Mitogenomic analysis of extant condor species provides insight into the molecular evolution of vultures

Abstract

The evolution of large vultures linked to mountainous habitats was accompanied by extreme physiological and behavioral specializations for energetically efficient flights. However, little is known on the genetic traits associated with the evolution of these obligate soaring scavengers. Mitochondrial DNA plays a vital role in regulating oxidative stress and energy production, and hence may be an important target of selection for flight performance. Herein, we characterized the first mitogenomes of the Andean and California condors, the world’s heaviest flying birds and the only living representatives of the Vultur and Gymnogyps genus. We reconstructed the phylogenetic relationships and evaluated possible footprints of convergent evolution associated to the life-history traits and distributional range of vultures. Our phylogenomic analyses supported the independent evolution of vultures, with the origin of Cathartidae in the early Paleogene (~ 61 Mya), and estimated the radiation of extant condors during the late Miocene (~ 11 Mya). Selection analyses indicated that vultures exhibit signals of relaxation of purifying selection relative to other accipitrimorph raptors, possibly indicating the degeneration of flapping flight ability. Overall, our results suggest that the extreme specialization of vultures for efficient soaring flight has compensated the evolution of large body sizes mitigating the selection pressure on mtDNA.

Effect of locomotor preference on the evolution of mitochondrial genes in Bovidae

“…If any ω were unexpectedly small or large (approaching zero indefinitely or tending toward infinity), we labeled them as “NA” in Table S3 ; “NA” was not included in our analyses. These extreme ω occur mainly owing to high saturation or low substitution values 26 . The specific reasons mainly include: (1) most of the genes are not prone to accumulate nucleotide substitutions; (2) PCGs of mitochondrial genes are highly conserved and not prone to frequent mutations 27 , 28 .…”

Postcranial skeletal pneumaticity innon‐aquaticneoavians: Insights from accipitrimorphae

“…Accipitrimorphae is composed of several groups of birds of prey including "Old and New World" vultures, the Secretary Bird, the Osprey, eagles, hawks, harriers, and kites (Jarvis et al, 2014;Mindell et al, 2018). Molecular divergence estimates place the origin of this large clade at approximately 60-70 million years ago (De Panis et al, 2021;Jarvis et al, 2014;Johnson et al, 2016), with most phylogenetic hypotheses supporting the Strigiformes (owls)-Coraciimorphae (rollers, woodpeckers, hornbills, etc.) pairing as its sister clades among Telluraves (Jarvis et al, 2014).…”