Molecular Convergent Evolution of the MYBPC2 Gene Among Three High-Elevation Amphibian Species

Abstract

We report a strong pattern of molecular-level convergent/parallel evolution of the MYBPC2 gene. Three high-elevation amphibian species, Bufo gargarizans minshanicus, Nanorana pleskei, Rana kukunoris, revealed remarkable numbers of convergent and parallel amino acid substitutions. On the MYBPC2 gene tree of eleven anurans, the three distantly related species formed a strongly supported clade that was away from their respective relatives. Furthermore, we generated both model-based and empirical data-based null distributions for neutral convergent evolution. All three pairwise comparisons among the three species showed significantly more convergent and parallel substitutions than the null distributions. This study adds to the very small roster of clear cases of non-neutral molecular convergent evolution (e.g. prestin, rhodopsin). Molecular convergent evolution has significant implications in biology and detailed case studies will likely provide more insight into its genetic mechanisms.