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Published November 29, 2021 | Version v1
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Genomic basis for skin phenotype and cold adaptation in the extinct Steller's sea cow

Authors/Creators

  • 1. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
  • 2. University of California, Santa Cruz
  • 3. Stockholm University
  • 4. University of Potsdam
  • 5. National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
  • 6. Institute of Human Genetics
  • 7. University of California, Irvine
  • 8. Russian Academy of Sciences
  • 9. University Hospital Leipzig
  • 10. Curt Engelhorn Centre Archaeometry
  • 11. Staatliches Naturhistorisches Museum
  • 12. Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research
  • 13. Centre for Palaeogenetics
  • 14. Leipzig University

Description

Steller's sea cow, an extinct sirenian and one of the largest Quaternary mammals, was described by Georg Steller in 1741 and eradicated by humans within 27 years. Here, we complement Steller's descriptions with paleogenomic data from 12 individuals. We identified convergent evolution between Steller's sea cow and cetaceans but not extant sirenians, suggesting a role of several genes in adaptation to cold environments. Among these are inactivations of lipoxygenase genes, which in humans and mouse models cause ichthyosis – a skin disease characterized by a thick, hyperkeratotic epidermis that recapitulates Steller's sea cows' reportedly bark-like skin. Finally, we found that Steller's sea cows' abundance was continuously declining for tens of thousands of years prior to their description, implying that environmental changes also contributed to their extinction.

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Additional details

Related works

Is derived from
10.5281/zenodo.5665273 (DOI)
Is source of
10.5281/zenodo.5734005 (DOI)