The genome sequences of soft-shell turtle and green sea turtle offer new clues to the development and evolution of turtle-specific body plan

摘要

The Joint International Turtle Genomes Consortium, led by investigators from RIKEN, BGI, and Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, has completed the genome sequencing of soft-shell turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis) and green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas). These achievements shed new light on the origin of turtles and applied the classical evo-devo model to explain the developmental process of their unique body plan. The findings were published online in Nature Genetics. The evolution of turtles is an enigma in science. Their distinct body design-with a sharp beak and protective hard shell has changed very little over the past 210 million years. As the smallest species of soft-shell turtles, Chinese soft-shell turtle was once commonly sold in pet shops. Green sea turtle is considered as the largest of all the hard-shelled sea turtles and is named because of the green fat beneath its shell. Its population sizes has been drastically reduced recently and it has been listed as an endangered species.