Rates of karyotypic evolution in Estrildid finches differ between island and continental clades: CHROMOSOME INVERSIONS IN FINCHES
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Abstract
Reasons why chromosomal rearrangements spread to fixation and frequently distinguish related taxa remain poorly understood. We used cytological descriptions of karyotype to identify large pericentric inversions between species of Estrildid finches (family Estrildidae) and a time-dated phylogeny to assess the genomic, geographic, and phylogenetic context of karyotype evolution in this group. Inversions between finch species fixed at an average rate of one every 2.26 My. Inversions were twice as likely to fix on the sex chromosomes compared to the autosomes. A high repeat density on the sex chromosomes may increase mutation rates, but other explanations via mutagenic input are not supported, as the number of inversions on a chromosome does not correlate with its length or map size. Inversions have fixed 3.3× faster in three continental clades than in two island chain clades, and fixation rate correlates with both range size and the number of sympatric species pairs. These results point to adaptation as the dominant mechanism driving fixation and suggest a role for gene flow in karyotype divergence. A review shows that the rapid karyotype evolution observed in the Estrildid finches appears to be more general across birds, and by implication other understudied taxa.
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Inversions bringing two pairs of loci into proximity occur at inversion rates ranging between 0.4 and 7 fixed inversions per million years in animal clades.
“These changes are limited by other rearrangement mechanisms, like inversions bringing two pairs of loci into proximity to one another, occurring at inversion rates ranging between 0.4 and 7 fixed inversions per million years in animal clades (176–179).”
From Topological Approaches in Animal Comparative Genomics (2026) · cites this paper as [178]
The Results (section 319; page unavailable) report an average of one fixed pericentric inversion every 2.26 million years, about 0.44 per million years, and an example reaching 5.72 per million years in Australian grassfinches. The paper does not establish the stated 0.4–7 range across animal clades or show that these inversions brought two pairs of loci into proximity. (LLM, conf=0.85)
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Cites
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Topological Approaches in Animal Comparative Genomics
Schultz, D. T., & Simakov, O. (2026) · Annual Review of Animal Biosciences · doi:10.1146/annurev-animal-030424-084541 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
- Authors
- Hooper, D. M., & Price, T. D.
- Affiliations
- University of Chicago (US)
- Corresponding author
- Hooper, Daniel M.
- Venue
- Evolution
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2015-04
- Volume
- 69
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 890-903
- ISSN
- 0014-3820 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2950897230
- Cited by
- 62
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 4
- FWCI
- 11.41
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Evolution (publishedVersion)
- bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Chromosomal and Genetic Variations
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genome Rearrangement Algorithms
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Evolution and Paleontology Studies
- Keywords
- karyotype evolution, Estrildidae, pericentric inversion, chromosomal rearrangements, sex chromosomes, range size, sympatric species pairs, gene flow, adaptation, avian cytogenetics
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Biological Evolution, Geography, Phylogeny, Sex Chromosomes, Finches, Gene Flow, Karyotype, Islands
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