evidence that Xenarthra and Sfrotheria are sister groups

Hallström, Björn LU ; Kullberg, Morgan LU ; Nilsson, Maria LU and Janke, Axel LU (2007) In Molecular biology and evolution 24(9). p.2059-2068
Abstract
The phylogenetic positions of the 4 clades, Euarchontoglires, Laurasiatheria, Afrotheria, and Xenarthra, have been major issues in the recent discussion of basal relationships among placental mammals. However, despite considerable efforts these relationships, crucial to the understanding of eutherian evolution and biogeography, have remained essentially unresolved. Euarchontoglires and Laurasiatheria are generally joined into a common clade (Boreoeutheria), whereas the position of Afrotheria and Xenarthra relative to Boreoeutheria has been equivocal in spite of the use of comprehensive amounts of nuclear encoded sequences or the application of genome-level characters such as retroposons. The probable reason for this uncertainty is that the... (More)
The phylogenetic positions of the 4 clades, Euarchontoglires, Laurasiatheria, Afrotheria, and Xenarthra, have been major issues in the recent discussion of basal relationships among placental mammals. However, despite considerable efforts these relationships, crucial to the understanding of eutherian evolution and biogeography, have remained essentially unresolved. Euarchontoglires and Laurasiatheria are generally joined into a common clade (Boreoeutheria), whereas the position of Afrotheria and Xenarthra relative to Boreoeutheria has been equivocal in spite of the use of comprehensive amounts of nuclear encoded sequences or the application of genome-level characters such as retroposons. The probable reason for this uncertainty is that the divergences took place long time ago and within a narrow temporal window, leaving only short common branches. With the aim of further examining basal eutherian relationships, we have collected conserved protein-coding sequences from 11 placental mammals, a marsupial and a bird, whose nuclear genomes have been largely sequenced. The length of the alignment of homologous sequences representing each individual species is 2,168,859 nt. This number of sites, representing 2840 protein-coding genes, exceeds by a considerable margin that of any previous study. The phylogenetic analysis joined Xenarthra and Afrotheria on a common branch, Attantogenata. This topology was found to fit the data significantly better than the alternative trees. (Less)
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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
phylogenomics, Afrotheria, atlantogenata, placental mammals, Xenarthra, phylogeny
in
Molecular biology and evolution
volume
24
issue
9
pages
2059 - 2068
publisher
Oxford University Press
external identifiers
  • wos:000249587200017
  • scopus:34548448442
ISSN
0737-4038
DOI
10.1093/molbev/msm136
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
dcd87891-1088-4cdd-af3f-034374443876 (old id 656482)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 12:27:38
date last changed
2022-03-29 01:13:32
@article{dcd87891-1088-4cdd-af3f-034374443876,
  abstract     = {{The phylogenetic positions of the 4 clades, Euarchontoglires, Laurasiatheria, Afrotheria, and Xenarthra, have been major issues in the recent discussion of basal relationships among placental mammals. However, despite considerable efforts these relationships, crucial to the understanding of eutherian evolution and biogeography, have remained essentially unresolved. Euarchontoglires and Laurasiatheria are generally joined into a common clade (Boreoeutheria), whereas the position of Afrotheria and Xenarthra relative to Boreoeutheria has been equivocal in spite of the use of comprehensive amounts of nuclear encoded sequences or the application of genome-level characters such as retroposons. The probable reason for this uncertainty is that the divergences took place long time ago and within a narrow temporal window, leaving only short common branches. With the aim of further examining basal eutherian relationships, we have collected conserved protein-coding sequences from 11 placental mammals, a marsupial and a bird, whose nuclear genomes have been largely sequenced. The length of the alignment of homologous sequences representing each individual species is 2,168,859 nt. This number of sites, representing 2840 protein-coding genes, exceeds by a considerable margin that of any previous study. The phylogenetic analysis joined Xenarthra and Afrotheria on a common branch, Attantogenata. This topology was found to fit the data significantly better than the alternative trees.}},
  author       = {{Hallström, Björn and Kullberg, Morgan and Nilsson, Maria and Janke, Axel}},
  issn         = {{0737-4038}},
  keywords     = {{phylogenomics; Afrotheria; atlantogenata; placental mammals; Xenarthra; phylogeny}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{9}},
  pages        = {{2059--2068}},
  publisher    = {{Oxford University Press}},
  series       = {{Molecular biology and evolution}},
  title        = {{Phylogenomic data analyses provide evidence that Xenarthra and Sfrotheria are sister groups}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msm136}},
  doi          = {{10.1093/molbev/msm136}},
  volume       = {{24}},
  year         = {{2007}},
}