Losing Genes: The Evolutionary Remodeling of Cetacea Skin

• Type: Another Publication in an International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2020

Authors

Themudo, GE (Author) Other; Alves, LQ (Author) Other; Machado, AM (Author) Other; Lopes Marques, M (Author) Other; da Fonseca, RR (Author) Other; Fonseca, M (Author) Other; Ruivo, R (Author) Other; Filipe F C Castro (Author) FCUP

Journal

Title: Frontiers in Marine Science

Vol. 7

ISSN: 2296-7745

Publisher: Frontiers Media

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 18 Citations

Scopus - 15 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00T-03E

DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2020.592375

Abstract (EN): The skin is a multi-layered organ, often displaying associated structures, that establishes a protective interface between the organism and the surrounding environment. In mammals, the skin provides a physical and immune barrier, while contributing to thermoregulation and water balance. Within cetaceans, the archetypal mammalian skin was drastically reshaped and remodeled, emerging as a striking feature of their successful adaptation to a fully aquatic lifestyle. In fact, cetacean skin is extremely thick, displays a high cellular turnover rate, and lacks typical mammalian pelages, as well as sebaceous glands, resulting in a smooth and drag-reducing skin. Curiously, at the genome level, the majority of cetacean skin-related innovations resulted from episodes of gene loss: spanning diverse processes such as skin keratinization and cornification, immunity and inflammation or lubrication. Here, we review how the cetacean skin was shaped by such an evolutionary mechanism, by describing the full set of genes with inactivating mutations in the various functional compartments of the skin.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 7