Pigeon DNA may hold clues to evolution
Researchers have discovered that most of the domestic birds descend from one type.
Following in the footsteps of Charles Darwin, who raised pigeons, a team led by Michael D. Shapiro at the University of Utah has so far sequenced the DNA of 40 pigeon breeds to determine the mutations that created their different forms. Their findings support Darwin’s theory that all pigeon breeds, which are almost as diverse as dog breeds, descend from the rock pigeon that lived in Europe, North Africa and Asia.
And they’re hoping what they learn about these birds will help them discover more about how evolution works in general.
“It’s a brilliant bit of investigative science, the type of research that hopefully will come to define the genomic era,” said Beth Shapiro, who’s no relation to Michael, of the University of California, Santa Cruz.
The findings were published in the journal Science.
— Read it at The New York Times
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