Mammalian dental morphology is under strong evolutionary pressure because of its importance for m... more Mammalian dental morphology is under strong evolutionary pressure because of its importance for mastication and diet. While the mechanisms underlying tooth development have been widely studied in model organisms, the role of genetic regulatory elements in patterning the different elements of the occlusal surface and crown height across species is not well understood. Previous studies showed that Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF) genes are important regulators of tooth development that influence morphological variation. We hypothesized that inter-specific variation in rodent dental morphology could be governed by nucleotide variation in genetic regulatory elements that modulate the spatial and temporal expression of the genes encoding FGF signaling molecules. In this study, we compared the variation in dental morphology across nine taxa of rodents to the variation in sequences of non-coding evolutionary conserved regions (ECRs) of Fgf3, 4, 8, 9, and 10. We correlated the variation in mo...
Graphical Abstract Highlights d Hypselodont molars evolved gradually from ancestral low-crowned p... more Graphical Abstract Highlights d Hypselodont molars evolved gradually from ancestral low-crowned phenotypes d Hypsodonty served as a reservoir for hypselodont stem cell niche evolution
Mammalian dental morphology is under strong evolutionary pressure because of its importance for m... more Mammalian dental morphology is under strong evolutionary pressure because of its importance for mastication and diet. While the mechanisms underlying tooth development have been widely studied in model organisms, the role of genetic regulatory elements in patterning the different elements of the occlusal surface and crown height across species is not well understood. Previous studies showed that Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF) genes are important regulators of tooth development that influence morphological variation. We hypothesized that inter-specific variation in rodent dental morphology could be governed by nucleotide variation in genetic regulatory elements that modulate the spatial and temporal expression of the genes encoding FGF signaling molecules. In this study, we compared the variation in dental morphology across nine taxa of rodents to the variation in sequences of non-coding evolutionary conserved regions (ECRs) of Fgf3, 4, 8, 9, and 10. We correlated the variation in mo...
Graphical Abstract Highlights d Hypselodont molars evolved gradually from ancestral low-crowned p... more Graphical Abstract Highlights d Hypselodont molars evolved gradually from ancestral low-crowned phenotypes d Hypsodonty served as a reservoir for hypselodont stem cell niche evolution
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