The tiny Atlas blue butterfly, also known as Polyommatus atlantica, has been genetically confirmed as having the highest number of chromosomes out of all multicellular animals in the world.
It boosts an astonishing 229 pairs of chromosomes, while many of its close relatives have only 23 or 24 pairs.
Researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and the Institute of Evolutionary Biology have disclosed that these chromosomes have been broken up over time instead of duplicated.
The first genomic study was published in Current Biology, which allowed experts to explore the evolutionary reasons behind this extreme number of chromosomes.
The chromosomal changes can be observed in human cancer cells and therefore helps in understanding the process in distinct species that could help inform cancer research.
Experts have produced a gold-standard reference genome for this species; this allows researchers to compare this extreme genome with other butterflies to better analyze how species form and change gradually with time.
In the past, it was difficult to study new species practically, so experts used the DNA of one species and compared it to others in the same family to examine which genes and traits had been retained or lost, thus making approximations.
The Atlas blue butterfly is found in the mountain ranges of Morocco and northeast Algeria. It has been surmised to have the most chromosome pairs in the animal kingdom.
This was the first time experts have sequenced the butterfly's genome to confirm the species record of having the most chromosome pairs in the animal kingdom.
The number of chromosomes has contributed to the process of new species formation and helped species adapt to their environment. Atlas blue butterflies belong to a group of species that have evolved rapidly over a short course of time.
The research study raises multiple questions to be explored in the future.
The splitting of chromosomes could help to better understand genetic diversity by allowing constant arrangement of genome parts or to give other unknown benefits.
Furthermore, comparisons need to highlight whether any genes have been preserved and to give us more valuable information on the biology of the butterflies and their evolution.
A senior author at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Professor Mark Blaxter, said, "Genomes hold the key to how a creature comes and might to go in the future. To be able to tell the story of our planet, we must have the story of each species and see where they overlap and interact with each other and to better understand this process in the Atlas blue butterfly."
