A genomic exploration of the early evolution of extant cats and their sabre-toothed relatives

[Background] The evolutionary relationships of Felidae during their Early-Middle Miocene radiation is contentious. Although the early common ancestors have been subsumed under the grade-group Pseudaelurus, this group is thought to be paraphyletic, including the early ancestors of both modern cats and extinct sabretooths. [Methods] Here, we sequenced a draft nuclear genome of Smilodon populator, dated to 13,182 ± 90 cal BP, making this the oldest palaeogenome from South America to date, a region known to be problematic for ancient DNA preservation. We analysed this genome, together with genomes from other extinct and extant cats to investigate their phylogenetic relationships. [Results] We confirm a deep divergence (~20.65 Ma) within sabre-toothed cats. Through the analysis of both simulated and empirical data, we show a lack of gene flow between Smilodon and contemporary Felidae. [Conclusions] Given that some species traditionally assigned to Pseudaelurus originated in the Early Miocene ~20 Ma, this indicates that some species of Pseudaelurus may be younger than the lineages they purportedly gave rise to, further supporting the hypothesis that Pseudaelurus was paraphyletic.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Westbury, Michael V., Barnett, Ross, Sandoval-Velasco, Marcela, Gower, Graham, Garrett Vieira, Filipe, Manuel, Marc de, Hansen, Anders J., Yamaguchi, Nobuyuki, Werdelin, Lars, Marqués-Bonet, Tomàs, Gilbert, M. Thomas P., Lorenzen, Eline D.
Other Authors:	European Commission
Format:	artículo biblioteca
Published:	F1000Research 2021
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/10261/263367 http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100011958 http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000780
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