Demographic history and genomic response to environmental changes in a rapid radiation of wild rats
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
For organisms to survive and prosper in a harsh environment, particularly under rapid climate change, poses tremendous challenges. Recent studies have highlighted the continued loss of megafauna in terrestrial ecosystems and the subsequent surge of small mammals, such as rodents, bats, lagomorphs, and insectivores. However, the ecological partitioning of these animals will likely lead to large variation in their responses to environmental change. In the present study, we investigated the evolutionary history and genetic adaptations of white-bellied rats (Niviventer Marshall, 1976), which are widespread in the natural terrestrial ecosystems in Asia but also known as important zoonotic pathogen vectors and transmitters. The southeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QHTP) was inferred as the origin center of this genus, with parallel diversification in temperate and tropical niches. Demographic history analyses from mitochondrial and nuclear sequences of Niviventer demonstrated population size increases and range expansion for species in Southeast Asia, and habitat generalists elsewhere. Unexpectedly, population increases were seen in N. eha, which inhabits the highest elevation among Niviventer species. Genome scans of nuclear exons revealed that among the congeneric species, N. eha has the largest number of positively selected genes. Protein functions of these genes are mainly related to olfaction, taste and tumor suppression. Extensive genetic modification presents a major strategy in response to global changes in these alpine species.
Date Issued
2021-05-01
Date Acceptance
2020-12-17
Citation
Molecular Biology and Evolution, 2021, 38 (5), pp.1905-1923
ISSN
0737-4038
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Start Page
1905
End Page
1923
Journal / Book Title
Molecular Biology and Evolution
Volume
38
Issue
5
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com
License URL
Sponsor
The Royal Society
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33386846
PII: 6059228
Grant Number
NA150142
Subjects
Evolution
Murinae
Phylogenomics
demographic history
micromammals
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
United States
Date Publish Online
2021-01-02