The novel evolution of the sperm whale genome

The sperm whale, made famous by Moby Dick, is one of the most fascinating of all ocean-dwelling species given their unique life history, novel physiological adaptations to hunting squid at extreme ocean depths, and their position as one of the earliest branching toothed whales (Odontoceti). We assem...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Genome Biology and Evolution
Main Authors: Warren, Wesley C., Kuderna, Lukas, 1989-, Alexander, Alana, Catchen, Julian, Pérez Silva, José G., López Otín, Carlos, Quesada, Víctor, Minx, Patrick, Tomlinson, Chad, Montague, Michael J., Farias, Fabiana, Walter, Ronald B., Marquès i Bonet, Tomàs, 1975-, Glenn, Travis, Kieran, Troy John, Wise, Sandra S., Wise, John Pierce, Waterhouse, Robert M.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Oxford University Press
Subjects:
Sperm whale genome
Cetaceans
Physeter macrocephalus
Sperm whale
toothed whales
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10230/34291
https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evx187
Description
Summary:The sperm whale, made famous by Moby Dick, is one of the most fascinating of all ocean-dwelling species given their unique life history, novel physiological adaptations to hunting squid at extreme ocean depths, and their position as one of the earliest branching toothed whales (Odontoceti). We assembled the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) genome and resequenced individuals from multiple ocean basins to identify new candidate genes for adaptation to an aquatic environment and infer demographic history. Genes crucial for skin integrity appeared to be particularly important in both the sperm whale and other cetaceans. We also find sperm whales experienced a steep population decline during the early Pleistocene epoch. These genomic data add new comparative insight into the evolution of whales. This work was supported by the National Institute of Health grant 2R24OD011198-04A1 (W.C.W., PI); National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences [ES016893 (J.W. Sr, PI)]; Army Research Office [W911NF-09-1-0296 (J.W. Sr, PI)]; Swiss National Science Foundation grant PP00P3_170664 (R.M.W.); Ministerio of Economia and Competitividad (Spain); and European Union (ERC-Advanced Grant DeAge) (C.L.-O., PI); the Campbell Foundation; the Ocean Foundation; Ocean Alliance; and the many individual and anonymous Wise Laboratory donors. Work was conducted under National Marine Fisheries Service permit #1008-1637-03 (J.W. Sr, PI) and permit #751-1614 (I.K., PI). We thank Kyung Kim for computational support.

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