A molecular timescale for vertebrate evolution (original) (raw)

Nature volume 392, pages 917–920 (1998)Cite this article

Abstract

A timescale is necessary for estimating rates of molecular and morphological change in organisms and for interpreting patterns of macroevolution and biogeography1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9. Traditionally, these times have been obtained from the fossil record, where the earliest representatives of two lineages establish a minimum time of divergence of these lineages10. The clock-like accumulation of sequence differences in some genes provides an alternative method11 by which the mean divergence time can be estimated. Estimates from single genes may have large statistical errors, but multiple genes can be studied to obtain a more reliable estimate of divergence time1,12,13. However, until recently, the number of genes available for estimation of divergence time has been limited. Here we present divergence-time estimates for mammalian orders and major lineages of vertebrates, from an analysis of 658 nuclear genes. The molecular times agree with most early (Palaeozoic) and late (Cenozoic) fossil-based times, but indicate major gaps in the Mesozoic fossil record. At least five lineages of placental mammals arose more than 100 million years ago, and most of the modern orders seem to have diversified before the Cretaceous/Tertiary extinction of the dinosaurs.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Subscribe to this journal

Receive 51 print issues and online access

$199.00 per year

only $3.90 per issue

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Additional access options:

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Wilson, A. C., Carlson, S. S. & White, T. J. Biochemical evolution. Annu. Rev. Biochem. 46, 573–639 (1977).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  2. Nei, M. Molecular Evolutionary Genetics (Columbia Univ. Press, New York, 1987).
    Google Scholar
  3. Novacek, M. J. Mammalian phylogeny: shaking the tree. Nature 356, 121–125 (1992).
    Article ADS CAS Google Scholar
  4. Martin, R. D. Primate origins: plugging the gaps. Nature 363, 223–234 (1993).
    Article ADS CAS Google Scholar
  5. Avise, J. C. Molecular Markers, Natural History and Evolution (Chapman & Hall, New York, 1994).
    Book Google Scholar
  6. Hallam, A. An Outline of Phanerozoic Biogeography (Oxford Univ. Press, New York, 1994).
    Google Scholar
  7. Easteal, S., Collet, C. & Betty, D. The Mammalian Molecular Clock (R. G. Landes, Austin, TX, 1995).
    Google Scholar
  8. Gerhart, J. & Kirschner, M. Cells, Embryos, and Evolution (Blackwell Scientific, Malden, Massachusetts, 1997).
    Google Scholar
  9. Gee, H. Before the Backbone (Chapman & Hall, New York, NY, 1996).
    Google Scholar
  10. Benton, M. J. The Fossil Record 2 (Chapman & Hall, London, 1993).
    Google Scholar
  11. Zuckerkandl, E. On the molecular evolutionary clock. J. Mol. Evol. 26, 34–46 (1987).
    Article ADS CAS Google Scholar
  12. Hedges, S. B., Parker, P. H., Sibley, C. G. & Kumar, S. Continental breakup and the ordinal diversification of birds and mammals. Nature 381, 226–229 (1996).
    Article ADS CAS Google Scholar
  13. Takezaki, N., Rzhetsky, A. & Nei, M. Phylogenetic test of the molecular clock and linearized tree. Mol. Biol. Evol. 12, 823–833 (1995).
    CAS PubMed Google Scholar
  14. Benton, M. J. Vertebrate Paleontology (Chapman & Hall, New York, 1997).
    Book Google Scholar
  15. Archibald, J. D. Fossil evidence for a late Cretaceous origin of “hoofed” mammals. Science 272, 1150–1153 (1996).
    Article ADS CAS Google Scholar
  16. Kielan-Jaworowska, Z. Interrelationships of Mesozoic mammals. Hist. Biol. 6, 185–202 (1992).
    Article Google Scholar
  17. Cooper, A. & Penny, D. Mass survival of birds across the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary: molecular evidence. Science 275, 1109–1113 (1997).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  18. Kay, R. F., Ross, C. & Williams, B. A. Anthropoid origins. Science 275, 797–804 (1997).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  19. Ward, S. in Function, Phylogeny, and Fossils (eds Begun, D. R., Ward, C. V. & Rose, M. D.) 269–290 (Plenum, New York, 1997).
    Book Google Scholar
  20. Pilbeam, D. Genetic and morphological records of the Hominoidea and hominid origins: a synthesis. Mol. Phyl. Evol. 5, 155–168 (1996).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  21. Benefit, B. R. & McCrossin, M. L. Earliest known Old World monkey skull. Nature 388, 368–371 (1997).
    Article ADS CAS Google Scholar
  22. Jaeger, J.-J., Tong, H. & Denys, C. The age of the Mus-Rattus divergence: paleontological data compared with the molecular clock. C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris 302, 917–922 (1986).
    Google Scholar
  23. Parker, P. H. _An Improved Estimate of the Mouse-Rat Divergence Time and Rates of Amino Acid Substitution in Mammals and Birds_Thesis, Pennsylvania State Univ.((1996).
    Google Scholar
  24. Carroll, R. L. Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution (W. H. Freeman and Co., New York, 1988).
    Google Scholar
  25. Springer, M. S. et al. Endemic African mammals shake the phylogenetic tree. Nature 388, 61–63 (1997).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  26. Duret, L., Mouchiroud, D. & Gouy, M. HOVERGEN: a database of homologous vertebrate genes. Nucleic Acids Res. 22, 2360–2365 (1994).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  27. Tajima, F. Simple methods for testing the molecular evolutionary clock hypothesis. Genetics 135, 599–607 (1993).
    CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
  28. Kumar, S., Tamura, K. & Nei, M. MEGA: Molecular Evolutionary Genetic Analysis (Pennsylvania State Univ., 1993).
    Google Scholar
  29. Gheerbrant, E., Sudre, J. & Cappetta, H. APaleocene proboscidean from Morocco. Nature 383, 68–70 (1996).
    Article ADS CAS Google Scholar
  30. Benton, M. J. Phylogeny of the major tetrapod groups: morphological data and divergence dates. J. Mol. Evol. 30, 409–424 (1990).
    Article ADS CAS Google Scholar

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank L. Poling, A. Beausang, and R. Padmanabhan for assistance with sequence data retrieval; A. Beausang for artwork; A. G. Clark, C. A. Hass, I. Jakobsen, M. Nei, C. R. Rao, and A.Walker for comments and discussion; and L. Duret for instructions on use of the HOVERGEN database. This work was supported in part by grants to M. Nei (NIH and NSF) and S.B.H. (NSF).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology and Institute of Molecular Evolutionary Genetics, 208 Mueller Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, 16802, Pennsylvania, USA
    Sudhir Kumar & S. Blair Hedges

Authors

  1. Sudhir Kumar
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
  2. S. Blair Hedges
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence toS. Blair Hedges.

Supplementary Information

Rights and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kumar, S., Hedges, S. A molecular timescale for vertebrate evolution.Nature 392, 917–920 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/31927

Download citation

This article is cited by