Common Ancestor of All Placental Mammals Was Insect-Eater: Study
May 21, 2018 by News Staff / Source
Humans are known to have one functioning and three non-functioning chitinase genes — those that make an enzyme that digests the insect exoskeletal chitin. According to a new analysis of mammalian genomes, nearly all placental mammals have one of five different chitinase genes, though not all are functioning and some fragmentary; this suggests that the common ancestor of all placental mammals, living with dinosaurs until 66 million years ago, was an insectivore (insect eater). The study was published in the journal Science Advances.
http://www.sci-news.com/biology/common-ancestor-placental-mammals-insect-eater-06023.html
