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First fossil chromosomes discovered in freeze-dried mammoth skin
The 3D arrangement of the DNA in the animal’s cells hints at which genes were active.
The study is the first to report the 3D structure of an ancient genome, says Ludovic Orlando, a molecular archaeologist at Paul Sabatier University in Toulouse, France, who didn’t take part in the research. The researchers analysed the structure of the mammoth’s chromosomes and revealed the folding of the DNA molecule and its spatial organization in the nucleus — two features that are crucial for determining which genes are turned on and for how long. Hysolli, who wasn’t involved in the study, says that a full mammoth genome could help to reveal features that might be relevant to the company’s bold plan — producing an elephant–mammoth hybrid that resembles the extinct creature and that could be reintroduced to its natural habitat.
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