This is indeed incredible. German scientists used an ancient tooth fossil to successfully determine the complete mitochondrial genome of the mastodon, which is the oldest mitochondrial genome obtained by scientists so far. The research results are expected to deepen scientists' understanding of elephant differentiation. Related papers were published in "PLoS Biology" on July 24.
The mastodon, which appeared 28 million years ago, is a close relative of modern elephants. They are about 3 meters high and have long hairs like mammoths. However, mastodons mainly live in forests and feed on the branches and leaves of trees. Ten thousand years ago, they became extinct in northern North America. The newly researched fossil of a mastodon tooth was found in northern Alaska, USA, and has a history of 50,000 to 130,000 years ago. Scientists did not find other skeleton fossils of the mastodon body at that time.
DNA sequencing showed that the mastodons and the ancestors of modern elephants began to separate from each other 25 million years ago. Michael Hofreiter of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, who led the study, said, "This ancient fossil and complete sequencing is an interesting thing in itself."
Scientists have long been unable to determine the connection between Asian elephants, African elephants and hairy mammoths, because modern elephants do not have close relatives alive-the closest relationship with modern elephants is the dugong (Dugong) and rodent-like rodents in the ocean Animal hyrax. The new research results will undoubtedly help to resolve the debate about modern elephant ancestors.
The researchers built a family map of elephants based on the DNA sequencing results of modern elephants, mammoths and mastodons. The map shows that, unlike general knowledge, Asian elephants and African elephants are less intimate than Asian elephants and mammoths. Researchers estimate that African elephants and Asian elephants and mammoths parted company about 7.6 million years ago, and then less than 1 million years later, Asian elephants and mammoths also separated.
Hofreiter said these events are much like the differentiation of humans, chimpanzees and gorillas. "Scientists usually think that the climate in Africa was getting drier, forests became scarce, and grasslands were more lush."
Before the latest research, the oldest species that sequenced the mitochondrial genome was the mammoth 33,000 years ago, and the only animal that was completely sequenced was the Moa, which was extinct in New Zealand in 1500 AD. The latest research is undoubtedly broken These records.
Eske Willerslev of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark recently sequenced the bacterial mitochondrial DNA of Greenland from 450,000 to 800,000 years ago. He said, "DNA can definitely be maintained at extremely low temperatures for millions of years. However, no one knows how long they can survive."
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