Global ETD Search
Search theses and dissertations gathered from participating repositories worldwide. Every result links back to the library that holds it. No account is needed.
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Showing 1 to 11 of 11 for “"Mammalian evolution"”.
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You Should Look a Gifted Mammal in the Mouth: Using Dental Morphology to Understand the Evolution of Mammalian Dentition
Dentition is vital to our understanding of mammalian evolution. In this thesis, I use dental morphology as a basis for investigating various phenomena in mammalian dentition. First, I investigate the utility of shape, form, and linear measurement when differentiating species of the genus Mesodma – …
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Mammalian-wide interspersed repeats (MIRs) and their role in mammalian gene function and evolution
… to have played a role in shaping genomes during evolution, contributing to genome plasticity and diversity. All classes of retrotransposons accumulate in the genome via a process termed retrotransposition, wherein the elements are reverse transcribed into RNA and inserted into the genome as DNA. …
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The developmental basis of evolutionary changes in limb proportions
Mammalian limbs are complex morphological structures that exhibit an astonishing amount of diversity. This diversity is driven by changes in the relative proportions of the three limb segments that are conserved among mammals. Despite the importance of limb proportions to mammalian evolution, the …
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The evolution of gene regulatory landscapes in mammalian tissues
Gene regulatory landscapes are highly complex and evolutionarily unstable. Understanding how genetic and regulatory variations affect gene expression evolution is paramount to gaining insight into phenotypic divergence across species. Although gene expression programs are broadly maintained during …
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Evolution of the Hominoid Vertebral Column
… and posture. Recent models of hominoid vertebral evolution invoke very different roles for homology and homoplasy in the evolution of vertebral formulae in living and extinct hominoids. These processes are fundamental to the emergence of morphological structures and reflect similarity by common …
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Genomic characterization and comparative analysis of the Xce candidate region
… random from imprinted X inactivation during mammalian evolution. This invites a comparative genomic approach to explore the organization and evolution of this region throughout mammalian lineages</p><p>Patterns of X inactivation are genetically determined, as indicated by non-random patterns …
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Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor In Cortical Development
<p>One of the characteristics unique to mammalian evolution is the development of the neocortex. The neocortex is a highly ordered six-layered structure, the development of which is tightly regulated. The formation of the cortex is concomitantly dependent upon an outward expansion of the …
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Disease susceptibility and phenotypic adaptations as seen through the lens of comparative functional genomics
… and disease susceptibility. In mammals, trait evolution and disease mechanisms are largely driven by changes in gene expression and their regulation. These changes often result from sequence variations within the genome, which can affect gene function and regulatory elements, ultimately …
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The evolution of neuronal progenitor cell division in mammals: The role of the abnormal spindle-like microcephaly associated (Aspm) protein and epithelial cell polarity
… to the generation of an hypothesis regarding evolutionary changes in the regulation of spindle orientation in vertebrate and mammalian neural progenitors and their impact on brain size. Specifically, in contrast to invertebrates that regulate the switch from symmetric to asymmetric division …
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Does variability matter? Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) variation and its associations to parasitism in natural small mammal populations
The adaptive evolutionary potential of a species or population to cope with omnipresent environmental challenges is based on its genetic variation. Variability at immune genes, such as the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes, is assumed to be a very powerful and effective tool to keep pace …
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The evolutionary transition from reptiles to mammals: analyses of body size reduction and separation of middle ear elements from the jaw
Body size generally decreased during synapsid evolution until the origin of mammals, and this decrease has often been linked to the evolution of mammal-like characteristics. Despite the importance of these patterns to our understanding of mammalian evolution, the particular evolutionary mechanisms …