Genomic and anatomical comparisons of skin support independent adaptation to life in water by cetaceans and hippos

The macroevolutionary transition from terra firma to obligatory inhabitance of the marine hydrosphere has occurred twice in the history of Mammalia: Cetacea and Sirenia. In the case of Cetacea (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), molecular phylogenies provide unambiguous evidence that fully aquatic cetaceans and semiaquatic hippopotamids (hippos) are each other's closest living relatives. Ancestral reconstructions suggest that some adaptations to the aquatic realm evolved in the common ancestor of Cetancodonta (Cetacea + Hippopotamidae). An alternative hypothesis is that these adaptations evolved independently in cetaceans and hippos. Here, we focus on the integumentary system and evaluate these hypotheses by integrating new histological data for cetaceans and hippos, the first genome-scale data for pygmy hippopotamus, and comprehensive genomic screens and molecular evolutionary analyses for protein-coding genes that have been inactivated in hippos and cetaceans. We identified eight skin-related genes that are inactivated in both cetaceans and hippos, including genes that are related to sebaceous glands, hair follicles, and epidermal differentiation. However, none of these genes exhibit inactivating mutations that are shared by cetaceans and hippos. Mean dates for the inactivation of skin genes in these two clades serve as proxies for phenotypic changes and suggest that hair reduction/loss, the loss of sebaceous glands, and changes to the keratinization program occurred similar to 16 Ma earlier in cetaceans (similar to 46.5 Ma) than in hippos (similar to 30.5 Ma). These results, together with histological differences in the integument and prior analyses of oxygen isotopes from stem hippopotamids (anthracotheres''), support the hypothesis that aquatic skin adaptations evolved independently in hippos and cetaceans.

Automated summary

This study focuses on the integumentary system of cetaceans and hippos, identifying eight skin-related genes that are inactivated in both groups, including genes related to sebaceous glands, hair follicles, and epidermal differentiation. The results indicate that aquatic skin adaptations evolved independently in hippos and cetaceans.