Population and Evolutionary Genomics of Lizards and Snakes

Nathalie Feiner, Natalia Zajac, Guannan Wen, Tobias Uller

With an extraordinary diversity in body plans, colour patterns and lifestyles, and over 12,000 living species, squamate reptiles (lizards, snakes, and amphisbaenians) provide unparalleled opportunities to apply genomic tools for answering biological questions. From desert runners to rainforest climbers, high-mountain dwellers to sea snakes, squamates have repeatedly evolved remarkable innovations, including giving birth to live young (viviparity) and reproduction without males (parthenogenesis). This chapter explores how population and evolutionary genomics is used to understand squamate evolution, opening with a survey of the genomic resources currently available. Our own work on Mediterranean wall lizards serves as a case study, showing how genomes can illuminate evolutionary histories and allow inference about the genetic underpinnings of novel phenotypes. Research on the repeated evolution of viviparity and parthenogenesis is used to exemplify ongoing research to uncover the genomic and developmental genetic basis of phenotypic evolution. We conclude by looking ahead to the expanding role of genomics in countering the worldwide ongoing decline of squamates.