ArticleBMC evolutionary biology2019
Insights into body size variation in cetaceans from the evolution of body-size-related genes.
Article in BMC evolutionary biology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Genomic Insights Into the Body Size Evolution in Felidae (Mammalia: Carnivora).Ecology and evolution · 2026Article
- Insight Into Body Size Evolution in Aves: Based on Some Body Size-Related Genes.Integrative zoology · 2025Article
- Genomic Insights Into the Body Size Evolution in Mustelidae (Mammalia: Carnivora).Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Transcriptome remodelling and changes in growth and cardiometabolic phenotype result following Grb10a knockdown in the early life of the zebrafish.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2025Article
- Genomic insights into the mechanisms of body size evolution in Serpentes.BMC genomics · 2025Article
- Uncovering genomic diversity and signatures of selection in red Angus × Chinese red steppe crossbred cattle population.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Genetic mechanism of body size variation in groupers: Insights from phylotranscriptomics.Zoological research · 2024Article
- Patterns of enrichment and acceleration in evolutionary rates of promoters suggest a role of regulatory regions in cetacean gigantism.BMC ecology and evolution · 2023Article
- Identification of Candidate Genes and Functional Pathways Associated with Body Size Traits in Chinese Holstein Cattle Based on GWAS Analysis.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Article
- The molecular evolution of genes previously associated with large sizes reveals possible pathways to cetacean gigantism.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Assessing data bias in visual surveys from a cetacean monitoring programme.Scientific data · 2022Article
- Positive selection and gene duplications in tumour suppressor genes reveal clues about how cetaceans resist cancer.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2021Article
- Rapid morphological divergence following a human-mediated introduction: the role of drift and directional selection.Heredity · 2020Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCetaceans exhibit an exceptionally wide range of body size, yet in this regard, their genetic basis remains poorly explored. In this study, 20 body-size-related genes for which duplication, mutation, or deficiency can cause body size change in mammals were chosen to preliminarily investigate the evolutionary mechanisms underlying the dramatic body size variation in cetaceans.
resultsWe successfully sequenced 20 body-size-related genes in six representative species of cetaceans. A total of 46 codons from 10 genes were detected and determined to be under strong positive selection, 32 (69.6%) of which were further found to be under radical physiochemical changes; moreover, some of these sites were localized in or near important functional regions. Interestingly, positively selected genes were well matched with body size evolution: for small cetaceans, strong evidence of positive selection was detected at ACAN, OBSL1, and GRB10, within which mutations or duplications could cause short stature; positive selection was found in large cetaceans at CBS and EIF2AK3, which could promote growth, and at the PLOD1 gene, within which mutations could cause tall stature. Importantly, relationship analyses revealed that the evolutionary rate of CBS was positively related to body length and body mass with statistical significance. Additionally, we identified 32 cetacean-specific amino acid changes in 10 genes.
conclusionsThis is the first study to investigate the molecular basis of dramatic body size variation in cetaceans. Our results provide evidence of the positive selection of several body-size-related genes in cetaceans, as well as divergent selection between large or small cetaceans, which suggest cetacean body size variation possibly associated with these genes. In addition, cetacean-specific amino acid changes might have played key roles in body size evolution after the divergence of cetaceans from their terrestrial relatives. Overall, the evolutionary pattern of these body-size-related genes could provide new insights into genetic mechanisms for the body size variation in cetaceans.
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