Foreign media: A research team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences has used artificial intelligence technology to discover hidden protein connections among different species that have evolved similar functions. This study reveals the molecular mechanisms behind so-called "convergent evolution" — where unrelated species independently develop similar traits to adapt to their environment (such as echolocation in bats and dolphins, or flight capabilities in birds and insects).
Traditional methods usually only compare local similarities in gene sequences, while this study used an advanced AI protein language model to analyze more complex three-dimensional structural features of proteins, thereby revealing the common molecular basis for these independently evolved functions.
The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) on September 23, pointing out that this hidden protein sequence commonality has long been underestimated in evolutionary biology, providing new clues for understanding how life evolves similar functions through different pathways.
Original article: www.toutiao.com/article/1845773167502336/
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