Gila monsters get viruses, like other species. 33 microvirus genomes were discovered from studying fecal samples from 14 Gila monsters. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC... #2026MMM
The ossifrage hides Ice Age history in its mtDNA! Godoy et al. used museum specimens of now-extinct populations to reveal 2 lineages: one from W. Europe, one from Africa & C. Asia, shaped by separate glacial refugia. doi.org/10.1046/j.13... #2026MMM
Lions & tigers & bears? Genomic work from Sun et al. (2025) found the Japanese Archipelago housed lions, not tigers, during the Late Pleistocene. Originally, all big 🐱 fossil remains were attributed to tigers. Oh my! doi.org/10.1073/pnas... #2026MMM
Bengal cats (house cats that are ~4% Asian leopard cat) look wild, but domestic cat controls the coat color. Leopard cat color genes are suppressed. Genome version of home habitat advantage www.cell.com/current-biol... #2026MMM
Across 27 dromedary camel-types, DNA analysis showed that names based on coat color often didn’t match real genetic boundaries. The strongest pattern was geography: camel-types cluster broadly by origin (Asia vs. Africa). #2026MMM #RIP doi.org/10.1093/jher...
#RIP Genome-wide heterozygosity of the ossifrage: 0.0011 sites/bp, roughly half the avian average. Zou et al. 2021 traced this genetic impoverishment to the Last Glacial Maximum (~20 kya), suggesting vultures were never genetically diverse to begin with. doi.org/10.1093/molb... #2026MMM
Orange cat mystery solved! Orange cats lack ~5,100 bases of DNA that normally regulate the gene ARHGAP36. The gene is still there, but switched on when it should be off. www.cell.com/current-biol... #2026MMM #RIP
To protect their kidneys during extreme dehydration, camels use a unique metabolic strategy. Rather than importing osmolytes like most mammals, they increase glucose uptake in renal cells, fueling osmolyte production to balance osmotic stress. #2026MMM www.nature.com/articles/nco...
Aurochs used to live in Northern and Southern Europe and carried many mitochondrial genome lineages. Lari et al found that Southern Italy aurochs have similar lineages as modern cattle unlike northern Europe Aurochs, suggesting a role in domestication for Italy doi.org/10.1186/1471... #2026MMM
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