Scientists find hidden “highways” guiding animal evolution
A sweeping analysis of thousands of animal genomes suggests that chromosomes do not evolve randomly but instead follow a limited number of irreversible “evolutionary highways.” These one-way genetic changes preserve clues to more than 600 million years of animal history and could even help researchers explore where evolution may head next.
Scientists have discovered "highways" guiding the evolution of animal genomes, according to a study published in Science Advances. Researchers from the University of Vienna traced how ancient genomic fragments, inherited from a common ancestor that lived over 600 million years ago, were reorganized as animal life diversified. These chromosome changes primarily follow a restricted set of irreversible pathways, known as evolutionary highways.
The study provides valuable insights for understanding and conserving animal biodiversity. The researchers analyzed over 5,800 chromosome-scale genomes from 4,454 species across 19 animal phyla, revealing that animal lines tend to move along these pathways, with different groups traveling at different times and rates. This process, named fusion-with-mixing, involves chromosomes joining and their genes becoming intermixed, creating a lasting genetic record that can identify shared ancestry.
The findings suggest that irreversible chromosome mixing can push different lineages into distinct regions of the genomic landscape, permanently influencing where a lineage ends up in terms of genome architecture.
Written by urgent.news from ScienceDaily's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
