Chromosome-Scale Selective Sweeps and Genomic Diversity in C. elegans
Andersen, Gerke et al., Nature Genetics
Researchers at Princeton University and elsewhere discuss the effects of chromosome-scale selective sweeps on genomic diversity in Caenorhabditis elegans. Taking a high-throughput selective sequencing approach on a collection of 200 wild C. elegans strains, the team found that the nematode's "genome variation is dominated by a set of commonly shared haplotypes on four of its six chromosomes, each spanning many megabases." Further, the team reports on its population genetic modeling experiments, which showed that "this pattern was generated by chromosome-scale selective sweeps that have reduced variation worldwide; at least one of these sweeps probably occurred in the last few hundred years," it writes.
At the Very Least, You Could Send a Thank-You E-card
July 22, 2008
Over at Open Access News, Peter Suber notes the launch of Molecular Biology Databases, which he describes as "a website to evaluate the openness of databases in molecular biology." Developed by Shirley Fung through Science Commons, the goal is to analyze the interfaces of biological databases to assess their compatibility with open access goals. Suber writes, "This is a very time-consuming but useful job. Everyone in molecular biology should be grateful, especially if the project leads to more consistent policies on open data across the field."