The DNA of octopus may not be from this world, scientists revealed.,
The new study concluded that octopuses actually have alien DNA!
According to the study published in the journal Nature,
octopuses have a genome that yields an unprecedented level of complexity,
composed of 33,000 protein-coding genes.
This number is way beyond the number that can be found in a human being.
The marine biologists behind this discovery intend to understand the
DNA code of octopuses to understand them better. Through this first-ever full-genome sequence,
the biologists claimed that octopuses cannot be compared to any other animal on this planet.
This is not the first study to highlight octopuses' rarity.
An earlier study by, Dr. Clifton Ragsdale, hailing from the University of Chicago,
claimed that the octopuses cannot even compare to other molluscs. It's eight prehensile arms, large brain and
remarkable problem-solving abilities make it stand out more.
"The late British zoologist Martin-Wells said the octopus is an alien.
In this sense, then, our paper describes the first sequenced genome from an alien."
The researchers from the University of Chicago added that
the genome of octopuses is actually full of transposons or the jumping genes.
These genes can rearrange themselves on the genome although what
their real role is still be investigated.
What is known though is that transposons can regulate
gene expression and can affect genome structure significantly.
"With a few notable exceptions, the octopus basically has
a typical invertebrate genome that's just been completely rearranged, like it's been put into a blender and mixed,"
said Caroline Albertin, co-lead author and graduate student in Organismal Biology and Anatomy at the University of Chicago.
"This leads to genes being placed in new genomic environments with different regulatory elements,
and was an entirely unexpected finding."
The study concluded that octopuses have "alien" genes
and more probing from the marine biologists can reveal more breakthroughs.
The world is still so vast and we only knew half of what is really out there.