Convergent and lineage-specific genomic differences in limb regulatory elements in limbless reptile lineages

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

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Abstract

Loss of limbs evolved many times in squamate reptiles. Here we investigated the genomic basis of convergent limb loss in reptiles. We sequenced the genomes of a closely related pair of limbless-limbed gymnophthalmid lizards and performed a comparative genomic analysis including five snakes and the limbless glass lizard. Our analysis of these three independent limbless lineages revealed that signatures of shared sequence or transcription factor binding site divergence in individual limb regulatory elements are generally rare. Instead, shared divergence occurs more often at the level of signaling pathways, involving different regulatory elements associated with the same limb genes (such as Hand2 or Hox) and/or patterning mechanisms (such as Shh signaling). Interestingly, although snakes are known to have mutations in the Shh ZRS limb enhancer, this enhancer lacks relevant mutations in limbless lizards. Thus, different mechanisms could contribute to limb loss, and there are likely multiple evolutionary paths to limblessness in reptiles.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number110280
Pages (from-to)110280
JournalCell reports
Volume38
Issue number3
Publication statusPublished - 18 Jan 2022
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 85122922063
WOS 000766198400001
ORCID /0000-0003-4306-930X/work/141545245
ORCID /0000-0003-1494-1162/work/142255064

Keywords

DFG Classification of Subject Areas according to Review Boards

Subject groups, research areas, subject areas according to Destatis

Keywords

  • Animals, Biological Evolution, Extremities, Genomics, Phylogeny, Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid/genetics, Reptiles/anatomy & histology, Transcriptome, Developmental basis, Enhancer, Sonic-hedgehog, Phylogenetic analysis, Gene-regulation, Body-form, Vertebrate, Dna elements, Evolution, Molecular-basis

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