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A genomic exploration of the early evolution of extant cats and their sabre-toothed relatives.

Michael V WestburyRoss BarnettMarcela Sandoval-VelascoGraham GowerFilipe Garrett VieiraMarc de ManuelAnders Johannes HansenNobuyuki YamaguchiLars WerdelinTomas Marques-BonetMarcus Thomas Pius GilbertEline D Lorenzen
Published in: Open research Europe (2021)
Background: The evolutionary relationships of Felidae during their Early-Middle Miocene radiation is contentious. Although the early common ancestors have been subsumed under the grade-group Pseudaelurus, this group is thought to be paraphyletic, including the early ancestors of both modern cats and extinct sabretooths. Methods: Here, we sequenced a draft nuclear genome of Smilodon populator, dated to 13,182 ± 90 cal BP, making this the oldest palaeogenome from South America to date, a region known to be problematic for ancient DNA preservation. We analysed this genome, together with genomes from other extinct and extant cats to investigate their phylogenetic relationships. Results: We confirm a deep divergence (~20.65 Ma) within sabre-toothed cats. Through the analysis of both simulated and empirical data, we show a lack of gene flow between Smilodon and contemporary Felidae. Conclusions: Given that some species traditionally assigned to Pseudaelurus originated in the Early Miocene ~20 Ma, this indicates that some species of Pseudaelurus may be younger than the lineages they purportedly gave rise to, further supporting the hypothesis that Pseudaelurus was paraphyletic.
Keyphrases
  • genome wide
  • gene expression
  • radiation therapy
  • copy number
  • dna methylation
  • machine learning
  • genome wide identification