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The scientists from the Stowers Institute, a medical research facility in Kansas City, Mo., said vertebrae are formed from their embryonic precursors, called somites. The number of somites is consistent within a species, but varies significantly across species.

By comparing developing embryos of zebrafish, chicken, mice and corn snakes, the team said it established an understanding of how an organism regulates the number of somites formed.

"We set out to understand why snakes form hundreds of vertebrae, while mice form about 50 and humans form just 33", said Celine Gomez, lead author of the study. "We found that the control of both body elongation and vertebrae precursor size accounts for the different numbers of vertebrae in each of these species -- the smaller the vertebrae precursors are along the body length, the more vertebrae are formed."

The research is reported in the advance online issue of the journal Nature.

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