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Penguin evolution: Protein comparisons demonstrate phylogenetic relationship to flying aquatic birds

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Summary

Quantitative immunological comparisons of three avian proteins, transferrin, ovalbumin, and penalbumin, indicate that penguins are phylogenetically most closely related to loons, albatrosses, herons, and grebes. These data support the theory that the ancestors of penguins were flying oceanic birds and that flightlessness in penguins has evolved independently from flightlessness in ratites.

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Abbreviations

MC'F:

micro-complement fixation

OT:

ovotransferrin

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Author notes

  1. Charles Y. -K. Ho

    Present address: Department of Nutrition, University of California, 95616., Davis, Cal., USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food Science and Technology, University of California, 95616, Davis, Cal., USA

    Charles Y. -K. Ho

  2. Department of Biochemistry, University of California, 94720, Berkeley, Cal., USA

    Ellen M. Prager & Allan C. Wilson

Authors
  1. Charles Y. -K. Ho
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  2. Ellen M. Prager
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  3. Allan C. Wilson
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  4. David T. Osuga
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  5. Robert E. Feeney
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Additional information

This work was supported in part by grants GB-42028X from NSF and GM-21509 from NIH to A.C.W. and by grants HD-00122 from NIH and GA-12607 from NSF to R.E.F. Part of the data is taken from the Ph.D.thesis of C.Y.-K. Ho submitted to the Graduate Division of the University of California at Davis.

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Ho, C.Y.K., Prager, E.M., Wilson, A.C. et al. Penguin evolution: Protein comparisons demonstrate phylogenetic relationship to flying aquatic birds. J Mol Evol 8, 271–282 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01731000

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01731000

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