@article{WestburyDalerumbNorenetal.2017, author = {Westbury, Michael V. and Dalerumb, Fredrik and Noren, Karin and Hofreiter, Michael}, title = {Complete mitochondrial genome of a bat-eared fox (Otocyon megalotis), along with phylogenetic considerations}, series = {Mitochondrial DNA. Part B}, volume = {2}, journal = {Mitochondrial DNA. Part B}, number = {1}, publisher = {Routledge, Taylor \& Francis Group}, address = {London}, issn = {2380-2359}, doi = {10.1080/23802359.2017.1331325}, pages = {298 -- 299}, year = {2017}, abstract = {The bat-eared fox, Otocyon megalotis, is the only member of its genus and is thought to occupy a basal position within the dog family. These factors can lead to challenges in complete mitochondrial reconstructions and accurate phylogenetic positioning. Here, we present the first complete mitochondrial genome of the bat-eared fox recovered using shotgun sequencing and iterative mapping to three distantly related species. Phylogenetic analyses placed the bat-eared fox basal in the Canidae family within the clade including true foxes (Vulpes) and the raccoon dog (Nyctereutes) with high support values. This position is in good agreement with previously published results based on short fragments of mitochondrial and nuclear genes, therefore adding more support to the basal positioning of the bat-eared fox within Canidae.}, language = {en} } @misc{WestburyBalekaBarlowetal.2017, author = {Westbury, Michael V. and Baleka, Sina Isabelle and Barlow, Axel and Hartmann, Stefanie and Paijmans, Johanna L. A. and Kramarz, Alejandro and Forasiepi, Anal{\´i}a M. and Bond, Mariano and Gelfo, Javier N. and Reguero, Marcelo A. and L{\´o}pez-Mendoza, Patricio and Taglioretti, Matias and Scaglia, Fernando and Rinderknecht, Andr{\´e}s and Jones, Washington and Mena, Francisco and Billet, Guillaume and de Muizon, Christian and Aguilar, Jos{\´e} Luis and MacPhee, Ross D.E. and Hofreiter, Michael}, title = {A mitogenomic timetree for Darwin's enigmatic South American mammal Macrauchenia patachonica}, series = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {793}, issn = {1866-8372}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-44080}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-440801}, pages = {8}, year = {2017}, abstract = {The unusual mix of morphological traits displayed by extinct South American native ungulates (SANUs) confounded both Charles Darwin, who first discovered them, and Richard Owen, who tried to resolve their relationships. Here we report an almost complete mitochondrial genome for the litoptern Macrauchenia. Our dated phylogenetic tree places Macrauchenia as sister to Perissodactyla, but close to the radiation of major lineages within Laurasiatheria. This position is consistent with a divergence estimate of B66Ma (95\% credibility interval, 56.64-77.83 Ma) obtained for the split between Macrauchenia and other Panperissodactyla. Combined with their morphological distinctiveness, this evidence supports the positioning of Litopterna (possibly in company with other SANU groups) as a separate order within Laurasiatheria. We also show that, when using strict criteria, extinct taxa marked by deep divergence times and a lack of close living relatives may still be amenable to palaeogenomic analysis through iterative mapping against more distant relatives.}, language = {en} } @article{PaijmansBarnettGilbertetal.2017, author = {Paijmans, Johanna L. A. and Barnett, Ross and Gilbert, M. Thomas P. and Zepeda-Mendoza, M. Lisandra and Reumer, Jelle W. F. and de Vos, John and Zazula, Grant and Nagel, Doris and Baryshnikov, Gennady F. and Leonard, Jennifer A. and Rohland, Nadin and Westbury, Michael V. and Barlow, Axel and Hofreiter, Michael}, title = {Evolutionary History of Saber-Toothed Cats Based on Ancient Mitogenomics}, series = {Current biology}, volume = {27}, journal = {Current biology}, publisher = {Cell Press}, address = {Cambridge}, issn = {0960-9822}, doi = {10.1016/j.cub.2017.09.033}, pages = {3330 -- +}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Saber-toothed cats (Machairodontinae) are among the most widely recognized representatives of the now largely extinct Pleistocene megafauna. However, many aspects of their ecology, evolution, and extinction remain uncertain. Although ancient-DNA studies have led to huge advances in our knowledge of these aspects of many other megafauna species (e.g., mammoths and cave bears), relatively few ancient-DNA studies have focused on saber-toothed cats [1-3], and they have been restricted to short fragments of mitochondrial DNA. Here we investigate the evolutionary history of two lineages of saber-toothed cats (Smilodon and Homotherium) in relation to living carnivores and find that the Machairodontinae form a well-supported clade that is distinct from all living felids. We present partial mitochondrial genomes from one S. populator sample and three Homotherium sp. samples, including the only Late Pleistocene Homotherium sample from Eurasia [4]. We confirm the identification of the unique Late Pleistocene European fossil through ancient-DNA analyses, thus strengthening the evidence that Homotherium occurred in Europe over 200,000 years later than previously believed. This in turn forces a re-evaluation of its demography and extinction dynamics. Within the Machairodontinae, we find a deep divergence between Smilodon and Homotherium (similar to 18 million years) but limited diversity between the American and European Homotherium specimens. The genetic data support the hypothesis that all Late Pleistocene (or post-Villafrancian) Homotherium should be considered a single species, H. latidens, which was previously proposed based on morphological data [5, 6].}, language = {en} } @article{WestburyBalekaBarlowetal.2017, author = {Westbury, Michael V. and Baleka, Sina Isabelle and Barlow, Axel and Hartmann, Stefanie and Paijmans, Johanna L. A. and Kramarz, Alejandro and Forasiepi, Analia M. and Bond, Mariano and Gelfo, Javier N. and Reguero, Marcelo A. and Lopez-Mendoza, Patricio and Taglioretti, Matias and Scaglia, Fernando and Rinderknecht, Andres and Jones, Washington and Mena, Francisco and Billet, Guillaume and de Muizon, Christian and Luis Aguilar, Jose and MacPhee, Ross D. E. and Hofreiter, Michael}, title = {A mitogenomic timetree for Darwin's enigmatic South American mammal Macrauchenia patachonica}, series = {Nature Communications}, volume = {8}, journal = {Nature Communications}, publisher = {Nature Publ. Group}, address = {London}, issn = {2041-1723}, doi = {10.1038/ncomms15951}, pages = {8}, year = {2017}, abstract = {The unusual mix of morphological traits displayed by extinct South American native ungulates (SANUs) confounded both Charles Darwin, who first discovered them, and Richard Owen, who tried to resolve their relationships. Here we report an almost complete mitochondrial genome for the litoptern Macrauchenia. Our dated phylogenetic tree places Macrauchenia as sister to Perissodactyla, but close to the radiation of major lineages within Laurasiatheria. This position is consistent with a divergence estimate of B66Ma (95\% credibility interval, 56.64-77.83 Ma) obtained for the split between Macrauchenia and other Panperissodactyla. Combined with their morphological distinctiveness, this evidence supports the positioning of Litopterna (possibly in company with other SANU groups) as a separate order within Laurasiatheria. We also show that, when using strict criteria, extinct taxa marked by deep divergence times and a lack of close living relatives may still be amenable to palaeogenomic analysis through iterative mapping against more distant relatives.}, language = {en} }