Scientists from the University of Kent found that chicken and turkey have the least number of chromosomal changes relative to the common ancestor of all modern birds - the feathered dinosaur.
The fact that birds evolved from dinosaurs has long been beyond doubt. However, scientists continue to argue about what still led to the rapid speciation of birds after the extinction of the dinosaurs. In this context, comparative studies of the genomes of birds and their ancestors among reptiles are very useful.
A group of scientists from the University of Kent (UK) studied and compared the complete genomes of five birds - chicken, turkey, zebra finch, budgerigar and duck. In total, during the study, 22 genomes were considered, 1 of which was the reptile genome. One of the objectives of the study was to compile the karyotype of a feathered dinosaur.
Bird genomes differ in that they have more tiny mini-chromosomes than any other vertebrate. It is assumed that these rather gene-rich regions of genetic material were also present in dinosaurs.
- Darren Griffin, University of Kent
As a result of the study, it was found that in the course of evolution, the chicken gained the least chromosomal changes relative to its ancestor. In second place according to the chromosome set of the feathered dinosaur was the turkey.
The researchers also found that the ancestors of the zebra finch and budgerigar evolved the fastest. This confirms the theory that songbirds and related species developed at a faster pace than other bird species.
An article by scientists with a detailed description of the study was published in the journal BMC Genomics.