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. 2019 Jul 30;36(10):2227–2237. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msz097

Fig. 1.

Fig. 1.

Evolutionary changes in the β-globin gene cluster of canids. (A) The ancestor of laurasiatherian mammals (the supraordinal group that contains carnivores as well as artiodactyls, perissodactyls, and bats) possessed a tandemly linked pair of HBD and HBB genes. In the stem lineage of carnivores, an unequal cross-over event yielded a chimeric fusion gene (HBB/D) flanked by the parental HBD and HBB genes on the 5′ and 3′ sides, respectively (Gaudry et al. 2014). The HBB gene was subsequently inactivated in the common ancestor of caniform carnivores, so the β-chain subunit of adult Hb is exclusively encoded by HBB/D in all extant species (Gaudry et al. 2014; Zaldívar-López et al. 2017). (B) Amino acid states of residue positions 13 and 14 in the expressed HBB/D gene and the HBBps pseudogene in representative canids. (C) Inferred gene conversion event in Tibetan wolf whereby derived amino acid states at sites 13 and 14 were transferred from the HBBps pseudogene to the tandemly linked HBB/D gene.