bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/287086; this version posted March 22, 2018. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under aCC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license. Comparative Genomics and Genome Evolution in birds-of-paradise Stefan Prost1,2,*, Ellie E. Armstrong1, Johan Nylander3, Gregg W.C. Thomas4, Alexander Suh5, Bent Petersen6, Love Dalen3, Brett Benz7, Mozes P.K. Blom3, Eleftheria Palkopoulou3, Per G. P. Ericson3, Martin Irestedt3,* 1 Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5020, USA 2 Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3140, USA 3 Department of Biodiversity Informatics and Genetics, Swedish Museum of Natural History, 10405 Stockholm, Sweden 4 Department of Biology and School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering, Indiana University, IN 47405, USA 5 Department of Evolutionary Biology (EBC), Uppsala University, 75236 Uppsala, Sweden 6 Department of Bio and Health Informatics, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Lyngby, Denmark 7 American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA * Corresponding authors: Stefan Prost (
[email protected]), Martin Irestedt (
[email protected]) Abstract Background The diverse array of phenotypes and lekking behaviors in birds-of-paradise have long excited scientists and laymen alike. Remarkably, almost nothing is known about the genomics underlying this iconic radiation. Currently, there are 41 recognized species of birds-of-paradise, most of which live on the islands of New Guinea. In this study we sequenced genomes of representatives from all five major clades recognized within the birds-of-paradise family (Paradisaeidae).