Biology subjects

Montoya-Burgos, J. I.

Publications and source records attributed to Montoya-Burgos, J. I..

5 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2021

Western Amazon was a center of Neotropical fish dispersal, as evidenced by the continental-wide time-stratified biogeographic analysis of the hyper-diverse Hypostomus catfish

The Amazon is probably the most diverse realm on Earth, and is considered to be the primary source of diversity and a center of dispersal for Neotropical terrestrial organisms. Yet, the assumption that the Amazon basin is a primordial place of fish species origination and dispersal into other drainages still need to be tested. We addressed this issue by inferring a time-stratified biogeographic history and reconstructing the ancestral habitat preference of Hypostomus, a continentally widespread and species-rich Neotropical genus. We found that Hypostomus emerged in the Western Amazon ([~]14.7 Ma), when the Western Amazon River was flowing northwards and disconnected from the Eastern Amazon. We show that dispersal events in the first half of Hypostomus evolution occurred from the Western Amazon into adjacent basins, initiating its Neotropical radiation. The ancestral preferred habitat consisted in small rivers with running waters, a predominant habitat in river headwaters. Because of strong niche conservatism in the early evolution of Hypostomus, we suggest that most of the out-of-Western-Amazon dispersal occurred via headwater captures. The radiation of Hypostomus was further promoted by major reconfigurations of river basins, which opened dispersal opportunities into new drainages. Diversification in habitat preference coincided with colonization of basins already occupied by congenerics, indicative of niche shifts triggered by inter-specific competition and species coexistence. By analyzing the evolutionary history of Hypostomus, we show that Western Amazon was the main center of fish dispersal in the Neotropical Region from Middle Miocene to the present, supporting the cradle hypothesis of fish origination and dispersal.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2021

Loricarioid catfish evolved skin denticles that recapitulate teeth at the structural, developmental, and genetic levels

The first vertebrate mineralized skeleton was an external bony armor coated with dental structures. The subsequent emergence of a mineralized endoskeleton and of teeth are considered key innovations in the diversification of vertebrates. Although time clouds our understanding of the initial evolution of these mineralized structures, recent re-emergences may shed light on the underlying processes. Loricarioid catfishes are a lineage that, much like the ancestral vertebrates, bear denticle-clad bony armor from head to tail. Loricarioid denticles (LDs) and oral teeth are very similar in superstructure. We show here that other extra-oral dental structures are found as ancestral characters only in lineages that are distantly related to loricarioids such as sharks or coelacanth, indicating that LDs have independently re-emerged in loricarioid catfishes. We investigate whether the similarities between LDs and teeth extend to their developmental and genetic context, and how their development compares to that of other vertebrate integument structures. Our detailed study of the development of LDs, and gene expression analyses through in situ hybridization confirm that all 12 genes from the tooth-forming gene regulatory network (oGRN) are expressed in developing LDs in a similar way as they are expressed in developing teeth. We then compare the developmental, structural, and genetic aspects of LD and teeth with that of other integument appendages such as fish scales, shark dermal denticles, feathers and hairs. We find that LDs share all developmental cues with teeth and, to a lesser extent, with the other vertebrate integument structures. Taken together, our results indicate that denticles have re-emerged on the trunk of loricarioid catfishes through the ectopic co-option of the oGRN rather than the resurrection of an ancestral trunk-specific denticle genetic pathway.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2020

From scales to armour: scale losses and trunk bony plate gains in ray-finned fishes

Actinopterygians (ray-finned fishes) are the most diversified group of vertebrates and are characterized by a variety of protective structures covering their tegument, the evolution of which has intrigued biologists for decades. Paleontological records showed that the first mineralized vertebrate skeleton was composed of dermal bony plates covering the body, including odontogenic and skeletogenic components. Later in evolution, the exoskeleton of actinopterygians trunk was composed of scale structures. Although scales are nowadays a widespread tegument cover, some contemporary lineages do not have scales but bony plates covering their trunk, whereas other lineages are devoid of any such structures. To understand the evolution of the tegument coverage and particularly the transition between different structures, we investigated the pattern of scale loss events along actinopterygian evolution and addressed the functional relationship between the scaleless phenotype and the ecology of fishes. Furthermore, we examined whether the emergence of trunk bony plates was dependent over the presence or absence of scales. To this aim, we used two recently published actinopterygian phylogenies, one including > 11,000 species, and by using stochastic mapping and Bayesian methods, we inferred scale loss events and trunk bony plate acquisitions. Our results reveal that a scaled tegument is the most frequent state in actinopterygians, but multiple independent scale loss events occurred along their phylogeny with essentially no scale re-acquisition. Based on linear mixed models, we found evidence supporting that after a scale loss event, fishes tend to change their ecology and adopt a benthic lifestyle. Furthermore, we show that trunk bony plates appeared independently multiple times along the phylogeny. By using fitted likelihood models for character evolution, we show that trunk bony plate acquisitions were dependent over a previous scale loss event. Overall, our findings support the hypothesis that tegument cover is a key evolutionary trait underlying actinopterygian radiation. Impact SummaryRay-finned fishes (actinopterygians) are the most diverse vertebrate group in the world. The majority of these fishes possess scales as a protective shield covering their trunk. However, several lineages display a body armour composed of trunk bony plates or are devoid of any protective structures. The diversity and the transitions between different tegument coverage types have not been previously studied in an evolutionary framework. Here, we investigate which structure was present at the origin of ray-finned fishes and how the different phenotypes emerged through time. We show that a scaled tegument was the most widespread sate along ray-finned fish evolution, yet scale losses occurred multiple independent times, while acquiring scales again almost never happened. Moreover, we reveal that scaleless teguments most probably led species to change their ecology and colonise the floors of oceans and water bodies. The functional advantages of a scaleless tegument in a benthic environment are yet to be demonstrated, but the increased cutaneous respiration could be an explanation. We show that trunk bony plates also emerged independently multiple times along the evolution of ray-finned fishes but these armours protecting the trunk can only appear after a scale loss event. Therefore, while the acquisitions of trunk bony plates are phylogenetically independent, they need a "common ground" to emerge. All together, our findings provide evidence that the various tegument covers have contributed to the outstanding diversification of ray-finned fishes.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2017

LSX: Automated reduction of gene-specific lineage evolutionary rate heterogeneity for multi-gene phylogeny inference

MotivationLS3 is a recently published algorithm to reduce lineage evolutionary rate heterogeneity, a condition that can produce inference artifacts in molecular phylogenetics. The LS3 scripts are Linux-specific and the criterion to reduce lineage rate heterogeneity can be too stringent in datasets with both very long and very short branches.\n\nResultsLSx is a multi-platform user-friendly R script that performs the LS3 algorithm, and has added features in order to make better lineage rate calculations. In addition, we developed and implemented an alternative version of the algorithm, LS4, which reduces lineage rate heterogeneity not only by detecting branches that are too long but also branches that are too short, resulting in less stringent data filtering.\n\nAvailabilityThe LSx script LSx_v.1.1.R and the user manual are available for download at: https://genev.unige.ch/research/laboratory/Juan-Montoya

bioinformatics↗

bioRxiv2017

PSGfinder: fast identification of genes under divergent positive selection using the dynamic windows method

SummaryOrthologous genes evolving under divergent positive selection are those involved in divergent adaptive trajectories between related species. Current methods to identify such genes are complex and conservative or present some imperfections, limiting genome-wide searches. We present a simple method, Dynamic Windows, to detect regions of protein-coding genes evolving under divergent positive selection. This method is implemented in PSGfinder, a user-friendly and flexible software, allowing rapid genome-wide screenings of regions with a dN/dS >1. PSGfinder additionally includes an alignment cleaning procedure and an adapted multiple comparison correction to identify significant signals of positive selection.\n\nAvailability and ImplementationPSGfinder is a software that implements the DWin method, is written in Python and is freely available with its documentation at: https://genev.unige.ch/research/laboratory/Juan-Montoya or at: https://github.com/joel-tuberosa/psgfinder\n\nContactjuan.montoya@unige.ch; joel.tuberosa@unige.ch

bioinformatics↗