Ben shares that he has included the breed on the list not because they’re highly susceptible to any heart problem, but because of their increased likelihood of developing a condition called Pericardial Effusion.
Due to challenges obtaining high-quality DNA, the team was not able to analyze the genetic condition of the Wrangel Island population during their final 300 years, roughly five generations, says study coauthor Marianne Dehasque, also of the Centre for Palaeogenetics.
Corinaldesi’s colleagues traveled to three coastal areas of Antarctica in the Ross Sea and scooped up ocean sediment containing three common marine worm species — two that survive on scraps of dead organisms and one that is a predator.
