A New Evolutionary History of Primates

[n2doc]

ScienceDaily (Mar. 17, 2011) — A robust new phylogenetic tree resolves many long-standing issues in primate taxonomy. The genomes of living primates harbor remarkable differences in diversity and provide an intriguing context for interpreting human evolution. The phylogenetic analysis was conducted by international researchers to determine the origin, evolution, patterns of speciation, and unique features in genome divergence among primate lineages.

This evolutionary history will be published on March 17 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics.

The authors sequenced 54 gene regions from 186 species spanning the primate radiation. The analysis illustrates the importance of resolving complex, species-rich phylogenies using large-scale comparative genomic approach. Patterns of species and gene sequence evolution and adaptation relate not only to human genome organization and genetic disease sensitivity, but also to global emergence of zoonoses (human pathogens originating from non-human disease reservoirs), to mammalian comparative genomics, to primate taxonomy and to species conservation.

To date, available molecular genetic data applied to primate systematics has been informative, but limited in scope and constrained to just specific subsets of taxa. Now, a team of international researches from the US, Brazil, France and Germany, have provided a highly robust depiction of the divergence hierarchy, mode and tempo governing the extraordinarily divergent primate lineages. The findings illustrate events in primate evolution from ancient to recent and clarify numerous taxonomic controversies. Ongoing speciation, reticulate evolution, ancient relic lineages, unequal rates of evolution and disparate distributions of genetic insertions/deletions among the reconstructed primate lineages are uncovered.


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110317172047.htm

The molecular phylogeny of 61 Primate genera, two Dermoptera genera, and one Scandentia genus and rooted by Lagomorpha. (Credit: Polina Perelman, Warren E. Johnson, Christian Roos, Hector N. Seuánez, Julie E. Horvath, Miguel A. M. Moreira, Bailey Kessing, Joan Pontius, Melody Roelke, Yves Rumpler, Maria Paula C. Schneider, Artur Silva, Stephen J. O'Brien, Jill Pecon-Slattery. A Molecular Phylogeny of Living Primates. PLoS Genetics, 2011; 7 (3): e1001342 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1001342)

[masmdu]

1. Same info with Pictures of each would make this very useful...without pictures it is difficult to

follow.

[On the Road]

2. That is Pretty Cool

It used to be believed that humans, gorillas and chimpanzees (along with similar species) diverged about 5 million years ago. The new hierarchy puts gorillas slightly further back, which makes intuitive sense. Now that only goes down to the genus level -- speciation is another matter.

[dimbear]

3. Interesting how closely related we are to rabbits.

Just when I was getting used to being descended from tree shrews, now this. Carrot anyone?

[ChairmanAgnostic]

6. I dated this girl who . . . . never mind.

[GaYellowDawg]

4. Did anyone notice...

... that "Macaca" is closely related to "Allenopithecus"?

[ChairmanAgnostic]

5. If humans evolved from apes, why do we still see

monkeys?

Which congresscritter recently came up with that gem?