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The secrets of evolution in 240 mammalian DNA maps

2023-05-02T08:15:02.034Z


20 years after the publication of the mouse genome, 240 mammalian DNA maps have been published so far and collected in the international Zoonomia project: they will help to understand important aspects of evolution, including human evolution (ANSA)


20 years after the publication of the mouse genome, 240 mammalian DNA maps have been published so far and collected in the international Zoonomia project: they will help to understand important aspects of evolution, including human evolution.

The results are published in the journal Science in 11 studies completed as part of the project coordinated by Elinor Karlsson, of the Broad Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, and Kerstin Lindblad-Toh, of the Swedish University of Uppsala.



From the secrets of smell to the ability to hibernate up to the possibility of identifying the genetic origins of diseases, such as diabetes, and the characteristics of the famous sled dog Balto: these are just some of the results achieved by the Zoonomia project.

"One of the major problems in genomics - said Karlsson - is that human beings have a really big genome and we don't know what it's for".

The Zoonomia project was born to try to clarify things, a great effort to sequence and then compare the entire DNA sequence of mammals, from bats to whales, to identify the characteristics they have in common alongside the peculiarities of the individual species, and to understand what makes both humans and animals with incredible powers special,



Among the 11 scientists, the one led by Matthew Christmas, of Uppsala University, and Irene Kaplow, of the American Carnegie Mellon University, discovered that at least 10% of the human genome is common in other mammals and that potions of DNA 4,500 are almost perfectly preserved in over 98% of the species studied.



Research has allowed us to determine that the great diversification of mammals took place long before the extinction of the dinosaurs and to identify some specific mutations present in humans.

"We have produced such a quantity of data - Lindblad-Toh said - that they can be used for studies on evolution and medical research for many years to come".

Source: ansa

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