Scientists have sequenced the genome of one of the iconic Galapagos finches – the Medium Ground-finch.
Galapagos Medium Ground-finch (© Petr Baum / BioLib.cz, via EOL: Encyclopedia of Life / CC BY-SA 3.0)
The genome of the finch Geospiza fortis, made available in the GigaScience database, is among the first of a planned 100 genomes of vertebrate species to be sequenced and released by an international collaboration between the Genome 10K project and Beijing-based BGI.
This finch genome represents both a scientific and a symbolic advancement, according to Duke University associate professor Erich Jarvis, who studies the neurobiology of vocal learning in songbirds.
“It will allow us to investigate the genomes of a group of closely related species with a significant amount of diversity on an island population,” Prof Jarvis said.
Endemic to the subtropical or tropical dry forests and shrublands of the Galapagos Islands, this species evolves rapidly in response to environmental changes.
“Having the reference genome of this species has opened the door for carrying out studies that can look at real-time evolutionary changes on a genomic level of all of these enigmatic species,” said Goujie Zhang, associate director of research at BGI.
Prof Jarvis added that the Medium Ground-finch has several song types, whereas the zebra finch “is a more stereotyped vocal learning species.” This difference is expected to be under genetic control.
Adding richness to the possibility of understanding the genomic components of vocal learning, researchers have been recording Geospiza songs over the last 40 years.
“These recordings reveal dialectic patterns that can now be linked to the genome by sequencing the genomes of additional individuals from living and past populations. Like human spoken language, Geospiza song dialects are stable over many generations, but can change with emigration,” Prof Jarvis said.
“Having the well assembled draft reference genome of one individual will now allow scientists to determine if this cultural evolution is partly affected by genetics or is all pure cultural transmission,” Prof Jarvis added.
“In addition to being useful for investigating speciation, the genomic data can help in conservation efforts,” Zhang said. “They also serve as the base for population studies that will aid in the conservation of these renowned finches. BGI is looking forward to working with any collaborators interested in joining us to carry out this work.”
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Bibliographic information: Zhang, G; Parker, P; Li, B; Li, H; Wang, J (2012): The genome of Darwin’s Finch (Geospiza fortis). GigaScience; doi: 10.5524/100040
