EXPERT REACTION: Little bush moa genome shines a light on NZ's extinct native birds

Using ancient DNA recovered from a fossil bone, scientists have reconstructed the genome of the turkey-sized little bush moa, which went extinct 500-600 years ago. This work allows the scientists to estimate a likely long-term population size of 240,000, and even suggests that moa eyes could detect ultraviolet light. The study also suggests the birds had a decent sense of smell, and continued to have the genetic code for wings, despite being wingless.

Scientists reconstruct the genome of the little bush moa, New Zealand’s extinct avian giant

Using ancient DNA recovered from a fossil bone, scientists have reconstructed a complete genome of the little bush moa, an extinct species of flightless bird that once roamed the forested islands of New Zealand. The work – which includes the first nuclear genome of any moa species – allowed the scientists to determine the bird’s likely population size, and even suggests that the moa’s eyes could detect ultraviolet light. The moas of New Zealand were once some of the world’s largest birds, making their homes in the islands’ dense forests and grasslands as recently as 700 years ago. However, these magnificent giants went extinct after humans colonized New Zealand due to overhunting and the introduction of non-native species, such as Polynesian dogs. In modern times, scientists have learned much about the nine species of moas by analyzing samples of ancient DNA from fossils. Nevertheless, researchers have only just begun to plumb the depths of genetic information available, and many aspects of moa biology remain shrouded in mystery. Now, Scott Edwards and colleagues present the complete genome of the little bush moa (Anomalopteryx didiformis), a small species of moa that was slightly larger than a turkey. They assembled both a complete mitochondrial genome and a nuclear genome of a male moa by sequencing ancient DNA and comparing it to a high-quality genome of the related emu. The team first calculated that the size of the moa’s nuclear genome was approximately 1.07 to 1.12 billion bases. By analyzing genetic diversity in the mitochondrial genome, Edwards et al. then estimated that the long-term population size of the bush moa was approximately 237,000 individuals. The team also investigated genes involved in the moa’s sensory biology and concluded that the bird likely had a decent sense of smell and harbored receptors in its eye that could sense ultraviolet light. “Additional nuclear genome assemblies from extinct moa […] will no doubt further enable exploration of the genetic basis of phenotypic traits of these extraordinary birds,” Edwards et al. conclude.

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