Environmental temperatures shape thermal physiology as well as diversification and genome-wide substitution rates in lizards

Garcia Porta, Joan; Carranza Gil-Dolz del Castellar, Salvador; Wollenberg Valero, Katharina C.

doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11943-x

Environmental temperatures shape thermal physiology as well as diversification and genome-wide substitution rates in lizards

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Garcia-Porta J, Irisarri I, Kirchner M, Rodríguez A, Kirchhof S, Brown JL et al. Environmental temperatures shape thermal physiology as well as diversification and genome-wide substitution rates in lizards. Nat Commun. 2019; 10(1):4077. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-11943-x

Abstract

Climatic conditions changing over time and space shape the evolution of organisms at multiple levels, including temperate lizards in the family Lacertidae. Here we reconstruct a dated phylogenetic tree of 262 lacertid species based on a supermatrix relying on novel phylogenomic datasets and fossil calibrations. Diversification of lacertids was accompanied by an increasing disparity among occupied bioclimatic niches, especially in the last 10 Ma, during a period of progressive global cooling. Temperate species also underwent a genome-wide slowdown in molecular substitution rates compared to tropical and desert-adapted lacertids. Evaporative water loss and preferred temperature are correlated with bioclimatic parameters, indicating physiological adaptations to climate. Tropical, but also some populations of cool-adapted species experience maximum temperatures close to their preferred temperatures. We hypothesize these species-specific physiological preferences may constitute a handicap to prevail under rapid global warming, and contribute to explaining local lizard extinctions in cool and humid climates.