{"entity": "publication", "iuid": "e598104896bd469db9c0e49977fbeae2", "timestamp": "2026-09-24T14:45:09.041Z", "links": {"self": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/e598104896bd469db9c0e49977fbeae2.json"}, "display": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/e598104896bd469db9c0e49977fbeae2"}}, "title": "Ancient and modern genomes unravel the evolutionary history of the rhinoceros family.", "authors": [{"family": "Liu", "given": "Shanlin", "initials": "S"}, {"family": "Westbury", "given": "Michael V", "initials": "MV"}, {"family": "Dussex", "given": "Nicolas", "initials": "N"}, {"family": "Mitchell", "given": "Kieren J", "initials": "KJ"}, {"family": "Sinding", "given": "Mikkel-Holger S", "initials": "MS"}, {"family": "Heintzman", "given": "Peter D", "initials": "PD"}, {"family": "Duch\u00eane", "given": "David A", "initials": "DA"}, {"family": "Kapp", "given": "Joshua D", "initials": "JD"}, {"family": "von Seth", "given": "Johanna", "initials": "J"}, {"family": "Heiniger", "given": "Holly", "initials": "H"}, {"family": "S\u00e1nchez-Barreiro", "given": "F\u00e1tima", "initials": "F"}, {"family": "Margaryan", "given": "Ashot", "initials": "A"}, {"family": "Andr\u00e9-Olsen", "given": "Remi", "initials": "R"}, {"family": "De Cahsan", "given": "Binia", "initials": "B"}, {"family": "Meng", "given": "Guanliang", "initials": "G"}, {"family": "Yang", "given": "Chentao", "initials": "C"}, {"family": "Chen", "given": "Lei", "initials": "L"}, {"family": "van der Valk", "given": "Tom", "initials": "T"}, {"family": "Moodley", "given": "Yoshan", "initials": "Y"}, {"family": "Rookmaaker", "given": "Kees", "initials": "K"}, {"family": "Bruford", "given": "Michael W", "initials": "MW"}, {"family": "Ryder", "given": "Oliver", "initials": "O"}, {"family": "Steiner", "given": "Cynthia", "initials": "C"}, {"family": "Bruins-van Sonsbeek", "given": "Linda G R", "initials": "LGR"}, {"family": "Vartanyan", "given": "Sergey", "initials": "S"}, {"family": "Guo", "given": "Chunxue", "initials": "C"}, {"family": "Cooper", "given": "Alan", "initials": "A"}, {"family": "Kosintsev", "given": "Pavel", "initials": "P"}, {"family": "Kirillova", "given": "Irina", "initials": "I"}, {"family": "Lister", "given": "Adrian M", "initials": "AM"}, {"family": "Marques-Bonet", "given": "Tomas", "initials": "T"}, {"family": "Gopalakrishnan", "given": "Shyam", "initials": "S"}, {"family": "Dunn", "given": "Robert R", "initials": "RR"}, {"family": "Lorenzen", "given": "Eline D", "initials": "ED"}, {"family": "Shapiro", "given": "Beth", "initials": "B"}, {"family": "Zhang", "given": "Guojie", "initials": "G"}, {"family": "Antoine", "given": "Pierre-Olivier", "initials": "PO"}, {"family": "Dal\u00e9n", "given": "Love", "initials": "L"}, {"family": "Gilbert", "given": "M Thomas P", "initials": "MTP"}], "type": "journal article", "published": "2021-09-16", "journal": {"title": "Cell", "issn": "1097-4172", "volume": "184", "issue": "19", "pages": "4874-4885.e16", "issn-l": "0092-8674"}, "abstract": "Only five species of the once-diverse Rhinocerotidae remain, making the reconstruction of their evolutionary history a challenge to biologists since Darwin. We sequenced genomes from five rhinoceros species (three extinct and two living), which we compared to existing data from the remaining three living species and a range of outgroups. We identify an early divergence between extant African and Eurasian lineages, resolving a key debate regarding the phylogeny of extant rhinoceroses. This early Miocene (\u223c16 million years ago [mya]) split post-dates the land bridge formation between the Afro-Arabian and Eurasian landmasses. Our analyses also show that while rhinoceros genomes in general exhibit low levels of genome-wide diversity, heterozygosity is lowest and inbreeding is highest in the modern species. These results suggest that while low genetic diversity is a long-term feature of the family, it has been particularly exacerbated recently, likely reflecting recent anthropogenic-driven population declines.", "doi": "10.1016/j.cell.2021.07.032", "pmid": "34433011", "labels": {"DDLS Fellow": "", "Tom van der Valk": ""}, "xrefs": [{"db": "pii", "key": "S0092-8674(21)00891-6"}], "notes": [], "created": "2026-09-23T07:39:28.719Z", "modified": "2026-09-23T07:39:28.739Z"}