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The genetic makeup of 363 species of birds – ranging from the humble chicken to the astonishing bird of paradise – has been mapped by scientists for the first time.
The work, carried out by researchers at the Smithsonian Institute and a hundred other institutions, involved analyzing more than 17 trillion base pairs of DNA from bird species.
The researchers claim that 267 of 363 bird species had their genome sequenced for the first time in this study – expanding knowledge about the bird family tree.
Since the first bird evolved over 150 million years ago, its descendants have adapted to a wide range of ecological niches, giving rise to tiny floating hummingbirds, diving pelicans, and showy birds of paradise.
Today, more than 10,000 species of birds live on the planet – and scientists are now well on the way to capturing a complete genetic portrait of this diversity.
Since the first bird evolved over 150 million years ago, its descendants have adapted to a wide range of ecological niches, giving birth to tiny soaring hummingbirds, diving pelicans, and showy birds of paradise (photo )
The genetic makeup of 363 species of birds – ranging from the humble chicken (pictured) to the astonishing bird of paradise – has been mapped by scientists for the first time
Researchers say 267 of 363 bird species had their genome sequenced for the first time in this study – expanding knowledge about the bird family tree
Published in the journal Nature, scientists have sequenced the genomes of widespread and economically important birds such as chickens, as well as rare and lesser-known species such as the Henderson crane that lives on an island in the Pacific Ocean.
In total, the species sequenced by the team represent more than 92% of the world’s avian families, according to the study’s authors.
The data from the study will advance research on the evolution of birds and aid in their conservation, as it is freely available to the scientific community.
The publication of the new genomes is an important step for the Bird 10,000 Genomes (B10K) project, an international collaboration of scientists.
The B10K project was organized by researchers around the world and aims to sequence and share the genome of all avian species on the planet.
“The B10K is probably the most important project ever in the field of bird study,” said Gary Graves, curator of birds at the National Museum of Natural History.
Researchers sampled birds for 92% of all avian species known to the study, including the golden eagle, Aquila chrysaetos
A male Anna’s Hummingbird, native to Arizona, hovering in the air. This is just one of 363 bird species whose genome has been sequenced
“We not only hope to learn more about the phylogenetic relationships between the major branches of the bird tree of life, but we provide an enormous amount of comparative data for the study of vertebrate evolution and life itself. even.
Comparing genomes between bird families will allow researchers to explore how traits evolved in different birds and understand evolution at the molecular level.
Ultimately, the B10K researchers aim to build a complete “avian tree of life” that traces the genetic relationships between all modern birds.
Such knowledge will not only reveal the birds’ evolutionary past, but will also be vital in guiding conservation efforts in the future.
More than 150 ornithologists, molecular biologists and computer scientists have come together to obtain specimens and analyze more than 17 trillion base pairs of DNA for the family phase of the B10K project.
Male royal flycatcher (Onychorhynchus coronatus), photographed during bird banding searches in Costa Rica, opens his spectacular crest feathers in a display of threat. Birds of all shapes and sizes have been sequenced to help researchers understand their evolution
About 40% of the newly sequenced genomes were found from tissue samples held in the avian genetic resources collection of the National Museum of Natural History – established by Graves in 1986
Sequencing and analysis began in 2011, but the data represents decades of work by field collectors and collections management staff who have collected and preserved birds from all continents, Graves said.
About 40% of the newly sequenced genomes were found from tissue samples held in the Avian Genetic Resources Collection of the National Museum of Natural History – established by Graves in 1986.
“It may seem that having a genome for every family or species of bird is a bit like stamp collecting, but this massive cooperative effort has given us a set of very important genomic resources for conservation,” said researcher Rob Fleischer.
Fleischer, director of the Center for Conservation Genomics at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, said he could help map population declines.
“Having genomes makes it easier to find genes responsible for important survival traits such as resistance to deadly introduced diseases.
Red-winged blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus. In the next few years, researchers hope to have sequenced the roughly 10,000 known bird species
Comparing genomes between bird families will allow researchers to explore how traits evolved in different birds and understand evolution at the molecular level
Sequencing and analysis began in 2011, but the data represents decades of work by field collectors and collections management staff who have collected and preserved birds from all continents, Graves said.
“Through 34 years of fieldwork and dozens of expeditions, we were able to obtain the high quality DNA stock that really makes this project possible,” said Graves.
“Many of these resources were stored long before DNA sequencing technology was developed, preserved for future analysis their collectors could not have imagined at the time.
“This is one of the many reasons why natural history museum collections and museum research programs are so important!
With 363 complete genomes, B10K is expanding its efforts to encompass the next level of avian classification.
In this phase, the team will sequence thousands of additional genomes, aiming to represent each of the approximately 2,300 genera of birds.
The results were published in the journal Nature.
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