Endangered Devils Hole pupfish is one of the most inbred animals known

Researchers have compiled the first genome sequences of desert pupfish from the American Southwest, including the unique Devils Hole pupfish. The genomes of the 8 Devils Hole pupfish sequenced contained an amazing number of identical stretches of DNA, amounting to 58% of the genome — among the most inbred of any known vertebrate. Paradoxically, of 15 gene deletions, five involved adaptation to hypoxia, or low oxygen levels, which are characteristic of the pupfish’s habitat. …read more