A phylogenomic study of birds reveals their evolutionary history.
Deep avian evolutionary relationships have been difficult to resolve as a result of a putative explosive radiation. Our study examined approximately 32 kilobases of aligned nuclear DNA sequences from 19 independent loci for 169 species, representing all major extant groups, and recovered a robust phylogeny from a genome-wide signal supported by multiple analytical methods. We documented well-supported, previously unrecognized interordinal relationships (such as a sister relationship between passerines and parrots) and corroborated previously contentious groupings (such as flamingos and grebes). Our conclusions challenge current classifications and alter our understanding of trait evolution; for example, some diurnal birds evolved from nocturnal ancestors. Our results provide a valuable resource for phylogenetic and comparative studies in birds.
Hackett
Shannon J
SJ
Zoology Department, Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605, USA.
Kimball
Rebecca T
RT
Reddy
Sushma
S
Bowie
Rauri C K
RC
Braun
Edward L
EL
Braun
Michael J
MJ
Chojnowski
Jena L
JL
Cox
W Andrew
WA
Han
Kin-Lan
KL
Harshman
John
J
Huddleston
Christopher J
CJ
Marks
Ben D
BD
Miglia
Kathleen J
KJ
Moore
William S
WS
Sheldon
Frederick H
FH
Steadman
David W
DW
Witt
Christopher C
CC
Yuri
Tamaki
T
D000465:Algorithms; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D001717:Birds / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D017753:Ecosystem; D005426:Flight, Animal; D016678:Genome; D023281:Genomics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA