Mitochondrial genomes from major lizard families suggest their phylogenetic relationships and ancient radiations

Gene. 2007 Feb 15;388(1-2):19-26. doi: 10.1016/j.gene.2006.09.026. Epub 2006 Oct 10.

Abstract

In placental mammals and birds, molecular data generally support a view that they diverged into their ordinal groups in good response to mid-Cretaceous continental fragmentations. However, such divergence patterns have rarely been studied for reptiles for which phylogenetic relationships among their major groups have not yet been established molecularly. Here, I determined complete or nearly complete mitochondrial DNA sequences from seven lizard families and reconstructed phylogenetic relationships between major lizard families. When snakes were included, maximum likelihood analysis did not support a morphological view of the snakes-varanoids affinity, although several other competing hypotheses on the position of snakes still cannot be discriminated presumably due to extremely long branches of the snake lineages. I also conducted clock-free Bayesian analyses to show that divergence times between major lizard families were centered in Triassic-Jurassic times. Thus, lizards include much deeper divergences than the mammals and birds and they appear to have already radiated into various families prior to the mid-Cretaceous major continental fragmentation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • DNA, Mitochondrial / chemistry
  • DNA, Mitochondrial / genetics*
  • Genetic Speciation
  • Genetic Variation
  • Lizards / classification
  • Lizards / genetics*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Phylogeny*
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA
  • Time Factors

Substances

  • DNA, Mitochondrial

Associated data

  • GENBANK/AB080237
  • GENBANK/AB114446
  • GENBANK/AB162908
  • GENBANK/AB162909
  • GENBANK/AB167711
  • GENBANK/AB178897
  • GENBANK/AB185326
  • GENBANK/AB185327