A recent study led by the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) gives new insight into the diversification of mammals.

Dolphins, humans, cats, elephants and more are all mammals, but they are not the same. The study examined gene regulation in 20 mammals to give an understanding of how the species diverged millions of years ago.

According to researchers at the EMBL European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) and the University of Cambridge Cancer Research UK-Cambridge Institute (CRUK CI), the techniques used for understanding the biology of humans can be utilized for understanding a wide range of mammal species.

The scientists explain that all mammals share some common genes and also a common ancestor. However, not all mammals are the same. Thus, scientists are trying to understand how mammals started diverging.

To understand how mammals started diverging, they had to understand how and when genes are regulated. The study explored the gene regulation evolution in 20 mammal species to draw a picture about mammalian radiation, which is a time of fast morphological evolution. This time occurred very shortly following an asteroid impact, which swept away the dinosaurs from the Earth.

The researchers also examined a genome sequencing study of 29 mammals and, with the help of certain conservation organizations, they compared the gene regulation in the liver cells of 20 key mammal species, which included humans, Sei whale, dolphins, Tasmanian devils and more.

The study looked at some gene enhancers and promoters in several mammals and established that enhancers specific to species arise from ancient DNA.

"Evolution captures DNA that's been around for a long time, and uses it for gene regulation in specific tissues," said Paul Flicek, head of Vertebrate Genomics at EMBL-EBI.

The scientists suggest that evolution has two different methods that turn alterations in the genome into differences between species. It can alter a protein sequence, or it can alter the way enhancers or promoters regulate the protein's expression.

In some cases, both instances were responsible for the evolution. When amino acid sequences evolve swiftly, the significant regulation alterations occur at the same time; the protein-coding sequence as well as the corresponding controlling sequence also change in synergy.

The authors of the research believe that the results of the study can now answer important questions regarding the functional genetics of numerous under-explored mammals.

The findings of the study are detailed in the journal Cell.