Journal Article

Genomic insights into the secondary aquatic transition of penguins

Pan, Hailin, Ellenberg, Ursula, Hart, Tom, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Technology [Adelaide, Australia] ; University of Adelaide, Ryan, Peter, G, Center for Computational and Evolutionary Biology & State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents [Beijing, China] ; Chinese Academy of Sciences [Beijing] (CAS), Zhou, Chengran, Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research ; University of Oxford, Zhang, De-Xing, Smith, Adrian L, Heath, Tracy A, Emerling, Christopher, A, Feng, Shaohong, Center for Evolutionary Hologenomicss [Copenhagen, Denmark] ; IT University of Copenhagen (ITU), British Antarctic Survey (BAS) ; Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Bouzat, Juan L, Yang, Huanming, Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé - UMR 7372 (CEBC) ; La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology ; Iowa State Univers

2022

Overview

Penguins lost the ability to fly more than 60 million years ago, subsequently evolving a hyper-specialized marine body plan. Within the framework of a genome-scale, fossil-inclusive phylogeny, we identify key geological events that shaped penguin diversification and genomic signatures consistent with widespread refugia/recolonization during major climate oscillations. We further identify a suite of genes potentially underpinning adaptations related to thermoregulation, oxygenation, diving, vision, diet, immunity and body size, which might have facilitated their remarkable secondary transition to an aquatic ecology. Our analyses indicate that penguins and their sister group (Procellariiformes) have the lowest evolutionary rates yet detected in birds. Together, these findings help improve our understanding of how penguins have transitioned to the marine environment, successfully colonizing some of the most extreme environments on Earth.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group,CCSD,Nature Publishing Group UK,Nature Portfolio
• Subject: 45 / 631/158/670 / 631/181/2474 / 631/601 / Adaptation / Aquatic ecology / Body size / Environmental Sciences / Extinct species / Extreme environments / Genomes / Genomics / Humanities and Social Sciences / Marine environment / multidisciplinary / Oscillations / Oxygenation / Penguins / Phylogeny / Recolonization / Refugia / Science / Science (multidisciplinary) / Stratigraphy / Thermoregulation