U.S. researchers have cracked a genetic adaptation change in komodo's giant lizard

U.S. researchers said Tuesday that three genetic adaptation changes in the Komodo lizard have been found to give it characteristics not found in other reptiles and common in mammals.
findings were published in the British journal Nature Ecology and Evolution.
researchers studied two Komodo giant lizards kept at the Atlanta Zoo in the United States. After collecting blood samples, the researchers sequenced their genomes and found that changes in genetic adaptability led to changes in their cell mitochondrial function.
mitochondrials act like "generators" for cells, functioning to manage the heart and muscles. Komodo's giant lizard mitochondrial changes can enhance its aerobic motion. Reptiles are cold-blooded animals that lack aerobic motor skills and are prone to fatigue.
researchers mapped the genome of the Komodo lizard, they found that adaptive changes in genes made it an exception to reptiles. Komodo lizards can accelerate metabolism to mammalian levels, which in turn have amazing speed and endurance.
, the researchers found that the genes associated with the Komodo lizard that control chemical receptors change adaptively, allowing it to detect hormones, or hormones. As the body's chemical information, mammals usually use it to identify similar species.
, co-author of the paper and director of the U.S. Institute of Data Science and Biotechnology, said the feature could help Komodo's giant lizards find prey from a distance.
another genetic adaptation change linked to the venom of the Komodo lizard. Its venom is an anticoagulant compound that prevents prey wounds from cloting and then bleeding to death. Genetic changes make the Komodo lizard itself immune to anticoagulants, even if the same kind of disability, will not be more than blood flow.Bernua Bruno, another author of the
paper and director of cardiovascular disease at the Gladstone Institute in the United States, said, "Komodo lizards are the top hunters of island survival, large and awesome in size; reptiles are like biological evolution 'amusement parks', showcasing diversity in size, size, behavior and physiology." The
is the world's largest lizard and inhabits parts of Indonesia. They can be up to 3 meters long, their teeth are jagged, their tongues are yellow, their limbs are strong and their tails are longer.