Chinese scientists reveal origin, evolutionary mechanism of snakes

BEIJING, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists have recently revealed the origin of snakes and the evolutionary mechanism of their unique morphological adaptations.

Snakes are at the key point of vertebrate evolution in biological evolution history, said Li Jiatang, a researcher with the Chengdu Institute of Biology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, adding that it is of significance to study the genetic mechanism of their unique morphological adaptations for understanding the history of vertebrate evolution.

Researchers selected the world's most representative snakes of different branches and comprehensively used interdisciplinary research methods such as multi-omics and gene editing in the study.

Based on the chromosomal-level snake genome dataset, researchers have constructed the most powerful phylogenetic framework of snakes to date, and concluded that snakes originated in the early Cretaceous period 118 million years ago.

They identified genes, regulatory elements and structural variations that have potentially contributed to the evolution of limb loss, an elongated body plan, asymmetrical lungs, sensory systems and digestive adaptations in snakes.

Researchers also explored the evolutionary genetic mechanism of blind snakes and infrared-sensitive snakes.

The study findings have been published in the journal Cell.