Roles of dental development and adaptation in rodent evolution

Helder Gomes Rodrigues (), Sabrina Renaud, Cyril Charles, Yann Le Poul, Floréal Solé, Jean-Pierre Aguilar, Jacques Michaux, Paul Tafforeau, Denis Headon, Jukka Jernvall and Laurent Viriot
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Helder Gomes Rodrigues: Team ‘Evo-Devo of Vertebrate Dentition’, Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon, ENS de Lyon, Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, CNRS, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon
Sabrina Renaud: Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, CNRS, Bâtiment Mendel
Cyril Charles: Team ‘Evo-Devo of Vertebrate Dentition’, Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon, ENS de Lyon, Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, CNRS, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon
Yann Le Poul: Team ‘Evo-Devo of Vertebrate Dentition’, Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon, ENS de Lyon, Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, CNRS, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon
Floréal Solé: Team ‘Evo-Devo of Vertebrate Dentition’, Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon, ENS de Lyon, Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, CNRS, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon
Jean-Pierre Aguilar: Laboratoire de Paléontologie, Institut des Sciences de l’Évolution, Université Montpellier 2
Jacques Michaux: Laboratoire de Paléontologie, Institut des Sciences de l’Évolution, Université Montpellier 2
Paul Tafforeau: European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF)
Denis Headon: The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh
Jukka Jernvall: Developmental Biology Program, Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki
Laurent Viriot: Team ‘Evo-Devo of Vertebrate Dentition’, Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon, ENS de Lyon, Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, CNRS, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon

Nature Communications, 2013, vol. 4, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract In paleontology, many changes affecting morphology, such as tooth shape in mammals, are interpreted as ecological adaptations that reflect important selective events. Despite continuing studies, the identification of the genetic bases and key ecological drivers of specific mammalian dental morphologies remains elusive. Here we focus on the genetic and functional bases of stephanodonty, a pattern characterized by longitudinal crests on molars that arose in parallel during the diversification of murine rodents. We find that overexpression of Eda or Edar is sufficient to produce the longitudinal crests defining stephanodonty in transgenic laboratory mice. Whereas our dental microwear analyses show that stephanodonty likely represents an adaptation to highly fibrous diet, the initial and parallel appearance of stephanodonty may have been facilitated by developmental processes, without being necessarily under positive selection. This study demonstrates how combining development and function can help to evaluate adaptive scenarios in the evolution of new morphologies.

Date: 2013
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms3504

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