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Mesozoic retroposons reveal parrots as the closest living relatives of passerine birds

Author

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  • Alexander Suh

    (Institute of Experimental Pathology (ZMBE), University of Münster)

  • Martin Paus

    (Institute of Experimental Pathology (ZMBE), University of Münster)

  • Martin Kiefmann

    (Institute of Experimental Pathology (ZMBE), University of Münster)

  • Gennady Churakov

    (Institute of Experimental Pathology (ZMBE), University of Münster)

  • Franziska Anni Franke

    (Molecular Evolution and Systematics of Animals, Institute for Biology II, University of Leipzig
    Auburn University, 101 Life Science Building, Auburn, Alabama 36849, USA.)

  • Jürgen Brosius

    (Institute of Experimental Pathology (ZMBE), University of Münster)

  • Jan Ole Kriegs

    (Institute of Experimental Pathology (ZMBE), University of Münster
    LWL-Museum für Naturkunde, Westfälisches Landesmuseum mit Planetarium)

  • Jürgen Schmitz

    (Institute of Experimental Pathology (ZMBE), University of Münster)

Abstract

The relationships of passerines (such as the well-studied zebra finch) with non-passerine birds is one of the great enigmas of avian phylogenetic research, because decades of extensive morphological and molecular studies yielded highly inconsistent results between and within data sets. Here we show the first application of the virtually homoplasy-free retroposon insertions to this controversy. Our study examined ~200,000 retroposon-containing loci from various avian genomes and retrieved 51 markers resolving early bird phylogeny. Among these, we obtained statistically significant evidence that parrots are the closest and falcons the second-closest relatives of passerines, together constituting the Psittacopasserae and the Eufalconimorphae, respectively. Our new and robust phylogenetic framework has substantial implications for the interpretation of various conclusions drawn from passerines as model organisms. This includes insights of relevance to human neuroscience, as vocal learning (that is, birdsong) probably evolved in the psittacopasseran ancestor, >30 million years earlier than previously assumed.

Suggested Citation

  • Alexander Suh & Martin Paus & Martin Kiefmann & Gennady Churakov & Franziska Anni Franke & Jürgen Brosius & Jan Ole Kriegs & Jürgen Schmitz, 2011. "Mesozoic retroposons reveal parrots as the closest living relatives of passerine birds," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 2(1), pages 1-7, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:2:y:2011:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms1448
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1448
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    Cited by:

    1. Md Shamsuzzoha Bayzid & Siavash Mirarab & Bastien Boussau & Tandy Warnow, 2015. "Weighted Statistical Binning: Enabling Statistically Consistent Genome-Scale Phylogenetic Analyses," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(6), pages 1-40, June.
    2. Pahl, Cameron C. & Ruedas, Luis A., 2021. "Carnosaurs as Apex Scavengers: Agent-based simulations reveal possible vulture analogues in late Jurassic Dinosaurs," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 458(C).
    3. Andrej Kuritzin & Tabea Kischka & Jürgen Schmitz & Gennady Churakov, 2016. "Incomplete Lineage Sorting and Hybridization Statistics for Large-Scale Retroposon Insertion Data," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(3), pages 1-20, March.

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