The sequencing of the Atlantic cod genome in 2011 demonstrated that this species lacks a crucial share of its immune system. In a follow-up study,Kjetill S. Jakobsen and collaborators have investigated a large number of additional fish species and found that this is a trait that Atlantic cod have in common with its close relatives, the codfishes. Further analyses expose that the alternate immune system observed is associated with increased speciation rates, or a key to the success of this group of fishes. The results are now published in the world-leading journal Nature Genetics.
Source: phys.org