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.
Next Time We Have to Get on an Ark, We'll Really Have to Squeeze In
December 31, 2007
In yet another year-in-review piece, Wired congratulates genetic engineers by naming "the top 10 organisms that didn't exist on Dec. 31, 2006." Students from the iGEM competition got recognition for creating a strain of E. coli that can produce butanol fuel. GTO was struck by what a good year it was for felines: the Wired list includes glow-in-the-dark cats, hypoallergenic cats, and schizophrenic mice.
