Back off my cake, it defines me

摘要

Dogs famously love a bone, but a taste for starch may have helped to turn their ancestors from wolves into pooches. The first comparison of the full genomes of wolves and dogs has found 36 segments that clearly differ. Besides differences in genes linked to brain development, Erik Axelsson of Uppsala University in Sweden and colleagues found three genes in dogs that are vital for digestion and extend their ancestral carnivorous diet to include starch (Nature. DOI: 10.1038ature11B37).