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Convergent genome evolution shaped the emergence of terrestrial animals

Jialin Wei,D. Pisani,P. Donoghue,M. Álvarez‐Presas,Jordi Paps

Published 2025 in Nature

ABSTRACT

The challenges associated with the transition of life from water to land are profound1, yet they have been met in many distinct animal lineages2, 3, 4–5. These constitute a series of independent evolutionary experiments from which we can decipher the role of contingency versus convergence in the adaptation of animal genomes. Here we compare 154 genomes from 21 animal phyla and their outgroups to reconstruct the protein-coding content of the ancestral genomes linked to 11 animal terrestrialization events, and to produce a timescale of terrestrialization. We uncover distinct patterns of gene gain and loss underlying each transition to land, but similar biological functions emerged recurrently pointing to specific adaptations as key to life on land. We show that semi-terrestrial species evolved convergent functional patterns, in contrast with fully terrestrial lineages that followed different paths to land. Our timeline supports three temporal windows of land colonization by animals during the last 487 million years, each associated with specific ecological contexts. Although each lineage exhibits distinct adaptations, there is strong evidence of convergent genome evolution across the animal kingdom suggesting that, in large part, adaptation to life on land is predictable, linking genes to ecosystems. Comparisons of 154 genomes from 21 animal phyla and outgroups have been used to reconstruct ancestral adaptation to life on land across 11 distinct terrestrialization events, revealing strong evidence for convergent genomic evolution across the animal kingdom and recurring periods of terrestrial colonization.

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