“The zebra finch is one of the best-studied songbirds, and a model for understanding the biology of vocal learning. Now, researchers have produced the first complete genome assembly of the species, revealing thousands of previously hidden genes and chromosome structures.

It is the first songbird genome to capture every chromosome from end to end while distinguishing the DNA inherited from each parent, making it the most complete and accurate bird genome assembled to date. Part of a package of 10 papers being published simultaneously in Cell and Cell Genomics, this study, which appears in Cell, reveals 2,710 previously unknown genes, shows that birds and mammals share an organized centromere architecture, and resolves tiny chromosomes that provide clues to the evolution of vertebrates and vocal learning.”

From Rockefeller University.