Evidence for a single loss of mineralized teeth in the common avian ancestor

Robert W. Meredith; Guojie Zhang; M. Thomas P. Gilbert; Erich D. Jarvis; Mark S. Springer

doi:10.1126/science.1254390

Evidence for a single loss of mineralized teeth in the common avian ancestor

Robert W. Meredith^*, Guojie Zhang, M. Thomas P. Gilbert, Erich D. Jarvis, Mark S. Springer

^*Corresponding author for this work

Ecology and Evolution

61 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Edentulism, the absence of teeth, has evolved convergently among vertebrates, including birds, turtles, and several lineages of mammals. Instead of teeth, modern birds (Neornithes) use a horny beak (rhamphotheca) and a muscular gizzard to acquire and process food.We performed comparative genomic analyses representing lineages of nearly all extant bird orders and recovered shared, inactivating mutations within genes expressed in both the enamel and dentin of teeth of other vertebrate species, indicating that the common ancestor of modern birds lacked mineralized teeth.We estimate that tooth loss, or at least the loss of enamel caps that provide the outer layer of mineralized teeth, occurred about 116 million years ago.

Original language	English
Article number	1254390
Journal	Science
Volume	346
Issue number	6215
Number of pages	6
ISSN	0036-8075
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1254390
Publication status	Published - 2014

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title = "Evidence for a single loss of mineralized teeth in the common avian ancestor",

abstract = "Edentulism, the absence of teeth, has evolved convergently among vertebrates, including birds, turtles, and several lineages of mammals. Instead of teeth, modern birds (Neornithes) use a horny beak (rhamphotheca) and a muscular gizzard to acquire and process food.We performed comparative genomic analyses representing lineages of nearly all extant bird orders and recovered shared, inactivating mutations within genes expressed in both the enamel and dentin of teeth of other vertebrate species, indicating that the common ancestor of modern birds lacked mineralized teeth.We estimate that tooth loss, or at least the loss of enamel caps that provide the outer layer of mineralized teeth, occurred about 116 million years ago.",

author = "Meredith, {Robert W.} and Guojie Zhang and Gilbert, {M. Thomas P.} and Jarvis, {Erich D.} and Springer, {Mark S.}",

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AU - Meredith, Robert W.

AU - Zhang, Guojie

AU - Gilbert, M. Thomas P.

AU - Jarvis, Erich D.

AU - Springer, Mark S.

PY - 2014

Y1 - 2014

N2 - Edentulism, the absence of teeth, has evolved convergently among vertebrates, including birds, turtles, and several lineages of mammals. Instead of teeth, modern birds (Neornithes) use a horny beak (rhamphotheca) and a muscular gizzard to acquire and process food.We performed comparative genomic analyses representing lineages of nearly all extant bird orders and recovered shared, inactivating mutations within genes expressed in both the enamel and dentin of teeth of other vertebrate species, indicating that the common ancestor of modern birds lacked mineralized teeth.We estimate that tooth loss, or at least the loss of enamel caps that provide the outer layer of mineralized teeth, occurred about 116 million years ago.

AB - Edentulism, the absence of teeth, has evolved convergently among vertebrates, including birds, turtles, and several lineages of mammals. Instead of teeth, modern birds (Neornithes) use a horny beak (rhamphotheca) and a muscular gizzard to acquire and process food.We performed comparative genomic analyses representing lineages of nearly all extant bird orders and recovered shared, inactivating mutations within genes expressed in both the enamel and dentin of teeth of other vertebrate species, indicating that the common ancestor of modern birds lacked mineralized teeth.We estimate that tooth loss, or at least the loss of enamel caps that provide the outer layer of mineralized teeth, occurred about 116 million years ago.

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DO - 10.1126/science.1254390

M3 - Journal article

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SN - 0036-8075

VL - 346

JO - Science

JF - Science

IS - 6215

M1 - 1254390

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Evidence for a single loss of mineralized teeth in the common avian ancestor

Abstract

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