The genome of the pygmy right whale illuminates the evolution of rorquals.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Baleen whales are a clade of gigantic and highly specialized marine mammals. Their genomes have been used to investigate their complex evolutionary history and to decipher the molecular mechanisms that allowed them to reach these dimensions. However, many unanswered questions remain, especially about the early radiation of rorquals and how cancer resistance interplays with their huge number of cells. The pygmy right whale is the smallest and most elusive among the baleen whales. It reaches only a fraction of the body length compared to its relatives and it is the only living member of an otherwise extinct family. This placement makes the pygmy right whale genome an interesting target to update the complex phylogenetic past of baleen whales, because it splits up an otherw

SUBMITTER: Wolf M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10091562 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature