Tag: genetic sequencing
Researchers Sequence Woolly-Mammoth Genome
by admin on Nov.20, 2008, under general research
OK, so this is a little off topic, but it does show how far researchers have come in sequencing genomes. Scientists at Penn State reported the genome-wide sequence of the woolly mammoth, an extinct elephant species adapted to living in cold environments. In all, four billion DNA bases were sequenced.
Previous studies on extinct organisms have generated only small amounts of data,” explains Stephan C. Schuster, Penn State professor of biochemistry and molecular biology. “Our dataset is 100 times more extensive than any other published dataset for an extinct species, demonstrating that ancient DNA studies can be brought up to the same level as modern genome projects.”
“Only after the genome of the African elephant has been completed will we be able to make a final assessment about how much of the full woolly-mammoth genome we have sequenced,” Miller says.
The team sequenced the mammoth’s nuclear genome using DNA from the hairs of a mammoth body buried in the Siberian permafrost for 20,000 years and a second mammoth mummy that is at least 60,000 years old.
Source: http://www.physorg.com
