Hidden genetic diversity helped inbred brown tree snakes conquer guam

Guam's devastating brown tree snake invasion was supposed to be impossible. A tiny founding population should have been doomed by inbreeding. But researchers using advanced long-read DNA sequencing discovered the snakes carried hidden genetic advantages — more than nineteen thousand large genetic differences, many concentrated in genes tied to immunity and smell. Those overlooked advantages, ScienceDaily reports, may have given the snakes the resilience to adapt to their new island home and multiply to devastating densities.

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