Genetic testing of 23 woolly mammoths by Swedish researchers showed that they were not always hairy. Photo/Science
Researchers from Sweden compared the genomes of 23 Siberian woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius) with the genomes of 28 modern Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) and African elephants (Loxodonta). They found that over the more than 700,000 years of existence, megafauna also evolved.
“The Woolly mammoth had some very distinctive morphological features, such as thick fur and small ears. However, many other adaptations, such as fat metabolism and the perception of cold, are not as clear because they are at the molecular level,” said David Deez del Molino, a paleontologist at the Center for Palaeogenetics in Stockholm. 4/2023).
The researchers found that overall, the Chukochya genome, which is more than 700,000 years old, has about 91.7% of gene mutations. These conditions led to changes in protein coding in more modern woolly mammoths.
That means the species-defining traits were present when the woolly mammoth diverged from the steppe mammoth (Mammuthus trogontherii), one of its ancestors. They are known for their silky fur, fat deposits, and ability to deal with cold conditions.
They also found that woolly mammoths evolved to have dry earwax and less body odor. “We did this research to find out what made a mammoth a woolly mammoth,” said David Díez del Molino.
It also found several highly evolved genes related to fat metabolism and storage that are also found in other Arctic species, such as the wildebeest and polar bear. “This means that there was convergent evolution for this gene in cold-adapted mammals,” says Díez del Molino. The results of this study were published in the journal Current Biology on April 7, 2023.
(wib)
