A study comparing woolly mammoth genomes with modern-day elephants revealed key traits that defined the species, such as woolly coats, large fat deposits, and small ears. These features were already present in early woolly mammoths and became more defined throughout their 700,000+ year existence.
Researchers have compared the genomes of woolly mammoths and modern-day elephants to identify the unique characteristics of woolly mammoths. In a study published in Current Biology, the team found that traits like woolly coats and large fat deposits were already genetically encoded in the earliest woolly mammoths, but became more defined throughout the species’ 700,000+ year existence.
“We wanted to know what makes a mammoth a woolly mammoth,” says paleogeneticist and first author David Díez-del-Molino of the Centre for Palaeogenetics in Stockholm. “Woolly mammoths have some very characteristic morphological features, like their thick fur and small ears, that you obviously expect based on what frozen specimens look like, but there are also many other adaptations like fat metabolism and cold perception that are not so evident because they’re at the molecular level.
“Having the Chukochya genome allowed us to identify a number of genes that evolved during the lifespan of the woolly mammoth as a species,” says senior author Love Dalén, professor of evolutionary genomics at the Centre for Palaeogenetics in Stockholm. “This allows us to study evolution in real time, and we can say these specific mutations are unique to woolly mammoths, and they didn’t exist in its ancestors.
While previous studies have looked at the genomes of one or two woolly mammoths, this is the first comparison of a large number of mammoth genomes. This large sample size enabled the team to identify genes that were common among all woolly mammoths, and therefore likely adaptive, as opposed to genetic mutations that might only have been present in a single individual.
Overall, the 700,000-year-old Chukochya genome shared approximately 91.7% of the mutations that caused protein-coding changes in the more modern woolly mammoths. This means that many of the woolly mammoth’s defining traits—including thick fur, fat metabolism, and cold-perception abilities—were probably already present when the woolly mammoth first diverged from its ancestor, the steppe mammoth.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
700-plus open seats remain in Philly magnets after school district’s readmission fixThree Philadelphia critieria-based schools will lose more than two staff positions as a result of the underenrollment — Rush Arts, Hill-Freedman and Girls High.
Read more »
St. Johns County agency advances development plan for 700+ “age-restricted” homesThe Planning and Zoning Agency for St. Johns County looked over a plan to build The Landings at St. Johns, one of two projects that Pulte Home Company LLC wants to develop just off Greenbriar Road and Longleaf Pine Parkway.
Read more »
Man sentenced to 3 years after 'recklessly' infecting woman with HIV 14 years agoPolice in the United Kingdom says years of detective work finally landed a Jamaican man behind bars for three years after 'recklessly' giving HIV to a British woman.
Read more »
I Can’t Shut Up About the Woolly Mammoth MeatballExtremelyOnline: Last week, an Australian company debuted the world’s first — and, God willing, only — meatball made with woolly mammoth. miamarket writes
Read more »
EXCLUSIVE: March Migrant Apprehensions in One Northern U.S. Border Sector Up 1000 Percent over Last YearThe record-shattering migrant apprehensions in March represent a more than 1000 percent increase over the previous year when agents apprehended 61 migrants.
Read more »