Chi Hai, Wan Jiahui, Melin Amanda D, DeCasien Alex R, Wang Sufang, Zhang Yudan, Cui Yimeng, Guo Xin, Zhao Le, Williamson Joseph, Zhang Tianmin, Li Qian, Zhan Yue, Li Na, Guo Jinqu, Xu Zhe, Hou Wenhui, Cao Yumin, Yuan Jiaqing, Zheng Jiangmin, Shao Yong, Wang Jinhong, Chen Wu, Song Shengjing, Lu Xiaoli, Qi Xiaoguang, Zhang Guojie, Rossiter Stephen J, Wu Dong-Dong, Liu Yang, Lu Huimeng, Li Gang
College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China.
School of Life Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, China.
Nat Ecol Evol. 2025 Apr;9(4):721-733. doi: 10.1038/s41559-025-02651-5. Epub 2025 Feb 28.
Sensory trade-offs between vision and olfaction in the evolution and radiation of primates have long been debated. However, insights have been limited by a lack of sensory gene sequences and accompanying functional predictions. Here we conduct large-scale functional analyses of visual and olfactory receptors and related brain regions across extant primates. Our results reveal a visual shift from ultraviolet to violet colour sensitivity in early haplorrhine primates, followed by acceleration in the rhodopsin retinal release rates at the origin of anthropoids, both of which are expected to greatly enhance visual acuity under brighter light conditions. Additionally, we find that the sensitivity of olfactory receptors shifted from narrowly to broadly tuned early in anthropoid evolution. In contrast, strepsirrhines appear to have retained sensitive dim-light vision and underwent functional enhancement of narrowly tuned olfactory receptors. Our models indicate that this would have enhanced odorant discrimination and facilitated olfaction-mediated physiology and behaviour. These differences in tuning patterns of olfactory receptors between major primate lineages mirror well-established morphological differences in external anatomy and brain structures, revealing new mechanisms of olfactory adaptation and evolutionary plasticity. Our multisystem analyses reveal patterns of co-evolution in genomic, molecular and neuroanatomical traits that are consistent with a sensory 'reallocation' rather than strict trade-offs.
灵长类动物进化和辐射过程中视觉与嗅觉之间的感官权衡长期以来一直存在争议。然而，由于缺乏感官基因序列以及相关的功能预测，相关见解有限。在此，我们对现存灵长类动物的视觉和嗅觉受体以及相关脑区进行了大规模功能分析。我们的结果显示，早期简鼻亚目灵长类动物的视觉从对紫外线的敏感转变为对紫光的敏感，随后在类人猿起源时视紫红质视网膜释放速率加快，这两者预计都能在更明亮的光照条件下极大地提高视敏度。此外，我们发现嗅觉受体的敏感性在类人猿进化早期从窄调谐转变为宽调谐。相比之下，原猴亚目似乎保留了敏锐的弱光视觉，并经历了窄调谐嗅觉受体的功能增强。我们的模型表明，这将增强气味辨别能力，并促进嗅觉介导的生理和行为。主要灵长类谱系之间嗅觉受体调谐模式的这些差异很好地反映了外部解剖结构和脑结构中已确立的形态差异，揭示了嗅觉适应和进化可塑性的新机制。我们的多系统分析揭示了基因组、分子和神经解剖学特征的协同进化模式，这些模式与感官 “重新分配” 而非严格的权衡一致。
