Cetaceans evolution: insights from the genome sequences of common minke whales

• Published in: BMC Genomics
• Main Authors: Park, Jung Youn, An, Yong-Rock, Kanda, Naohisa, An, Chul-Min, An, Hye Suck, Kang, Jung-Ha, Kim, Eun Mi, An, Du-Hae, Jung, Hojin, Joung, Myunghee, Park, Myung Hum, Yoon, Sook Hee, Lee, Bo-Young, Lee, Taeheon, Kim, Kyu-Won, Park, Won Cheoul, Shin, Dong Hyun, Lee, Young Sub, Kim, Jaemin, Kwak, Woori, Kim, Hyeon Jeong, Kwon, Young-Jun, Moon, Sunjin, Kim, Yuseob, Burt, David W., Cho, Seoae, Kim, Heebal
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: BioMed Central 2015
• Subjects: Cetaceans; Common minke whale; Genome; Positive selection; 1305 Biotechnology; 1311 Genetics; Balaenoptera acutorostrata; minke whale
• Online Access: https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:683815

Background: Whales have captivated the human imagination for millennia. These incredible cetaceans are the only mammals that have adapted to life in the open oceans and have been a source of human food, fuel and tools around the globe. The transition from land to water has led to various aquatic specializations related to hairless skin and ability to regulate their body temperature in cold water. Results: We present four common minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) genomes with depth of ×13 ~ ×17 coverage and perform resequencing technology without a reference sequence. Our results indicated the time to the most recent common ancestors of common minke whales to be about 2.3574 (95% HPD, 1.1521 - 3.9212) million years ago. Further, we found that genes associated with epilation and tooth-development showed signatures of positive selection, supporting the morphological uniqueness of whales. Conclusions: This whole-genome sequencing offers a chance to better understand the evolutionary journey of one of the largest mammals on earth.