Understanding Dinosaur DNA

[IrritatorRaji]

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-04267-9
Reconstruction of the diapsid ancestral genome permits chromosome evolution tracing in avian and non-avian dinosaurs
Darren Griffin's paper



Articles that sum it up well:

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-44711974
Dinosaur DNA clues unpicked by researchers at University of Kent

"Recently, Prof Darren Griffin's team used mathematical techniques to identify the possible genetic characteristics of the very first dinosaurs. They did this by working backwards from their closest modern-day relatives - birds and turtles."

"Their results suggest that dinosaur DNA was probably organised into many chunks - called chromosomes. Birds usually have about 80 chromosomes - about three times the number humans possess.

It is notable that birds are among the most varied animal groups on Earth. If, as Prof Griffin thinks, dinosaurs also had a large number of chromosomes it might explain why they too came in such a range of shapes and sizes.

"We think it generates variation. Having a lot of chromosomes enables dinosaurs to shuffle their genes around much more than other types of animals. This shuffling means that dinosaurs can evolve more quickly and so help them survive so long as the planet changed," Prof Griffin said.

Dr Rebecca O'Connor, from the University of Kent, said: "The fossil evidence and now our evidence reinforces the idea that rather than birds and dinosaurs being distant relatives, they are one in the same. The birds around us today are dinosaurs." "

"Genetic material degrades over time, and the world record for the survival of ancient DNA is one million years. Dinosaurs lived between 66 and 245 million years ago.

However, the techniques being used by Prof Griffin and his colleagues may lead to an even more detailed understanding of what dinosaur DNA was like."




https://www.cnet.com/news/scientists-may-have-uncovered-what-dinosaur-dna-looked-like/
Scientists may have uncovered what dinosaur DNA looked like

"We know there were dinosaurs with spiky tails, dinosaurs with extremely long necks and dinosaurs that crushed the bones of prey in their teeth. We don't see these traits in birds often (though that would be cool), so one might expect that the way their DNA is arranged would be wildly different.

Not the case.

Despite the variation, the research team at Kent believe that dinosaur DNA has been highly stable throughout history."