The DNA came from a female, nicknamed Glennie, which was captured in the wild in New South Wales, Australia. He said: "It's wonderful to see all of the different mishmash of features that the platypus exhibits to see those features reflected in the DNA, in the genes of this creature, which has held mysteries for the scientists and the general population ever since it was discovered 200 years ago." "It was one of several (mammals) we could have chosen, but it was certainly the one that everyone seemed to wish to sequence because of its unusual features."ĭr Ponting said the genome sequence enabled scientists to look back in time to see what an early mammal would have been like. "It has a very weird appearance because it's a mishmash of the bill of a duck, the eyes of a mole, the eggs of a lizard and the tail of a beaver," Dr Ponting told BBC News. The platypus is so strange that it was considered a hoax when sent from Australia to European researchers in the 19th Century. Has 52 chromosomes, including 10 sex chromosomes He said the platypus was chosen because of its unusual features. The platypus ( Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is the latest in a string of mammals, including the mouse, rat, sheep, horse and dog, to have its genome decoded.īut it is the only member of the monotremes (egg laying mammals) for which we have a genetic blueprint.ĭr Chris Ponting, of the MRC Functional Genetics Unit at the University of Oxford, UK, is one of more than 100 researchers from the US, UK and Australia, who took part in the study. The genome sequence, which is published in the journal Nature, holds clues to how humans and other mammals first evolved, they add. Researchers say this unique mixture of features is reflected in its DNA. The animal comes from an early branch of the mammal family, and like mammals it is covered in fur and produces milk. Scientists have deciphered the genetic blueprint of the duck-billed platypus, one of the oddest creatures on Earth. The egg-laying, venomous, duck-billed platypus in action (Dr Frederic Veyrunes)
0 kommentar(er)
