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Home Q & A Board Biology-Related Homework Help Zoology and Botany (Moderator: ehd123)
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ChimpMilk ChimpMilk
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3 weeks ago
hey everyone,

I was bored today so for shits and giggles i compiled the same TCF7L2 sequence for 4 animals off of the NIH ( African Elephant, Emu, Saltwater croc and anole lizard) to compile into one FASTA file and then run through a phylogenetic analysis. Expecting to find the archosaurs to group together, i actually found that the elephant and emu grouped instead, with crocodiles sometimes being the outgroup to the others or sometimes forming a sister clade to the anoles. Theres a very good chance i just fucked up the process but i tried several different approaches ( Maximum Likelihood/Parsimony etc) but assuming i didnt  I was wondering why this is and did some digging, but only got some unsatisfying results so far. Apparently TCF7L2 is associated with a signaling pathway known as "Wnt" which can control anything from glucose levels (which may be tied to metabolic rate, so grouping of endotherms (?)) and heat based sexual determination ( as seen in crocs) but i kinda hit a wall. Anyone know any good sources or explanations for this or could point me in the right direction? thanks ! Smiling Face with Open Mouth
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#1
Educator
3 weeks ago
Not to derail your discovery, but this could be a case of convergent evolution, where distantly related organisms evolve similar traits independently. The fact that  these animals are so different yet share something like this in common is a no starter for me... why choose these animals in the first place?

Wish I could look into this further, but currently on vacation, so I can't dig any deeper
ChimpMilk Author
wrote...
#2
3 weeks ago Edited: 3 weeks ago, ChimpMilk
Quote from: bio_man (3 weeks ago)
Not to derail your discovery, but this could be a case of convergent evolution, where distantly related organisms evolve similar traits independently. The fact that these animals are so different yet share something like this in common is a no starter for me... why choose these animals in the first place? Wish I could look into this further, but currently on vacation, so I can't dig any deeper

i considered convergence as seen in the original post, again seeing as how the endotherms cluster together, it mightve independently evolved due to similair metabolic needs. As for why i chose these animals specifically, i wanted to mess around with mitochondrial data to see the monophyly of archosauria for myself because i am currently looking into pseudosuchian diversity and evolution. The elephant was just supposed to be an outgroup to root the 3 diapsids with
Post Merge: 3 weeks ago

Quote from: ChimpMilk (3 weeks ago)
Quote from: bio_man (3 weeks ago)
Not to derail your discovery, but this could be a case of convergent evolution, where distantly related organisms evolve similar traits independently. The fact that these animals are so different yet share something like this in common is a no starter for me... why choose these animals in the first place? Wish I could look into this further, but currently on vacation, so I can't dig any deeper
i considered convergence as seen in the original post, again seeing as how the endotherms cluster together, it mightve independently evolved due to similair metabolic needs. As for why i chose these animals specifically, i wanted to mess around with mitochondrial data to see the monophyly of archosauria for myself because i am currently looking into pseudosuchian diversity and evolution. The elephant was just supposed to be an outgroup to root the 3 diapsids with
also the whole point of the excersise to me was to find out what trait(s) the transcripting factor codes for specifically to see what traits these animals converged upon or wether increased selective pressures in eg the crocodiles lead to elevated evolutionary rates in that lineage as opposed to the 3 others etc
wrote...
#3
Educator
2 weeks ago
Re-reading the topic after nearly a week since posting, have you come to any new conclusions apart from convergent evolution?



Here's a theoretical look of the earth 65 million years ago. During the time of dinosaurs, all the major continents were close together, so natural pressures weren't as localized as they are today. This closeness meant that changes in temperature or sea levels affected many places at once. So, animals in different areas evolved similar traits to survive, which is why what you're seeing is here may be a case of convergent evolution. Just a thought, could be completely wrong.

To be honest, convergent evolution, epigenetics, and global warming are catch-all explanations whenever biologists can't pinpoint the reason for something Grinning Face with Smiling Eyes Grinning Face
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