The genome of the green anole lizard and a comparative analysis with birds and mammals
Name
Lander_The genome.pdf
Size
1.71 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
8e24f968660e0df50b964b8e5cc63251
Author(s)
Lander, Eric Steven
Date Issued
August 2011
Journal
Nature
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Citation
Alföldi, Jessica et al. “The Genome of the Green Anole Lizard and a Comparative Analysis with Birds and Mammals.” Nature 477.7366 (2011): 587–591. Web.
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
The evolution of the amniotic egg was one of the great evolutionary innovations in the history of life, freeing vertebrates from an obligatory connection to water and thus permitting the conquest of terrestrial environments. Among amniotes, genome sequences are available for mammals and birds, but not for non-avian reptiles. Here we report the genome sequence of the North American green anole lizard, Anolis carolinensis. We find that A. carolinensis microchromosomes are highly syntenic with chicken microchromosomes, yet do not exhibit the high GC and low repeat content that are characteristic of avian microchromosomes. Also, A. carolinensis mobile elements are very young and diverse—more so than in any other sequenced amniote genome. The GC content of this lizard genome is also unusual in its homogeneity, unlike the regionally variable GC content found in mammals and birds. We describe and assign sequence to the previously unknown A. carolinensis X chromosome. Comparative gene analysis shows that amniote egg proteins have evolved significantly more rapidly than other proteins. An anole phylogeny resolves basal branches to illuminate the history of their repeated adaptive radiations.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biology
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10390