Sequencing and Analysis of the Hydra Genome
Chapman, Kirkness et al., Nature
An international research collaboration reports their sequencing and analysis of the Hydra magnipapillata genome, and compare it to the genomes of several other organisms. "The Hydra genome has been shaped by bursts of transposable element expansion, horizontal gene transfer, trans-splicing, and simplification of gene structure and gene content that parallel simplification of the Hydra life cycle," the authors write. They team suggests that comparisons of the Hydra genome to the reported sequences of other animals have helped them to elucidate the evolution of several of the organism's characteristics.
Green Plastic from Bugs
November 27, 2009
Korean researchers are developing E. coli to produce polylactic acid, a compound that is touted as a greener alternative to plastic, says The Economist. The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology's Lee Sang-yup and his colleagues have been able to make PLA in one step, rather than the two-step process, by splicing in genes from Clostridium propionicum, Cupriavidus necator, and various species of Pseudomonas. "The result is a set of synthetic metabolic pathways—ones that do not exist in nature—which turn the polymer out in satisfyingly large quantities," writes The Economist.
