title: Mitochondrial gene rearrangements confirm the parallel evolution of the crab-like form.
abstract: The repeated appearance of strikingly similar crab-like forms in independent decapod crustacean lineages represents a remarkable case of parallel evolution. Uncertainty surrounding the phylogenetic relationships among crab-like lineages has hampered evolutionary studies. As is often the case, aligned DNA sequences by themselves were unable to fully resolve these relationships. Four nested mitochondrial gene rearrangements--including one of the few reported movements of an arthropod protein-coding gene--are congruent with the DNA phylogeny and help to resolve a crucial node. A phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences, and gene rearrangements, supported five independent origins of the crab-like form, and suggests that the evolution of the crab-like form may be irreversible. This result supports the utility of mitochondrial gene rearrangements in phylogenetic reconstruction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Fisheries Science, School of Marine Science, College of William and Mary, Gloucester Point, VA 23062, USA.
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Morrison
authors.forename: A W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Harvey
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lavery
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tieu
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Cunningham
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003386:Brachyura / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny; D011995:Recombination, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial