Temperature predicts the rate of molecular evolution in Australian Eugongylinae skinks
Jeremias Ivan, Craig Moritz, Sally Potter, Jason Bragg, Rust Turakulov & Xia Hua
Temperature differences over time and space has been hypothesized to cause variation in the rate of molecular evolution of species, but empirical evidence is mixed. To further test this hypothesis, we utilized a large exon-capture sequence data of Australian Eugongylinae skinks, exemplifying a radiation of temperature-sensitive ectotherms spanning a large latitudinal gradient. The association between temperature (and other species traits) and long-term substitution rate was assessed based on 1268 sequenced exons of 44 species pairs...