It really feels amazing on how millions of land animal species on earth have their exact type and number of toes and fingers of every specific species characterized with, besides exceptions.
While amazing us, this also triggers the query on how it actually happens!
The scientists have eventually decoded the mystery leading to this amazing nature’s making – ‘genes’ is the answer.
Interestingly, the genes are that of the shark, dating back more than 500 million years! Yes, it is the genetic activity in the ‘spotted cat-shark-embryos’ that regulated the creation of the fingers’ and toes’ digits.
Ah! This discovery defies the previous belief that the ‘digit development-gene’ was first expressed some 365 million years ago in the earliest tetrapodsthe — first vertebrates to walk on land.
Noticeably, it also automatically pushes the date of the evolution of ‘fin to limb’ back by some 135 million years. With the genes for trait — like colored hair — were known for ages, it is for the first time the expressed-genes for digit development are identified.
Now, its time to rehearse history with the finger-and-toe gene’s first expression-date, which happens to be much earlier than known.
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