On an entry from the Discover magazine's blog The Loom, it was found a virus is very probable in the reason embryos attach to the mother. This is quite important for that is a key characteristic of a mammal.
What is most peculiar is how genes of different viruses are found in related species. For example, the rabbit and its closest living relative, the pika, have different "virus genes". This implies that viruses are strongly linked to speciation, and that new species in mammals begin differentiating due to small changes in the placenta's role during development.
This makes sense; viruses have a very fast adaptation rate (think of how many new flu vaccines are made). So all the other speciation methods, such as separation due to land barriers, would easily allow 2 very different viruses to evolve and impact the genes of the separated groups. Fascinating. Just fascinating.
I have just read virolution ( by frank ryan) and the same thought about endogenous retrovirus as mechanisms for speciation occured to me also. Thats how I found this blog searching for " virus as cause of speciation".
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