Journal Club: Scarlet macaw genome sequenced | Maniraptora.

One of the questions we spend a chapter discussing is what makes a species unique.  We talk about DNA and speciation and chromosome copies.  This research is interesting from an evolutionary perspective, because it shows how the scarlet macaw is different from a chicken: how the chromosomes are similar and different, how the genetic information on those chromosomes (especially the sex chromosomes) have changed, and about how long ago that evolutionary split has occurred.  It’s a really good (and beautiful) example of speciation and how genetics contributes to that!