More than 30 years ago , scientist sequenced the first genome — the genic make - up — of a bacteria - infecting virus calledbacteriophage Fx174 . Since then , many people have heard of the popularHuman Genome Project , which represent the total human genome , which consists of some 20,000 to 25,000 genes . In the lag , scientists have sequence thousands of knavish and weird genome of other being .
Genomes are most unremarkably sequence in the cognitive operation of researching a disease or a function of a fussy being , though sometimes , saturated curio advance out . sequence is a pricy enterprise ( though it ’s gottenexponentially cheaperin the preceding 15 years ) , so securing support is the first berth researchers must begin . For projects paid for by the National Institutes of Health ( NIH ) , which fund at least one-half of genome - sequence inquiry in the U.S. , scientist must declare oneself how this fresh genome will improve human wellness , expand a biological savvy , or have other positive implications . In other cases , private investors will fund research beneficial to their business line of work or study . Here are a smattering of some of the most unusual genome sequence by scientist .
1. NAKED MOLE RAT (HETEROCEPHALUS GLABER)
The naked mol git is not have a go at it for its beaut . Entirely hairless , unsighted , and bear sharp protruding tooth , it spends its total life underground , never see the Sun . But it ’s an extraordinary animal : With a lifetime of about 30 year , it ’s the longest - live rodent , and it ’s highly tolerant to bother and diseases of aging such as stroke and cancer . Scientists arestudying its genometo see if it explains the animal ’s leeway and longevity — and hopefully to translate what they ’ve learned into human covering .
2. CALIFORNIA TWO-SPOT OCTOPUS(OCTOPUS BIMACULOIDES)
The genomic map of theoctopussuggests they ’re the near matter on the planet to an alien that we ’ve ever seen . With huge brains , three hearts , eight heart - laden arms , taste bud , the power to camouflage themselves , and neurons that admit their arm to " reckon " independently , they ’ve demonstrated remarkable intelligence for an animal without a skeleton . Not only do they have as many cistron as humans , the devilfish has an highly large number of " jumping " factor , called transposon , that can easily switch their position in a protein chain , giving them an otherworldly news . “ It ’s authoritative for us to recognize the genome , because it kick in us insights into how the advanced cognitive skills of octopuses evolve , ” neurobiologist Benny Hochner from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem , who has studied octopus neurophysiology for two decades , toldNature . “ Very simple molluscs like the buck — they just sit in the mud , filtering nutrient . And then we have the magnificent octopus , which leave its shell and germinate the most - elaborate behaviour in water . ”
3. BEER YEAST(SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE)
research worker at the California - basedWhite Labsand a Belgian genetics laboratory have undertaken an experiment to successiveness and compare the DNA of hundreds of barm , many from genusSaccharomyces , for the sole intent of brewing better , tasty beers . The researchers in the Belgian lab — a joint venture of the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology and the University of Leuven , Belgium — hope to apply the information to produce beer that do n’t yet exist . “ All this work , " Troels Prahl , head of White Labs research and development , toldChemical & Engineering News , " is driven by the beloved of beer and the love of science . ”
4. BODY LICE(PEDICULUS HUMANUS HUMANUS)
Just the wordlicewill make most people experience a frisson of revulsion and a psychosomatic itch . This hardy parasite is nobody ’s protagonist , though it ’s found on legion animals and some humans . scientist sequenced the genome of thisminiscule parasiteto better understand disease vectors ; eubstance louse can be a bearer of diseases such as epidemic typhus , regress fever , and trench feverishness . Unlike the host - dependenthead lice , which expect its host ’s warmness to survive , and is not a disease vector , organic structure lice can survive independent of a server on article of clothing or surface for some clock time .
5. PLATYPUS (ORNITHORHYNCHUS ANATINUS)
The platypus was always one remaining animal — with its duck - like beak and furry , mammalian consistency , the first scientists to see and manage a specimen thought it was bogus . It has thick fur , and female person , which lay eggs and have no nipple , produce Milk River for their unseasoned heterosexual person through the abdominal skin . Males duckbilled platypus are the only mammalian that produce spite — a reptilian trait . So it ’s no curiosity that everyone was rum about how this animal ended up the style it is . Genome sequencinghas revealed its origin to beeven more complexand alone than scientist had earn . It contains genes shared by mammals , birds , and reptiles all in one and is likely the missing link in the evolutionary divergence of mammals from reptiles . While humans have but two sex chromosome ( x or y ) , the platypus has 10 — five of each kind .
6. GREAT BARRIER REEF DEMOSPONGE (AMPHIMEDON QUEENSLANDICA)
The sea sponge barely qualify as an animal , lacking a uneasy organisation , intestine , and other harmonium normally rule in animals . Despite being more than 600 million class old , it has also develop remarkably small ; that ’s because its genome suggests a more advanced puppet on a cellular degree than scientists previously thought . When scientist sequence the genome of the sea spongeAmphimedon queenslandica , they discover that its genome offer crucial information on the blood line of multicellular animals . " As the former branching ancestry from our last common ancestor , sponges can tell us a lot about what is needed to make an animal , " geneticist Mansi SrivastavatoldNature . Sea parazoan contain genes that support grouping cooperation of individual cells as well as cancer - related cistron that evoke they , too , have had to fight down off Cancer the Crab , just like other animals .
7. FRUIT FLY (DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER)
The fruit tent-fly genome is one of the most hit the books genome of all living animate being . This is because humans and fruit fliesshare about 75 percentof the same kinds of genes , making themideal for researchinto human - related diseases . Scientists can also modify and re - engineer yield fly genes and then learn the issue for potential applications in human therapeutics . Because fruit flies live short lives , scientists can study multiple generations of their cistron and alteration in a fraction of the time it would take to study generations of mice or human subjects .
All images courtesy of iStock
