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The pattern of brain-size change in the early evolution of cetaceans.

ABSTRACT: Most authors have identified two rapid increases in relative brain size (encephalization quotient, EQ) in cetacean evolution: first at the origin of the modern suborders (odontocetes and mysticetes) around the Eocene-Oligocene transition, and a second at the origin of the delphinoid odontocetes during the middle Miocene. We explore how methods used to estimate brain and body mass alter this perceived timing and rate of cetacean EQ evolution. We provide new data on modern mammals (mysticetes, odontocetes, and terrestrial artiodactyls) and show that brain mass and endocranial volume scale allometrically, and that endocranial volume is not a direct proxy for brain mass. We demonstrate that inconsistencies in the methods used to estimate body size across the Eocene-Oligocene boundary have caused a spurious pattern in earlier relative brain size studies. Instead, we employ a single method, using occipital condyle width as a skeletal proxy for body mass using a new dataset of extant cetaceans, to clarify this pattern. We suggest that cetacean relative brain size is most accurately portrayed using EQs based on the scaling coefficients as observed in the closely related terrestrial artiodactyls. Finally, we include additional data for an Eocene whale, raising the sample size of Eocene archaeocetes to seven. Our analysis of fossil cetacean EQ is different from previous works which had shown that a sudden increase in EQ coincided with the origin of odontocetes at the Eocene-Oligocene boundary. Instead, our data show that brain size increased at the origin of basilosaurids, 5 million years before the Eocene-Oligocene transition, and we do not observe a significant increase in relative brain size at the origin of odontocetes.

SUBMITTER: Waugh DA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8478358 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundCetacean brain size expansion is an enigmatic event in mammalian evolution, yet its genetic basis remains poorly explored. Here, all exons of the seven primary microcephaly (MCPH) genes that play key roles in size regulation during brain development were investigated in representative cetacean lineages.ResultsSequences of MCPH2-7 genes were intact in cetaceans but frameshift mutations and stop codons was identified in MCPH1. Extensive positive selection was identified in four of six intact MCPH genes: WDR62, CDK5RAP2, CEP152, and ASPM. Specially, positive selection at CDK5RAP2 and ASPM were examined along lineages of odontocetes with increased encephalization quotients (EQ) and mysticetes with reduced EQ but at WDR62 only found along odontocete lineages. Interestingly, a positive association between evolutionary rate (ω) and EQ was identified for CDK5RAP2 and ASPM. Furthermore, we tested the binding affinities between Calmodulin (CaM) and ASPM IQ motif in cetaceans because only CaM combined with IQ, can ASPM perform the function in determining brain size. Preliminary function assay showed binding affinities between CaM and IQ motif of the odontocetes with increased EQ was stronger than for the mysticetes with decreased EQ. In addition, evolution rate of ASPM and CDK5RAP2 were significantly related to mean group size (as one measure of social complexity).ConclusionsOur study investigated the genetic basis of cetacean brain size evolution. Significant positive selection was examined along lineages with both increased and decreased EQ at CDK5RAP2 and ASPM, which is well matched with cetacean complex brain size evolution. Evolutionary rate of CDK5RAP2 and ASPM were significantly related to EQ, suggesting that these two genes may have contributed to EQ expansion in cetaceans. This suggestion was further indicated by our preliminary function test that ASPM might be mainly linked to evolutionary increases in EQ. Most strikingly, our results suggested that cetaceans evolved large brains to manage complex social systems, consisting with the 'social brain hypothesis', as evolutionary rate of ASPM and CDK5RAP2 were significantly related to mean group size.

Project description:BackgroundCetaceans exhibit an exceptionally wide range of body size, yet in this regard, their genetic basis remains poorly explored. In this study, 20 body-size-related genes for which duplication, mutation, or deficiency can cause body size change in mammals were chosen to preliminarily investigate the evolutionary mechanisms underlying the dramatic body size variation in cetaceans.ResultsWe successfully sequenced 20 body-size-related genes in six representative species of cetaceans. A total of 46 codons from 10 genes were detected and determined to be under strong positive selection, 32 (69.6%) of which were further found to be under radical physiochemical changes; moreover, some of these sites were localized in or near important functional regions. Interestingly, positively selected genes were well matched with body size evolution: for small cetaceans, strong evidence of positive selection was detected at ACAN, OBSL1, and GRB10, within which mutations or duplications could cause short stature; positive selection was found in large cetaceans at CBS and EIF2AK3, which could promote growth, and at the PLOD1 gene, within which mutations could cause tall stature. Importantly, relationship analyses revealed that the evolutionary rate of CBS was positively related to body length and body mass with statistical significance. Additionally, we identified 32 cetacean-specific amino acid changes in 10 genes.ConclusionsThis is the first study to investigate the molecular basis of dramatic body size variation in cetaceans. Our results provide evidence of the positive selection of several body-size-related genes in cetaceans, as well as divergent selection between large or small cetaceans, which suggest cetacean body size variation possibly associated with these genes. In addition, cetacean-specific amino acid changes might have played key roles in body size evolution after the divergence of cetaceans from their terrestrial relatives. Overall, the evolutionary pattern of these body-size-related genes could provide new insights into genetic mechanisms for the body size variation in cetaceans.

Project description:Abstract Brain size, brain architecture, and eye size vary extensively in vertebrates. However, the extent to which the evolution of these components is intricately connected remains unclear. Trinidadian killifish, Anablepsoides hartii, are found in sites that differ in the presence and absence of large predatory fish. Decreased rates of predation are associated with evolutionary shifts in brain size; males from sites without predators have evolved a relatively larger brain and eye size than males from sites with predators. Here, we evaluated the extent to which the evolution of brain size, brain structure, and eye size covary in male killifish. We utilized wild?caught and common garden?reared specimens to determine whether specific components of the brain have evolved in response to differences in predation and to determine if there is covariation between the evolution of brain size, brain structure, and eye size. We observed consistent shifts in brain architecture in second generation common garden reared, but not wild caught preserved fish. Male killifish from sites that lack predators exhibited a significantly larger telencephalon, optic tectum, cerebellum, and dorsal medulla when compared with fish from sites with predators. We also found positive connections between the evolution of brain structure and eye size but not between overall brain size and eye size. These results provide evidence for evolutionary covariation between the components of the brain and eye size. Such results suggest that selection, directly or indirectly, acts upon specific regions of the brain, rather than overall brain size, to enhance visual capabilities. We evaluated the extent to which the evolution of brain size, brain structure, and eye size covary in male killifish from sites that vary in predation. We found positive connections between the evolution of brain structure and eye size but not between brain size and eye size. We also found that male killifish from sites that lack predators exhibited significantly larger brain structures than those from sites with predators. These results provide evidence for evolutionary covariation between the components of the brain and eye size and that selection, directly or indirectly, acts upon specific regions of the brain, rather than overall brain size, to enhance visual capabilities.

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The pattern of brain-size change in the early evolution of cetaceans.

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