Evidence for increased olfactory receptor gene repertoire size in two nocturnal bird species with well-developed olfactory ability

Table 1 Overview of the species studied and their OR gene repertoires.

Common name	Scientific name	Order	Family	Activity pattern	No. distinct OR sequences amplified^c	No. pseudogenes amplified^c	% intact OR genes	Total no. OR genes	Confidence interval (lower/upper)^d
*Paleognath comparison*
Brown kiwi	Apteryx australis	Apterygiformes	Apterygidae	N	42 (27/15)	9 (5/4)	78.6	478	(156/1708)
Emu	Dromaius novaehollandiae	Casuariiformes	Dromaiidae	D	31 (25/6)	6 (6/0)	80.6	109	(56/275)
Greater Rhea	Rhea americana	Rheiformes	Rheidae	D	28 (11/17)	7 (4/3)	75.0	66	(40/156)
Ostrich	Struthio camelus	Struthioniformes	Struthionidae	D	25 (21/4)	4 (2/2)	84	58	(34/143)
Elegant crested tinamou^a	Eudromia elegans	Tinamiformes	Tinamidae	D	N.A.	N.A.	N.A.	N.A.	N.A.
*Psittaciform comparison*
Kakapo	Strigops habroptilus	Psittaciformes	Nestoridae^b	N	38 (14/24)	12 (0/12)	68.4	312	(122/932)
Kaka	Nestor meridionalis	Psittaciformes	Nestoridae	D	22 (12/10)	5 (1/4)	77.3	55	(31/155)
Kea	Nestor notabilis	Psittaciformes	Nestoridae	D/C	30 (17/13)	2 (0/2)	93.3	102	(52/263)
Galah^a	Elophus roseicapillus	Psittaciformes	Cacatuidae	D	N.A.	N.A.	N.A.	N.A.	N.A.

^a used as outgroup
^b Kakapo have also been classified as the sole member of a distinct family Strigopidae [40]
^c Numbers in brackets refer to non-γ-c and γ-c OR genes, respectively
^d 95% confidence interval of the estimate (lower/upper)
Activity pattern, number of distinct OR sequences and pseudogenes amplified, predicted proportion of potentially intact OR genes, estimated number of OR genes and lower and upper confidence interval of the estimate for seven bird species. Note that the number of distinct OR sequences is the sum of the number of intact OR sequences and the number of distinct OR pseudogenes. Abbreviations: N = nocturnal, D = diurnal, C = crepuscular, N.A. = not applicable.

ISSN: 2730-7182