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Chicken genome will help our understanding of humans and improve agriculture
December 07, 2004The first full DNA sequence of the chicken (Gallus gallus) genome is published today in the journal Nature. UK scientists have worked closely with 170 researchers from 49 institutes worldwide, to interpret the genome of the chicken. They believe it will help us to understand more about the biology of chickens and will also give us further insights into humans and fundamental biological processes.
"The sequencing of the chicken genome is a major landmark as the first agriculturally important animal to have its genome sequenced and has great implications for furthering our understanding of the human genome," said Professor David Burt of the Roslin Institute, Edinburgh, who led a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) funded team which worked on the annotation of the genome within the international chicken genome project. "The chicken has also been used extensively as a model by developmental biologists for over a century and the availability of a gene catalogue for the species will boost research in this area."
From the sequencing of the human and other mammalian genomes we have a large number of genes for which the function is still a mystery. The chicken is located part way between mammals and fish in the tree of life and the sequenced genome will help us to understand the function of human genes and the way that they have evolved in vertebrates.
Scientists at the BBSRC-sponsored Institute for Animal Health (IAH) in Compton, Berkshire, have analysed the part of the chicken genome responsible for controlling tissue rejection and which influences the susceptibility of individuals to diseases. Their work, led by Dr Jim Kaufman, will aid the breeding of healthier chickens and the design of better veterinary vaccines.
Analysis of the sequence has revealed how similar the arrangement of genes in the chicken and human genomes are - at a basic level this comparison is even better than the mouse, a common model species. Prof Burt said, "The low level of 'junk' DNA in the chicken makes the comparison between the chicken and human genomes an extremely valuable tool. This confirms work predicted by the Roslin group also published in Nature five years ago."
BBSRC researchers at IAH also worked on an accompanying paper published in Nature today. Group leader Dr Pete Kaiser said: "The publication of the chicken genome is of huge importance to the UK poultry industry. Legislation and the growth in organic meat production means that we are moving towards reducing the amount of antibiotics, and other therapeutic drugs, used in chicken farming. The availability of the genome will help conventional breeders to produce healthier birds that will have greater resistance to disease, and will help us to develop new and improved vaccines for a number of important poultry diseases."
The full draft from the international consortium working on the International Chicken Sequencing Project and details of all the scientists and organisations supporting the work are published with the paper in Nature.
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
Scientists at the BBSRC-sponsored Institute for Animal Health (IAH) in Compton, Berkshire, have analysed the part of the chicken genome responsible for controlling tissue rejection and which influences the susceptibility of individuals to diseases. Their work, led by Dr Jim Kaufman, will aid the breeding of healthier chickens and the design of better veterinary vaccines.
Analysis of the sequence has revealed how similar the arrangement of genes in the chicken and human genomes are - at a basic level this comparison is even better than the mouse, a common model species. Prof Burt said, "The low level of 'junk' DNA in the chicken makes the comparison between the chicken and human genomes an extremely valuable tool. This confirms work predicted by the Roslin group also published in Nature five years ago."
BBSRC researchers at IAH also worked on an accompanying paper published in Nature today. Group leader Dr Pete Kaiser said: "The publication of the chicken genome is of huge importance to the UK poultry industry. Legislation and the growth in organic meat production means that we are moving towards reducing the amount of antibiotics, and other therapeutic drugs, used in chicken farming. The availability of the genome will help conventional breeders to produce healthier birds that will have greater resistance to disease, and will help us to develop new and improved vaccines for a number of important poultry diseases."
The full draft from the international consortium working on the International Chicken Sequencing Project and details of all the scientists and organisations supporting the work are published with the paper in Nature.
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
Genome Current Events and Genome News RSSGenetic analysis helps dissect molecular basis of cardiovascular disease
Using highly precise measurements of plasma lipoprotein concentrations determined by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), researchers led by Daniel Chasman at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, the Framingham Heart Study in Framingham, and the PROCARDIS consortium in Stockholm, Sweden and Oxford, England performed genetic association analysis across the whole genome among 17,296 women of European ancestry from the Women's Genome Health Study.
Gene mismatch influences success of bone marrow transplants
A commonly inherited gene deletion can increase the likelihood of immune complications following bone marrow transplantation, an international team of researchers reports in the November 22 advance online issue of Nature Genetics.
Scientists at UA, collaborating institutions decode maize genome
Scientists from the University of Arizona led by Arizona Genomics Institute director Rod A. Wing and from collaborating institutions have deciphered the complete genetic code of the maize plant for the first time.
Ancestry attracts, but love is blind
People preferentially marry those with similar ancestry, but their decisions are not necessarily based on hair, eye or skin colour.
WPI Researchers Take Aim at Hard-to-Treat Fungal Infections
A team of researchers at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center at Gateway Park has developed a new model system to study fungal infections.
Technique finds gene regulatory sites without knowledge of regulators
A new statistical technique developed by researchers at the University of Illinois allows scientists to scan a genome for specific gene-regulatory regions without requiring prior knowledge of the relevant transcription factors.
Causative gene of a rare disorder discovered by sequencing only protein-coding regions of genome
For the first time, scientists have successfully used a method called exome sequencing to quickly discover a previously unknown gene responsible for a mendelian disorder.
New research into the mechanisms of gene regulation
A team led by Penn State's Ross Hardison, T. Ming Chu Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, has taken a large step toward unraveling how regulatory proteins control the production of gene products during development and growth.
Maize cell wall genes identified, giving boost to biofuel research
Purdue University scientists have helped identify and group the genes thought to be responsible for cell wall development in maize, an effort that expands their ability to discover ways to produce the biomass best suited for biofuels production.
New map of variation in maize genetics holds promise for developing new varieties
A new study of maize has identified thousands of diverse genes in genetically inaccessible portions of the genome. New techniques may allow breeders and researchers to use this genetic variation to identify desirable traits and create new varieties that were not easily possible before.
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