Dados do Trabalho

Título

Pleiotropy Drives Evolution of Derived Dwarfism and  Exudivory in Eastern Brazilian Marmosets (Callithrix)

Corpo do texto

As members of the Callitrichidea family, Callithrix marmosets are considered unique among monkeys by being among the smallest anthropoid primates in the world, obligatorily birthing  twins, and consuming tree gums to some level. During their evolution,  Callithrix species have experienced further miniaturization from their most common recent ancestor and evolved into highly specialized exudivores. In this work, we conduct the most complete genomic analysis of Callithrix, by combining low coverage whole genome data from five Callithrix species. Through the Callithrix species tree, we show that C. aurita is among the oldest of the Callithrix species, and C. penicillata/ C. jacchus are the youngest. Analysis of the genomic diversity of Callithrix species shows that despite its highly endangered status, C. aurita still maintains diversity levels comparable to that of other marmoset species. However, C. aurita is relatively genetically distinct from C. jacchus, C. penicillata, C. kuhlii, and C. geoffroyi, and our genomic data uphold the division of Callithrix into the ‘aurita’ and ‘jacchus’ subgroups. We also identified numerous candidate speciation genes which provide, for the first time, a genetic basis to the distinctive traits of Callithrix species. Candidate genes point to likely natural selection on genes involved with insulin and fat metabolism, crania-facial morphology, as well as body development and growth, and several candidate genes are pleiotropic in their effect on metabolism and development. These changes were likely driven by the migration of Callithrix from the nutrient abundant Atlantic Forest into the more nutrient restricted semi-arid biomes. Our data corroborate previous studies that suggest that  C. penicillata and C. jacchus likely originate in Brazil’s semi-arid regions. Further, our data show that C. penicillata and C. jacchus specifically evolved to survive in semi-arid regions, which owes to their success in successfully colonising other types of habitats. 

Financiadores

Brazilian CNPq Jovens Talentos Postdoctoral Fellowship (302044/2014–0), Brazilian CNPq DCR grant (300264/2018–6), American Society of Primatologists Conservation Small Grant, a Marie-Curie Individual Fellowship (AMD-793641-4), Goldberg Reserach Grant, International Primatological Society Research Grant

Palavras-chave

Callithrix, exudivore, Caatinga, Cerrado, marmoset, Atlantic Forest, whole genome sequencing