Relations of fish and tetrapods

Hedges, S. Blair; Hass, Carla Ann; Maxson, Linda R.

doi:10.1038/363501b0

Cited by 91 publications

(61 citation statements)

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“…Several studies have recently pointed out the poor performance of individual mitochondrial genes (or fragments of them) in recovering the precise phylogenetic relationships of vertebrate taxa at a deep-branch level and consequently the need of analyzing larger data sets (Cummings et al 1995;Russo et al 1996;Zardoya and Meyer 1996b). Hedges et al (1993) claimed to have found stronger support for the lungfish+tetrapod clade based on an analysis of the complete 12S and 16S rRNA mitochondrial genes (Fig. 4).…”

Section: Lungfishes As Closest Living Sister Group Of Tetrapodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore due to the incomplete sampling of species these studies could not discriminate among any of the three competing hypotheses (reviewed in Meyer 1995). During the past ten years, however, mitochondrial and nuclear sequences have been collected from both the coelacanth and the lungfishes with the explicit goal of resolving this phylogenetic issue (e.g., Gorr et al 1991;Hedges et al 1993;Meyer and Dolven 1992;Meyer and Wilson 1990;Fig. 4).…”

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“…C) Maximum parsimony analysis of a mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene fragment (Meyer and Dolven 1992). D) Neighbor-joining analysis of the complete mitochondrial 12S and 16S rRNA genes (Hedges et al 1993). E) Maximum likelihood analysis of the complete mitochondrial COI gene (at the amino acid level; Yokobori et al 1994).…”

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Molecular Phylogenetic Information on the Identity of the Closest Living Relative(s) of Land Vertebrates

Zardoya

Meyer

1997

Naturwissenschaften

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The phylogenetic position of tetrapods relative to the other two living sarcopterygian lineages (lungfishes and the coelacanth) has been subject to debate for many decades, yet remains unresolved. There are three possible alternatives for the phylogenetic relationships among these three living lineages of sarcopterygians, i.e., lungfish as living sister group of tetrapods, the coelacanth as closest living relative of tetrapods, and lungfish and coelacanth equally closely related to tetrapods. To resolve this important evolutionary question several molecular data sets have been collected in recent years, the largest being the almost complete 28S rRNA gene sequences (about 3500 bp) and the complete mitochondrial genomes of the coelacanth and a lungfish (about 16 500 bp each). Phylogenetic analyses of several molecular data sets had not provided unequivocal support for any of the three hypotheses. However, a lungfish+tetrapod or a lungfish+coelacanth clade were predominantly favored over a coelacanth+tetrapod grouping when the entire mitochondrial genomes alone or in combination with the nuclear 28S rRNA gene data were analyzed with maximum parsimony, neighbor-joining, and maximum likelihood phylogenetic methods. Also, current paleontological and morphological data seem to concur with these molecular results. Therefore the currently available molecular data seems to rule out a coelacanth+tetrapod relationship, the traditional textbook hypothesis. These tentative molecular phylogenetic results point to the inherent difficulty in resolving relationships among lineages which apparently originated in rapid succession during the Devonian.Correspondence to: A. Meyer Present address: 1 Museo nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Jose Gutierrez Abascal, 2, E-28006 Madrid, Spain 2 Department of Biology, University of Constance, Postfach 5560, D-78457 Constance, Germany; e-mail: axel.meyer@uni.konstanz.de T he transition from life in water to life on land was perhaps one of the most significant events in the evolution of vertebrates (e.g. Panchen and Smithson 1987). This major evolutionary transition involved many sweeping morphological (e.g., evolution of limbs and air breathing), physiological, and behavioral changes, but nonetheless it seems to have taken place within an astonishingly short period of time of only 10-20 million years (Carroll 1988;Maisey 1996;Cloutier and Ahlberg 1996). It is well established that the early tetrapods evolved from lobe-finned fishes (Sarcopterygii) and not from rayfinned fishes (Actinopterygii; e.g., Romer 1966). However, due to the general scarcity of fossils, and the difficulty in character definitions, hence homology assignments, it has been highly controversial which lineage of the sarcopterygians is the one most closely related to land vertebrates (Cloutier and Ahlberg 1996;Forey 1988;Schultze 1994; for a review see Meyer 1995). Sarcopterygians are currently divided into three major groups (Table 1): Rhipidistia, Actinistia, and Dipnoi (e.g., Carroll 1988; Schultze 1994; Table 1). Rhipidisti...

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Section: Lungfishes As Closest Living Sister Group Of Tetrapodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Molecular Phylogenetic Information on the Identity of the Closest Living Relative(s) of Land Vertebrates

Zardoya

Meyer

1997

Naturwissenschaften

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“…Since its discovery, many comparative morphologists and paleontologists considered the coelacanth to be the closest living relative of the land vertebrates (1)(2)(3)(4), although the lungfish were historically thought, and continued to be thought by some researchers, to hold that claim. More recently, however, several analyses began to challenge the sistergroup relationship between the coelacanth and the tetrapods, first on morphological and paleontological grounds (5-7) and later based on molecular phylogenetic analyses (8,9). Palaeontological studies are limited to studying morphological features, and strong phylogenetic inferences are often hindered because of missing data in incomplete fossils.…”

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Nuclear protein-coding genes support lungfish and not the coelacanth as the closest living relatives of land vertebrates

Brinkmann

Venkatesh

Brenner

et al. 2004

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

169

115

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The colonization of land by tetrapod ancestors is one of the major questions in the evolution of vertebrates. Despite intense molecular phylogenetic research on this problem during the last 15 years, there is, until now, no statistically supported answer to the question of whether coelacanths or lungfish are the closest living relatives of tetrapods. We determined DNA sequences of the nuclear-encoded recombination activating genes (Rag1 and Rag2) from all three major lungfish groups, the Australian Neoceratodis forsteri, the South American Lepidosiren paradoxa and the African lungfish Protopterus dolloi, and the Indonesian coelacanth Latimeria menadoensis. Phylogenetic analyses of both the single gene and the concatenated data sets of RAG1 and RAG2 found that the lungfishes are the closest living relatives of the land vertebrates. These results are supported by high bootstrap values, Bayesian posterior probabilities, and likelihood ratio tests.S ince the discovery in 1938 of the ''living fossil,'' the coelacanth Latimeria chalumnae, a representative of a group of lobe-finned fish thought to have gone extinct Ϸ80 million years ago (1, 2), there has been remarkable interest in this legendary fish by the public and scientists alike. However, the evolutionary relationships of the coelacanths to the other two living groups of lobe-finned fish (Sarcopterygii), the lungfish (Dipnoi), and the land vertebrates (Tetrapoda) remain debated until today. Since its discovery, many comparative morphologists and paleontologists considered the coelacanth to be the closest living relative of the land vertebrates (1-4), although the lungfish were historically thought, and continued to be thought by some researchers, to hold that claim. More recently, however, several analyses began to challenge the sistergroup relationship between the coelacanth and the tetrapods, first on morphological and paleontological grounds (5-7) and later based on molecular phylogenetic analyses (8,9). Palaeontological studies are limited to studying morphological features, and strong phylogenetic inferences are often hindered because of missing data in incomplete fossils. The most recent paleontological evidence demonstrated that the lungfish represent an ancient lineage and that several of the features defining this group remained highly conserved throughout the entire evolutionary history of land vertebrates (10). The majority of palaeontological studies published during the last decade suggest that lungfish (Dipnoi) are the closest living relatives of the tetrapods or, alternatively, that coelacanths and lungfish form a monophyletic group that is equally closely related to the land vertebrates (11,12).A wealth of molecular phylogenetic studies addressed the tetrapod origin question, first based on mitochondrial DNA data by using partial gene sequences, single genes, or a few genes, and more recently, based on complete mitochondrial genomes (9,(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18). Most of these mitochondria-based molecular phylogenetic studies favored the lungfish a...

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“…* MATERIAL AND METHODS Complete sequences of three adjacent mitochondrial genes (12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, tRNAval) were obtained from a crocodilian (Alligator mississippiensis), a lizard (Sceloporus undulatus), a sphenodontid (Sphenodon punctatus), and a turtle (Trachemys scripta) and compared with tetrapod sequences available in the data bases: bird (Gallus gallus), mouse (Mus musculus), rat (Rattus norvegicus), cow (Bos taurus), whale (Balaenoptera physalus), seal (Phoca vitulina), human (Homo sapiens), and frog (Xenopus laevis). The three published lungfish sequences (10) were included to root the tree.…”

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Molecular evidence for the origin of birds.

Hedges

1994

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

243

113

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The major groups of amniote vertebrates appeared during a relatively short time span at the end of the Paleozoic Era, a fact that has caused difficulty in estimating their relationships. The fossil record suggests that crocodilans are the closest living relatives ofbirds. However, morphological characters and molecular sequence data from living amniotes have repeatedly chaflenged this hypothesis by indicating a bird-mammal relationship. DNA sequences from four slowevolving genes (mitochondrial 12S and 16S rRNA, tRNAVaI, and nuclear a-enolase) now provide strong statistical support for a bird-crocodillan relationship.

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Relations of fish and tetrapods

Cited by 91 publications

References 9 publications

Molecular Phylogenetic Information on the Identity of the Closest Living Relative(s) of Land Vertebrates

Molecular Phylogenetic Information on the Identity of the Closest Living Relative(s) of Land Vertebrates

Nuclear protein-coding genes support lungfish and not the coelacanth as the closest living relatives of land vertebrates

Molecular evidence for the origin of birds.

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