Squid genome sheds light on extraordinary brain evolution

Squids, octopus, and cuttlefish have evolved the largest nervous systems amongst invertebrates alongside many adaptations to their local habitats. An international team of scientists has examined the organisation and regulation of the genome of the Hawaiian bobtail squid to investigate the molecular basis of these unique traits. They found that the squid genome has undergone considerable rearrangements in the course of evolution, and that it harbours hundreds of new gene clusters, including some associated with the development of the nervous system. Their findings are now published in the journal Nature Communications.