Animal genomes follow irreversible 'evolutionary highways' across thousands of species
A large-scale study of over 5,800 animal genomes reveals that chromosomes evolve along limited, irreversible 'evolutionary highways' rather than through random changes. This discovery provides new insights into the history of animal life and offers a framework for future biodiversity conservation efforts.
Why it matters
Understanding the constraints of genome evolution helps scientists predict future biological changes and prioritize species for conservation.
edited by Sadie Harley , reviewed by Robert Egan
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Add as preferred source Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain A human, an octopus, and a coral could hardly look more different—yet deep inside their cells, their chromosomes still carry recognizable pieces of a genome inherited from an animal ancestor that lived more than 600 million years ago. Since then, their chromosomes have fused, split and rearranged countless times. Today, thousands of animal genomes have been sequenced.
For the first time, an international team led by scientists from the University of Vienna set about comparing them all at once. So far, it has been a major challenge to make sense of how their genomes changed over such vast timescales.
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